Low-cost cooking tips

Cooking on a budget

Household budgets have always been a matter of careful consideration, never more so then in the current economic climate. With the prices of everyday items climbing steadily it is still possible to feed the family on budget and have good nutritious meals. It just takes some forethought and planning and learning to make the most of what you buy. Below are some tips you may not have thought of when trying to reduce your food budget without compromising what you put on the table.

The most obvious place to start is looking at the amount of waste involved – especially with meat. There is no point, for instance, buying a cut like pork belly, if you don’t like to eat fat – as although this cut is cheap, there is very little meat for your money and you would be better off going for a slightly more expensive cut that you get more meat on and would need to trim less off. When buying your meat examine the end of the joint, look for the one with least fat to help reduce the waste that you need to trim, this goes for cuts like bacon too.

Instead of going for chicken portions, consider a whole chicken as it can last you several meals. You can use the breast meat to make pies, or sandwiches or to put with pasta, but then once you have stripped off the rest of the meat and put it to one side, boil down the carcass (with any of the skin you have stripped off) to make a tasty chicken stock which you can then add back the remaining meat and some veg and pasta or rice to make a filling meal for the family.

Shopping with a friend can help cut costs as supermarkets try to tempt us to buy more with “buy one get one free” style offers. There may be too much there for you to use before it goes off, but splitting the offer with a friend could mean you both save money without having to waste food.

Always be conscious of the “best before” dates, use the things that are going to go off fastest, first. If you like fresh fruit but never seem to be able to eat if before it goes off, try cutting some of it up into small pieces and freezing it in the small freezer bags – next time you want a smoothie, take the frozen fruit and add it directly into the blender with some of your favourite fruit juice or yoghurt.

Rice, as well as being fairly cheap, is versatile. If you have a meal with rice, cook some extra. Then you can add some tuna, sweetcorn, boiled egg and mayonnaise for a cheap and easy, as well as nutritious lunch. Or alternatively try mixing the rice with anything you have left over in the fridge (fish, chicken, pork, vegetables) mix in an egg and form into burgers, patting them with flour before cooking. These “burgers” then will go wonderfully with a salad or some baked beans and mash (this idea works well with left over potatoes too if you mash them).

If cooking something like lasagne or any mince dish, extra portions is a great way to save both time and money, as you can freeze the extra to defrost as a meal another day, and it doesn’t add much to the cost of your meal most of the time.

Be adventurous with herbs and spices, most of these you can pick up cheaply and a little added into a dish can really change the flavour, making the diet a little more varied. Also try making your own sauces for things like pasta, by using a tin of tomatoes, some mixed herbs and an onion, you can use cornflour to thicken it if needed and they are much cheaper to do then ready prepared sauces and don’t take long either. Home made sauces also seem to be easier to remove without staining then some of the shop brought varieties.

Vegetables are often cheaper then meat, so even if you don't have a vegetarian in the family, cooking a vegetarian meal will not only help your family save money, but also get many healthy nutrients into their diet. Recent research has shown that reducing your intake of meat, particularly red meats, by just a meal or two a week can benefit your health.

Try and plan your meals in advance, look at what you already have at home and think about what you would need to make that a meal – not only does this save you money but it helps you use up things that may have been in your freezer for awhile and avoid buying things you don’t really need. Don’t shop when you are hungry as you will be more tempted to pick up snacks.

Make the reduced aisle of your supermarket the first and last place you stop, things are constantly being marked down in a store, so it is worth checking it more then once, not only might you find some of the items you need there (bread, meat etc can all be frozen to preserve it till your need it) but you might find something new that you might like, or something you love but is normally too expensive for you to consider buying.

These are just a few pointers to help you, don't be afraid to be creative with your left overs and you will be surprised how good cooking on a budget can taste.

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