Is there a food that is cheap, delicious and healthy at the same time?

Onion. It's cheap, nutritious, acts as a low-key anti bacterial solution, can be served in a multitude of ways, or eaten raw.

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eaten raw

You, sir, are a monster.
- Hmm time for a snack
  
  Takes a bite from a raw onion like an apple
- I loove raw onion... except when it burns. Which is always
Great fashion accessory too
- As was the style at the time
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Be careful what you offer, 'cause that's actually a thing on ActivityPub (nothing's stopping anyone from following you as a user, Mastodon-style).
- Might be pure spam garbage, but someone did register OnionFacts.com, and it goes somewhere..
Stop
Followed. Don't let me down!
- I, Sir Onion Knight, shall not let you down, king!
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I thought your facts would lean more towards the lemon lifestyle.

Well, something being delicious is subjective, but if we assume a "general acceptance" of most delicious foods, potatoes could fit easily. They can be cooked in all kinds of ways, are very nutritious and, again, pretty much everyone says they're delicious.

That's a good point, but even within potatoes there is perhaps still a trade-off between "delicious" and "healthy". As in steamed potatoes without sauces or stuff is kind of meh, while french fries are not that healthy.
- Oven-baked potatoes is where it's at.
- I don't even like french fries that much. Steamed potates, or baked ones by the campfire, I'm all in.
Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew...
Completely agreed, though I'd also add that to get the most nutrition out of them you want to make sure that you are also eating the skins. (Personally I like the skins anyway, and not having to remove them makes them easier to cook!)

So… Are you just unaware of fruits, vegetables, and legumes, haha? In my opinion there’s a huge amount of food that fits all three categories. One of the best example of cheap, delicious, healthy, and easy is beans and rice, spiced up however you like.

Yup. Mexican, Indian, a lot of cuisine from poorer countries figured this out long ago. Beans or lentils over rice with the right spices, incredible. The restaurant version will add a lot of fat and heavy cream but if you make it yourself you can adjust that so it's not unhealthy.
- Yeah! Exactly! A huge amount of the best food (imo) comes from these cultures. Plus many of these dishes are also really easy to make in bulk, which is a big win too.
My first thought was just just "Bananas?" Lol

potato

You already mentioned them, but I'm a huge fan of lentils. They go with so much stuff and you can combine them with a variety of spices. Give me any leftover ingredients and some lentils, and I'll cook up something delicious. I can and will eat lentil soup for days.

They are also a pretty solid crop, they can grow in a variety of climates, require little water and are good for the soil.

Lentils.

Fuck. Yes.

Put them in a curry. Salad. Veggie burger patties. Yes. Soup, stews, even pasta. Lentils everywhere.
Split peas! Just salt and pepper and you have split pea soup.

Ah yes, a food that you can eat for three days without pooping while you stay in a tent?

...Do we have a community yet for sharing cheap, healthy food recipes? I'd say cooking, but I don't want to get into all the back & forth over what counts as cooking/baking/frying/etc.

Maybe /c/cheaphealthymeals? Or maybe cheapgoodmeals would be better? 🤔

Whatever the case, I think it'd be a solid idea for a community for exchanging recipes and tips!

I just made one! https://lemmy.world/c/cheaphealthyfood
- Can I kindly suggest maybe making a guideline post as to what constitutes "healthy"? It was really sad to see all of the people on the previous sub posting their supposedly "healthy" meals that weren't anywhere close to healthy. I get that there's a need to leave room for people who are starting at zero and still improving, but it also shapes people's perceptions in a very real and misguided way. If reliably sourced and well moderated that would make the space a lot better.
The problem with those broad strokes "healthy eating" subs is that people post stuff that isn't actually healthy by any stretch. To an extent it's relative, but for the most part it just goes to show you how many things are perceived as healthy when they're not that far from just eating takeout.
- Mm, and the same can be said of "good eats" kinda stuff. There's a reason I didn't jump right into making one personally (this being one, the other being I'm very basic with food).

I eat tofu like four days a week and it is the best thing ever.

What do you do with the tofu? I have tried a few time but it always taste kind of "bland"
- Basic recipe for nice tofu:
  
  freeze the tofu. This is important as it changes the structure (it becomes dryer and more "meaty"), this is a common technique in asia.
  
  after unfreezing it, dry it with paper towels or something like that, cut it into die sized cubes if you want, sprinkle it with potato starch and fry it in a wok or hot pan with some oil. It should get brown and crispy.
  
  sprinkle a few drops of Japanese soy sauce on it while it the pan and continue to fry it. The soy sauce adds taste and makes it caramelise.
  
  add cooked rice, vegetables or whatever you want.
  
  You can leave out some steps above. Without the freezing the texture won't be as firm, without the starch it won't be as crispy and without the soy sauce it won't taste as good. I'm just saying that because sometimes it has to go fast or you're missing ingredients, so you can compromise if needed. Doing all is of course best.
- The thing with tofu is that it's very good at absorbing flavor, plus you have many different ways in preparing it, from grilling to making scrambled tofu. You just gotta find a nice recipe that focuses on texture and flavor.
- I love Vietnamese tofu with tomato sauce and rice. Easy to make and I can eat it over and over again.
- The trick that I discovered to tofu is to press it between a paper towel and a book. It makes it less watery and tastes crispier.
  
  Not necessary when cooking all tofu, but really took my tofu game to the next level.
- What flavors do you like? It Marinates up well and doesn't take long to absorb the flavors, then fry, air fry or roast in the oven. I Love cooking it with a sauce/gravy to add flavor too. Also silken tofu chocolate pudding/pie filling. You cannot even tell it has tofu in it.
- Everyone is going to like different things, but tofu is a bit like wonderbread. It also tastes bland, but you get addicted to it anyway. I can't explain why, but at this point I just put thick slices of tofu into the air fryer for 5 minutes and eat it as-is. You're right, it doesn't taste like much, but nevertheless it's hard to stop eating it after you're hooked.
  
  Some things you can try:
  
  Try smoked, extra firm tofu. You can eat it as a snack straight out of the pack, and the taste is somewhat stronger. It's brown and kind of leathery.
  
  GRILL your tofu. Get some good char on there. It tastes absolutely heavenly and smoky.
  
  Put soft tofu into your smoothie. It thickens it a bit but won't change the taste.
  
  Tofu tastes good in a lot of salty, carby dishes. For example, one of my 5-minute meals is chow mein noodles and canned mixed vegetables (beans sprouts, corn, and carrot) sauteed with sesame oil. It sucks some of the moisture out of the tofu, allows it to absorb flavor, and offers a firm, meaty contrast to the other components of the dish.
  
  You can put tofu into any "soup" - chili, curry, etc. and this is another pretty standard use.
  
  There are troves of marinades and dry rubs out there. A good way to start is to go to a restaurant and try bowls with tofu to get an idea of what you like, and then to use that as a template.
- Mapo tofu

Vegetable soup. I know it sounds boring but you’d be surprised at just how nice vegetables in water with salt can taste.

https://youtu.be/21ofoREnXbM

Curiously, peanuts 🥜.

