Low Fat Food on a Budget

Those who urge us all to eat a low fat, unprocessed diet, with at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables each day often ignore one rally important point: 'Good' foods cost more! In fact it is really easy to buy junk foods, full of hydrogenated fats, saturated fats, salt or sugar for very little money at all, but this is not the case when it comes to 'healthy' food. So how can you make sure that you have a low fat diet, without breaking the bank?

Well first of all 'bulk out' dishes with cheap low fat items such as kidney beans or lentils. These are quite cheap and you can add a tin of these to stews and casseroles, getting less fat than there is in meat alone and it is considerably cheaper. When buying kidney beans or lentils you may be tempted to buy them raw and then cook them, but it is actually as cheap if not cheaper to buy them tinned. In particular, kidney beans need to be cooked for over 2 hours or they are poisonous, but the cooking time will make them more expensive. You should always wash kidney beans or lentils before adding them to dishes though, because this will remove the salt and sugar that has been added.

Meat: Buy only a little lean but good quality meat or mince. Quality meat/mince tastes better and so you will only need a little and if you are bulking it out with kidney beans or lentils, then you will not use as much anyway!

Vegetables: Use at least some frozen vegetables such as peas because these are frozen within a couple of hours of being picked and yet as fresh vegetables they have a very short shelf life and take forever to shell, so use frozen peas and other frozen vegetables especially in casseroles. For other vegetables buy seasonal vegetables (and fruit) simply because these will be cheaper. Yes you may have to cook a little more imaginatively at times, simply to incorporate vegetables into your dishes, but it can become fun after a while.

Potatoes: Do not be tempted by 'low fat' fries or chips, instead, use baked potatoes with some natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of chives or other herbs. Cheese is high in fat and it is not the cheapest of ingredients, whereas natural yoghurt is low fat and not as expensive. By not buying processed potato products you will also find that your weekly shopping bill is reduced!

Cream Replacement: Instead of using cream, which may taste delicious but has a very high fat content, use natural yoghurt or if you really cannot live without cream, low fat creme fraiche. Yes yoghurt doesn't taste the same, but you will save money buying yoghurt not cream and you will soon acquire a taste for it (this may not happen overnight, but it does happen!).

So these steps will not only help to keep your shopping bills low, they will also ensure that you really don't spend too much on your low fat diet!

Libbie Johnson is a freelance ghostwriter, who has recently published an ebook 'Life After A Loved One Has A Heart Attack' a survival guide for anyone living with a person who has had a heart attack. Passionate about health and heart issues, please check out Libbie's e-book and other information at ' http://www.afteraheartattack.co.uk