Cheap,not ultra processed family meals-possible?

[Homeedhelp25]

Looking for some inspiration please. What evening meals/lunches can I cook for the whole family that are cheap, nutritious and not totally processed, also quick to prepare. Got to be suitable for adults as well as kids (including a weaning baby). Stuck in a rut and struggling with inspiration and lack of funds while on mat leave! Not huge meat lovers but can tolerate poultry. Fish is enjoyed as are pastas. Just really value health and nutrition but finances are tight so can't be too elaborate.is it possible we can eat well for little?
Ideas/shopping tips welcome.

I find the humble jacket spud is thoroughly underrated!
Big tray of roasted veggies with meat/fish, super quick and easy.
Savory pancakes are a hit with my kids and weaning baby.
Soup! Hit and miss with the kids though, I serve it with cheese on toast in case they won't touch it 😂

We often do a whole chicken with jacket potatoes and salad on the first day. Then the second day we will use Crosta and Mollica flatbread to do healthy wraps with the same chicken. Interested in more ideas too as we would like to reduce ultra-processed food too. It feels like a challenge to do in a way that isn't too expensive - I think I struggle with lunch and snacks for the little ones the most.

Dhal and rice ( my kids were weaned on this and reckon they will never starve because they can now make it themselves for pennies), tuna pasta bake using cream cheese, passata and herbs not Dolmio, mixed bean chilli using paprika, cumin and cinnamon not bought seasoning ( you can add chilli for adults)

Agree lunch and snacks are a upf nightmare in our house too

Bean chilli.

fry up carrot, celery, onion and red pepper (I chop up a sweet potato too to bulk it out)

add Whatever spice you like (cumin, smoked paprika, tumeric, chilli powder etc)

and then dump in 3 cans of mixed beans in tomato sauce.

Its lovely and thick and warming, the beans are full of goodness and it can be eaten with rice, in wraps, on jacket potatoes, with wedges etc.

I always do a big batch of it on a Sunday and then people can dip in to it throughout the week.

Mushroom & parmesan risotto... Actually most risotto
Cod and chorizo bean stew.... The recipe on BBC good food is nice. We use any frozen white fish. Served with crispy roast potatoes (chopped small in the air fryer for speed)

We eat a lot of pulse based tomatoey dishes e.g.

Lentil Bolognese
Bean chilli (we don't make it spicy, add some sweet potato)
Tacos with black beans and tomato salsa (homemade)
Burritos with homemade baked beans, cheese, avocado, rice
Minestrone soup

All quite cheap really.

We also do brunch type things for dinner, like savoury pancakes with spinach and egg, or a veggie cooked breakfast (egg, baked beans, tomato, mushroom etc with toast)

Agree with PP ideas.

Jacket potatoes with fillings & salad. 6 mins in the microwave and 15 in the oven. Yum.

Omelettes with various fillings.

Soup is souper easy 😉

Fillet of fish or chicken breast baked in foil in the oven and served with potatoes and veg and a bit of parsley sauce.

Bunchnof roasted mediterranean veg, serves sprinkled with cheese and some garlic bread.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/268002/sweet-potato-spinach-and-halloumi-curry/

This curry. You can skip chilli flakes completely and it’s more of a mild casserole. Then adults add spice using a chilli sauce or flakes at table in own portion.

It’s good because most ingredients are cupboard stores or frozen. And you can mix up according to what’s on offer similar ie it’s sweet potato, but I use butternut squash a lot, any other pumpkin, or regular potatoes also if needed. Frozen spinach is a good store basic and can be bought cheaply. You can also skip halloumi and it’s vegan. The chunks of sweet potato/ squash and chickpeas are easy for baby to pick up and eat.

add homemade roti and rice

Also eggs. Any way. Omlettes with whatever kids will eat added, frittata, scrambled eggs. They are good value and high protein and filling

I like the Tesco 5 for £25 menu, has been a game changer for us.

I do low / no UPF and low plastic packaging lunches for my DC for school. It's actually pretty straightforward.

Crosta wrap with filling eg hummus and veggies, tomato puree and cheese, or sliced meat (I do sometimes use shop bought hummus, and there are no upf meats out there)

Plain Greek yogurt (decanted) with fruit of some kind, frozen berries are cheaper

Homemade flapjacks (made with bananas and dates for sweetness) - make them once every 10 days

Veg crudites which don't always get eaten

If we're at home I might cook eggs, cheese on toast or soup instead of the wrap, or heat up leftovers.