100 gr of peanuts have almost all the fatty acids that you need in a day, with almost half the minimum calorie intake required and half the protein you need. They are satiating, VERY easy to grow, and even used as a way to replenish the soil with nutrients in crop rotation.

If you ask me what was the mana taken through the dessert, I'd say most likely peanuts.

Carrots. Same as potatoes. Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew. Someone already mentioned onions, same idea.

I know your edit says you were thinking about dishes, and I think carrots can be their own dish with very little preparation. I like to bake mine on a sheet for half hour or so at 425f, and they are wonderful on their own. Also so low-calorie you can eat a practically infinite amount of them without spoiling a diet!

You are baking carrots? Had no idea you can bake a carrot..that sounds illegal! :))
- Ooh yes they get sweet and delicious.
- It's the third heat!
- 425f sounds more like roasting. They both use the same heat method, but one is more to break down thicker and heartier foods.
- Really easy as well! Sprinkle some vegetable oil, salt, pepper and maybe some cumin or paprika on them and bake them until the edges become brownish. Only way to fail is to oversalt them or burning them to a crisp ;)

Chick pea curry.

https://youtu.be/iKMI1xkU_oo

And then there is mc Donald's and similar chains. They managed to avoid all three of those things

The one thing missing from the trinity is "effort". For instance, you could make any Dal, which would fit the trinity, but takes a lot of time. There are books with hundreds of Dal recipes that all taste different and work, too. And this is just one example. Less than a dollar a meal if made in bulk with rice.

so something like this?
- You just made a food pyramid that isn't stupid.
I would consider Effort (time/energy) as a part of 'Cost'.

I work a government job and a side-hustle. I earn a large amount per hour in my private business. If I cancel a client so I can cook a time intensive meal, then the food is getting more expensive.

Also, if I'm exhausted from working 1.5 jobs, an effort heavy meal isn't cheap for me.
Lots of bean/lentil dishes are pretty magic for that.

There's also an element of skill/experience in that category too. I can't find the exact quote but David Chang said something to the effect of "anyone can cook a filet mignon well, but cooking with scraps takes skill".

As i've gotten more competent in the kitchen i've absolutely gone from buying fancy cuts of meat to stew meat and will buy mutton any time i ever see it. I've also got much better at observing what fits well together, if there's some left over potatoes in the fridge then I know that I can mash them, roll them into gnocchi and make a quick pesto with some wilty kale from the back of the fridge and basil from the garden. I'd totally have planned and made the same dish ten years ago, but i'd have started by going to the store and buying the ingredients. Being able to work with what I have and balance it is key.
- Imo, natto fits all three, also a bean dish.
I cook Jamie Oliver's "basic tarka dhal" all the time. It doesn't take that much time in my experience, and being a basic recipe it lends itself to lots of variations. Highly recommend.

https://www.jamieoliver.com/features/lentils-and-basic-tarka-dhal-recipe/
My go-to low-effort, low-cost, healthy and tasty food stuff is....

Breakfast cereal.

In th UK at least, breakfast cereal is fortified with all kinds of vitamins and minerals. New laws have limited the amount of sugar allowed in children's cereals. Even the supermarket own-brand ones are impressively full of your RDAs of good stuff.
With a multicooker dal is a pretty easy one pot meal, or at least basicish dal is

Oatmeal with bananas, cinnamon, soy milk(unsweetened), flaxseed and sugar + extra fruits according to preference.

I eat it everyday for breakfast and I never get tired of the flavor. Sometimes I even get a bit greedy and eat it more than once. It's very filling, healthy, and cheap.

egg

I make a curry of: tofu, green lentils, pearl barley, pearl cous cous, pumpkin, potato, onions, and whatever else is in the vege drawer of the fridge. Then I cook it in a laksa paste with coconut milk. it's delicious and keeps in the fridge for at least a week with no meat.

When I was in college, I had the rule of not buying anything that is >$1.50 per pound. This is what I was reduced to (prices may be different now due to inflation and geo area):

Apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries when they are on sale
Milk, yogurt
Pork shoulder, chicken quarters, thighs, drumsticks
ground pork, ground beef
Carrots, broccoli, potatoes, cabbage (you'll be surprised at how good thinly sliced cabbages taste in a sandwich)

Hi everyone, this post inspired me to make a community about this topic! https://lemmy.world/c/cheaphealthyfood

Eggs

Yes - generally beans are both healthy (33% protein, 33% fiber, 33% carbs), cheap (dried or in cans), and can be pretty tasty, even out of cans, but if not with eggs, as part of a soup (tomatoes + grain + spices + veggies).

Well chicken maybe as it is the most cheap meat. And it is subjective, but something like chicken soup (if cooked at home) can be relativly cheap and really delicious.

Also, just thought about it - fruits and berries also easily break this trinity

While I also like chicken, the more delicious chicken tends to be pricy (as in the cheap chicken is often bland in taste - but I'll concede that's kind of splitting the hair.

But you're probably right about fruits.
- Take some cheap dark meat and make Chicken Adobo. You need vinegar, soy, garlic, sugar, black pepper, and bay leaves and eat it with white rice and steamed veggies. You can use pretty much any vinegar and soy, though there is a traditional Filipino brand.
- If you think the cheap cuts of chicken -- or pretty much any type of land-animal meat, for that matter -- are bland, you're Doing It Wrong™. Those cuts tend to have the characteristics that make them suitable for low-and-slow cooking methods like smoking, braising and stewing, which can turn out even tastier than the best grilled chicken breast or steak if done right.
- For year-round availability, bananas seem the most likely fruit. Prices are pushed down because of a short shelf life. High in vitamins and fiber, high sweetness for deliciousness (warning: must like bananas to proceed)
- It requires more effort but buying chicken that is minimally processed is fairly cheap and far tastier. The bones can be saved for soups and stocks and at least breast are really easy to debone.
Meat is an expensive luxury product
- If your in america it is expensive and low quality
  
  there seriously is something wrong with american foods because I've accidentally added them a few time to my nutrition tracking app and they are seriously unhealthy compared to my local countries food

I was looking at similar requirements for my daily lunch during the workday. I live in London so you're paying between £5 and £10 per day even for just a sandwich-based lunch. I needed a packed lunch that was cheap, tasty, healthy and additionally: filling, easy/quick to prepare and low carb. So that's a big ask.

I settled on a kind of custom Greek salad. One cucumber, some red onion, pickled beetroot all diced up, olive oil (or cold-pressed rapeseed oil) and some feta cheese. Sometimes I add chickpeas and coriander.

It's perfect, I've been eating it for years now.

