Moondog, Franny and anyone else who prides themselves on cooking good food for their kids - I have a challenge for you....

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Whenever I try and feed my family on "good" food, it seems to cost me a fortune.

So, I challenge all you foodies to give me a week's worth of meal ideas that are not going to break the bank - have three kids aged 7, 5 and 3.

TIA

I don't think they could grow to be 600 feet tall. But I do think it makes a difference.

I'm having a look into this online, as frankly I was spouting a sort of general impression, rather than actual scientific fact.

Moondog I would love reciopes for dahl (that my kids would eat) and the spinach and chickpea curry too - am not v good at curries.

ooh, loving this thread. i feed me, dh & dd (nearly 3), and would like to cut down on the shopping bill. unfortunately, i work full time, so struggle to get to shops mid week (which makes fresh stuff difficult), and only gives me 45 mins to cook food, but also to take care of dd. i'd like some good ideas, particularly for what i can take to work for lunch. we all eat meat, but also happy with lentils (alghough dd not so much) etc. I am happy to cook ahead & freeze things. We LOVE our greens.

Hmm, the only likely effect I've seen (looking quickly) from excessive protein is renal problems.

There do seem to be some people who think that "national" height differences are due to diet, not genetics. Certainly a lack of protein is believed to be a cause for Americans shrinking (lack of protein not due to living on quinoa, obviously, due to living on Big Gulps etc).

Oh, homemade burgers:

• 500g ground beef. Ideally 20% fat, not the low-fat stuff.
• 1 egg
• bread
• onion
• crushed chillis (optional)

Pulse onion in food processor. Add to beef. Add Egg. Pulse bread in food processor. Add to beef. Add chillis.

Make balls of beef, and crush them, to make patties. Cook reasonably slowly (shouldn't really be pink in the middle), ideally on a grill pan.

NQC

"A high protein diet, especially derived from animal foods, causes calcium loss in the body. The higher sulphur-to-calcium ratio of meat increases calcium excretion, and a diet rich in meat can cause bone demineralisation. A report published in 1988 [1] comparing the amounts of calcium excreted in the urine of 15 subjects showed that the animal-protein diet caused greater loss of bone calcium in the urine (150mg/day) than the all-vegetable protein diet (103mg/day). These findings suggest that diets providing vegetable rather than animal protein may actually protect against bone loss and hence osteoporosis. In one study adults on a low-protein diet were in calcium balance regardless of whether calcium intake was 500mg, 800mg or 1400mg a day. [2] Interestingly The American Dietetic Association, in its 1993 policy statement on vegetable diets, pointed out that the calcium intakes recommended in the USA were increased specifically to offset calcium losses caused by the typically high protein consumption in that country."

from Vegan society website

Well I think you're fine with a curry paste.
Pataks is very good (paste,not hideous cook in sauce that is actually the sick of the devil,mind)

Ok,for both,fry up sliced onions with ginger and garlic.Nice and slow so they brown,not burn.

For lentils......

then add a teaspoon of turmeric and a few tablesppons of curry paste and fry some more.Add 250f of red lentils.Keep stirring to cover them with the curry paste and stop from burning. Then add two tins of tomatoes and a good squeeze of tom puree.You can add a can of coconut milk too.
Let simmer.You may need to add more water.
Could also add a dash of soy and if not using coconut milk,a tablespoon of sugar.
Keep stirring.

Will be ready in about 30 mins.Even better the following day. Great on its own or with rice and a yoghurt,mint and cucumber raita.

For spinach and chickpea curry...

add two cans of drained chickpeas (or equivalent ino nes you have soaked and preboiled) Again,stir vigorously before adding tomatoes as above and coconut milk if desired.
Then add about 500g of spinach.It can be fresh or forzen.Simer for 30 mins,then serve as above.

F&Z: fair enough. I would fear an American diet full of (non-organic, unhappy) meat, certainly.

why should cheap food = vegetarian food? Cheap cuts of meat are v good, and you dont always need a lot of meat either.
pork belly, neck of lamb, chicken wings...stuff like that.

I don't think anyone's saying cheap diet = vegetarian. But you can hardly expect Franny to start recommending meat dishes, can you?

Ok, lunches:

cooked ones:

Home made baked beans on toast
Veg soup
pesto rice salad (brown rice or a mix)
an egg cooked however, with toast

cold or packed lunch ones:

hummus and pittas
felafel and pittas
crudites and dips (hummus / yogurt / guacamole)
mixed bean / chickpea salad
cold pasta salad (pesto again)
avocado and tomato sandwich
lentil pate sandwich (puy lentils blended with garlic lemon, salt and pepper particularly nice)

Snacks:

toasted seeds (buy big packs of seeds and dry fry in a pan with a little soy sauce)
whatever fruit in season
natural yogurt in a big tub sweetened with banana / any fruit, or even a good old tsp of sugar, got to be better (and tons cheaper) than the ones with all the additives and sweeteners in
home made cakes and biscuits
crudites as above

oh and make your own bread!

good place to bulk buy whole foods if you don't have a decent independent health food shop near you (Holland and Barrett a rip off)

I bought some pork belly a month ago because it was cheap but I have no idea on what kind of meal to make with it so it is languishing in the freezer.

