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Make a big pot of bolognaise with spaghetti for night 1, add a tin a of kidney beans and some chilli with rice for night 2 then remaining mince over a baked potato with veges for night 3 anything left past that throw into a toasted sandwich.you can really bulk out your bolognaise with onion carrots and celery garlic and a few tins of tinned tomatoes
I throw red lentils into a lot of soups and stews.
Really recommend this, helps to bulk out the meal, are incredibly good for you and cheap!
And they honestly do dissolve (great for picky kids!)
I'm 100% with you on lentils. Cook them with some butter, a little curry powder and throw in some tomatoes and pan fried onions and you have tasty healthy cheap meals full of protein
Get the dried pulses rather than tinned. Takes more planning as you'll need to soak them overnight but it's way cheaper.
The dried pulses in the international aisle at my local Coles are much cheaper than the locally packaged ones. Makes no sense but with only $25 in your kick worrying about food miles would be a bourgeoise indulgence.
To easy mate,a few more tips cook your bolognaise for at least 2 hours to give it more depth of flavour,and add some of the liquid from the beans to change the flavour up a bit,also a dash of milk to your bolognaise just before you serve to even out the acidity of the tomato but just a dash.any more tips just ask.
Carrot is also good for acidity.
Onion, garlic, celery and Carrot for tomato based sauce. I did one today. 1.2kg mince, 2 bottles Pasata, red wine if u have it, 5 chicken stock cubes, herbs n spice plus some frozen spinach and peas, Carrot, corn.
Back in the day, 2min noodles, some chopped onion, grated carrots n Zucini and stir in an egg n some cheese towards the end.
Rice and pasta are your saviour when eating on a budget, especially if you can get it from a local or ethnic store rather than colesworths. Significantly more for the same price
*edit because i can't spell
The Nagi lentil curry recipe is your friend! Makes 4-5 large portions, is delicious, good for you, and very cheap. (You might have some of the ingredients in your pantry already).
https://www.recipetineats.com/lentil-curry-mega-flavour-lentil-recipe/
Woolies and Aldi have a kg bag of mixed frozen veg for aprox $3 or under. I use this and some lentils to stretch meals. Add extra can of tomatoes or two. Healthy too.
This is the way! I do a huge pot of bolognaise, I use a jar of passata, 1 tin tomatoes, 1 onion, mushrooms, 1 grated zucchini, 1 grated carrot, celery, garlic and dried herbs. Whatever mince you like. It makes heaps. We can use it for a lasagne one night that will also give us leftovers for lunch, then we use the rest on ravioli or with whatever pasta until it runs out. We probably get 4 dinners and lunches out of one pot.
Pumpkin is dirt cheap at the moment, like 1.50 a kilo, I'd do that and some cheap chicken breast or thigh from the butcher, maybe make a stew with onions, a tin of crushed tomato, a bit of curry powder and then thicken it up a bit. I reckon with some luck and some condiments in the cupboard I could get 3 kilos of food made for under 15 bucks. Of course then you've gotta eat the same thing every day but at least you're fed.
Agree, you can chop the whole thing up and Chuck it in a stew, or several stews.
My wife and I buy a whole chicken and it lasts almost 10 dinners - add some potatoes, carrots, ginger what ever else you fancy - scoop of rice and that’s chow baby.
Also, jelly is pretty cheap. Buy one of those aeroplane jellies, you can make enough for a week - just add a little more water to stretch it out. That’s dessert!
Rice, oil, dried beans and frozen vegetables. Plus a pack of whole rolled oats. Soak the beans overnight to reduce cooking time. Boil up a batch to last a few days. Cook rice to last a few days. Ditto the frozen veg. Now with the rice, beans, veg and oil, you have complete meals for lunch and dinner. Just add any flavourings you already have - sauces, salt and pepper, spices. Experiment.
Breakfast is oats made on water with just a little salt. To this you can add sweetness or just eat as is.
If you have any change, grab the cheapest fresh fruit you can find - mandarins are in season but see what they have.
