Cheap meals, thrifty ideas…

[Workinghardeveryday]

We are a family of 5, myself, dp, dd16, dd11 and ds11.

we are spending a fortune on food!!

we eat ‘normal’ family meals, lasagne, chilli, chicken breasts etc. I am finding a lot of money is going into sandwich fillings for pack ups. The sliced meat is so expensive. To save money I have bought a gammon joint from Aldi for under £5, will cook, cool and slice as thin as I can and hopefully will last the week…

going to roast a large chicken and get as many meals as I can out of it (ideas very welcome).

will have jacket pots and beans once a week. Apart from this dp and kids prefer meat in their meals, wouldn’t touch a lentil!

anyone have any tips?

Vegetarian meals aren’t all lentils, beans and chickpeas.

Here are some of our favourite veggie meals:
Tomato soup and cheese toastie
Cauliflower macaroni cheese
Cheese and tomato bread pudding
Egg fried rice
Pesto pasta
Risotto
Shakshuka
Baked feta pasta
Halloumi burgers
Naan pizza

Buying a gammon joint instead of ham will definitely help a lot. I think it helps if you mix veg with your sandwich filling, tuna with finely chopped peppers, sweetcorn, spring onion and celery mixed in, along with sliced cucumber in the sandwich goes much further than tuna alone.

If you have a family who like meat in their meals look at reducing the amount of meat, using more as a flavouring. So a pasta dish with chorizo or finely chopped bacon for example. You can do the same by using stronger cheeses such as a mature cheddar or blue cheese.

Also, don't discount frozen meat or fish. I avoided both for a long time but it's actually fine.

When you say they prefer meat in their meals, how many veggie dishes have you tried? Perhaps try a few veggie dishes that go well with lots of sides to distract from the fact there is no meat. Haloumi skewers with flat breads, roasted veg,coleslaw and wedges, vegetable chilli with rice, tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream and a chopped Mexican salad.

I know. I feel you.
The kids actually prefer quorn chicken pieces to real chicken which they like in tikka masala (add veg: onions, aubergine, peppers etc) and pasta bake- same again with the added veg& quorn chicken pieces.
I buy big tubs of humous for wraps and Romane lettuce - at either Aldi or asda.
And I do quorn mince in chili sun carne lol.

I do a falafel wrap once a week for tea. With loads of salad stuff etc

When you cook your chicken use the carcasse to make stock. Break the bones into small pieces, and get any bones back off people's plates. Roughly chop some onion,carrot and celery and add that to the pot with a bay leaf and peppercorns. Cover with water - not too much and simmer slowly for a couple of hours. Bubbles should barely break the surface.

I use this stock to make a risotto, with tiny scraps of chicken meat. I also make soup which will include all the past their best veg in the fridge, a tin of beans and some small pasta. That makes for a filling dinner, especially if you have some nice bread alongside.

Chicken thighs are much cheaper than breasts. We do large tray bake style regularly and can be served with loads of veg/rice/potatoes on the side.

Use sausages in pasta sauces - you need far fewer but it;s still meaty. We did a butternut/leek/onion pasta with sausages last week. This week we had aubergine, (tinned) cherry tomatoes and cooking chorizo sausages. Another favourite is sausages, tomato, spinach, crème fraiche, lemon, fennel, chilli. Options are endless basically.

Similarly bacon in a tomato based sauce can then be further bulked out with loads of veg like aubergine, courgette, mushrooms, broccoli etc.

If you have a slow cooker, you can make stock in that, just bung all the bits in and cover with water. I switch it on in the evening, then turn it off on the morning and strain it when I get home from work.

We won't eat chicken with bones, so to make chicken breasts go further, I tend to bulk out meals with veg and lentils, that rarely anyone is aware of!
For example, fajitas, where I'd chop a breast into very small pieces, 1 between 2 or 3 people balanced by a couple of onions and at least 3 peppers.

I also would buy frozen fish and meat as this is far cheaper and easier to use in smaller portions in my experience.

We tend to have a meal that is a one pot meal like biryani or fajitas, that can be used th next day as leftover too to make life easier, but relies on a smaller proportion of meat content. Having this once a week makes club nights easier.

