Is there a food that is cheap, delicious and healthy at the same time?
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)
- lentils
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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.
You know, thinking back, we should never have trusted that stupid infographic. It was a lie from the get go. It was a food triangle. This is a true pyramid.
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/
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.
With a multicooker dal is a pretty easy one pot meal, or at least basicish dal is