A good health requires healthy food. After all, food is the fuel on which our body runs. These days the market is inundated with imported and expensive healthy superfoods. It may lead you to question if you really need to spend so much to eat healthy a meal. The good news is that you don’t need to break a bank to eat healthy food. You can fix up a healthy yet inexpensive meal with the ingredients available in your kitchen. A healthy tasty meal is an outcome of what you do with the ingredients and not how much you spend on it.
Here are ten such recipes that are delicious and won’t dent your budget.
Momos
This Nepalese import has taken the Indian food market by storm. These steamed dumplings are not only healthy but can be made with ingredients available in your pantry. You can add seasonal vegetables like onion, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, capsicum. The spicy red accompaniment requires only tomatoes, garlic, and chillies. It is so wholesome that it is a complete food in itself.
Sprout’s Chaat
Our Indian households often ignore proteins. Our cuisine is not based on meat and thus it may get difficult to incorporate much-needed proteins. Sprouts are an extremely healthy option to incorporate proteins in our diet. Add finely chopped onion, tomato, green chilly and lemon. Sprinkle some salt and chaat masala to make this tasty evening snack.
Egg Curry
This is for the non-vegetarians who don’t want to spend on chicken or fish. Egg curry is an excellent option as it goes well with both rice and chapati. Loved by both kids and adults alike, egg curry can be easily added to your weekly menu. To prepare this dish, sauté onions, garlic, and ginger in oil. Add tomatoes when the onions turn golden brown and sauté until it turns soft. Add salt, chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric, and coriander powder. Add the boiled eggs and a little water. Boil for ten to fifteen minutes until the eggs are coated with curry.
Oats Cheela
It is a great option for both breakfast and dinner. Oats are good sources of vitamins, fibre, and anti-antioxidants. Oats are also good for weight loss and reducing blood sugar levels. To make oats cheela, grind dry oats in a mixer. Add an equal amount of semolina, little water, and curd. Put the mixture aside for half an hour. Add grated carrots, onions, coriander, salt and red chilli powder. Heat oil in a pan and pour the batter. Fry both sides until it turns golden brown. Serve hot with green chutney and ketchup.
Palak Paneer
A great healthy and tasty way to include greens in your diet is by making palak paneer. It is so easy to make that it has become a staple in several Indian households. To make this recipe, add chopped onion in hot oil. Add tomato after the onion turns golden brown. Add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric and coriander powder. Fry for two minutes and then add a paste of boiled spinach and paneer. Cover and simmer for seven to eight minutes.
Idli Manchurian
This is a great way to use leftover idli. You can give it a healthy twist by adding vegetables of your choice like bell peppers and tomatoes. To make this Indo Chinese dish, saute onions and other bell peppers. Add ginger garlic paste, soy sauce, vinegar, salt and red chilli powder once this is done. Add a little water and the leftover idlis. Mix the idlis properly such that the mixture is properly coated.
Curd Rice
It is with good reason that South Indians swear by this. It is so easy to make and light on the stomach that you would want to eat this several times in a week. To make this, first boil rice separately and let it cool. In a wok, heat oil and add mustard seeds, salt, dry red chilli, a spoon of chana dal and urad dal. Mix rice with curd and add to the wok.
Smoothies
It is a tasty way to include fruits in your diet. To make a smoothie, add curd or milk along with your favourite fruits like banana, strawberry, mango, apple etc. Add a spoon of honey for sweetness. You can also add walnuts and almonds to raise the health quotient of your smoothie. Churn it is a mixer and your smoothie is done.
Vegetable Paratha
A good choice to use up the leftover vegetables in your fridge. Mix vegetable parathas are delicious and super healthy. You can use vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, onion, potato, peas, beans etc. to make the filling. Boil these vegetables and add dry spices like salt, red chilli powder, and chaat masala to make the filling.
Hakka Noodles
It is a great way to satiate your craving for Chinese food. Addition of vegetables like cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, spring onions etc. makes it a healthy option too. It is easy on the pocket and is loved by all in the family. To make this dish, boil the noodles and keep it aside. Saute all the vegetables in little oil. When they turn soft, add salt, pepper, soy sauce and vinegar. Mix it properly and add the boiled noodles.
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