Results tagged “frugal food” from Mostly Eating
Skirlie is an old-fashioned savoury oat dish from Scotland made with oats and onions cooked in butter or dripping. I’ve been experimenting with this again recently made with olive oil, fresh herbs and a few extra veggies. It’s ridiculously easy to make, healthy and far easier to wash up than porridge.
Skirlie has a different texture to porridge; it’s a little moist but also chewy, more like the consistency of cooked brown rice. Ergo, if you aren’t keen on porridge in all its gloopiness you may find that you enjoy skirlie. Likewise die hard porridge fans may find it takes a few mouthfuls to get used to.
That gelatinous wobble of properly made porridge comes from the beta glucan in the oats, a type of soluble fibre that becomes jelly-like when moist. Large amounts of this soluble fibre is root of many of those health benefits ascribed to oats. It can keep you feeling full through an ability to swell up dramatically when moist and also because it causes the energy from the oats to be released very slowly into your bloodstream (oats are low GI) . Soluble fibre also seems to assist your body in getting rid of excess cholesterol, helping to protect against cardiovascular disease (and in case you wanted to know but didn’t like to ask, yes soluble fibre helps to keep you regular too). Skirlie contains just as much of this beta glucan as porridge, it’s just that it is less physically apparent than in porrdige because the dish contains so much less liquid. Instead all of that that expansion of the oats will happen inside your stomach instead making skirlie a fairly filling prospect.
Skirlie has a different texture to porridge; it’s a little moist but also chewy, more like the consistency of cooked brown rice. Ergo, if you aren’t keen on porridge in all its gloopiness you may find that you enjoy skirlie. Likewise die hard porridge fans may find it takes a few mouthfuls to get used to.
That gelatinous wobble of properly made porridge comes from the beta glucan in the oats, a type of soluble fibre that becomes jelly-like when moist. Large amounts of this soluble fibre is root of many of those health benefits ascribed to oats. It can keep you feeling full through an ability to swell up dramatically when moist and also because it causes the energy from the oats to be released very slowly into your bloodstream (oats are low GI) . Soluble fibre also seems to assist your body in getting rid of excess cholesterol, helping to protect against cardiovascular disease (and in case you wanted to know but didn’t like to ask, yes soluble fibre helps to keep you regular too). Skirlie contains just as much of this beta glucan as porridge, it’s just that it is less physically apparent than in porrdige because the dish contains so much less liquid. Instead all of that that expansion of the oats will happen inside your stomach instead making skirlie a fairly filling prospect.
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Last post we looked at the reality of how people's food shopping has changed during the recession. Some of it is good stuff like eating plenty of seasonal vegetables, while other aspects, like turning to cheaper cuts of meat are potentially less healthy. I've gathered together a few tips for turning those changes in food shopping and lifestyle into healthy ones.
Make staying in the new going out
Rustling up something wonderful at home rather than going out is a shrewd move for both health and wallet. Eating at home means that you have control over what you eat, how it is prepared and the size of your portions. And what better excuse to invite your friends over and use them as guinea pigs for experimenting with whole new area of cuisine? (I’ve been thinking about trying my hand at Japanese cooking but Mediterranean and Indian foods have a similarly strong reputation for combining nutritious ingredients in a flavourful way).
Replace those cheaper cuts of meat with non-animal protein
Casserole and stewing cuts, meat pies and sausages are all generally high in saturated fat and best kept as an occasional treat. More expensive cuts of meat such as lean beef and chicken breast are usually lower in fat which is better for your health, but reducing your total intake of meat seems the best overall strategy. Limiting meat to once or twice a week will save you money, be beneficial for your health and is gaining consensus opinion as the most important dietary change we can make for the environment. Foods such as tofu, beans and eggs can provide all of the protein, iron, zinc and other valuable nutrients your body would otherwise get from meat.
Find a comfort that isn’t food based
A lot of people are feeling the pressure and it’s easy to see why sales of comfort foods are on the up. The recession is likely to be here for a while (and even without it life tends to have a way of sending us twists and turns), so now is the time to start thinking about a few boosts that aren’t food based. Exercise is a fabulous way to improve your mood and there are few activities cheaper than a walk round the block, or or half an hour in the garden. Exercise can also help to ease the health effects caused by more serious financial worries such as depression, anxiety and lack of sleep. For more cheap exercise suggestions these posts on Digeratilife and Bankrate.com are good places to start.