Any suggestions would be appreciated

I think a cheap healthy diet should be mostly vegetarian. If you are buying a lot of cheap meat, I would worry about where it was coming from. I think it's far easier to cook cheaply and healthily if you use wholefoods, not meat.

But yes, I did say "I won't advise on meat stuff because I am vegetarian".

Sorry speedymama, cross posts - I was replying to fistfullofnappies

Pants, that shop looks good but doesn't have our pasta brand. Might try theirs, though.

If you want to introduce variety into your children's diets gradually (so they don't get the chance to say "I'm not eating that") then do half meat/half quorn or lentils for a bolognaise alternative.

Mine love chilli made with quorn mince (and not much chilli powder) and plenty of kidney beans, add a dollop of half fat creme fraiche before rolling up in a flour tortilla - maybe with a bit of baby spinach too.

Visible big chunks of veg (whatever is in season and cheap?)go down well in a brown rice rissotto type of meal. They can at least pick out thier favourite bits. Can top off a dish like this with a sprinkling (ie: not that much) of ham, bacon, pieces of smoked mackerel, grated cheese etc. They can even customise their own dish with a topping, therefore using up leftovers AND adding what they like which with 3 children, can be a blessing.

Thanks to everyone who's posted, there are some great ideas on here. Will be trying all the recipes posted and will report back.

Iklboo, what's your recipe for chicken and broccoli pasta bake please?

Franny, if you have time, could you post your recipes for home baked beans, bean casserole, veg korma and vegetable loaf, pretty please? And a question for you - mentioned these recipes to DH who is worried about the possibility of his wind output increasing . Will this be the case??

EF, I will do them all eventually, I promise

I am not actually here you see I am in fact doing some work

Here's another one however:

Nut loaf (all quantities excitingly vague)

Cook onions and mushrooms until nicely browned. Can also add red pepper or in fact anything . Cook brown rice until tender. Mix with a good quantity (probably 1 part nuts to 2 parts rice and 1 part fried onion / mushrooms) of ground or chopped nuts and seeds (ground probably best for 3 year old) - you can get ground almonds in the shops, while cashews, pumpkin and sunflower seeds grind up nicely in a coffee grinder or nut attachment on blender. Add a stock cube mixed with a few tbsp hot water to make a sort of sludge, tom puree, herbs, seasoning, soy sauce etc to taste. Put in loaf tin or oven dish and bake on about GM 5 for about 40 mins.

Sorry this one is so vague but it's a made up one. Just experiment until you find how you like it. You can ring the changes and add different nuts, cooked lentils, grated cheese, other veg, curry spices etc. Great for using up leftovers. The nuts can be pricey but not if bought in bulk or at one of those weigh and save places. Overall with the rice added it makes a cheap meal as you only give a slice of it and then bulk up the meal with veg.

Freezes well and goes nicely with either a simple tomato sauce, boiled pots and green beans, or roast veg and gravy, or cold with salad and mayonnaise. Also nice sliced in a sandwich

erm yes your dh will be newly wind powered in all probability. A gradual change might be in order - 1st week have one or two bean dishes only. However IMO lentil farts smell a whole lot better than the vile emissions from a meat eating beer drinking bloke

franny, actually I was talking about cheap cuts of meat, not cheap meat. Agree with you, that cheap meat is suspect.
I think that a cheap healthy diet is possible though, by using cheaper cuts of meat, and by using meat for flavouring, rather than expecting to eat 8oz of it at every meal.

speedymama, grill the pork belly, or stew it with onions garlic, herbs and carrots, thicken the sauce with a very little flour. Probably better grilled if you dont like eating fat. there are probably loads more interesting things to do, but I cant think of them at the mo!

Ah, well, I am very ignorant about that, fistfull.

I mean I do personally think that it is tons healthier to eat no meat at all. But different strokes and all that.

Can you post your recipe for home baked beans please?

Also, is meat not considered wholefood - I mean steak, chops, chicken etc not processed meat?

Speedy,a Chinese style stewed affair with soy,ginger and sherry would be good with your pork belly.
Hugh Fotheringale Wotsit has a nice recipe in his 'Meat' cookbook.Am too lazy to write it out,but your library should have a copy...

Baked beans coming up tomorrow

I wouldn't consider meat a wholefood but I see what you are getting at, Mercy.

That poncy wholefood site of yours sells meat Franny....even sausages

'poncy' ?

ah yes I suppose somewhere that sells food other than black pudding and whelks would be a bit poncey for you, Greeny.