Help me ditch processed items

[IWantSummer]

Have been coasting along using busy life as excuse for way too many processed foods!!
Need to reduce our spending and increase more wholesome meals. (not forgetting about the amt of packaging that comes with it)
Please share your meal plans/menus :) or any other helpful hints.

Baked potatoes, really cheap, filling and healthy. I make these a lot when on an economy drive!

this week we are having/had

1. shepherds pie - in the mince is mushrooms, onions and carrots to pack in the veggies and reduce the amount of mince i need to use, served with peas
2. omelette packed with mushrooms and cheese
3. vegetable casserole
4. Pasta Bolognaise (again packed with mushrooms, onions, and peppers) or maybe lasagne
5. Chicken with new potatoes and salad
6. jacket potato with lots of salad
7. homemade potato wedges with homemade pizza

i have bought mince in bulk this week and split it to make a couple of different meals. Also big bags of veg to do the same with. a couple of nights during the week we have something basic like jacket potato, omelette or beans on toast to save money over the week.

i also bake my own cakes, biscuits, quiches, pies etc as i find it cheaper and taste nicer than the supermarket brands

Huge pots of plain greek yoghurt have several uses:
for pudding with a squirt of honey/golden or maple syrup/jam/nutella, instead of individual pots
in fajitas instead of sour cream
on curry

and yes, to pizza from scratch - dead easy.

Spuds - bake or microwave whole, scoop out inners for mash and save the skins for, er, skins with cheese on top.

Buy a really fine cheese grater (microplane are good but ££) and you will be amazed at what a generous pile grated cheese can be achieved from a small piece of cheddar - to sprinkle on spuds etc.

Chippyminton.. I love that tip about fine grater - I noticed when I grated cheese we went through tonnes - hubby grates and uses the finer part and wow a small piece goes alot further, and we haven't got a flashy grater just basic Ikea one.
I think you should post that in best top tips!

Ohh sorry for 'hijack'.

Lots of people say cook double and freeze half - generally we find cook double and use as lunches next day.. does that help count as a tip ?!

stir fries. Anything can be chucked in with pasta too.

during hard time i bulk up casseroles, soups, stews etc with lots of lentils/split peas and other pulses....

i also buy a sack of potatoes between £3-5 depending on season...they last me 3 weeks but i only have me, dh and 1 left at home now x

also another fan of buying mince in bulk and seperating it in freezer... i also make huge pans of curries/ spag sauce/cottage pie filling and freeze 2 thirds.. xxx

Definitely cook double and freeze half. I do this every week and have a really good stock of home cooked meals in the freezer. I work full time and often come home from
Work too worn out to cook from scratch and this solves the problem. I can pull out a moussaka or a lasagne or a curry in the morning and by the time I get home it's defrosted and ready for the oven. It takes a while to build up a stock but if you make a couple of freezer meals a week you soon manage it. It makes life so much easier and helps out when (like this month) you suddenly find you've spent more than you should have and you need to cut back on the food bill

I keep a good store of dry, canned and frozen ingredients at all times, topping up on fresh foods to make complete meals.

Dry foods.... pasta, rice, flour (different kinds), pulses, noodles, oats, sugar, various herbs and spices, sachets of yeast, potatoes
Canned/Jar foods.... passata, baked beans, condiments (mustard, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, mayonnaise, stock cubes), tuna, sardines, olive oil
Frozen... minced beef/pork, chicken pieces, fish steaks, prawns, some vegetables, home-cooked large pulses (kidney beans, chickpeas) and portions of left-overs (lasagne, chilli con carne etc).
The fridge always has eggs, cheese, milk, butter, yoghurt a few cooked meats and salad items. We also have a stash of biscuits, crisps and a few chocolates.

Weekdays therefore I go with quick cook/assemble dishes.... pasta with sauces, omelettes, salads, grilled meats, stir-fries, veggie dishes.... which can be thrown together in under 30 minutes. In a real hurry I'll heat up a portion of left-overs.

Weekends I cook things that take rather longer or are more complicated. If I'm making something like a slow-cook casserole, bean broth or a chicken curry I'll make plenty and freeze what's left in little one-serving dishes.

I rely on really simple basics that can be cooked quickly using whatever I have and also I also embrace 'things on toast' as they are healthier and cheaper than processed food. Do not set the bar too high and feel you need to deliver gourmet food every night!

If you really want rid of processed, two best things to get rid of are cereal and sliced bread. Both are full of crap.

Basics:
Omelettes, with any fillings chucked in
Savoury bread and butter pudding
Basic tomato sauce (spiced with chilli or with herbs)
Pasta bake
Risotto
Pies with mashed potato tops
Curry
Chilli

On toast: (serve with some fresh or cooked veg on side)
Cheese
Beans
Eggs
Chilli
Sardines
Tuna melts

Bits
My kids love to eat a selection from - pasta/rice/couscous/bread/crackers, salad veggies/cooked veg/tinned veg, tuna/sardines/cheese/hardboiled eggs/ham - this is a favourite tea here and is what I turn to when I want no effort but also no processed stuff (we don't eat processed food)

Puddings
Homemade rice pud (easy but slow) or ground rice pud (easy but quicker)
Tinned fruit
fruit salad
Yogurt with raisins/nuts added
Jelly or yogurt jelly with fruit added