10 Healthy Recipes Using Store Cupboard or Frozen Ingredients

Due to the current situation we find ourselves in I thought it a good idea to put together a collection of my healthy and nutritious recipes that mainly use store cupboard and frozen ingredients. It is vital we all try to stay as healthy as possible in this trying time and help each other to get through it. Look after yourself and each other and provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to boost its immune system to help fight off infections and disease. I understand it might be difficult at the moment to get all the ingredients you might need, so whereever possible I will suggest a few alternatives to help keep the recipe viable.

I’ll start with a simple one. If you can’t get hold of tinned baked beans then make your own. I used butter beans, but any variety, including kidney, cannelini or borlotti, just to name a few, will work. Whatever you can get your hands on really. If tinned tomatoes are an issue, then use fresh and add a little water or stock to keep it moist. 

I love a bowl of kedgeree. It is so comforting, filling and nutritious. Any frozen fish fillets can be used to replace fresh, and you can swap the spinach for the frozen version. Carrots keep well in a cupboard for over a week, so make a great swap for leeks and then you can use frozen peas or sweetcorn instead of the mushrooms. It is important to try and keep a variety of vegetables in your diet, and frozen or tinned varieties can often be just as nutritious.

Firstly, fresh mango can easily be replaced with frozen. The same goes for spinach. Any variety of bean can be used in the rice and if you can’t get hold of rice, then try quinoa. 

This is an incredibly flexible and versatile dish. Firstly you can easily swap fresh tomatoes for tinned, just use 100ml less stock as they already contain some fluid. Frozen peas and sweetcorn both go well instead of mushrooms or peppers. You can add half a tin of beans, preferrably kidney, but any will do and use dried chilli flakes if you don’t have fresh. For protein it doesn’t need to be turkey. Chicken, chorizo or even minced beef would work well. If you don’t have rice, then try making it with quinoa instead.

This already uses a majority of frozen ingredients, so you don’t even need to adapt this one very much. Like carrot, cabbage is another vegetable that keeps well, so you could still use this or swap it for something frozen like spinach. Frozen peas and broad beans are usually readily available and make great nutritious additions to any meal.

Fresh cooked beetroot keeps well in the fridge for a while, so is another good nutritious vegetable to stock up on in these times. Dice them up and stir them through some cooked green or puy lentils. You can either cook your own, which takes more time, or use tinned or a sachet of pre-cooked ones if you can get your hands on them. Crumble in some blue cheese, or feta if you prefer, and sprinkle over some toasted nuts, I think pecans work best, but walnuts are also good and you have yourself an incredibly delicious and nutritious lunch.

Another adaptable recipe. Tinned pineapple can be used so long as its canned in juice and not syrup. Also, if you are struggling to get your hands on some of the ingredients, you could use something like tinned water chestnuts if you can find them. Mix up the protein source, chicken, bacon, prawns, tofu and turkey all work well.

Again a recipe that mainly uses readily available frozen vegetables. Frozen broccoli or spinach could be used as a substitute for the asparagus. Smoked fish generally has a longer shelf life than fresh, so will keep in your fridge for longer.

Green beans are another vegetable readily available frozen. If you don’t have them, then you could even swap them for half a tin of chickpeas. Dried fruits such as apricots, dates and raisins all work really well in Moroccan cooking, but just be aware they contain a higher amount of carbohydrate than the fresh variety, so don’t use much. A small handful, around 30-40g is an adequate portion. You could swap the couscous for quinoa, but just remember quinoa takes longer to cook, so add it to the pan with 15 minutes left to cook.

You don’t need to use smoked hake, you can use any white fish, smoked, frozen or fresh, whatever you’ve got. Also you could use normal potato if you prefer. Potatoes, both sweet and standard, keep well in a cupboard for a few weeks. If you can’t get hold of tinned tomatoes then use 200ml extra vegetable stock and add some frozen spinach or sweetcorn to the stew. If chickpeas are proving difficult to get your hands on, then swap them for red lentils.

In summery it is definitely still possible to stay healthy and eat a nutritious diet while having to rely more on frozen or store cupboard ingredients. Beans, chickpeas, lentils, barley and quinoa are all things you might not cook with normally, but can help to boost your protein and fibre intake. Frozen fruit and vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh, so stock up on these. Using nuts or dried fruit is another good option. Just remember, everyone around you are also in the same situation. We are all having to rely more on tinned and frozen ingredients just now, so only buy what you need. There is no need to hoard things as the apocalypse is not coming. Please do not waste food as there are lots of other people that need it too. If we work together and support each other there will be enough for everyone and we will get through this. I’ll be sharing some more healthy and suitable recipes over the next couple of weeks to keep your options open and provide you with a variety of meals. If you have any questions on ingredients I have suggested or your stuck for a substitution, then drop me a message and I will do my best to help.

Lets all look after each other just now.

Thank you for reading and speak soon.

Lora