Easy money saving lunches and dinners

[Workin8til6]

Looking for easy ways to cut costs here and there. DH about to embark on a training course on top of his full time job, commuting and doing long hours. I will be doing the lions share of the parenting (DCs 1 and 3) and household stuff as well as working FT. I’m trying to find room in our budget to afford a cleaner as I know it will make a big difference to how stressed I feel. So I need to find £30 a week which is what it costs near me to have someone clean for 2 hours per week!

Think the easiest place is on food. We aren’t big spenders but I am guilty of turning to convenience when I’m tired or busy with work and I want to avoid that trap. Me and DH also aren’t organised enough with lunches, we WFH sometimes but he will be travelling a lot so he’s going to take a pack up as well as snacks and thermos to avoid spending on coffees and sandwiches out.

So please share your easy quick money saving food ideas! Firstly ideas to make lunchboxes more exciting. And then also main meals please. I already do stuff like making big batches of veggie chilli etc but I’m more looking for stuff that I can keep in that literally takes 5 mins and will be my antidote to a takeaway. So far I’ve got:

• Whatever on toast - basically brunch. Like eggs, avocado. Sometimes with bagged salad/tomatoes etc. Or just beans or cheese.
• Frozen pizza - not ideal but much better than a takeaway pizza so I will keep some in.
• Rice salad where I do a microwave bag of rice (Aldi or Asda own brand are 38p) and mix with a tin of salmon or mackerel or tuna, jarred peppers, sundried tomatoes plus whatever random salad leftovers we have like spring onions or cucumber etc.

Any other ideas? Thanks

Batch cooked stews, bolognaise etc, and use leftovers for lunches? I found that really helped my budget and waistline

I make quesadillas so just a £1 pack of 8 tortillas and pan fry in a bit of butter and oil with cheese/chicken/beef/salsa whatever you want and another Tortilla on top flipped so both sides crispy. All my kids love it.

Pasta salad is good, cheap lunchbox food. I usually base these on a typical salad - so a Greek pasta salad would include tomatoes, olives, peppers, feta etc., but with the pasta providing the bulk of the meal. Make enough for two days at a time, and just keep it in the fridge.

Leftovers is a good idea, especially if you pick things that are also good cold for lunchboxes. Fajitas work both hot and cold, likewise some pasta dishes, and frittatas/Spanish tortilla.

For your quick, cheap, easy meals, add baked potatoes and sweet potatoes to your list. Do it once a week and mix up the fillings - cheese and coleslaw, baked beans, tuna mayo, feta and ajvar etc.

I make a mob kitchen Pearl barley salad, I use frozen mango and pomegranate seeds, dried mint and basil. This then means I can get 3 salads out of the frozen bags and just buy the cucumber and tomato. But it will take an hour to cook the Pearl barley & 5 minutes to chop everything to go in the salad. I don’t always add the avocado, it’s not needed as the rest is really lovely

Eggs are a great quick cheap staple. Veg omelette, spicy eggs in a tortilla wrap, fried egg and chips, Spanish omelette with shredded potato in there for bulk, fried egg sarnie.

Homemade bread rolls and soup is an easy, tasty and cheap meal (if soup is homemade or tinned rather than fresh).

Jacket potatoes. Bung them in the bottom of the oven at the same time you are cooking something else to save on fuel. E.g. I did a tray bake chilli last week and put Jo's on the bottom shelf at the same time (I put them in a bit sooner while the oven was warming up and I prepped the chilli to give them a head start) Do an extra one that can be scooped out used in a frittata or something the next day.

Make a big batch of soup on Sunday that you can reheat for lunches.

I have started to use leftover fresh herbs to make pasta, or even raw spinach or rocket. It works really well. Coriander and lemon pesto is delicious. Saves wasting fresh herbs and you can make a load of pesto pasta to have for lunches. Add cherry tomatoes and cubed feta to make it more substantial.

Homemade soup. Every week I make a big batch of it out of leftover veg to stop things going off. I usually roast the veg first with garlic and herbs and then blend with stock.

