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
    26·
    2 years 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
    16·
    2 years 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
    13·
    2 years 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.

    • bitcrafter@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      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!)

    • nijntjefan@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      0·
      2 years 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.

  • Chobbes@lemmy.worldEnglish
    101·
    2 years 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
      3·
      2 years 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.

  • derelict@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    2 years ago

    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.’

  • Resonosity@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6·
    2 years 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

  • UltraHamster64@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    2 years ago

    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

    • nijntjefan@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      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.

      • redonyo@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        1·
        2 years ago

        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.

    • vividspecter@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 years ago

      I’m a big fan of these cooked in an air fryer. Usually a bit cheaper than black beans as well in my area, although I prefer the latter on balance.

      • yippeekyay@lemmy.worldEnglish
        01·
        2 years ago

        just make sure you keep the smoke extractor on for an extra 15-20 min after turning off the air fryer to get all the carcinogenic particles out of your kitchen.

          • yippeekyay@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            2 years ago

            There was a paper somewhere that shows the high temperature cooking method would result in release of acrylamide? I don’t remember the exact chemical it talked about but the gist is that the person eating the air-fried food aren’t as susceptible to the carcinogens than the person cooking the food because the particles got pushed out the fryer very rapidly.

      • pejosnic@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        2 years ago

        I know right? I use canned chickpeas and an air fryer. I sprinkle a bit of salt, pepper and paprika on them, sometimes a little bit of olive oil. Now that’s a good healthy snack!

      • pejosnic@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        2 years ago

        I should start making hummus again. I love the stuff, but I got bored after eating so much a few month ago.

  • PaxSapien@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    2 years ago

    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):

    1. Apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries when they are on sale
    2. Milk, yogurt
    3. Pork shoulder, chicken quarters, thighs, drumsticks
    4. ground pork, ground beef
    5. Carrots, broccoli, potatoes, cabbage (you’ll be surprised at how good thinly sliced cabbages taste in a sandwich)
    • fluxion@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      Cabbage sandwich? Is there some special prep to it? Seems like it would be super bland

      • Reoru@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        2 years ago

        Spice it up with sriracha mayo on toasted bread. salt, pepper and a sprinkle of msg on tomato slices and add simple pickled pink onions. Slice the cabbage into very thin strips and assemble. It’s my favourite sandwich.

        Pickled onions: Red onions, sliced thinly, Boil 50/50 water and vinegar, add salt to the solution and optionally a bay leaf or other aromatics to create the brine. Put sliced onions in a jar and fill the jar with the brine, put it in the fridge after cooling down and wait a night for the sharp oniony taste to disappear.

  • OasisStorm@kbin.social
    5·
    2 years ago

    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.