View Full Version : low budget
Hello everyone I feel Ive got to get to grips with this single parent thing..
So would be grateful for your low cost healthy meals ideas..
I like the kids to eat rice pasta veg and they are pretty good but wont touch any pulses including baked beans...help ..we are sick of eggs!!!
hollygolightly
15-06-04, 10:42 PM
You can make really cheap and healthy soups out of all the ingredients your children like - lovely with a chunky slice of home made bread. :)
Spanish omelettes, made with left over vegetables. :)
Anything with potatoes & onions - both healthy, and good value for money. :)
I'm sure the more adventurous cooks will be along shortly. :)
Wow thanx for that...you are all amazing there are some great ideas there..
I knew I could rely on you all...
thanx and godbless
I do loads with different pastas, sauces, meats, serve with salad for an extra healthy option. Particularly like pasta with extra onions, chicken, tomato sauce, garlic, topped with a sprinkling of cheese and grilled, fills you up, very cheap to do. :)
Macaroni cheese a good one (thanks HN) - add a touch of mustard powder to the cheese sauce and it brings out the flavour. :)
Stir frys too, sweet and sour chicken easy to do and quite cheap, I buy chicken when its cheap (sorry for the pun) and freeze it.
Sausage casserole too, sausages are cheap, add sweetcorn, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, anything you like, and serve it with potatoes, yummy and filling :D
i recently invested in a couple of slow cookers - now i don't know how i managed without them!!! they were £14.99 each from argos, i only bought 2 as i need one for meat and one for my vegan fare :)
i can do much larger batches of spag bol sauces now, all the more tastier for being cooked slowly :) i also do curries, casseroles, chilli con carne etc and freeze what is left over, is easy to stick in a few extra veggies to make it all go further :)
i do a thick tomato sauce and freeze it in batches, and we make our own pizzas :) - i'd really like a bread maker next, especially as you can pick them up for like £20 now! mmm fresh pizza bases!!
i'm looking into the possibility of having a veggie (and a fruit) box delivered once a week, to try and make sure we eat all the fresh veggies we should do a week, it looks like really good value although i've not had one yet, am still waiting for the company to email me back! :unsure: i spend about £30 a week on fruit and veg for our family of 2 adults and 3 kids, then i go after the budget cuts of meat, usually grab the stuff that has been reduced as well, as apparantly when it's been cooked in the slow cooker it is virtually falling to pieces anyway, and they all love it that way :)
we're also never without our sandwich toaster! i'm amazed at how far a can of beans can go!! beans, cheese, onion, ham, we like pickles and sauces and alsorts in ours - cheap and quick :)
until recently, i also had one of those george foreman grill things, but i used it to death.. literally! was brill tho, used to get out some frozen chops out the freezer, and while they were browning off in there, i'd be chopping up veggies, chuck the lot in the slow cooker with either a packet of casserole sauce mix, or a variety of stockcubes and herbs, then leave it! - just do some steamed veggies and potato/rice and we have really good food with realatively little effort :)
we're also on a budget now, as we seem to spend a *fortune* on food. i really should get off my ar*e and make my own cakes etc as i used to do, am waiting for the health shop to get some vegan egg replacer in stock then maybe i'll have a baking day :)
i'll be watching this thread for ideas as well!!
first proper cooked dinner today since hubby left
shepherds pie..tiny meat..loads of veg and mash potato....
I even ate some...
my sheapherdspie was ioveli
by mikee:jump:
again great ideas...what Ive also discovered is that the kids love fish..they wouldn't touch it before...but now its like can we have fish...except tuna..so I curry some sardines add peppers and have it with rice..filling ,cheap and healthy..I think
Excellent that they are eating fihs, sardines particularly, its very good for them. Ilove sardines, pilchards and all that, always have B)
My fave was when my mum made pilchard sarnies when I was little, other kids used to be "yuk", but I love them :blush:
freakyfun
18-06-04, 10:44 AM
I like to grow my own veg (now I have a decent garden). I've got a few marrows on the go, carrots etc.
If you want to jazz up a cheap piece of meat, marinade it. I've got some pork marinading in cider and brown sugar for the weekend at the moment. Its going to taste great in a couple of days after soaking up all the flavour.
FF
We are having snapper tomorrow for sunday dinner...
it sounds strange but although hubby is black and I happily cooked west indian food for him..now it feels strange..
The kids say they want proper west indian cooking so my daughter came down to stay and presented me with a snapper fish...I am looking forward to cooking it ..they are the best fish in the world!!
Heres how to do it...
Dry fry your snapper with salt pepper jerk or curry or fish seasoning.
you can also BBQ it but you must season it and wrap it in foil.
Then fry garlic,onions,red/green/yellow strips of peppers in vinegar..(pickling/white or lemon)
add lemon and lime and corriander..if you like it hot add a scotch bonnet pepper...
or a little hot sauce...
dont let the peppers go soft leave them sort of crunchy and put on fish..
serve with rice n peas add a bit of salad.
florentyna
20-06-04, 01:51 PM
hi looking at freaky funs reply he has reminded me of a very nice marrow dish which as a child was my favorite - stuffed marrow cook some mince add carrots,onions,sage (or any herb you like),celery and tomatoes really vegies of your coice that are tasty garlic if you like it, cook the ingredients and then put into a prepared marrow. Take off the skin and remove seeds and leave whole and then place the mince into it and cook in the oven in a dish with a lid or foil until the marrow is soft lovely :D This will probably feed you for two dinners with potates and other vegies. Enjoy :thumbs: :thumbs:
florentyna