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!

  • LoafyLemon@kbin.social
    33·
    1 year ago

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

    Subscribe for more onion facts. 🧅

  • GTac@lemmy.worldEnglish
    21·
    1 year ago

    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.

  • eduardm@lemmy.worldEnglish
    15·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • nijntjefan@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      1 year ago

      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.

    • lemonadebunny@lemmy.caEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Thank you so much for the share! I love chickpeas so I’ll definitely be adding this to my recipes :)

  • Chobbes@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    1 year ago

    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.

    • foggenbooty@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      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.

      • Chobbes@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        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.

  • Resonosity@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    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

    • Riskable@programming.devEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      Mmmm… Fresh Snow Peas. I used to grow them in the winter here in North Florida and my son (who was like 4-5 at the time) would sneak into my garden and eat them all. He would refuse to eat his vegetables at dinner then “go play outside” thinking he was getting away with murder 😁

      To be fair, they were fucking delicious. Far more sweet than store-bought or even fresh from a local farmers market. I have no idea why 🤷

      I should really start growing food again. I stopped like a decade ago when I lost the great stink bug war ☹️

      I live in a new house now with a much larger bird, snake, lizard, and frog army to defend the crops. I even have snail-eating-snail shock troops to deploy on a moments notice if need be. It might be time to lay out some war plans…

  • joneskind@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    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

    • Linuto@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      This is a really good writeup. At a glance, I’m guessing these three meals don’t collectively exceed 1,000 calories, which is important to note since OP will probably be very hungry.

      • joneskind@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        This is a really good writeup

        Thanks

        At a glance, I’m guessing these three meals don’t collectively exceed 1,000 calories

        Except for the breakfast, I didn’t specify the quantities. So I guess some could adapt those “recipes” to their needs.

      • nijntjefan@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        You know, there are a lot of answers around different varieties of beans. Beans are ok but I don’t really really have a craving for them. The olive oil spaghetti tho…

    • pineapplefriedrice@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      If it’s all the same to you a higher ratio of quinoa is preferable.

      Ramen is NOT healthy though my dude. Ramen with an egg on top is empty carbs in a bath of salt water and cholesterol, with very little nutritional integrity to speak of.

  • macrocephalic@lemmy.fmhy.mlEnglish
    6·
    1 year ago

    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.

      • macrocephalic@lemmy.fmhy.mlEnglish
        2·
        1 year ago

        I could eat for a week in what I’d costs to buy one McD meal. It’s wouldn’t be a very varied diet for the week but it would probably be healthier than the one McD meal.

      • hyper@lemmy.mlEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Not in Germany lol. A cheeseburger used to be 1€ now it’s at 2,29€ 💀. Cheeseburger menu costs 5,99€

    • Double_A@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      I wonder if they are actually that unhealthy. After all a burger is just meat, bread, and some veggies. Doesn’t seem that unbalanced.

      I assume the most unhealthy part there is the gallon of sugar soda that people also drink there ._.

      • ComeScoglio@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        1 year ago

        undefined> Kebab

        It’s all the additives to these otherwise quite wholesome ingredients that make them less healthy and not as nutritionally dense as they should be. McDonald’s burgers are not JUST meat, bread, and some veggies unfortunately.