How to make healthy meals with empty cupboards!

We’ve all been there – you’ve not been shopping and the cupboards are bare apart from a few odd ingredients that don’t seem to go well together.

It might be tempting to just ring for a takeaway instead, but if you have a few simple ingredients you can usually always make healthy meals with empty cupboards without too much effort.

Here I share with you a few tips with simple ingredients to help you make some healthy meals with empty cupboards to tide you over until pay day!

Dried Pasta

Pasta is one of the easiest things to turn into a quick and healthy meals with empty cupboards or almost empty cupboards. A simple tin of tomatoes and some vegetables can go a long way towards being a tasty meal (that’s usually totally Syn-free if you follow Slimming World!).

You could even create a healthy Carbonara-inspired dish. Traditional Carbonara is made with eggs and pasta water, so with some seasoning and some chicken or vegetables (whatever you have lying around), you could create a really healthy meal with empty cupboards.

Pasta is a great way to use up mushrooms past their best too as if they are slightly soft they still cook well. If you have anything like frozen spinach pop some of that in too.

A Hearty Salad

Have you ever noticed Instagram salads that are a collection of random vegetables, grains and legumes presented nicely?

Well, empty cupboard syndrome is the perfect time to try a healthy Instagram salad or even your own version of a Buddha bowl.

If you have a tin of chickpeas, pasta, some vegetables or even some rice then you’re onto a winner! What about making something a little like this burrito bowl? Salads and Buddha bowls are great because you can put whatever you fancy in them! This makes them the easiest healthy meals with empty cupboards and you just put together anything you have!

Omelettes

Eggs really are the saviour of an empty cupboard – they’re so versatile. You can throw almost anything inside an omelette to create a healthy dinner option. If you have leftover meat that can go in an omelette or perhaps a few veggies left over from Sunday dinner? If you are looking for healthy meals with empty cupboards just put whatever you can find in a pan and fry it a little then chuck it in an omelette!

If you’re really stuck then have a look in your freezer for any long-forgotten veg, and try adding paprika when you whisk the eggs to give the omelette more flavour. This way if you don’t have much in you can still manage some healthy meals with empty cupboards using odds and ends in the freezer.

Rice

Rice is something that all of us have in our cupboards and usually look past when we’re trying to invent dinner ideas.

One of the easiest ways to create something more unique is to oven-bake it.

Just add spices, and any vegetables or meat that you have lying around to some rice and water in an ovenproof dish to create a biriyani-inspired meal with leftovers.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a great dish to take inspiration from when you’re not sure what to make with fridge/cupboard scraps.

The original dish is a mixture of specific vegetables with a tomato sauce, but you can adapt it to use what you have.

You can throw together almost any vegetables you find, cook them down and then add some passata or tinned tomatoes (whatever you have) for a dish that’s hearty but healthy and might even be added to your regular menu in the future.

You can do it!

Having empty cupboards doesn’t mean that you can’t make a healthy meal, but it does require a little creativity to create a healthy and satisfying meal.

If you find yourself repeatedly struggling to make a meal from what’s left in your kitchen then ensuring that you have a few staples like tinned tomatoes, pasta, eggs, rice and frozen vegetables in stock at all times will help you always find something to create a healthy meal, rather than ordering a takeaway!

Do you have any other ideas of healthy meals with empty cupboards you can share? Let me know your favourites in the comments below.