Hermetized mackerel in tomato sauce on whole grain bread. Tastes really great, healthy, but your colleagues will hate you.
That sounds great. I wish I could do something like this, but I get sick of eating the same thing over and over so quickly.
- Yeah. Getting sick of it is definitely a thing. Not eating it on the weekend helps, as does changing the type of oil. There are other bits you can change. I've definitely had to take breaks from it from time to time!

Whole grain pasta.

Thanks for this prompt. Reading this thread was the first time I felt like I was on reddit since I've joined this instance. I laughed and learned.

Roasted brussel sprouts with butter and parmesan cheese

Butter. The secret to making things delicious.
That's not cheap at all, at least where I live
- $2 for a bag of pre shredded parmesan
  
  $1.50 for frozen brussel sprouts
  
  $1.25 for a stick of salted butter
  
  You'll get 2 small meals out of this, $2.37 for a small meal isn't exactly expensive. Realistically, it's even cheaper because you won't be using the whole pack of cheese or all the butter. Your main expense will be the $1.50 per bag of veg depending on how many you want to make

lentils

Legumes in general. Money's tight and I've been eating a lot of lentil stews and black bean soups. Cheap, healthy, super filling, and pretty tasty.
Came here to say the same, although my favorites, Beluga can be quite expensive.

Mushrooms!!

The thing with mushrooms is that they can get pretty expensive in stores, especially if you're looking for a specific kind of mushroom. They can also be very easy to forage though, which does make them free! This is different from growing them in a private garden (which is something you can do with most produce, and requires time and resources). DELICIOUS AND HEALTHY OH YEAH BABY!!

Fruit is definitely the best answer though.

Also, beans!

My local LiDL often sells slightly-old 8 oz. containers of button mushrooms for $1 - much better than the $4 or $5 they cost in the higher-end grocery stores. Once they're fried up and nicely caramelized you can't tell the difference, and they keep for a week or more in the fridge that way.
- Aww I miss lidl.
Groceries are also pretty cheap after the poisonous mushroom kills you. Know what you're doing.

Homemade Popcorn!

not the way I make it. So much coconut oil and salt!
- Halve the amount of coconut oil and salt and it's pretty healthy again. I'm not positive but I think salt is only unhealthy when you have specific health issues related to sodium intake. And isn't coconut oil supposed to be a healthier fat.

The biggest problem with this is subjective metrics.

"Healthy" depends a lot on both what your needs are and the rest of your diet, there's no one-size-fits-all.

"Delicious" is even more subjective.

'Cheap' at least is fairly objective, but even so different qualities, different locations, or different seasons can change prices drastically, and that's before you get into the fact that what really matters is the more-subjective 'cheap to someone of your means.'

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.

Taste is subjective. I don't like more than half of the things listed so far.

There's also novelty.

I live in colorado right now and we get great, cheap melons in the summer. Fresh corn is also dirt cheap here when it's in season. When I first moved here (from Scotland) I was really excited about those things, but as time goes by they are less interesting to me. I eat way more seafood here, in Colorado, than I ever did in Scotland - and the selection is better here too which blows my mind.

Eating what's local and in-season almost always improves the deliciousness and the price - but you probably won't appreciate it because I think we some some innate desire to seek out different flavors.
- Fresh corn is the best!!!

Fried grasshoppers

PROTEIN!!!

Rice

Banana.

Are we talking about only the plain substance, not allowing for spices? Because I feel like every food isn't delicious unless you season it in some way, or at least use an oil in cooking. If we're just talking about baking everything then I'd say everything is "bland" Lol

For me it's all about how you prepare the food. I eat chicken, canned beans, and mushrooms pretty much all the time because I try to buy cheap as much as I can, but just those few main items can be made so many different delicious ways with other "smaller/lesser" ingredients.

That's a good point. I guess I was thinking more along the line of dishes. But then there is still some food which is delicious without seasoning - like (good) sashimi, or fruits as others suggested.
- While it's uncooked, there's definitely a lot of effort in preparation. Also, people would usually eat it with soy sauce and wasabi, so not exactly unseasoned.

potatoes!

Well, first we need to define what healthy means, because you could die of water intoxication, meaning there is a point where quantity matters.

Are cheese and butter healthy ? Not if it's your only diet, but there are tons of very healthy things in cheese and butter. And of course, the same goes for every thing. So we must have balance in mind when defining an healthy food.

The second is to define what is cheap. In most of European countries, fresh food is relatively cheap, but in other countries they can be super expensive. And there's nothing more healthy than fresh food. So you definitely need fresh food as a base for an healthy balanced meal.

The third is highly subjective.

As for my healthy delicious cheap meal:

Breakfast

One scrambled egg by Gordon Ramsay with a melted slice of cheddar on toast and A fruit salad of one orange, one kiwi and one small apple

Lunch

Spaghettis with fresh garlic, olive oil, fresh basil and tomato wedges

Dinner

Pan-fried chicken fillet with frozen peas and carrot rings

Snack

Any fruit really

Kebab plate with vegetables.

A coleague of mine was eating it when he was on a diet to lose weight. It's basically kebab/gyros meat and a vegetable salad with a dresing (usually tzaziki). You have basically no sugar in it, it's just protein and vitamins.

Back in the day it cost like 4-5 € where I live which was pretty cheap for a lunch. Now it'd more like 6-7 € but that's still decent

BEANS

Addictive carbs and salt, dirt cheap, and healthy as shit. Also convenient and compatible with most dietary/ethical restrictions.

If you learn to like beans when you're 20 and throw it into an index fund, you'll have a modest retirement fund just on the money you saved (yes, I calculated it based on money saved and growth of the S&P).

Beans... on toast.

I'd say something along the line of Chili sin Carne, for example rice and beans, which are both cheap, healthy, and taste pretty good on their own, together with some spices, chilis, maybe canned tomatoes and so on for extra deliciousness.

All of these ingredients store well and can be bought very cheaply in bulk.

My favorite cheap + delicious+ filling meal is eggs and toast.

Peanut butter and banana sandwich is also dirt cheap and delicious.

Rice and beans, just be a little creative with preparation. Also you can make lots of soups that are cheap and healthy and its super easy to make too.

My vote too.

If you expand the format to rice + dried bean/legume/grain (e.g. lentils, quinoa), you can really expand your possibilities without breaking the bank.
This.

My rice and beans recipe is inspired by my mom's, but updated a bit. It's fast, healthy, and delicious. I add veggies to it, but whatever is around, so it's a great way to use up something at risk of spoiling.
Fact. Every time I cook rice and beans I find myself thinking that nothing this low-effort has the right to taste so good.

I have a related one - I'm kinda continously on the lookout for a refreshing (evening) drink especially during hot weather.

So far, I haven't found one that doesn't contain at least one of:

(added) sugar
caffeine
alcohol

Or a combination of those.

On the other end of that scale, I do quite like White Russians. The Dude says hi.

Most things are unhealthy because we eat too much of it. For example (fresh) bread is delicious, cheap, and healthy, provided you eat it in moderation. Now if you ate nothing but bread all day you would gain a lot of weight.

