Eat well for less

 I know that I'm still guilty of falling for the take out trap. As a single parent with both me and my kid being fussy eaters the allure of just going a buying something is really tempting. But with one take out costing $50 for just two people we really cant afford to do this, not to mention its very unhealthy.

With inflation it is also expensive to keep buying groceries. So I have made a list of healthy quick and cheap meals that you can whip up and store leftovers. 

All prices correct as of February 2023 Australia.

Mushroom risotto 

$4.39 for about 2-4 serves  

$2.19- $1.09per serve

If you have none of these at home the price comes to $20.04 to buy it all but most of these items will make many many meals and most of the ingredients you will already have at home.

This one couldn't be simpler. The quantities depend on how many people you are feeding so just double until you get enough.

1 cup short grain rice (or medium) ($3 a 1kg bag .60c for 1 cup)

1 cup sliced mushrooms ($4 200g punnet $2 for half)

1-2 tsp thyme (grow your own or $1.65 for a jar. About 10c for this recipe)

1L Chicken stock or as much as you need to get the rice cooked. (make your own or use powdered $2.80 or 20c for this recipe)

2tbls parmesan cheese ($2 a bag, 20c)

1/2 onion (59c each)

1tbls butter or oil ($6 for 500g butter, 50c for this)

Add diced onion and thyme to a pan with a little butter or oil. Sauté until softened. Add your short grain rice and stir until the rice starts to change color a little as it absorbs the butter (about 3mins). Start ladling warm chicken stock in a little at a time allowing the rice to absorb it before adding more. Add parmesan cheese and stir through. Voila, risotto. No prep, no fuss. This is best kept in the fridge for a day or two. Rice doesn't freeze well I have found and risotto especially shouldn't be frozen. 

Making chicken stock

A note here if you make your own then it's free! Just save any chicken bones you get when you eat roast chicken. Then throw it all in a pot and fill with water, add onion, carrot, pepper corns and a bay leaf and cook for a few hours (I use a pressure cooker for 2hrs). And voila, 2-3L chicken stock. Best stock is made with 2 carcases per 1L of water. I then freeze it in a baby food mould or you can use a muffin tin for easy portioned chicken stock.

My kids only eat bland beige food sauce

$6.50 for the whole batch which can make about 15 serves! .43c per serve

Add pasta for $1.25 for a bag of woolworths brand spirals which is .25c a serve (a bag serves 5) for 68c per serve

Yep, we are fussy eaters. But this recipe is packed with veg and is so easy to whip up as you can freeze it in portions.

1 capsicum ($1.98)

1 onion (.59c)

1/2 sweet potato ($2.21 or $1.10 for half)

1 zucchini (.98c)

1 carrot (.35c)

1 jar passata (or diced tomatoes) ($2.20 passata or crushed tomatoes $1.50)

Dice all your veg and throw it in the air fryer or oven with a spray of oil until roasted (about 30mins). Place this and your passata into a blender and blend until smooth. Add garlic and herbs if you wish. 

That's it! I said it was simple right? Not only that but its great for using up the slightly past their prime veg in the bottom of the fridge. My son laps it up it tastes so amazing. Again I freeze it in a baby food pod silicone tray then pop them out into a zip lock bag ready for when we want to use it. 

To use your sauce. Just cook some pasta then pop a sauce pod into the hot pasta and stir for a few minutes until defrosted and heated through. My son loves some sausages chopped up and mixed through his or cheese.

You can also use this as a base for anything with a tomato base such as lasagne or pasta bakes.

Healthier Alfredo

$4.10 makes 6 serves of sauce: 68c per serve
With Fettuccini 93c per serve

I have to admit I'm not a fan of alfredo sauces, they always make me feel ill. But this one is healthy and not heavy at all.

1/2 head cauliflower ($2.50 depending on availability)

1 tsp garlic (10c)

1/2 cup chicken stock (10c)

1 tbls parmesan (20c)

onion (.59c)

hand full Cashews ($3.70 for 150g, .61c)

oil to cook

Fettuccini ($1.25 per pack serves 5 25c per serve)

Cut up your cauliflower and onion into chunks, spray with oil and roast in the air fryer for 30mins. Throw this into a blender with the garlic, parmesan, cashews and about 1/2 cup chicken stock and blitz until creamy. Adjust with more chicken stock to get the consistency you want, more for a runnier sauce, less for a thicker clingier sauce. Parmesan can also be adjusted to taste. Use to top fettuccini. 

Again this sauce actually makes a great alternative to béchamel for Lasagne also just throw in a bit of cheese.

Bulking meals up

All of these recipes are for the bare basics of a tasty meal. You can add any extras you can afford to them like meats, diced ham, shredded chicken, more veg.

Cooking meat once and using it for several meals is a great way to make things last and then you can even use the bones to make stock! 

The babyfood silicone mould that I use is this one called Bebe bites. This isn't an affiliate link it's just the one that I bought.

Happy cooking!