Weight Loss and Depression

I sometimes (free) download healthy recipes (as PDFs) from the BBC Food website - I then have the recipe ingredients and quantities required to refer to on my smartphone in the supermarket and I can remind myself in the kitchen of what recipe step cones next in the process of making a dish.

Another reasonably priced way to learn, at your own pace, about cookery is to borrow a range of books from your local Library.  In case travel is a barrier; it is worth knowing that many of the recipe books at Libraries are now also available as eBooks via an app connected to your Library.  I hadn't realised that until recently - and I have found that more cost effective than physically travelling to our Library.

If I am going grocery shopping at a Town supermarket; I sometimes also check the book section of local charity shops for (now more affordable) hardback cookery books with step-by-step pictures - not just pages and pages of written instructions.  I found a "Good Housekeeping" large, reasonably priced cookery book in a charity shop (where you money is doing some good too).

One of the best kitchen items I bought to help with simple, nutritious, healthy, budget-friendly meals was a small litres-sized electric slow cooker.  They are energy efficient too - often not that different to running a lightbulb.  Not so much "cookery" as "assemble and chop ingredients", put it in, switch it on, come back later.

You e.g. chop up plenty of different vegetables / chicken legs etc., weigh out some dried lentils, add tinned chopped tomatoes, sufficient water, maybe some dried mixed herbs and a stock cube and switch it on for the number of hours in the machine's guidance booklet ...and later on enjoy your meal.

I regularly use my slow cooker to make e.g. soups, stews, curries, lentil or yellow split pea dal, chill con carne (or vegetarian chilli), beef mince or red lentil Bolognese sauce to serve with pasta, etc.

Robert Dyas (£10) or Argos (£15) often have a small sized, reasonably priced, slow cooker.  Our Salvation Army charity shop will also sometimes has a good condition and electrically inspected slow cooker for sale.

Sometimes I make a double quantity of an easy recipe I like and then divide the extra portions into useful amounts and freeze ahead for use another week.  Even better if the main vegetables in the recipe are in season at the moment - better quality, lower price, plus eating what is good that month naturally helps to bring a variety of nutrients to your diet.

I tend to put single or two-person portions in the freezer.  Many recipes using a slow cooker work well as freeze ahead meals (as long as the meat ingredient has not previously been frozen before - you can check the package to see if it has the snowflake symbol suggesting it is suitable to freeze at home).

I am a fan of a main meal plan for the week ahead (not every meal and snack, just your biggest meal of the day).  That way I can work out e.g. first portion of vegetable and tomato curry served with freshly cooked brown rice on one day, followed by the other portion two days later (plan once, shop once, cook 4 portions at the sane time, wash up once, eat two portions in that same week, put two portions in the freezer for an easy meal in two future weeks).

I sometimes (free) download healthy recipes (as PDFs) from the BBC Food website - I then have the recipe ingredients and quantities required to refer to on my smartphone in the supermarket and I can remind myself in the kitchen of what recipe step cones next in the process of making a dish.

Another reasonably priced way to learn, at your own pace, about cookery is to borrow a range of books from your local Library.  In case travel is a barrier; it is worth knowing that many of the recipe books at Libraries are now also available as eBooks via an app connected to your Library.  I hadn't realised that until recently - and I have found that more cost effective than physically travelling to our Library.

If I am going grocery shopping at a Town supermarket; I sometimes also check the book section of local charity shops for (now more affordable) hardback cookery books with step-by-step pictures - not just pages and pages of written instructions.  I found a "Good Housekeeping" large, reasonably priced cookery book in a charity shop (where you money is doing some good too).

One of the best kitchen items I bought to help with simple, nutritious, healthy, budget-friendly meals was a small litres-sized electric slow cooker.  They are energy efficient too - often not that different to running a lightbulb.  Not so much "cookery" as "assemble and chop ingredients", put it in, switch it on, come back later.

You e.g. chop up plenty of different vegetables / chicken legs etc., weigh out some dried lentils, add tinned chopped tomatoes, sufficient water, maybe some dried mixed herbs and a stock cube and switch it on for the number of hours in the machine's guidance booklet ...and later on enjoy your meal.

I regularly use my slow cooker to make e.g. soups, stews, curries, lentil or yellow split pea dal, chill con carne (or vegetarian chilli), beef mince or red lentil Bolognese sauce to serve with pasta, etc.

Robert Dyas (£10) or Argos (£15) often have a small sized, reasonably priced, slow cooker.  Our Salvation Army charity shop will also sometimes has a good condition and electrically inspected slow cooker for sale.

Sometimes I make a double quantity of an easy recipe I like and then divide the extra portions into useful amounts and freeze ahead for use another week.  Even better if the main vegetables in the recipe are in season at the moment - better quality, lower price, plus eating what is good that month naturally helps to bring a variety of nutrients to your diet.

I tend to put single or two-person portions in the freezer.  Many recipes using a slow cooker work well as freeze ahead meals (as long as the meat ingredient has not previously been frozen before - you can check the package to see if it has the snowflake symbol suggesting it is suitable to freeze at home).

I am a fan of a main meal plan for the week ahead (not every meal and snack, just your biggest meal of the day).  That way I can work out e.g. first portion of vegetable and tomato curry served with freshly cooked brown rice on one day, followed by the other portion two days later (plan once, shop once, cook 4 portions at the sane time, wash up once, eat two portions in that same week, put two portions in the freezer for an easy meal in two future weeks).