Same goes for salt, fat, and sugar. To be fair, part of the reason we tend to eat so much of it is because normally this stuff is rare in nature and we are evolved to seek it, but we've made it so accessible and cheap, that we easily let our natural instincts take over. So that aspect explains your trinity. But it doesn't have to be that way. You can have all three with a bit of self control.

Moderation is key indeed. Maybe that's a hint I should finish the ice cream deep in my freezer, hmmmm

parsley in the form of tabbouleh salad: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabbouleh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsley

check out the vitamins and minerals in parsley, it's one of the super foods.

Scrambled eggs.

Oatmeal with butter, brown sugar, and salt.

The above 3 primary ingredients will be cheap, healthy, and delicious when prepared properly. Adding milk and/or cinnamon to taste can improve the deliciocity.

But maybe don't eat it for every meal or you'll be shitting after every meal. Very clean colon though.

Or peanut butter and jelly oatmeal; my favorite!
Pro tip: if you're making overnight oats, use tea instead of water for a unique sparkle of flavor.

Rice, tuna from a packet, and soy sauce - cheap, delicious, healthy, and easy. You wanna get fancy, you can add some sesame oil, furikake, chop up some green onions, whatever you got kicking around.

Oh man I've got a similar recipe for you:

boil some bean sprouts for a few minutes, strain

pan fry strained sprouts with a splash of sesame oil. add a dab of tobanjan. sprinke with salt & MSG

add tuna from a can and pan fry for a few more minutes

serve. one of my favs.
Sardines are a pretty solid alternative to tuna as well. Depending, they may be cheaper, andnas a bonus they're much more sustainable than tuna.

This will be controversial. I'm going with Costco rotisserie chicken. $5. They taste good fresh but bad reheated. I don't eat the skin

Another one is curry, which is actually real easy to make. I bought a bag of curry powder for a few bucks years ago and it's still just fine. You can get cans of paste too but honestly I can go either way, both are great, and I love that the curry powder is so absurdly cheap per serving.

I just julienne an onion and red pepper, saute for a bit, add a few teaspoons of curry powder, throw in some garlic and ginger, then add a can of chicken broth, and a few drops of fish sauce. I simmer for a while to let it reduce, then add a can of sweetened coconut milk at the end. Also at the end I add a ton of basil. Maybe some other stuff in there too that I'm forgetting, you really can't go wrong with this either.

For protein you can obviously do chicken or something, but if you want to go ultra cheap and healthy, just throw in a cup of lentils to that curry you got going. Give it 20 minute or so and you're in flavor city. I'm always blown away at how insanely tasty it is, like it's just impossibly good. You can add literally whatever spices and flavorings you want and it just gets better.

There's an asian grocery store near me with all these ingredients for super cheap so I can make that curry sauce for literally like $5-10. It's delicious, cheap, super easy, and healthy, if not a bit calorie dense from the coconut milk.

Chickpeas

I like pickling things. Pickled Red Onions are delicious and easy, and Pickled Green Beans are probably my favorite. Fresh Green Beans can be had by the big bag for about two bucks. Throw in a couple Habanero peppers for spice, maybe $.50 worth of seasoning, $.50 worth of vinegar if you buy it by the gallon, and you have some delicious cheap snacks that are also relatively healthy. The worst ingredients would be salt and sugar, but you can minimize its use to taste when you make them yourself. I guess it's all relative, but to me a few bucks for a quart jar of quality homemade pickles checks all the boxes when it comes to cheap, healthy, and delicious. It does take a bit of prep work though so it's definitely better if you enjoy that type of thing.

in all honesty it's probably soy

Eggs

Eggs haven't been cheap lately
- Bruh, Aldi has them for 1.12 a dozen. They’re literally less expensive than they were in the 90s adjusting for inflation.

If you buy local, and go with the seasons, I'd argue it is rather hard to not have all three (cheap, delicious, healthy) at the same time.

You won't have to rely on produce which is optimized for long transports but can tap into fresh, original flavors. Ripe fruits and vegetables from the fields, harvested just this morning. And because they all ripen now, quality maximizes when prize minimizes.

Cashews. Benefits: heart-healthy fats, antioxidants, essential minerals.

Rice with lentils is a good option, add salt and pepper and salad of choice

IMHO, steamed vegetables are right in the middle of the triangle. I've bought a steam cooker and it's a game changer compared to boiling. It's healthier since less nutrients are lost, preserves so much more taste and texture, there's a timer so you can start the steamer and go do something else. Also makes you use less water. I've still got to try steamed fish but I expect it'll taste great.

on a perhaps relevant note air-fried stuff may also fit the category. like air fried sweet potato chips, delicious even without seasonings!

You should shop at a grocery outlet, that's how you get all three achieved. there's so much cheap overstocked healthy food, because originally was too expensive and people didn't want to pay that much, so I benefit. Best grocery store there's ever been, prove me wrong!

Cucumbers

Look into Indian foods and even traditional japanese. Really hearty and nutrient dense foods there. Plus there's a book on Depression era cooking that has a lot of great recipes for low cost and self sustaining.

Chana masala is pretty delicious and I'm pretty sure it's healthy. I think it's mostly chickpeas and vegetables which are both pretty good for you.

Sweet potatoes. Very nutritious, very cheap, and taste sweet. Easy to prepare to, you can just boil or bake them for a little while without adding anything and they're great just like that.

are we allowed to add ingredients? A little soy sauce on that and you’ve basically got yourself a meal
- I didn't even know that you can add soy sauce to sweet potatoes!
- How come I've never tried that ? I love both so much.
You can cut them in half and microwave them, then eat them with a spoon like an ice cream with its own cone.
classic

I'd say sandwiches, depending on what you want to put in them. A loaf of healthy (low sugar) bread isn't going to be the cheapest option on the shelf, but if you're dividing the cost by the number of sandwiches you can make out of it, it still ends up amounting to a large number of really inexpensive meals. I normally just add some meat, cheese, lettuce, and tomato, and it's very nutritional and also delicious.

That does sound delicious. Are you by any chance Dutch?
If you make the bread yourself (i.e. with a breadmaker) it's dirt cheap. I buy flour and yeast in bulk and it costs bugger all per loaf.

You could maybe argue bread isn't healthy because it's technically a processed food (flour, carbs, etc.), but as others have pointed out moderation is key.
- My reply to the the whole thread would be bread/sourdough. Healthy might be pushing it, but a whole grain, hard wheat (bread flour) at least has a bit more protein. Plus I usually add eithe a bit of olive oil to the dough (good fat) and brush the top with butter (extra taste).
  
  I’d put steel cut oats in this boat too, with a bit of honey to sweeten.

I have a feeling that the answer to this might be anything that you can grow from seeds. So, fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, grains, etc. then, like tomatoes or snow peas or apples or wheatberries. The thing is that these all take time to transform from seed to fruit, so if you include time in your constraint space these don't work. But you didn't so here you go :D

Beans! Especially stew with them, you can throw in pretty much anything (veggies, meat, adjust your spice levels...) and once you learn the correct balance it's very tasty and filling.