If your comfort eating is more boredom based and you've already been out and exercised then consider finding some other (cheap) activities to do of an evening (it’s no coincidence that stay-home hobbies like knitting see such a resurgence in popularity in a recession).
Keeping up your fruit intake without relying on imported, tropical fruits
Tropical fruits are expensive and not sustainable after they have been pre-prepared, over-packaged and air-freighted half-way round the world,. But with the lack of locally grown fruit available at this time of year it can be hard to know what to eat instead. My compromise is to buy hardier, more locally imported seasonal fruits (such as European citrus) as well as nutritious frozen summer berries and canned fruits.
Make staying in the new going out
Rustling up something wonderful at home rather than going out is a shrewd move for both health and wallet. Eating at home means that you have control over what you eat, how it is prepared and the size of your portions. And what better excuse to invite your friends over and use them as guinea pigs for experimenting with whole new area of cuisine? (I’ve been thinking about trying my hand at Japanese cooking but Mediterranean and Indian foods have a similarly strong reputation for combining nutritious ingredients in a flavourful way).
Replace those cheaper cuts of meat with non-animal protein
Casserole and stewing cuts, meat pies and sausages are all generally high in saturated fat and best kept as an occasional treat. More expensive cuts of meat such as lean beef and chicken breast are usually lower in fat which is better for your health, but reducing your total intake of meat seems the best overall strategy. Limiting meat to once or twice a week will save you money, be beneficial for your health and is gaining consensus opinion as the most important dietary change we can make for the environment. Foods such as tofu, beans and eggs can provide all of the protein, iron, zinc and other valuable nutrients your body would otherwise get from meat.
Find a comfort that isn’t food based
A lot of people are feeling the pressure and it’s easy to see why sales of comfort foods are on the up. The recession is likely to be here for a while (and even without it life tends to have a way of sending us twists and turns), so now is the time to start thinking about a few boosts that aren’t food based. Exercise is a fabulous way to improve your mood and there are few activities cheaper than a walk round the block, or or half an hour in the garden. Exercise can also help to ease the health effects caused by more serious financial worries such as depression, anxiety and lack of sleep. For more cheap exercise suggestions these posts on Digeratilife and Bankrate.com are good places to start.
If your comfort eating is more boredom based and you've already been out and exercised then consider finding some other (cheap) activities to do of an evening (it’s no coincidence that stay-home hobbies like knitting see such a resurgence in popularity in a recession).
Keeping up your fruit intake without relying on imported, tropical fruits
Tropical fruits are expensive and not sustainable after they have been pre-prepared, over-packaged and air-freighted half-way round the world,. But with the lack of locally grown fruit available at this time of year it can be hard to know what to eat instead. My compromise is to buy hardier, more locally imported seasonal fruits (such as European citrus) as well as nutritious frozen summer berries and canned fruits.
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The last few months have seen endless talk about what will happen to our diets in the recession and the potential impact this will have on health. There is a worry that people will turn to unhealthy processed foods which are often (perceived as) cheaper to buy, increasing intakes of empty calories, sugar, saturated fat and salt.
Last year most of these kinds of articles were pure conjecture, a few weeks ago saw the release of some interesting real figures from the British Retail Consortium. The report showed that UK spending on food in January was actually up 5.1% compared with January 2008, while spending fell in all other areas of retail including clothes, homewares, health and beauty all fell.
Increased prices account for some of this increased spending but the rise has also been fuelled by the trend for staying in, now the new going out. There were other notable trends in food purchases besides eating in, some of which are healthier than others:
Last year most of these kinds of articles were pure conjecture, a few weeks ago saw the release of some interesting real figures from the British Retail Consortium. The report showed that UK spending on food in January was actually up 5.1% compared with January 2008, while spending fell in all other areas of retail including clothes, homewares, health and beauty all fell.
Increased prices account for some of this increased spending but the rise has also been fuelled by the trend for staying in, now the new going out. There were other notable trends in food purchases besides eating in, some of which are healthier than others:
- Totally unsurprisingly, comfort food has become popular (maybe also have stimulated by an unusually cold, snowy Winter).
- Sales of cheaper cuts of meat such as casserole meats and sausages have increased.
- Seasonal produce is “in”, particularly root vegetables such as parsnips and carrots, but also the much maligned brussels sprout.