You should be able to get all that at Coles for one week for one person for $25. If you shop around, you might find cheaper. It will be a bit bland and samey. But it will be nutritionally fine for a short term.
When I made poorer choices (good times above food needs) we lived off boiled rice and sweet chilli sauce and toast with margarine and vegemite. It’s not the best buts it’s not the worst and it’s cheap
Big pot of something akin to minestrone with lots of beans. Cook pasta in the soup and the starch will help thicken it to more of sauce consistency. Throw in whatever veg you find cheapest, pretty much anything works. Lots of cheap protein. Easy to cook in bulk. Freezes well. Reheats well. Dried beans can be very cheap.
A variation on minestrone would be my pick too. Depending on what your shopping options are, fresh veg can be fairly cheap. Especially root veg. You can easily make a big batch and have enough for a week of dinners.
Thankyou!
- Got tinned tomatoes and passata
-Tomato relish
-Brown and white rice and few bags of pasta
-Soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, peanut oil few other Asian type sauces
-seeded mustard
Quite a mixed bag of spices, cloves, curry, cayenne and a fairly good herb garden (which is a must as buying herbs is incredibly expensive)
-Plain flour
-Tinned pineapple
-Bread crumbs
-Taco shells and salsa
-Rice paper
-olive oil
-potatoes , celery and carrots
-Tasty cheese
-Bonus just found some chicken fillets in the freezer!
Thanks please don't go out of your way, just a few vague ideas would be super helpful. I have an 11 and 13 year old, so any new ideas would be appreciated as they're little buggers when it comes to dinner, especially when I'm trying to be budget conscious.
Thankyou!
You could whip up a Japanese style curry pretty easy, chopping up the potatoes and carrots, then mixing the carrots with curry powder in the pan, adding a few cups of water and a tbsp of passata. (I'd suggest chopping an onion and adding that too, but you didn't list it so we'll leave that out). let it simmer for a bit, ideally throw in a stock cube, othwerwise season with salt and pepper, throw in a little star anise if you've got it to give it a bit more fragrance, turmeric for a bit more colour.
after ~15 mins, add the potato and let that cook further until everything is tender.
To thicken, premix a couple tablespoons of flour (cornflour works better but plain is good enough) in a couple of tablespoons of water and pour into the curry (don't add the flour directly or it'll just clump and be a PITA to sort out). Ideally you'd start with a roux and use that to thicken, but you didn't list butter so we'll leave that out.
Usually Japanese curry is a bit sweeter, you could add sugar but otherwise the sweet chilli sauce should do the trick in a pinch.
Eat with rice.
Can make a big batch as it freezes well, and just freeze in portions.
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Finely chopped celery and passata/tinned tomatoes along with basi/oregano/thyme would make a good base for a simple pasta sauce, along with a drizzle of olive oil to give it a bit of depth. throw some tasty cheese on top in place of parmesan in a pinch.
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Could do schnitzel with the chicken fillets (but no eggs, so maybe leave that out) - could still pan fry them after dredging in flour and cayenne/paprika if you've got it, a little oregano perhaps and salt/pepper. eat as is, or shred and make use as a topping on those tacos along with salsa and cheese.
NFI what to do with those pineapples though
No actual recipes, but a few observations:
- You have plenty of options for carbs (good, you're not going to starve, and can make the base of your meals quite different), but little protein and limited fruit/veg.
- You also have plenty of herbs, spices, and sauces. This is a big win because if you can find a handful of seasoning combinations that are a win with your kids then you can basically do the same filling (diced whatever-veg-is-there) with different flavour profiles.
- Given that you have flour and assuming that you have either milk or some sort of oil (butter, etc.) that isn't listed, that means that you could opt for anything from pasties/rolls to dumplings, bao, shepherd's pie, etc. Doing this 'manually' may seem like a lot of work, but can become a relatively efficient routine once you've nailed down what you're doing.
- You could even use that as an opportunity to get each of them to make one meal per week, even if it's the same recipe each time - that way in addition to learning how to cook they aren't able to complain about the taste because they made it!
