With this era of increasing food prices and economical uncertainty, a lot of people are having harder times to make meals that are affordable and healthy. Unfortunately, many of them cannot keep the balance of affordable and healthy because most people think healthy food are more expensive. In “Easy Healthy Recipe Wednesday and Thursday”, we will show you recipes that are inexpensive, affordable and easy. Who says healthy food is expensive?

For every recipe in “Easy Healthy Recipe Wednesday and Thursday”, we would buy every ingredient in No Frills because they are a lot of No Frills in Toronto and the groceries in No Frills are affordable. (No Frills did not endorse me to do this).

Ok! Let’s talk about the recipe. Today, we will be making Baked Basa Fillet. We chose Basa because this fish is affordable and does not overcook easily. In addition, fish is a great source of many nutrients such as omega-3, is rich in protein and healthy fats and low in saturated fat and is heart-healthy and good for brain and eye development. This recipe is great for dinner. In addition, for every dinner dish that are introduced in “Easy Healthy Recipe Wednesday and Thursday”, we aim for $5 CAN per serving maximum. Here is the recipe and cost for each ingredient:

1 teaspoon avocado oil ($0.50 CAN)

1 cup cucumber, diced ($0.50 CAN)

0.5 cups onion, minced ($0.13 CAN)

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced ($0.03 CAN)

2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced ($1.0 CAN)

2 tablespoons thyme, leaves only ($0.50 CAN)

0.25 teaspoons salt and ground black pepper ($1.0 CAN)

4 unfrozen basa fillet ($5.51 CAN)

One-third cups feta cheese, crumbled ($1.50 CAN)

1) Preheat oven to 450F.

2) Heat avocado oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in cucumber, onion and garlic. Cook and stir for 5 minutes or until tender.

3) When mixture becomes tender, mix in tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper.

4) Cover baking dish with aluminum foil. Arrange basa fillet in single layers in baking dish. Spoon cucumber mixture over each fillet. Top with feta cheese.

5) Bake for 15 minutes or until fish is easily flaked with fork.

And there you are! So the total cost to make this dish is $10.67 CAN. That means it costs $2.67 CAN per serving. THIS IS VERY CHEAP AND MEETS WITH OUR $5 CAN MAXIMUM (See! Healthy food does not have to be expensive).

As to the dish, the sauce was very DELICIOUS and the fish was not overcooked. In addition, I smelled the thyme already when the fish came out from the oven. Moreover, the feta cheese not only added saltiness to the dish, but also added “creaminess” when the cheese was eaten together with the fish.

Do you have your favourite fish recipe? What is your favourite fish? Post your comments below. Till next time.

P.S. The prices were as of Tuesday, April 1, 2014 at No Frills.