- Expensive, imported tropical fruit is decreasing in popularity.
- Home baking is catching on in a big way, and with it the potential to increase sugar, fat and energy intakes.
- Happily the recession is not stopping people from shopping ethically, with Fairtrade and Higher Welfare meat sales both keeping their ground
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This lentil and chestnut stew is a traditional dish in Italy and the epitome of the Mediterranean diet in Winter. The main ingredients here are lentils and many different vegetables, with porcini mushrooms for a depth and chestnuts for a hint caramel sweetness. I use pretty lenticche umbre (you can see their gorgeous colours in the photograph) but any lentil that holds its shape will do such as green or puy lentils.
The finished dish keeps well in the fridge or freezer and is wonderfully versatile; I cook up a really big batch of this ready to serve in a variety of ways.
Serving suggestions
The finished dish keeps well in the fridge or freezer and is wonderfully versatile; I cook up a really big batch of this ready to serve in a variety of ways.
Serving suggestions
- Serve with a simple bruschetta; sliced bread rubbed with garlic, lightly toasted and topped with a drizzle of olive oil.
- For additional luxury, top your bruschetta with cheese and grill until melting (the strong flavour of stilton works well).
- Mix a helping of the stew with additional hot water, vegetable stock and / or canned tomatoes to make a rustic soup. Stir in a swirl of balsamic vinegar before eating.
- Cook a batch of pasta in boiling water (chestnut flour pasta is lovely if you can find it). While the pasta cooks, scoop out a little of the cooking water with a mug. Drain the pasta and return it to the hot pan, tossing it with a little olive oil, a small handful of grated parmesan and a slosh of the retained cooking water. Top a serving of the glossy, coated pasta with a ladle of the stew and a sprinkling of parsley.
- Scoop a ladleful of stew over a fluffy baked potato.
- Eat it on its own with a grating of cheese on top.
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Making a quick lunch from your larder needn’t be a big deal. As a food fanatic it’s easy to fall into the trap of over-thinking your next meal, deliberating what to make for so long that eventually you are so hungry you’ll eat anything. Sometimes it’s good to remember that you are just getting yourself something to eat, grab a few nutritious ingredients and get on with it.
Everybody has (or can plan to have) some combination of these ingredients in stock and use them to knock up a quick lunch. Unlike most stir-fries, this is a true one-pan meal because it doesn’t require you to cook a separate grain (thanks goes to Nigella Lawson for the nifty idea of using a can of drained beans instead of cooking rice or noodles). With the step of boiling water neatly side-stepped, your lunch really can be ready in ten minutes.
This recipe is just a template, a broad list of foods into which you can substitute whatever you have available. The recipe given is a template from which you can experiment and find your own favourite combination:
Frozen meat substitute
Quorn, seitain, tofu, vegetarian “stir fry strips”, “chicken style pieces”
All of these ingredients are a good source of protein, lower in saturated fat than most meats and can be cooked straight from the freezer.
Canned legumes
Chickpeas (garbanzo), butter beans, red kidney beans, cannellini beans, flageolet beans, borlotti beans, mixed pulses.
Legumes provide fibre, carbohydrate and protein as well as providing a useful vegetarian source of iron. Contributes towards your five a day.
A flavoursome paste
Thai curry pastes, indian curry pastes, sun dried tomato paste, pesto, tapenade
These ingredients can be high in fat but a small amount can provide heaps of flavour.
Fresh green leaves
Baby spinach, kale, rocket, green cabbages, watercress, chard, spring greens
Rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre, counts towards your five a day.
A crunchy, quick cooking vegetable
Bell pepper, courgette (zucchini)
Rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre, counts towards your five a day.
A cooking oil
Olive oil, rapeseed (vegetable) oil
These oils are high in monounsaturated fats, thought to be beneficial for heart health.
Between the beans, green leafy veg and peppers a portion of this stir-fry provides at least two of your five a day.
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There’s a recipe that keeps popping up and I’ve been trying to ignore it, because surely something that simple isn’t going to make a decent dinner? It’s called pisto, a kind ratatouille that is a regular feature in Spanish home kitchens. Having given in and tried it, I’m now completely sold on the idea. It’s not the pisto alone that has entranced me, but the traditional serving suggestion; the familiarity of rice with a homely, tangy tomato sauce and topped with a perfect runny egg. Pisto is a new stock item on our list of easy weeknight suppers but don’t let me limit your ideas. For starters I’m sure this would make a perfect weekend brunch. As a meal this is environmentally sustainable, nutritionally well balanced and stress free to make. What’s not to like?
