Does anyone know any sustainable, healthy and easy to prepare meals? What I really need is something that will provide me with all the nutrients and minerals I need to live a healthy lifestyle but that will not cost me a fortune. I'm looking for individual recipes, links to sites with said recipes or even book recommendations.

Its simple really - just make sure you buy fresh (veg, salad) have lean meats (turkey chicken etc) and go for healthy carbs (new potatoes, wholemeal rice / pasta)

Make sure your plate is mainly salad or veg - protein and carbs should be served in smaller portions...

From above ingredients you can make almost anything - curries, stir-fry's, cassroles, pasta bakes, veggie chilli, and even roast dinners!!!

For actual recipe's - try Google!!!

Cook your own healthy dishes and freeze them ready for use.
It's easy enough then to quickly cook vegetables.

Eggs, more eggs, fatty meat (usually the cheaper cuts), fish, and dairy. All reasonably cheap, easy to prepare and contain all the nutrients you need. The protein and fat will keep you full and you won't need so much food. There is no such thing as a 'healthy' carb.

And fatty meat is nurtritional is it?

There is no need, even when dieting, to cut out any food groups!

Cutting out carbs isn't a healthy solution - potion control and coosing the 'most healthy' type is a good idea though. I go for one of the following with an evening meal: Wholemeal rice, wholemeal pasta, new potatoes or Jackets.

Some carbs release energy more slowly than others, making you feel fuller for longer. Sweet potato is another one of the 'better' carbs....

You can eat just about anything but best in small portions. And if you really really want striclty healthy cooked dishes the only way is to steam them.

All vegetables inc chilies , chicken, fish/seafoods, meat (cut in small pieces or sliced) all taste great when steamed & even better with an added touch of some seasoning inc lemon or lime juice.

Carbohydrate is not even a food group, it is empty calories that impacts on insulin production.
Fatty meat contains the right amount of protein and fat that the body needs. Carbs contain nothing. This slow release carb thing is just a gimmick, it all ends up as the same product, glucose, it just does the same damage but takes longer.

HM......... and the fatty meat ends up as ...? when it is metabolised at some stage it will also end up as sugar in your bloodstream to power your body !

Good luck with the advanced cardiovascular disease and kidney stones though.

Also, without complex carbs how are you going to get adequate amounts of fibre to get rid of the waste ? Welcome to bowel cancer too.....

OK; thanks for the multitude of replies everybody. I'm starting to get an idea of what I should be looking out for. I picked up some really interesting books on healthy eating and nutrition from the library today so I will collate the information and attempt to create a sustainable diet.

Don't know much about biology do you. Fats are metabolised into ketone bodies not glucose, and ketones are the preferred fuel for mitochondric cells. Glucose and insulin cause heart disease, ketones don't. Excess ketones, unlike glucose, are excreted not stored.

What is fibre for except for making poo for poo's sake and getting rid of waste indigestible materials that are of no use to the body. Protein and fat is efficiently used and there is no waste. Excess is excreted via the kidneys into the urine. Bowel cancer is caused by excessive fibre consumption and gluten.

Carbohydrates are the only 'foodstuff' that is stored.....as fat.

An Atkins zombie (I mean follower) I take it?

steam your food

Ketones in your urine are a result of your body's fat stores being broken down, when it goes into the equivalent of starvation mode. Hence ketones are often found in urine produced first thing in the morning or those dieting.
Fat from the fatty meat being digested is not broken down this way !
Also, any food stuff whether carb or not if containing excess calories will be stored as body fat.
Hm.......... seems your Biology isn't quite up to scratch either. Heart disease is caused by fatty build ups in the artery thus leading to a narrowing - the main culprit is cholesterol found in the largest amounts in fatty animal products.
An excess of refined carbs is more likely to lead to Type 2 Diabetes.

Please see this page for a further "biological" explanation regarding ketones. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketone_bodies

ALL types of fat are broken down into fatty acids and glycerol and the fatty acids and ketones used as fuel in the absence of carbs. Dietary fat included. Fat cannot be stored as fat, only carbs are stored as fat in the presence of insulin, fat does not stimulate an insulin response and hence if not used as fuel is not stored and is excreted. Excess protein, above the body's needs may be converted to a limited amount of glucose, this can be stored if it is not used immediately but this rarely happens. There are actually only 4 types of cells that need glucose so the body can easily do without dietary carbs.
The main constituent of arterial plaque is fibrin, red blood cells, calcium with SOME cholesterol. The cause of the heart disease is damage to the arteries by high levels of insulin or blood glucose, injury, high blood pressure, drugs or smoking, cholesterol is the repair agent. Ever wondered why there is no cholesterol build up in veins even though the same blood flows through them. Excess dietary carbs leads to excess insulin production and hence insulin resistance, that is diabetes 2 and its accompanying obesity, high blood pressure and cancers. 'Normal' eating is in excess.
Ah, Wikipedia, the fount of all incorrect wisdom, can't you do better than that. At 75, I have outlived all my compatriots and colleagues even some relatives who ate 'healthily' and ended up with diabetes, on statins, cancer or all 3. Killed by a combination of bad practice, bad drugs, and propaganda. Here endeth the lesson.

Yup and my great grandad lived 'till 82 despite smoking 50 a day... we all know an excecption to the rule!

I probably could do better than Wiki, but I thought I would dumb it down.

Anyway, I don't really want to spoil this thread, which was about asking for some healthy recipes, so I am not going to comment any further, and simply let people make up their own minds. And "no" this is not me bowing to your greater wisdom.......

Incidentally, anyone know the dictionary definition for "cantankerous" ?

Nonsense. It's the reverse.

Is there an alternative method to steaming that does not involve the use of an actual steamer - such a luxury is beyond my price range. Or at least a method that mimics the benefits presented by steaming.

You can put a little bit of water in the bottom of a pan and add your veg, when it starts to boil turn it down as otherwise you might end up evaporating all the water and burning your pan.

You can also wrap meat/fish veg in foil or greaseproof paper and cook it in the oven for approx 20 mins. This way they will steam in their own juices.

OR you can buy a cheap foldable steam insert for your saucepan.

yes! i meant a bamboo steamer rather than electronic anyway - they are about £3 and easier and cleaner to use than electric one anyway. ive had mine about 2 years, you just put your food in, stick it over a pan of boiling water and roberts your dads brother

the BBC website is really good for recipes

Thanks everybody, I will be sure to try out some of these cooking methods. I will also peruse the BBC website for healthy recipes.

You got it.

I have an expensive steamer but rarely use it as I also have a cheap plastic steamer from Betterware that I wouldn't be without! I steam all my veg in it and it tastes far better than boiling the hell out of it. I think it was about 5.99.

For healthy low fat recipes I use Rosemary Conley books, but she has a website with quite an extensive recipe section at www.rosemaryconley.com. Just click on the search button and input recipes. Loads to choose from