cheap healthy lunch ideas nz

Cheap healthy lunch ideas nz,The best in Auckland and New Zealand

It’s easy to eat one’s feelings when living in New Zealand. I tell myself everyday that I’m going to eat my feelings and get just as fat as he is, but you know what? That’s not happening because I actually have some self control.

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cheap healthy lunch ideas nz

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WARNING:

This article comes with a serious drool alert. Read on if you want to know how to make cheap, healthy meals on a shoestring budget.

We’ll admit healthy eating on a shoestring budget might seem like a challenge at first, but it soon becomes second nature. But what if you’re cooking from scratch for perhaps the first time, and you’re on a seriously strict budget?

The first big tip you need is to buy whole ingredients instead of pre-packaged options. It actually works out cheaper, as the Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) points out. For example, while raw chicken from the deli section or freezer section costs on average $0.40 per 100g, pre-made chicken kebabs are typically more like $1.40 per 100g.

Here are our top 10 cheapest healthy recipes for you to try out. We made sure to ask the team at lunch time, and their eager responses were flying at us from left right and centre!

All you need to make any of these delicious and nutritious meals is a single frypan/saucepan and a chopping board.

1. “The Flash” Stir-Fry:

Broccoli and steak stir-fry using 2 broccoli, 2 steaks cut into stir-fry size pieces, garlic, soy sauce, and salt/pepper to taste.

2. Salmon and Egg:

Canned salmon, diced boiled potato, diced boiled egg, steamed peas, all held together with mayonnaise.

3. Omurice:

Egg omelette wrapped over a mix of rice, vegetables, fried chicken and tomato sauce. You’ll think you’re in Tokyo. I make this with chorizo instead of chicken for extra bite and it is definitely drool-worthy.

4. Bacon and Avocado:

Fried garlic and bacon added to pasta with mashed avocado, salt/pepper to taste.

5. Lamb Cous Cous:

Cous cous (Ainsley Harriet style) with feta, cucumber and baby spinach mixed through, served with lamb chops.

6. Green Salmon:

Salmon with asparagus and broccoli. (Protein and green vegetable goodness.)

7. Homemade Pizza:

(Never give your few dollars to a pizza chain again!) Wraps or real pizza bases, sliced capsicum, olives, cheese or soy cheese, spinach leaves. Bakes in a normal oven on a normal baking tray – no need to fork out for a fancy pizza stone or pizza cutter.

8. Vegetarian’s Delight:

Rice, carrots, sunflower seeds, baked beans (optional), soy sauce.

9. Pumpkin Pasta:

Pumpkin, pinenuts, pesto, pasta.

10. Vege Frittata:

Eggs, spinach, zucchini, onion, cheese (optional), seasoning of your choice. Fry for a few minutes, add cheese, and grill for another few minutes. Our in-house MasterChef calls it, “Super easy, tasty, and healthy.”

Healthy lunch recipes

These healthy and nutritious lunch recipes are full of flavour and colour. They are simple to make and will keep you feeling full into the afternoon.

Healthy lunch tips

Brighten up your lunchbox with these bright, healthy lunches. These filling salads and wraps are sure to give you the energy you need to get through the afternoon.

The key to making healthy and nutritious lunch is balance. The following lunch recipes have been nutritionally checked to be classified as ‘healthy’, are made with fresh wholesome ingredients and contain serves of vegetables, wholegrains, starchy vegetables, legumes and protein ensuring your body gets the nutrients it needs to keep you full till dinner time.

Our recipe for roasted pumpkin, ricotta and spinach toastie transforms your average toastie with simple gourmet ingredients like roasted mashed pumpkin, capsicums and ricotta for a fast and tasty lunch!

Try our tomato, chicken and ricotta pasta salad is packed with fresh veggies and wholemeal pasta to help keep you full.

Chicken salad with yoghurt and lime dressing

Roasted pumpkin, ricotta and spinach toastie

Lentil hash with poached eggs

Tomato, chicken and ricotta pasta

Anna’s salmon Buddha bowl

Avocado and quinoa vegie wrap

Garlic prawn pasta salad with tomatoes and herbs

Herbed chicken, lemon and almond roll

Potato, spinach and chicken salad

Chickpea and vegetable noodle soup jars

Chopped chicken, roasted capsicum, walnut and rocket salad

Tuna and chickpea salad with orange and cumin dressing

Pesto pasta with tuna and tomatoes

Moroccan beef and lettuce bowl

Chicken and black bean salad

Spicy vegetarian chickpea and veggie bowl

Allspice turkey skewers with eggplant salad

Tofu, rice and shredded vegetable salad

Guacamole beans on toast

Lentil salad with poached eggs

Breakfast slice

Creating healthy lunches

Lunch can sometimes be a challenge. It’s the one meal of the day where most people are out of the house, and with friends and family to catch up with, deadlines to reach and appointments to keep, it can be a minefield of in-the-moment food choices made under the pressure and time constraints of a short lunch break. Then add in the temptation of lunchtime offers at cafes, food courts and fast-food shops and it can seem incredibly tempting to eat whatever takes your fancy now and get back on track, later. Spending just a few minutes each evening planning what you’ll have for lunch the next day could help you continue to make healthy choices, no matter where you find yourself when lunchtime rolls around.

What makes a good lunch?

When you’re halfway through the day you need a tasty meal that will satisfy your hunger and keep you going through to dinner time. Try to include one serve of cooked grains, bread or starchy vegetables, one serve of protein and two serves of cooked vegetables, salad or legumes.