Fuck yeah. I'm lazy as fuck so I buy cheap canned beans of all kinds. They're so versatile! Full of protein and carbs and vitamins and minerals and fibre. Science shows people who eat beans live longer and have fewer health issues. You can make baked potatoes, stew, curry, chilli, burritos, nachos, refried beans, bean salad (with or without pasta and tuna).
- Baked potatoes with beans? What, as a filling?
Spanish black beans with all the sazon is one of the best things on earth.

Roasted broccoli from the freezer

Herb Chicken on the stovetop

Lemon vinaigrette with garlic (pour it on the chicken and toss the broccoli in it)

Herbed rice, or rice steamed with coriander

Granita (frozen fruit juice and sugar, stirred occasionally for a icy creamy texture, or do coffee and sugar)

All of these work independently, or together they are wonderful.

Eggs.

Tinned tuna. Inexpensive, high in protein and fish oils, low in fat and calories.

Probably not great in huge quantities because of iodine, but generally very healthy

The Instant Pot or equivalent is the best invention for this. Throw in whatever ingredients (beans, veg) were previously too much hassle to cook. Add water, press button, wait for beep, open pot, eat. Well better find some recipes first, but it's almost that simple.

Here's a favorite of mine: 1 cup dry beans, 1/2 cup tomato powder (yes that is a thing), 2 cups water, cook on high pressure for 35 minutes, stir in a can of corn kernels from trader joe. Done and delicious and nourishing, due to the protein combination from the corn and beans mixing. Or use rice instead of corn, except that's more hassle since it's best to make that separately.

Edit: here is another one, oatmeal, old fashioned style that's like $1 a pound at Costco. Takes 30 minutes on a stovetop or 4 minutes in the Instant Pot. Biggest hassle is cleaning the instant pot afterwards, since the oatmeal sticks to the sides.

Eggs.

I heard that tacos are actually quite good for you, and I assume they could be if you get proper ones with lots of veg and natural ingredients rather than going to Taco Bell or some other fast food place and getting processed defrosted junk.

Source: Dr Karan on Youtube (yes, Youtube doctor, but he's British, so I trust him)

Honestly, I think most food can be found pretty cheap, except for proteins. The best bet I think is chicken drumsticks, but even those will add up. Beans are a cheap protein, but it's about just as carby as it is proteiny.

Most fruit that’s in season would cover all three.

Berries are the tastiest fruit, strawberries are unrivaled. Maybe a sweet mandarine could come close.
- Let me tell you about mangoes. Not necessarily the cheapest depending on area but if you’re in the right area and season you can get a box for almost nothing.
  
  I do love a good blueberry though.
- Strawberries are good but blueberries are amazing imo
(Almost) All fruit is disgusting to me. Can't do it.

imo it really depends on what you mean by "healthy", healthfulness is mostly found in the balance and portioning

I think this may depend on where you live or are at the moment and what you consider cheap. I am in Mexico right now and start my days with fresh fruit salads, maybe with some yogurt and musli. With my West European economy it's really cheap.

Extremely easy, you put carrots potatoes peas salt and a few garlic cloves, and a bay leaf to simmer, drain all, mush the garlic in olive oil and use it as dressing you got a surprisingly delicious healthy and cheap dish. Another great combination comes from cauliflower potato a pinch of garlic some strong cheese pepper salt butter and lemon juice, this combo has all the cheesy taste profile of a fondue without all the calories. Last eggplant and pistachio pesto (pistachio oil basil and pecorino or any other strong cheese) is like the most delicious combo and cheap ish too, it makes for an amazing base for sandwiches!

Thanks, saving this for later ?

Carters' peanuts :)

Nutritious is very relative to industrialized food production. The most nutritious natural products are perceived as wild and are not objects of agriculture. Basically the objects of agriculture were selected on the ease of reproduction, not their nutritious value, or their cost. It just so happened that those that were easy to plant and grow were the leanest in quantity and complexity of nutrients. Many of the most nutritious seeds, fruits, and vegetables are becoming extinct with the elimination of natural forests. Planted forests would take thousands of years to stabilize as ecosystems (if ever) and be concidered sustainable food sources.

Cheap means the industry hasn't been able to monopolize, but labor is very exploitable (see bannana republics, tea and coffee plantations). It also means the quantities produced have saturated the markets and the product is in abundance (wheat, corn, soy,..).

Delicious ... only N.Europeans (and their N.Am. Oceania descendants) would consider eating a single element alone and judge it by taste. The rest of the world eat what they can get, spice it up, mix it, and make taste a final product of a mixture of things with a labor intensive process of preparing it. The dairy industry (waste of nutritients and exponentially waste of land use) and the sugar industry (it should have been banned under substance abuse addictive product that is a health hazzard as well) have blurred what "delicious" really means. Take as an example banana split ice cream, there is little nutritious value, if not harmful as a whole, made of three industrial products that maximize labor exploitation. If it wasn't for capitalism nobody in their right mind would have come up with this one. It only exists because of capitalism.

Nutrition has been a dead end disaster since its early days of being industrialized.

literally any bagel sandwich, unless the cost of eggs or ham is still rlly high in your area. low effort, immaculate.

I'm pretty sure bagels are terrible for you. The delicous ones anyway.

Okay maybe not terrible but definitely not healthy due to the high sugar content.
- strongly depends on your energy output. If you're an endurance athlete or even just exercise with greater than moderate intensity on the reg, it's healthy fuel for the furnace
  
  If you're a sedentary blob flirting with type II diabetes, it's poison

Broccoli

but it's deadly! lol

Okra, it's easy to grow. Bugs and squirrels don't seem to bother it. Frozen isn't too expensive

Not sure I'd class this as delicious.
- You're not into mucousy vegetables?

🥑
I think a ripe avocado can be a good meal by itself, it has healthy fat, vitamins & fiber.
One avocado as a meal is cheaper than alot of other options.

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/avocados/

It's so awesome with a bit of kala namak on it. Mjam!
Slice up, throw a little lime juice and salts on it, or some takin, and you’ve got a fantastic lunch.

I used to get made fun of as a kid (a very long time ago, I’m old) for having avocado sandwiches for lunch at school.
Terrible for the environment though
- Why?

humus

Only truly cheap if you make it yourself. That's why I commented below on the missing item of "effort".
- granted

I think its like your trinity because if its healthy and delicious people want them. => Prices go up => It CANT be cheap.

That's also where i was coming from.

But then as people suggested, delicious is kind of subjective. Who is to say that a Michelin 3-star cloud dessert is more delicious than a piece of cold watermelon in summer?
- Eww bro I haven't seen RWJ since =3 and I was absolutely fine and content with that until I clicked your link

Try making a bean salad some time! It is cheap, tasty, and healthy.

