Tesco Treasures

Tesco Treasures
2 years in UK and I was trying to prove to myself that I could sort HEALTHY recipes out of the shelves that wouldn’t hurt my pocket. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t plan on starving myself, its actually cheaper and easier to buy junk and ready to go. But I don’t like junk and ready to go. I like food that stares at you and the flavours are just jumping. Bloody ambitious isn’t it.
The thing with this challenge is that you sort of get the most basic one, its cheap and basic, its up to you to do the makeover. You gotta see the white swan in the ugly duck. Blimey.

So my Top 5 Tesco Treasures.

Tesco Lights Baked Beans - 25 pence per 150 gram small can. With its lower sugar content, low GI, its definitely a filler. I have it with wholemeal toast, then lay my half fat cheddar slice on it, and let my 2-minute microwaved beans melt the cheese on top. Topped off with drips of hot sauce to wake up my tastebuds.

Spices-Oregano,Basil,Parsey,Rosemary, Five Spice, Garam Masala. Nitrate. Sulphur. Oxalic. Lover’s Quarrel. Cold wars. Name it they have in this tiny cute little bottles that would make a battalion of a spice if made to stand in a line. I actually like investing in spices. It’s quite cheap at 50-80 pence a bottle.

Olive Oil- EVOO says Rachel Ray. Whether it’s a branded one or just the generic Tesco self-named one which its still a good buy from £1.80 for the goddess of oils.

Balsamic Vinegar – here I draw the line of my frugality. It’s my Achilles heel. I love proper Italian Balsamic Vinegar as it definitely takes roasted aubergine, roasted courgettes, and salads from commoners to Buckingham-goodness. You could get a decent one from £2 or less.

Basil Infused Tomato Sauce Packs – at 50 pence for a medium tetra pack, its not bad at all. It’s a good base for making Ratatouille or any red pasta, or any red sauce, or well you could have it as a soup. Liven it up with your spice rack, served with wholemeal toast dipped in Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. Then shave an invisible white truffle over it. There goes my Pobre Molto Mario Recipe. Who says you cant have gourmet below £1?

Brown Wholemeal Wheat Spagghetti – 80 pence per 500 grams. King of Bargains. Its carbs, its non perishable, but considering it’s made from durum, hence protein-packed it would have lower GI than bread, and it taste good with a nutty undertone. It cooks al dente, and its, say "one second thinner" than the usual spaghetti (pardon me for measuring it by seconds, my bestfriend back home influence this rascal mathematics)