No money January-healthy meal ideas

[Coldinthishouse]

Same for a few of us I expect, January is a lean month and a long month!
i want to incorporate more fruit and veg, but that often costs more.
Any easy, healthy and cheaper dinner ideas?

Two adults, one Dc and a ddog (her food is sorted though 🤣)

Stir fry
Chilli
Spaghetti Bolognaise
Pasta
Veggie curry

Frozen and tinned fruit and veg are lots cheaper, less likely to lead to waste and just as healthy

Seasonal veg - carrots and cabbage - cooked or raw in a coleslaw - usually the cheapest - so jacket pots with a cheesy coleslaw is lovely and cheap, eggs and chips , veggy based chilli with extra beans or chick peas , halomi burgers with that coleslaw again

If you can manage one treat dinner a week ( meat if that's your thing) to stop it feeling a real drag

Daal loads of variations
Veggie meals ( possibly vegan) is eat cheaper than meat
Soups
Eating what's in season
You can freeze lots of things so check yellow stickers for bargains
Olio ( depending on your area , think pretty wary of other peoples hygiene standards)
Too good to go is a waste. Imo

Lots of carrots and mushrooms (cheap)

Frozen green beans work as a side dish with almost anything and are quick and cheap

If you make a soup add turnips and potatoes (and carrots if appropriate to the recipe) to bulk out more expensive ingredients, also onions for flavour

Eat whatever’s in season

Apple compote is a lovely breakfast, dessert or snack and can be served warm

Shop from your cupboards and freezer…so go look and make meal plans
jacket potatoes
breakfast for dinner
soup.
i made 4 portions of soup this morning probably cost a pound.

I made a roasted cauliflower soup the other day. Really cheap in terms of ingredients and was really delicious

Yes. Shopping from my cupboards and freezer is what I'm doing. I'm determined to use up everything this month, no matter how unappealing it looks or how long it has been there. (As long as it hasn't gone off, obviously.) I'm the person who bought it, after all, so I must have wanted it/fancied eating it at the time.

I think flavour is the key. Use lots of herbs & spices with cheaper ingredients like vegetables, rice & pasta. Traybakes with lots of veg & potatoes or rice are good & you can make a little chicken go a long way. Buy cheaper cuts of meat & slow cook them with vegetables to batch cook multiple meals. I do Jane's Patisserie's chicken fajita tray bake but add extra vegetables & it makes enough for dinner for 3/4 & a couple of portions for lunches at work. Definitely work out when your local shops mark stuff down & try to stock up the freezer with bargains. My daughter got some ready meals for 27p just before Xmas! Also, frozen fruits are often much cheaper than fresh & you never have wastage - I try to always have them in the freezer now to have with some yogurt & bran flakes for breakfast.