Budget Friendly Meals

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Pumpkin Soup

Source: Diabetes New Zealand

Prep & Cook time: 40 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1kg pumpkin, peeled and chopped
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 cups water or low salt vegetable stock
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoon margarine
2 tablespoon flour
1 cup low-fat milk

Instructions:

Place the pumpkin, onion, water and bay leaves in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Gently simmer for 15 – 20 minutes or until softened.
Remove bay leaves from pan.
Melt the margarine in another saucepan, add the flour and mix well.
Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously to ensure no lumps are formed.
Add the thickened sauce and nutmeg to the undrained pumpkin. Puree if desired.
Season to taste with pepper.

Nutrition per Serve: Calories 183, carbohydrates 21g, fibre 7g, protein, total fat 7g, salt

Cauliflower and Potato Mash

Source: American Diabetes Associaton

Prep & Cook time: 35 mins

Serves: 5

Ingredients:

200g potatoes, peeled and cut in small chunks
5 clove garlic
1/2 packet cauliflower rice
2 teaspoon olivani lite marg
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup low fat milk
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Optional: 2 tablespoon mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

In a medium pot, place potato, garlic and cauliflower plus enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat when pot begins to boil and cook until potato and cauliflower are tender. This takes 15 minutes.
Drain the potato, garlic and cauliflower. Cauliflower holds on to a lot of moisture, make sure to drain well.
Add margarine, olive oil, low fat milk, salt and pepper. Mash until all ingredients are combined.
For more creaminess add mozzarella cheese.

Nutrition per Serve: calories 120, carbohydrates 16g, fibre 4g, sugar 4g, protein 4g, total fat 5g, saturated fat 2g, sodium 560mg

Chilli Con Carne

Source: Heart Foundation NZ

Prep & Cook time: 35 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g lean beef mince
2 cups mixed veggies (frozen or fresh)
1 can tomatoes, diced
1 can chilli bean
2 small red capsicums

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large pot on medium heat.
Gently cook the onion and garlic until soft.
Add the mince and brown, drain off any extra fat.
Add the mixed vegetables to the mince and stir well.
Add the chopped tomatoes, chilli beans and corn kernels.
Cook gently until the sauce has thickened.

Tip: Add some fresh or dried herbs to add more flavour, like rosemary or parsley.

Nutrition per Serve: 369 calories, carbohydrates 30g, fibre 8.2g, sugar 16.7g, protein 28.3g, total fat 13.2g, saturated fat 4.2g, sodium 210mg

Lentil Cottage Pie

Source: https://jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables/michela-s-veg-lentil-cottage-pie/

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 TBSP olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced or grated
1 TSBP dried thyme or mixed herbs
2 TBSP flour
1 x 400g tinned tomatoes
2 x 400g tinned lentils, drained
1/2 cup vegetable stock
400g pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks
Grated cheese to finish (Optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180-190 degrees Celsius fan bake.
In another pot boil the pumpkin pieces in water until tender.
In a pan, bring a generous drizzle of olive oil to a medium heat.
Once hot, sauté the onion, garlic, carrot, and dried herbs for 4-5 minutes or until soft.
Stir the flour into the pan, then add the tinned tomatoes, lentils and vegetable stock.
Bring to a simmer, cook for 5-10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced slightly and the sauce has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Check on the pumpkin. Test with a knife on softness. Drain the pumpkin then mash with oil.
Once the lentil sauce has reduced, place it into a pie or baking dish. Make sure to pack the lentils into the dish.
Carefully top with the mashed pumpkin and spread evenly over the lentils.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbling. Leave to set for 5 minutes then serve.

Optional: Top with grated cheese before placing the pie in the oven.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Source: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/living-with-diabetes/eating/recipes/spaghetti-bolognese

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients

200g bean or wholemeal spaghetti
500g mince (beef or lamb)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 heaped tsp of mixed herbs or thyme
Small pinch of chilli flakes
½ cup vegetable stock
2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
1 x 400g tinned lentils, drained
2 tsp parsley
Sprinkle of black pepper

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a saucepan and gently cook the onions until starting to brown, stirring regularly.
Add the mince and cook for 10 minutes, breaking up any clumps as the mince softens.
Add the carrots, celery and canned lentils into the pan and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add the garlic, herbs and chilli flakes and stir for a minute. Add the vegetable stock followed by the canned tomatoes.
Bring to a gentle simmer, cook and cover for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if too much water evaporates and the ingredients begin to stick to the pan.
Meanwhile in another pot boil spaghetti according to pack instructions.
Once the sauce is cooked, sprinkle black pepper into the sauce.
Serve spaghetti and sauce while hot.

Pasta Bean and Chilli Bake

Source: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/recipes/pasta-bean-and-chilli-bake

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 small onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
100g lean minced beef/lamb
230g tin chopped tomatoes
2TBSP tomato puree
1/2 tsp chili powder
Pinch of paprika
75g dried whole meal pasta shapes, cooked and drained
215g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1TBSP fresh parsley, chopped
2 TBSP grated Edam cheese (optional)

Instructions:

In a pot, boil the pasta according to pack instructions.
Place the onion, pepper, garlic and mince in a non-stick frying pan and fry for 5 minutes until the mince is browned and the onions are beginning to soften.
Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, chili powder and paprika to the pan. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in the kidney beans, pasta and parsley into the frying pan and heat through until beans have softened.
Transfer to an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the edam cheese over the pasta.
Place the dish under preheated grill in the oven for 5 minutes or until golden.

Nutrition: Energy 405 calories, carbohydrates 51.5g, fibre 15.2g, sugars 12.8g, protein 27.8g, fats 6.5g, saturated fats 2.8g, salt 0.51g, fruit/veg portion 3.

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

Source: https://www.healthyfood.com/healthy-recipes/carrot-cake-sandwich-cookies/

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Serves: 24

Ingredients:

3/4 cup plain wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 TBSP desiccated coconut
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, grated
1 large egg
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 TBSP maple syrup

Filling:

1/2 cup ricotta (reduced fat if available)
3 tsp honey
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 tsp orange zest

Instructions:

Heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius, line a baking tray with baking paper.
Mix together in a large bowl wholemeal flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger.
Stir through walnuts, coconut and grated carrots.
Whisk together in a smaller bowl the egg, oil, 1 tsp of the vanilla essence and maple syrup. Pour egg mix into flour bowl and mix until well combined.
Using a spoon, scoop out the mixture and place on baking tray, rounding slightly.
Bake for 10 minutes. Mix together ricotta, honey, remaining vanilla and orange zest.
When cookies have cooled down, sandwich cookies together with ricotta mix.

Nutrition per cookie: calories 140kcal, carbohydrates 12.8g, sugar 7.1g, dietary fibre 2.3g, fat 8.3g, saturated fat 1.7g, protein 2.9g.