Jacket potatoes once a week, also opt for a veggie based pasta dish, another meal would be fish based, but I believe that this is genuinely healthier than meat, so don't mind paying out for fish portions. Would also try an eggs based meal, be that florentines, omelette, tortilla etc or even boiled eggs and soldiers; this often makes a light meal and a lovely change and means we have a cheap dessert that evening, which we don't do any other day.

Good idea with the gammon joint.

Is a pasta salad an option for lunches? If I'm cooking pasta for dinner I often do a bit extra and then save it for DD's lunch the next day - you can mix it with pesto, or a light dressing (oil, lemon juice and honey) and then mix in salad, cheese or leftover meat.

Mac and cheese is a good cheap dinner and you can add veggies to it if you like.

Homemade pizza is also pretty cheap - making the dough is a bit time consuming but double it up and then store half in the freezer for another day. You can also freeze the pizza sauce in an ice cube tray and just take out what you need. Mozzarella balls are pretty cheap and you can put on any random veg or meat that is languishing in your fridge.

Thank you all for your great ideas! They really are great. Definitely going to pad out sandwich’s with cucumber etc.

I cooked and so sliced the gammon. I can’t believe how much there is!! I feel annoyed I have paid so much for ham in the past.

next week will be tip of boiled eggs (thank you).

anymore tips soooo welcome

My kids have just eaten tinned hot dogs with more enthusiasm than any delicious home made food that I've ever made them. I served them with par baked rolls from Lidl. I've fed 4 of us for about £2.

I also do soup and pudding nights.

Anything mince based add lentils, mine don’t even realise that our meals are half and half.

A few things that have worked for us (partly in a bid to be healthier):

Really re-examine our portion sizes - I was definitely going a bit too far with generous portions, especially for children who may also have had a fairly large meal at lunchtime. Maybe consider whether you can 'fill up' the plate with veggies etc, rather than going OTT with more of the main dish. I don't mean to restrict food, especially with kids, but maybe think about plating up portions for everyone, rather than letting everyone help themselves.

Have some lighter meals for dinner - Welsh rarebit , beans or scrambled egg on toast, omelette (eg with finely chopped vegetable / meats / cheese), soup, fishcakes with veg, quiche and salads.

Agree with PP about soup and dessert - even something with canned fruit or a cookie / piece of a traybake is substantial and can be made fairly cheaply.

Eat seasonally, having what is tastiest and most plentiful depending on the seasons (and should therefore be cheaper) - eg in the summer, we often have loaded salads for dinner (eg Cobb salad, (canned) tuna nicoise etc), with crackers or a bread roll on the side if we are very peckish.

Meal plan and use your leftovers! Try and get a couple of meals out of one 'item' eg Sunday roast and subsequent lasagna / Shepherd's pie / rissoles / pasta sauce / salad protein or sandwiches. Use your meal plan to dictate your shopping list.

Also really forensically go through your last few shopping receipts / orders - look at the 'treats' and other stuff that makes it into the basket, and get rid of these. Where you are buying fairly expensive ready-made items eg breakfast cereal bars, ready meals etc, consider making them yourself. It will require a greater investment in time, energy etc through.

Nisha Katona's red lentil Dahl:
Wash a mug of lentils to remove the dust, place in pan with 2 mugs (the same mug as lentils) cold water, 1 tsp turmeric and tin chopped toms, bring to boil and simmer (approx 20 mins)
Once cooked (i.e: mushy slop!), heat a separate pan with some oil or ghee, when hot add 1tsp cumin seeds, and when sizzling, add to the Dahl mix (or vice versa, depending on pan logistics!)
Season with salt and cook for a few more minutes, serve with rice/Naan.
Can also make even healthier by adding spinach, broccoli, green beans etc to the dahl or serving on the side

Homemade Naans
Homemade naans can be made by 1 1/2 cups s/r flour with 1 cup natural yoghurt and 1 tsp salt. Mix by hand or in mixer for 5 mins until no longer sticky. Place on floured surface, split into quantities you want (6 large/8-10 smaller) and roll each one out. Dry-fry in a hot pan for a couple of mins each side, spread with garlic butter or serve plain.

