by Dolores Moore
Spending less money to feed your family with healthy, nutritious and tasty food does not have to mean deprivation. It requires bit of careful planning and a keen eye for a bargain when you shop. Those two elements are the most important tools you can use to spend less but gain more in feeding your family well. Here are a few tips on how to achieve this:
1. Make a weekly menu plan for each day's meals. You can mix and match, but stick to your plan.
2. Use this to compile your weekly shopping list - try not to deviate from it or buy things not listed or needed
3. Make your list AFTER taking inventory of your store cupboards, fridge and freezer. This is very important, as it will let you see how much you already have and what you can spend less on.
4. Buy "own brand" basics like rice, pasta, cereals and breads on offer. You can store and freeze, saving a bit of money. The same goes for canned goods and preserves. Better still, make your own from scratch when fruit and vegetables are cheap.
5. Buy cheaper cuts of meats that are good for stewing or baking in pies - a great way to provide a good meal that can be "stretched" by adding healthy vegetables and using less meat.
6. Look out for farmers markets where fresh produce can often be bought much cheaper. Think - potatoes, seasonal fruit, vegetables, eggs and cheeses.
7. Bake your own cookies and cakes. You might even enjoy baking bread too. Do it in bulk by setting aside a "baking day" then freeze your extra items.
8. Find money-saving recipes in newspapers, magazines and the Internet. These days, there are plenty around, as people share ideas on ways to beat the credit crunch.
Of course, you want to use the three major food groups of protein, carbohydrates and fats, along with fruit and vegetables, but this is easily done if you have planned those menus well and shopped wisely and economically. To get you started, here are two of my favorite recipes that will neither break the budget nor bore your taste-buds.
STIR FRIED STEAK IN PEPPER SAUCE WITH RICE AND PEAS (Serves 4)
This can be done in about 20 minutes and it combines all food groups to keep a family well fed and nourished.
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound of thin, lean frying steak, cut into strips of about half an inch.
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
4 ounces of button mushrooms
Packet of pepper sauce
Enough long grain rice for 4 people (see packet for quantities)
4 tablespoons of frozen garden peas
Salt to taste for boiling the rice.
FOR DESSERT:
4 Tubs 0f ready made, low fat chocolate mousse
8 mint crisp chocolates or After Eight mints to garnish.
METHOD:
Put the rice to cook in boiling, salted water. In a large frying pan, heat the oil till it is "fizzing" then toss in the steak, moving it around till it starts to brown on both sides. Add the onions and mushrooms, turning and moving till they cook through. This should only take about 5-6 minutes on a medium heat. Drain off excess oil and make up your packet of sauce, then pour it into the steak mixture. Put this in a dish in a low oven to stay warm, along with you dinner plates.
Check the rice and add the peas about two minutes before cooking is complete. Drain, then arrange the rice and peas in a circle on the plates, then divide the peppered steak into the middle of each plate. Serve with a green salad or some crusty buttered granary bread. Watch it disappear.
SAUSAGE, EGGS, BEANS AND TOMATOES WITH HOME MADE POTATO WEDGES (Serves 4)
INGREDIENTS:
Frozen Wedges made from 4 large potatoes (the method explains how to do these)
8 large pork sausages
4 large eggs
4 large tomatoes, halved
1 large tin of baked beans.
Little oil for frying
FOR DESSERT:
1 Large can of peach slices in natural juice
4 big scoops of vanilla ice cream
METHOD: To make the potato wedges and freeze up a supply, you should microwave large potatoes to the quantities you need, then cut into 6 chunks each. Toss them in a bowl with enough olive oil to coat lightly, a sprinkling of chilli powder, salt and black pepper. Bake in a moderate oven for about 40 minutes. Cool and freeze. Heat them for about half an hour in a moderate oven to get them crisper, when using with any meal you like.
When the wedges have been cooking for about 10 minutes, heat a large pan with a little oil and start to cook the sausages. Do not prick them with a fork, but fry them slowly, turning frequently till they are golden brown. Put them at the bottom of the oven to keep warm. Now cook the tomatoes thoroughly in the pan, no need to change the oil, you have the juices from the sausages to add flavor. Place them with the sausages in the oven while you fry the eggs. Put your beans into a pan to heat gently. Share out the food onto heated plates, adding the freshly fried egg to each one. Serve with soft, fresh bread.
As you can see, neither of these suggested meals will cost a fortune, but they are big on taste and value. I hope you enjoy finding ways to feed your family well on less.
Posted by
, Published at
12:29 PM
and have
0
comments
Tidak ada komentar :
Posting Komentar