I just buy a few cans: black, kidney, garbanzo, whatever. Some romaine lettuce, tomato, red onion maybe. Mexify it if you want with some shreddy cheese and sour cream, served with tortillas/doritos (not healthy obv). Or plain with an italian dressing or something.

It's basically impossible to fuck up, you can modify it however you want, it takes like five minutes to throw together, super cheap, totally fits all three categories. Try it some time!

Blueberries fresh off the bush. Tis the season.

Lentils

Peanuts and other nuts

Shred a rotisserie chicken, yellow rice with black beans and peas. Even healthier and cheaper is brown rice. For $20-$30 you can make days of meals and season each serving as pleases at the moment.

Tacos and burritos could absolutely meet this criteria If you're doing them well at home, with the most unhealthy thing being the tortilla itself (You could argue that those are empty calories). Of course that means no sour cream or cheap cheese abuse among other things

Sorry for my ignorance but what’s an “empty calorie”?
- Im not an expert but people argue that bread and esentially most products whose base is just flour aren't good. The reasoning is that those are carbohydrates that just add calories and nothing else (protein, vitamins etc...). So eating 200kcal of tuna is healthier than 200kcal of bread since those calories come with Proteins, phosphorus, omega 3 a bunch of vitamins etc. Whereas bread/tortillas are (basically) just carbohydrates which arent bad by themselves, but also arent good in excess
- Empty calories are calories that have no additional benefits like vitamins, fibre, protein, etc. For example, whiskey.
I've been replacing sour cream with plain full fat Greek yogurt. It's not as good, but in a burrito it is an as adequate substitute.

Also my sour cream would always go had before I finish it but I always have yogurt in the house so it solves that issue for me
< deleted. pls find info on fb/yt > ..

Fried soy beans with garlic. Tastes approx like potato chips, about the same price as beans, and decently nutritious. Just don't use too much salt or oil.

Look into fresh produce that you can eat raw. IMHO there's no nicer snack than a crisp crunchy carrot. They're cheap, and pretty much always available. Carry a mini peeler with you and you can just grab one from a store, peel it over a rubbish bin, and scoff it. :)

Everything from my garden!

Right now, lettuce, kale, dill, peas, strawberries, oregano... the lettuce is on its sixth year of re-seeding, same with the dill.

Dill & vinegar flavored kale chips are amazing.

Check out the Healthy Food community!

https://lemmy.world/c/healthyfood

Bananas (possibly depend on where you live).

I find brussel sprouts to be delicious when roasted in the oven with olive oil, salt, and pepper. They're fairly inexpensive at Costco, are great for you, and tasty. My mother used to make brussel sprouts out of cans or boiled when I was a kid and I thought for a long time that I hated them. Turns out I just was having them prepared wrong.

Purple asparagus! You can grow it and it grows in incredible quantity quite quickly. Then you can toss it in the air fryer each day for ten minutes with some seasonings and it's phenomenal.

I don‘t know about economics, but this is my entry to research:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0Xa7Dp3-eYA

And cucumber prices went up more than 50% for me in the last 2 years alone, so maybe you‘re onto something.

damn imma get some cucumber for myself
good price is hit or miss

Well-seasoned, air-fried chicken is super healthy and cheap.

Beetroot, chickpea salad

Many have hinted toward it but there is no natural food that meet all three needs. To achieve that you need to mix up several foods.

Rice, Potatoes, and chicken are extremely cheap and probably your best bet.

the three sisters are very nutritious. corn, beans, squash. add any spices you like, and a good oil (my faves are la tourangelle olive oil and their toasted seasame oil, sold on amazon and not expensive). salt and spices make all the difference.

Oh boy I've got one! Bonus, it ticks a 4th box - convenient!

Not sure where you're located and there are different brands, so you'll have to investigate for yourself. But the Tasty Bite brand microwaveable Indian pouches to me manage to hit each of these dimensions. They're cheap (-ish, I wanna say $4 per meal?), healthy (probably high in sodium, but if you look at the ingredients list it's all just food - not weird processed and/or synthetic crap), microwaveable and totally delicious. Granted, it's delicious for a microwaved meal...can't exactly compete with a properly prepared Indian dish. But it's easily the best microwaved food I've ever eaten.

And they're vegetarian and sometimes vegan so a small win on the critter ethics too! Can't recommend em enough unless you mean REAL cheap or you're used to eating home cooked Indian dishes on the regular.

there is this local dish from my country called Tempeh/ Tempe, it's basically fermented soybeans

I love to eat it fried because I'm picky eater, but I guess it's still healthier and create less carbon than meat

Buy raw material and cook yourself.

Most premade food is expensive because:

labor on cooking
restaurant profit
rent of the restaurant/owner of the place sell you food
service

A lot of my favorite vegetables can be found cheap in the freezer section. On sale I often get a pound of broccoli for a few bucks, which are delicious when roasted. You can toss them with a bit of garlic powder and throw straight from frozen onto a pan under the broiler.

My very Italian answer is "pizza bianca" . I guess "healthy" depends, but it's generally OK carbs, it's delicious and with few Euros you can buy quite a lot (enough for a lunch).

Yeah that's pretty Italian answer because no one else would consider pizza dough to be remotely healthy :D
- Really? This type doesn't have any cheese or topping in general on top. It's just a carbs meal with very low fat (basically just the oil), essentially, I don't think it's inherently unhealthy, and my internet search is all over the place with the results.
  
  But I am fully aware my knowledge about the topic is extremely limited.

I hope feijoada qualifies here. Black beans stewed with various pig parts (snout, ear, feet), served over rice.

Almost all traditional Italian food. Yes, I’m Italian.

Mac n cheese.

Ratatouille.

A lot of cuisine that is lauded all around the world embraces all three of those, or at least the original dishes they came from did. A lot of really fancy food today and in the last 50 years is just "peasant food". Sometimes just with fresher ingredients and more butter

I think falafel and pita with all the veggies and sauces might be something that fits the bill that you can find easily.

Popcorn is up there with low calorie snacks, not really a practical meal, but a good alternative to potato chips.

Peas with a dash of lemon juice and pinch of chilli flakes. Optional garlic.

Cabbage + brain damage

Honestly I don't think you'll find any one thing you can eat that will tick all of the boxes indefinitely, otherwise we would already be eating it!

With portion sizes controlled my easy vote would be an egg stir fry with low amounts of oil, a minimal sauce, and lots of in season veg.

Peanut butter with no additives, just mashed peanuts

By "food" do you mean a whole dish or a single product?

Where I live soy milk is extremely cheap. I make a lot of smoothies with soy milk, bananas, and spinach. Costs about .30€ a serving.

Yes but it's kind of a cheat... The food must be free somehow for one reason or another... This, in and of itself, makes it more delicious even if it was delectable to begin with. Also, obviously the healthy part is important first if it's important to you at all.

Pizza is pretty cheap in Italy, also Pasta.