It’s so darn easy
This is not an instant dinner (a misleading term if ever there was, as we discussed last week) but it is a forgiving sort of a meal to make, with very little active input required and little that can go wrong. Ximena Maier of Lobstersquad explains the attraction of making pisto “What I like about it is that it has a very relaxed rhythm. You only have to follow the order of ingredients, and throw them in the pan as soon as they´re chopped. There´s no anxiously waiting for something to be just right, no stressful wild chopping while something may burn. Things will happen while they must, and a minute up and down isn´t a big deal.” In fact if you have a rice cooker then cooking dinner becomes a very leisurely affair indeed.
The eggs are gently cooked in little dents made in the pisto with the back of a spoon. This results in all of the gooey loveliness of a poached egg but with none of the scariness of egg poaching for the uninitiated (though there are many reasons why it is worth learning how to poach an egg if you haven’t already).
Nutritional balance
Pisto with brown rice and an egg is the very model of a well balanced meal. Vegetables predominate the dish and are there in a range of colours which intimates that you are about to eat a good variety of vitamins and antioxidants. Eggs provide low fat protein and are cooked without the addition of any extra fat. The carbohydrate source is wholegrain. The total amount of fat used in the recipe is small and monounsaturated in nature. And there is synergy between the ingredients too with the brown rice, egg and vegetables combing to give a reasonable hit of iron and the added benefit of vitamin C from the peppers which enables your body to better absorb these vegetarian iron sources.
Flexibility and Flexitarianism
I’m bound to offend some (Spanish) people with my messing about with the basic pisto recipe (then it’s not pisto, right?) but another very pleasing quality about using this as the inspiration for a meal is that you can adjust it a little according to what’s in the fridge. If you want to make your pisto more seasonal and local you can; as it is mid Winter here I compromised with canned tomatoes in place of the traditional raw but used imported organic peppers. An official common variation in Spain is to use eggplant (aubergine) instead of courgette but a carrot works just fine too. And if you’ve got half a bag of spinach or another greeny leafy veg in the fridge then why not chuck some of that in too (I also keep frozen spinach which you can just chuck straight in from the freezer).
Brown rice is my accompaniment of choice but try experimenting with other wholegrains like buckwheat groats or quinoa.
This is definitely a no meat required dish adding to its sustainable credentials but the flexitarian among you might enjoy a bit of chorizo sausage for an occasional variation.
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Last Sunday was all about using up the ends of a roast chicken from a couple of weeks before, plus sundry other odds and ends from the fridge. I was so pleased with the end result I thought I’d share it here: a homely chicken casserole with seasonal veggies, spelt and light dumplings made with rosemary and lemon.Like most people, we’re feeling the credit crunch a little bit around this way. I’m loathe to cut our food buying in any dramatic way (not surprisingly, eating well is a fairly big priority in our house) so it is a softly, softly approach at the moment. For me part of the deal of being an occasional omnivore means buying higher welfare standard meat and going back from this to cheaper alternatives just isn’t an option. A small organic chicken is surprisingly economical, not to mention tastier than the ubiquitous pale chicken breast fillet. This way the whole of the chicken gets used up, plus there’s something quietly satisfying in a domesticated way about stretching a chicken out to three or four meals.
Here’s what I had left in my fridge:
- Chicken stock – the really good stuff, the sort that sets to a quivering jelly in the fridge. The stock was made from the carcass of a roast chicken that I didn’t have time to turn into stock straight away but slung into the freezer until the next weekend.
- Half a tub of crème fraiche – whenever I buy crème fraiche for a recipe there is always some leftover; every recipe uses half a pot or less!
- A chunk of sourdough – of course the breadcrumbs don’t have to be made from sourdough but the bottom line is that good bread makes good breadcrumbs. Slightly dry, stale bread is even better than fresh, but fresh will work fine too.
- Seasonal vegetables – I’ve used carrot and leek, the seasonal vegetables that I had odds and ends of in the fridge. Celery, squash, onion, fennel and turnip would also work well here.
- Rosemary and bay – not technically in the fridge, but unlike more delicate species, rosemary and bay are the only herbs to consistently survive both my horticultural efforts and the British climate
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