Eat more vegetables at lunch

(and throughout the day)

Why? They are nature’s vitamin pills – jam-packed with nutrients, antioxidants and filling fibre. That’s why most of them are ZeroPoint™ foods. The trick is to eat a rainbow of colours to get the widest range of nutrients throughout your day. Packed with nutrients veggies are an important food group. But if you’ve always struggled with eating vegetables, maybe you just haven’t been cooking them right. Steaming is a quick way to cook your veggies and it also retains the most nutrients.

Here’s how to steam vegetables

1. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil.

2. Cut vegetables into similar-sized pieces and place in a steamer basket.

3. Place the steamer basket over the saucepan of boiling water (ensuring the water doesn’t touch the bottom of the basket). Steam, covered, for the times given below.

Vegetable	Steam for
Asparagus	3–5 mins
Beetroot (whole)	30–60 mins
Bok choy stems	3–5 mins (add leaves after 2–3 mins)
Broccoli or cauliflower florets	5–6 mins
Brussels sprouts (halved)	6–8 mins
Cabbage (wedges)	6–8 mins
Carrots (thickly sliced)	7–10 mins
Corn cob	5–8 mins
Green beans (whole)	3–5 mins
Potatoes, regular and sweet (halved)	15–25 mins
Snow or sugar snap peas (whole)	2–4 mins
Spinach leaves	1–2 mins
Zucchini (thickly sliced)	3–5 mins

10 meals for under $10 dollars

Living on a family budget is not an easy task – especially when you’re down to one income. But imagine cooking your family meals for less than $10 a pop? Sound impossible? Here’s 10 easy and delicious meals you can whip up for under $10.

1) Beef casserole

Casserole steak is one of the most tender, yet most economical cuts of meat you’ll find at the butcher, or the supermarket meat section. It’s perfect for slow cookers and after a day of stewing in sauce, is melt-in-your mouth juicy!

Jen says: “All in one pot and forgotten! This is a great one-pot dish that you can pop in the oven and enjoy the aroma while it slowly cooks.”

Beef casserole recipe

2) Bubble and squeak

An English classic! If you’ve cooked up a roast the night before, this family favourite is a great way to make the leftover meat, gravy, spuds and vegies stretch into another family meal.

Jen says: “A great way to use leftovers. Simple, filling and tasty!”

Bubble and squeak

3) Vegetable curry

Cutting out meat from one meal a week can save at least $10 from your weekly food bill, and you’ll also be helping the environment.You may not know it, but meat production actually produces more global warming greenhouse gases than driving cars, according to the UN. So by having one meat-free night a week, you’ll be doing your little bit to help save the planet.

Jen says: “A great vegetarian winter-warming dish with an added tang of yogurt. You can use your leftover vegetables from the crisper to fill this curry.”

Cauliflower, pumpkin and pea curry recipe

4) Chicken fried rice

Who doesn’t have rice in their pantry and what child doesn’t love chicken? You don’t need to buy expensive breast meat to make this easy recipe for chicken fried rice. Just toss in a few frozen vegies, along with some fresh ones, and you’re done. And, you’ll have a dinner on the table for under $10!

Jen says: “Skip the takeaway and make this great dish, packed full of flavour and vegies, at home.”

Chicken fried rice recipe

5) Bolognaise sauce

Calorie, sugar and salt laden supermarket shelf simmer sauces are pure evil! You can ensure your kids are getting their daily nutritional needs met by making your own simmer sauces – and you’ll absolutely save $ buying the ingredients for this homemade bolognaise sauce rather than a bottled imitation.

Jen says: “I make a pasta bake, chilli con carne, nachos, lasagne and more with this sauce. Store-bought sauces are great for super-fast meals, but for real flavour, they really need to be slow cooked and homemade.”

6) Curried sausages

Sausages are cheap. No doubt about it. And even if you splurge on the more expensive organic variety, you can still buy a half a kilo for under $10. This recipe for curried sausages will add a twist to your usual snags and three veg meal.

Jen says: “This curried sausage recipe appears in my house every week because it is cheap, nutritious and really tasty.”

7) Homemade family meat pie

Sure, you can buy a supermarket meat pie for under $10, but unless you scrutinise the ingredients lists, you don’t really know what mystery meat you’re feeding your kids. This homemade family pie makes a cheap and cheerful meal and is great for lunches the next day too.

Jen says: “A great pie that you can make with ingredients you already have in your pantry. All you need is some fresh mince and a little puff pasty.”

8) Spaghetti bake

Want to know how to make your buck go even further? Well, with leftover spaghetti bolognaise, cook up a little extra spaghetti and make this pasta bake. Voila, a cheap leftovers meal!

Jen says: “This is a really easy, fast recipe to make and will appeal to little ones. All little kids love spaghetti and meat.”

9) Fish cakes

Ah, a toddler staple! Fish cakes are also extremely economical. For the cost of a tin of salmon or tuna, you can make this easy meal stretch four ways and your kids are guaranteed to eat it – you may have leave off the chilli sauce though!

Jen says: “The really nice thing about this recipe is the chilli mayo. It appeals to mums’ and dads’ taste buds and kids love the patties.”

10 Lamb shank soup

Lamb shanks used to be one of the cheapest meats you can buy. Traditionally they were considered peasant food, but today with the popularity of slow cookers, they’ve become a steadfast family favourite and, indeed, a restaurant menu item too. This recipe for lamb shank soup requires four lamb shanks and although it will cost you over $10 to make, chances are you’ll have enough to make two meals.

Jen says: “A flavoursome and filling recipe full of delicious lamb shank meat, lentils and herbs – very satisfying on a winter’s night. It will last two nights, and will taste even better for lunch the next day!”