Popcorn is very low calorie per volume, especially the types without a lot of fat.

Milk and Museli. But not by Kelloggs.

Kellogg was a kook anyway.

Eggs with salt. Boiled, scrambled, any style really

@nijntjefan I think curry would would fit this description. Assuming you make it yourself, the ingredients aren't expensive, especially if you opt for legumes instead of meat.

hmmm curry is delicious but i've never made it myself. It sounds like a lot of work to get the various spices.
- @nijntjefan Depends on the recipe. Some are more simpler and some are more complex. The good thing about the spices is that as buy them you slowly build up a reportoire that can be called upon when needed. The initial purchase is probably the most costly, but from then on, you don't need to replace them that frequently.
  
  If you're looking for a good recipe, here's a simple one from a book I like. The recipe is purposely made to be easy to make, so if you feel up to it, I'd recommend trying it out.
- Curry is my favorite dish. It's stupid easy to make, and you can create many variations. It tastes great with or without meat. Also I make all my curries with coconut milk, it's a key ingredient.
  
  For the spices you don't have to make it all by yourself, try to find a local/online store that sells different blends ?

I am making vegetarian lentil soup today.

Ingredients are cheap (you can add nearly any seasonal vegetables) and lentils can be grown locally (America, Europe, Asia, maybe elsewhere too) without too much environmental damage and dried lentils can be stored for long times, you do not need expensive spices and no industrial processed stuff.

Cooking it in a pressure cooker makes it energy effective and done very fast.

You can freeze it over longer periods, so you can make one big pot, but eat multiple times. It should stay perfectly fine for three month in a freezer* and we kept it for three days in a fridge just fine (could stay good longer but I haven't tried it).

And we love it.

If you plan to put it into a freezer do not salt it. Salt it when heating it up again.

Highly nutritious. Lentils are often overlooked, even though they're an inexpensive way of getting a wide variety of nutrients. For example, they're packed with B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, and potassium. Lentils are made up of more than 25% protein, which makes them an excellent meat alternative.

Why not salt it to taste before freezing?
- When in frozen food "salt loses flavour, and causes fat to go rancid more quickly". - source: my grandmother So depending on the food you put into the freezer much of its taste is gone anyway and it can harm the fat, especially if the food contains meat. Disclaimer: I am not a chemist or cook.

Jimmy joy/huel aren't super delicious, but def cheap and healthy!

I highly recommend checking out some of these recipes there are some great and cheap ones here.

Late to the party, but lately I've been addicted to microwavable broccoli florets (just the leafy part, not the stalks) covered in sharp cheddar cheese.

My brain has learned to think it's cheese fries. But it's broccoli.

beans

I should make some beans

Celeriac (celery root - you can also use zucchini instead) fritters. Shred celeriac, carrots, onions and peppers, mix with salt and let sit, then squeeze out the water using cheese cloth. Mix in an egg, a small handful of flour, roasted and/or black garlic and some pepper. Form into balls and deep fry until the outside is golden brown and crispy, then drain on a rack or paper towel (you can also form into patties and pan fry them, same flavor but missing the solidity and the crunchy shell).

Very cheap (it's basically just vegetables and an egg) and very low-calorie and IMHO much more delicious than french fries.

There is one more side to the quadrangle "time" unless you include that in cost. If you get cheap ingredients that are healthy and you take the time you can make delicious often the money is to save time or skill.

My two go-to meals that can basically "clean out the fridge" (i.e. use whatever i've got and still be great) are burritos and stir fry

Yes, yes there are foods that are cheap, delicious and healthy. Sorry this will be a long post, many things to cover!

First I have to say, what I regard as healthy for me personally is generally Keto friendly foods. This is because, for an unknown, diagnosed (not for the lack of trying) reason I have muscle and joint pains that go away if I get to a very low carb intake such that it has an anti-inflammatory effect. Other than working around the reason I have pain, it also remove redness of Seborrheic dermatitis which I have. For me it also reduces quite a bit, but not stops dandruff. It has other health benifits as well, it is not a cure all, I've never said it has cured any of the symptoms above, just reduce or remove the symptoms. For me the symptoms come back when I eat carbs, even if I stay away from sugar. Well it can cure some things like fatty liver or insulin insensitivity. But its not a cure all, again my symptoms (except I was insulin sensitive which is cured) are not cured, but it does work in a palliative manner.

Keto doesn't work for everyone. Well if losing weight is a goal, and then you actually do a keto diet, it will work. People who say it doesn't work for losing weight are either knowingly (lying to them selves) or more often unknowingly eating carbs they don't count. Also by count I don't mean actually keeping track of, because literally counting carbs, nope, I don't believe in that. Too much work, and doesn't give a benefit over adhering to just what ingredients you can use.

What I actually meant for keto doesn't work for everyone, I mean work as in being healthy. It should work for the vast majority of people. But example my wife, she has Ulcerative Colitis, pre-diabetes, and she is underweight. Ulcerative Colitis in regards to keto mainly makes it so certain types of fiber is not good for her. And being slightly medically underweight, she can't eat enough, she needs the carbs. For Diabetes type 2 keto diet is super effective at palliative helping, especially if it's just pre-diabetes. But alas, she can't hit her calorie needs without carbs.

Before talking about the foods, I wan't to mention that Keto diet goes very well together with intermittent fasting. This is mainly due to how the liver works. Making ketons! Keton's isn't mumbo jumbo, simplified its what your liver makes when breaking down fat. Ketons is a very good fuel source for your body. If break down fat, you get much more energy than if eat carbs. So you want to stay in ketosis for more of the 24 hour day, than is easy without intermittent fasting. Ketosis is just when you produce ketons. So to get there, very grossly simplified, fast, don't eat carbs or eat very low amounts, and eat lots of healthy fats. Again grossly simplified, eat almost any fats, but not trans-satiated fats, those are poison to you anyway. When it comes to proteins, I just try to eat lots, and if I get a tummy ache due to eating too much proteins, then I eat less proteins. I don't worry so much about eating enough proteins if I don't workout. I lied above, by omission. I eat lots of carbs, because there are some carbs I don't count. By count I mean I don't regard them as being calories. What calories do I not count then? Mostly vegetables! Some veggies I do count though, like potatoes.

I need to have a short paragraph about eating fats. Its super important in a keto diet. Fat makes you feel satiated. It is no surprise since fats are much more energy dense than carbs including sugar. Feeling satiated is hormonal. Your body does send out hormones, or inhibit hormones, and Ghrelin hormone makes you feel hungry, and Ghrelin production is suppressed when you are digesting fats. Terms to google in regards to this is "fat adapted" which means that the body can more easily use fat as a fuel source throughout the day. And "insulin resistance", not directly related, but very important.

One more thing, when cutting out sweets, everything else starts tasting much better. Everything that has a hint of sweetness gets amplified. Even cold brew coffee. I often cold brew at home, and then heat it (pour some concentrated cold brew in a cup and add hot water), and its so sweet I almost dream about it.