Bean and Pasta Stew with Meatballs
This is a good, cheap-ish dish that can be bulked out with another tin of beans and more veg, and garlic bread served to make it go further. If you're ok with cheap sausages, or get some on offer it's a good way to have what feels like a 'meaty dish (I've done it many times with only 3 or 4 sausages, made into little balls so there still feels like lots)

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/bean-pasta-stew-meatballs

Spicy white bean and chorizo soup (is more like a stew)
www.rte.ie/lifestyle/recipes/2011/1014/745225-spicy-white-bean-and-chorizo-soup/

I always plug the fab thermos food flask as a good lunch option - initially they are a bit pricey (could be had as a Xmas gift from a kind relative 🤷‍♀️), although they work out as about a week and a half of school lunches at £2.25 - but once you have one you can re-purpose leftovers and have cheap lunches. These on Amazon vary in price - currently £19, but I've paid as little as £13. They keep things hot for hours. As a treat for my daughter, I occasionally let her have sausage and beans in the flask - the tins can be expensive so when i can get reduced/on offer sausages, I cook them, chop up, freeze loose in a bag and then can add these to half a tin of beans (Tesco own brand beans are great for about 30p)

www.amazon.co.uk/Thermos-Stainless-King-Food-Flask/dp/B00DGPPY20/ref=sr_1_7?crid=S0M5QPT50P55&keywords=thermos+flask&qid=1656339045&sprefix=thermos+%2Caps%2C69&sr=8-7

Rice pudding can bulk out a lighter dinner - 30ml rice, 300ml milk, 1-2tbsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla. Bring to boil, simmer until cooked. Lovely Autumn/Winter pud if hot, but also nice cold in lunches or hot weather

You can also make rice pudding in the slow cooker.

Linking to a few frozen items that are the staple in our house.

This 2 kg frozen chicken bag (bone in) - and this cheap bag of frozen veg

produces -

1. awesome biriyani for Sundays with large pieces left intact
2. chicken mayo sandwich fillings
3. shredded chicken for fried rice
4. shredded chicken for Pad Thai style noodles

Obviously you need a stocked spice cupboard and pantry with rice, noodles, bread.

Another staple at ours is this frozen mince and this chorizo or alternatively cooking bacon. These would make for us -

1. Spag bol
2. Bol sauce with cumin and beans to become chilli for jackets
3. Keema pulao (needs v little mince and is a staple here)
4. Broccoli and bacon pasta
5. Chorizo and tomato soup

It really does see a family of 4 through 7 to 10 days meals and leftovers for lunches.

Flopisfatteningbingforchristmas - thank you. How long/what quatities do you use please? I'm just thinking it could be a good breakfast if it could be left overnight in the slow cooker

A favourite of ours is to cook a packet of sausages, boil some pasta, chop the sausages add to pasta with some halved cherry tomatoes and a jar of pesto. Lovely hot or cold, so you can use the leftovers for lunch the next day.

The gammon was a game changer in our house. I do it on a Sunday in the slow cooker before shredding it and making the sandwiches (it goes further if you shred it) and freezing them. Gets all the lunches out of the way for the week and I just take sandwiches out at breakfast and they're perfectly defrosted by lunch.

Use the stock from your ham to make some lentil soup and then do soup and pudding dinners and it will stretch even further.
I'll sometimes do a roast chicken solely for sandwiches and stock too.

Mushrooms chopped small will soak up the flavour of any sauce. You can bulk out a lot of meals by using half the amount of meat chopped small or minced and substituting mushrooms for the other half - especially chillis and curries. Courgettes are the same, but won’t be mistaken for meat.

Rather than buying ready made sauces, a tablespoon of cheap curry paste and a can of coconut milk does really well. Lots of things can be made in the same way with concentrated pastes, substitute peanut butter and a instead of curry paste and you’ve got a mild satay.

Mainland Europe is chill with using eggs as a lunch/dinner protein, consider doing the same - egg salad is super easily made, for example, or shakshuka.

Frittata / Spanish Omelette with all the leftover meat, tomatoes etc

chicken, rice and peas - albeit basic but super tasty and if you have a variety of sauces in the fridge then everyone can have different things (piri, jerk, bbq or soy sauces!)

Banana loaf with leftover bananas

Fried rice is always a hit in our house, left over veg, few scraps of meat and add eggs if you’ve any left, cheap and easy.

instead of sandwiches could you make a batch of pastry and fill with different things such as making pin wheels with cheese and tomato purée or little homemade pizzas made from a simple flatbread left to go cold for a packed lunch really tasty and filling.