My DC complain their lunchboxes are rubbish and healthy compared to their friends so I do give them crisps or biscuits in there sometimes!

We have soup a lot - pasta soups, hearty veg, lentil etc. always blitzed smooth for the little ones to eat, left chunky for us! Always with bread and cheese or oatcakes and cheese. Also have baked potatoes with beans and cheese, or roasted vegetables (broccoli and marmite - delicious!). We do ‘cheats lasagne’ - tear up lasagne sheets and cook them in the sauce rather than layering - it’s quicker. We also do tajines and things with cous cous/ rice. We’re big believers in cook once, eat twice, so always bulk out leftovers with roasted vegetables and a different carb or protein. I am so bad for reaching the frozen pizza when tired so we batch cook and freeze a lot so reaching for things in the freezer is easier. My favourite things to batch cook are - bolognese sauce, curry, soups, tajine, haricot bean casserole, sausage stew. I also mass chop and then freeze soffrito mix when I have time so when cooking on weekdays it’s sped up anyway! We love to cook and do so at weekends, but it’s hard weekdays when everyone is working and kids are tired and hungry as are you! Agree with pp’s I find lunch and snacks hard. We usually bake a snack at the weekend for the week ahead (flapjack, muffins, scones etc) but they only really last us til Thursday and then it’s quavers 😂🤦🏻‍♀️ you only do what you can!!!

We do a lot of two night dinners, typically big pies which can be reheated on night 2. Shepherds pie is a favourite - we use fresh mince (often pork as it’s cheaper) and a bag of cheapest supermarket frozen mixed veg with a mixed veg mash on top. We do a similar one with a tin of steak and pastry on top. Mince and dumplings, chicken traybake with lots of veg.

Meat, fish and vegetables.
Fish,home made chips, garden peas.
Homemade pizza, jacket potatoes, fish pie (make own sauce) pasta bolognaise (make own sauce)
shepherds pie.

Potentially stupid question alert but what do you do with the Crosta wraps for lunches? Do you still have to cook them or are they okay without being cooked?

Also love the sound of the flapjacks, do you have a recipe at all? No worries if not.

The info online Feed your family for £20 a week is worth taking a look at for low cost meals.

Homemade pizza is a huge winner in this house.

I make the dough in my lunch break (takes 5 mins ) and leave it to prove, then kids make the pizzas at dinner time.

Doing chicken chasseur tonight. Chicken breasts and garlic browned in olive oil. Then add mushroom, carrots and a pack of seasoning mix with tomato paste and water. Pop in oven for one hour.

Breakfast for dinner is a big hit around here. You could do mushrooms, tomatoes, eggs, etc. it's pretty inexpensive and easy to cater to different tastes by leaving off or including what they like/dislike.

Chicken casserole with homemade dumplings is a favourite in our house, packed with loads of root veg.

The kids seem to prefer veggie chilli to the meat version which is nice given the price of beef mince these days. I add different beans or veg depending on what we've got in.

Baked potato night is another favourite, I make a few different fillings (e.g. leftover chilli, grated cheese, tuna mayo, baked beans, salad) and let everyone help themselves to what they'd like.

We're having tuna pasta bake tonight. I don't know when we last bought a jar of pasta sauce, we make our own with passata/tinned tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs.

Couscous also underrated and great with chicken/ roasted veg/ seeds/ etc. Duck an easy fish.
We also do a stew at start of week or bolognaise and have it with jackets, then rice, then with mash or pasta etc. My DH makes a lentil soup on Sunday and makes fresh bread in breadmaker which is delicious.

Sicilian fish soup

Half a bag of diced frozen carrot/celery/onion mix in a pan with half a clove of diced garlic ( or garlic granules). Fry in oil untill soft.
Add a pint of veg or fish stock
Add 2 tins of chopped tomatoes and some herbs
Bring to the boil
Add a bag of frozen fish pie mix and cook until the fish is ready
Season

Serve with garlic bread

Also, since you like fish and pasta... Fish lasagne

Cook a bag of fish pie mix in milk and set aside
Use the milk to make a cheese sauce
Layer fish in dish, pour over sauce, layer lasagne, repeat
Grate cheese on top
Oven for 30min

Serve with green veg

Fish pie could work for you. Lots of recipes online but generally, poach some white fish or salmon (could use frozen fillets) in milk until slightly underdone. Use the milk to make a white sauce. Then gently mix the fish in (you can add frozen peas or similar veg if kids will tolerate) Put in a shallow baking dish and top with mashed potato, bake at 180C for 30 mins or until golden. Serve with whatever veg kids will eat.