I have a theory that there is a impossible trinity (like in economics), where a food cannot be delicious, cheap and healthy at the same time. At maximum 2 of the 3 can be achieved.

Is there any food that breaks this theory?

Edit: I was thinking more about dishes (or something you put in your mouth) than the raw substances

Some popular suggestions include

  • fruits (in season) and vegetables
  • lentils, beans, rice
  • mushrooms
  • chicken
  • just eat in moderation

Edit 2: Thanks for the various answers. Now there are a lot of (mostly bean-based) recipes for everyone to try out!

Also someone made a community for cheap healthy food after seeing this topic!

  • BenEnglish
    12•2 years ago

    It depends where you live (I’m in Bangkok, so grocery choices are quite limited).

    I love Oats. I got massively back into them again this year… now I buy around 3kg every month (instant oats).

    It’s only this year, really, that I discovered that oats are still really good and creamy when not made with milk… and it’s really easy to boil a single cup of water to dump on a cup of oats for a perfect breakfast (left standing for a minute - done… no need to ‘microwave’ oats).

    Also, cheap staples include: carrots, potato, broccoli, spinach…

    Frozen strawberries are dirt cheap here too.

    Breakfast 1:

    • Instant Oats (1 cup, 1/4 tsp salt, 3tsp sugar, 3 tsp creamer)
    • pulsed to powder in the blender with a cup of boiling water poured over.
    • Blend 100ml milk with 3 strawberries and mix that in. The beauty of this is (as my son does NOT like stodgy/thick porridge) I can add an extra 100ml of milk to his breakfast, and it becomes a liquid smoothie.

    Breakfast 2:

    • Weetbix are not too cheap, but ONE biscuit mixed with ONE cup of oats is a massive breakfast - and tastes of Weetbix… and is ridiculously cheap in comparison.

    Breakfast 3

    • Oats work great with eggs…
    • 1 cup oats, some salt, some cumin (maybe a teaspoon)
    • 2/3 cup boiling water (soak a minute)
    • 2 duck eggs mixed in
    • butter up the frying pan and dump it in there, cover and cook gently for 3 minutes, flip and give them another 3 minutes.

    DIsgusting poopy one

    • 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder mixed with 4 teaspoons of non-dairy creamer + 1 cup oats
    • pulse to powder, add a cup of hot water.

    That’s choccie heaven right there.

    • McrRedEnglish
      4•2 years ago

      Love your enthusiasm! Oats are a great antioxidant. My problem lies in that I was jujjing them up too much; I quickly went from low calorie health to massive oat-fest banquets - and wondered why I was putting on weight!

    • @TomBishopEnglish
      2•2 years ago

      I mostly eat them sweet but was looking for something savory. Gonna try # 3. Thanks :)

      • BenEnglish
        2•2 years ago

        Yes, savoury is good. for a cup of oats, 2 eggs, a good ¼ tsp salt, a good grind of black pepper, a dousing of white pepper, a full teaspoon or more of garam masala… Soy Sauce/Worcestershire sauce.

        It’s basically omelette… you can find video ‘oats and eggs’ to show the basic idea. Be careful, it’s twice as filling as porridge once you start with eggs.

    • WhoisJohnGaltEnglish
      1•2 years ago

      Love oats and these are some great ideas. I usually mix a ~tbsp of peanut butter in mine as well.