Hi Op
Cook in batches, there are fb groups with recipes. Freeze portions.
Try to buy bread/ rolls when they are reduced in the evening (Morrisons 6p for 10 rolls at 8pm a while ago) and freeze them straight away. Keep toast bread in the fridge - lasts much longer.
Yellow stickers are your friend. Fruit often last longer than until best before date.

Some ideas:
Spag bolognese
Chilli con carne
Lasagne
Meet balls in tomato sauce
Chicken curry
Lentil soup
Minestrone soup
Cream tomato soup
Macaroni cheese
Large chicken portioned from the oven
Chinese chicken
Pita bread/ tortilla wraps with cheese, chicken, veg
Pancakes (see stack and still menu for some ideas)
Omlet with bacon
Eggs are your friend - scrambled eggs with onion or peppers or mushrooms.
Poached eggs, hard boiled eggs

I make quick pancakes from oats+milk+banana+ baking powder. Ideal for snacking.
Banana bread - quick and cheap, slice and freeze.

Not 5 mins but roast some sweet potatoes, lashings of butter then either feta and chilli flakes or mozarella with squeeze of lemon and chilli flakes. Really tasty and cheap(ish) evening meal.

Wow I just came back to this as I forgot to check previous responses. Thank you all very much for the fab ideas! Definitely going to note down some of these. Please share more if you have them :-)

Pasta with pesto and peas
Omelette
Baked potatoes
Crusty bread and salamis/ cheese / cucumber and tomatoes
Frozen fish fillets with potatoes or scrambled egg (or both) or rice and boiled egg
Macaroni cheese
Stir fry

Pasta, tin of sardines, little tomatoes, parsely and bit of lemon. Very cheap and quick.
Similar gnocchi, little tomatoes, red onion, mozarella.
The quick mob books are really good for easy, cheap and quick.

I stock up on Itsu’s frozen gyozas when they’re on offer. They boil in three / four minutes then I fry them in a bit of sesame oil. Perfect for when you want a take away! The bao buns are great too.

Use chicken thighs instead of breast. Tastier and much cheaper.

Keep bags of frozen fish fillets in the freezer, Tesco do a good selection, pan fry to top noodles in broth, mash, or whatever.

Home made soup costs pennies. I make vats of spicy carrot and lentil soup and freeze it in portion sizes www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spiced-carrot-lentil-soup/amp

You can also make quantities of dhal to freeze and serve with rice.

Ditto chick pea, potato and spinach curry. V cheap, especially if you use the excellent value frozen spinach from Iceland.

Iceland frozen fine green beans are excellent and very cheap, keep in the freezer as an alternative to expensive fine green beans.

Salads can be expensive if you use bags of washed leaves. Use the whole lettuces of whatever type, and spike it up a bit with a chopped chicory or some watercress.

Homemade coleslaw is cheap.

Keep a bag of frozen sofrito, fry up, add green lentils, cook in stock, maybe add a tiny bit of creme fraiche or yogurt or cream if you have it. Serve with a couple of sausages on top or even Frankfurters if you like them. With a chunk of crusty bread / baguette.

I make sure not to have any waste by using up any veg in the fridge and making it into either a soup or a veg sauce to have with pasta (bulk up with lentils for protein).

I love using chicken thighs as well to make stir-fries, curries etc. Make a double portion so you can have it again the next day for lunch. I buy the bone in thighs and cut out the bones (I use for stock or freeze and give raw to dog), take off skin and stick in oven for crispy skin to top the dish with.

I second the recommendation for frozen dumplings - if you have an Asian supermarket near you, you can buy these really cheaply as well as things like dim sum which steam quickly. You can also buy frozen duck and pancakes cheaply if you get the takeaway urge - just put duck in oven and microwave pancakes.

Mini fish tacos - I use mini flat breads like piadinas. Saute some salmon and leftover roasted veg and top with salsa and you have a healthy meal under 10 mins. Substitute whatever leftovers/salad you have in your fridge - no planning required.