Lastly, and shortly. What supplements do I recommend? Generally assuming you don't have any deficits due to your diet. If I want to eat as much protein as I can tolerate (like because of working out) then whey protein, without added sugar is great! Creatine is also great I could write 3 paragraphs about creatine, and lastly(assuming you get enough vitamins, minerals, and omega3) I also recommend, psyllium husk. Psyllium husk is a great source of amazing fiber, and it really helps me stabilize my gut. Especially together with a keto diet, I go from having close to IBS to feeling like I got a very healthy gut.

Next the foods: I'll reply to my own comment because there is a character limit

Thanks for the long write-up. Not sure entirely if it is on the topic, but I guess someone might find your tips on keto useful
- What a nice way of saying "thanks, I guess..." Lol.

Finally foods:

Eggs: A versatile and inexpensive source of protein and healthy fats.
Chicken: Particularly chicken thighs or drumsticks with the skin on for added fat.
Ground beef: Look for higher fat percentages, such as 80% lean or higher.
Canned tuna or salmon: Good sources of protein and omega-3 fatty acids.
Butter: A staple for cooking and adding healthy fats to meals.
Olive oil: A heart-healthy oil for cooking and dressing salads.
Coconut oil: A high-fat oil that can be used in cooking, baking, and bulletproof coffee.
Avocado: Packed with healthy fats and fiber.
Spinach: A nutrient-dense leafy green that can be used in salads or cooked dishes.
Cauliflower: A versatile low-carb vegetable that can be used as a rice substitute or mashed like potatoes.
Broccoli: Another low-carb vegetable with numerous health benefits.
Cabbage: Inexpensive and can be used in stir-fries, slaws, or soups.
Cheese: Varieties like cheddar, mozzarella, or cream cheese can add flavor and healthy fats.
Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, and peanuts are keto-friendly and make for great snacks.
Seeds: Flaxseeds, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds are all low in carbs and high in nutrients.
Heavy cream: Can be used in coffee, tea, or as a base for creamy sauces.
Greek yogurt: Opt for full-fat versions with no added sugars.
Spices and herbs: Add flavor to your meals without adding carbs or calories.

What to avoid:

Grains: Wheat, rice, oats, corn, barley, and any products made from them (bread, pasta, cereals, etc.).
Sugars: White sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, and other high-sugar sweeteners.
Fruits: While fruits are generally healthy, they can be high in natural sugars. Limit or avoid high-sugar fruits such as bananas, grapes, mangoes, and dried fruits.
Starchy vegetables: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and other root vegetables are higher in carbohydrates and should be limited.
Legumes: Beans, lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes are relatively high in carbs and may interfere with ketosis.
Sugary beverages: Soda, fruit juices, sweetened tea, energy drinks, and other sugary beverages should be avoided.
Low-fat or fat-free products: These often have added sugars to compensate for the reduced fat content. Opt for full-fat versions instead.
Processed foods: Packaged snacks, pre-made meals, and processed meats can contain hidden sugars, unhealthy fats, and additives. Read labels carefully.
High-carb condiments: Ketchup, barbecue sauce, sweet dressings, and most commercially prepared sauces often contain added sugars.
Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages, especially beer and sweet cocktails, are typically high in carbs and can inhibit ketosis.

If I for any reason lost you on alcohol... What about reducing alcohol to a more sustainable amount?

Here are some Dishes you can google a recipe for if you want some inspiration (keep in mind its not keto friendly if you start adding ingredients that are not keto friendly hehe)

Bacon and Egg Breakfast Muffins
Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Zucchini Noodles with Pesto Sauce
Baked Salmon with Lemon and Dill
Chicken Stir-Fry with Broccoli and Mushrooms
Avocado Stuffed with Tuna Salad
Greek Salad with Feta Cheese and Olives
Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast
Steak with Garlic Butter
Cauliflower Fried Rice with Shrimp
Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps
Zucchini Lasagna with Ground Beef
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
Creamy Broccoli Soup with Cheese
Sautéed Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Baked Parmesan Crusted Salmon
Taco Stuffed Avocados
Cabbage and Sausage Skillet
Keto-friendly Smoothies with Spinach, Avocado, and Coconut Milk

I suggest learning to make a great salad! I hated salads and veggies, until I had several good once after I had been an adult for a good while. Another thing about salads, is that I didn't feel so satisfied without meet before. I learned now it is because the hormones that make you feel satiated are produced in abundance when you eat and digest fats, but I am not a vegetarian, so I love adding lots of meat to my salad, or having salad as a side with the meat. I also love putting cheese on my salad, its fatty and taste good.

I love eating wraps, the wraps are not keto friendly them selves, but I do love me a good wrap. Corn wraps are slightly better, due to (google this term) "The glycemic index (GI)". But I did find keto friendly wraps that almost tasted like wheat wraps made from beans and lentils. I haven't found them again sadly.

I want to write more, but better stop...

Air-popped Popcorn

(The 'healthy' aspect is the fiber)

As a child of the 80's during the "air popped popcorn is the solution to all your weight loss problems" I strenuously disagree with the notion that air-popped popcorn fits the "delicious" criteria of this question.

How is rice healthy? It's just something to keep me full.

Ground beef and eggs are about the most nutrition packed and inexpensive foods around.

We have a type of French toast. Old stale bread, milk, egg, sugar (and cinnamon) that's it. Simple, cheap and very tasty.

I'm not gonna say it's unhealthy, but I also would say that it's far from being healthy.

Jimmy Joy. Cheap (under 2 euros per meal), delicious and you can't really get any more nutritious than that. It has all the recommended nutrients in one go.

is this an ad? :/
- Lol, no. I can see why you would think that, but I am genuinely enthusiastic about it. I just had one for lunch actually :D and I just recommend it to people whenever I have the chance. It's like astronaut food. You mix the powder with water and you're done for the next 4-6 hours. It's not for everyone though. I've met people who try it and don't feel full, and need to eat again shortly after. Also, they have way too many products and I just use the vanilla high-protein powder. But this was just an advice from one human to another :)
I don't see my country on their shipping list at all.
- Different countries have different alternatives. The concept is 'powdered meal replacement '
+1, jimmy joy is great

Ground beef

Sustainable eating is cheaper and healthier - Oxford study

Thanks but I'll pass on food advice from the UK /s
- Always remember - the flavor of their food and the beauty of their women led Britain to be the greatest seafaring nation in the world.
Huh, interesting, that page says that vegan diets "reduced food costs by up to one third [emphasis mine]", which I guess is nothing to scoff at but on the other hand doesn't seem that large; I would have expected the relative cost of including meat in your diet to increase food costs by much more given how resource-intensive it is to produce meat compared to producing vegetables.
- The prices of animal products are kept artificially low by subsidies and don't reflex the real world cost.
The article appears to be motivated by promoting a book written by someone, i don't think a book sales article is representative of scientific practices and impartiality in science