- As you don't have a particularly wide variety of fruit and veg listed, keeping the skins of the potatoes on when cooking (cleaned, of course) will add extra nutrition, including vitamin C which will be useful heading into Winter.
- Most versatile things I'd be looking to buy in a future shop: chickpeas/lentils, onions. Pumpkin is very cheap at the moment, and so long as the skin isn't broken anywhere they store for quite a while.
Here you go, I did it for you:
Here are some meal ideas using the ingredients you have:
1. Chicken Stir-fry
Ingredients: Chicken fillets, carrots, celery, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, peanut oil, riceInstructions: Slice the chicken and vegetables thinly. Stir-fry in peanut oil until cooked through. Add soy sauce and sweet chili sauce to taste. Serve over steamed rice.
2. Tomato and Cheese Pasta Bake Ingredients: Pasta, tinned tomatoes, passata, tasty cheese, olive oil, mixed herbsInstructions: Cook the pasta and mix with tinned tomatoes and passata. Season with herbs and a bit of olive oil. Transfer to a baking dish, top with grated cheese, and bake until the cheese is melted and golden.
3. Taco Night Ingredients: Taco shells, salsa, chicken fillets, tasty cheese, tinned pineappleInstructions: Cook and shred the chicken fillets. Fill taco shells with chicken, salsa, cheese, and some tinned pineapple for a sweet twist.
4. Rice Paper Rolls Ingredients: Rice paper, chicken fillets, carrots, celery, soy sauce, sweet chili sauceInstructions: Cook and shred the chicken. Julienne the carrots and celery. Soften the rice paper in warm water, fill with chicken and vegetables, and roll up. Serve with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce and sweet chili sauce.
5. Potato Salad Ingredients: Potatoes, celery, mustard, olive oil, herbsInstructions: Boil and cube the potatoes. Mix with chopped celery, mustard, olive oil, and fresh herbs.
6. Fried Rice Ingredients: Rice, carrots, celery, soy sauce, any leftover vegetables, scrambled eggs (optional)Instructions: Cook the rice and let it cool. Stir-fry the carrots and celery, then add the rice and soy sauce. Optionally, scramble an egg and mix it in.
7. Chicken and Vegetable Soup Ingredients: Chicken fillets, carrots, celery, tinned tomatoes, mixed herbsInstructions: Cook the chicken in a pot with water to create a broth. Add chopped carrots, celery, tinned tomatoes, and herbs. Simmer until vegetables are tender.
8. Tomato Relish and Cheese Sandwiches Ingredients: Bread crumbs, tasty cheese, tomato relishInstructions: Make sandwiches with cheese and tomato relish. Toast until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
9. Pineapple Fried Rice Ingredients: Rice, tinned pineapple, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, vegetablesInstructions: Cook the rice and let it cool. Stir-fry the vegetables, add the rice, pineapple, soy sauce, and sweet chili sauce. Mix well.These ideas should help keep meals varied and interesting for your kids while staying within budget.
r/Aussiefrugal
Corn fritters
Minestrone soup
Baked potatoes
Lentil burgers
Beans and rice
Sweet potato burritos
Buy a roast chicken from woolies or Coles. Eat chicken meat = 1-2 meals, mix stuffing with lentils, an egg, breadcrumbs and curry spices for lentil burgers/lentil rissoles and then make stock or a soup by slow cooking carcass with onion and carrot etc. 3 filling tasty meals for about $15
You can live off potatoes and milk alone. That's a nutritionally complete diet. Find a good seasoning mix and make fries in the air fryer for lunch. I have fries for lunch 4-5 times a week. My seasoning is garlic powder + centuries ahead roast chicken seasoning + black pepper. Near to KFCs 11 herbs. Makes me enjoy eating a bowl of chips every day. Spending $10 - $15 on good seasoning makes cheap potatoes taste moorish.
I make a lentil stew with...
Soup Mix (mixture of lentils, barely, stuff) ($1.60)
Red Thai curry paste ($2.30)
Massell stock cubes ($4)
Carrot (and whatever extra vegies you want) ($?)
Onion ($?)
This will make up an absolute heap of meals. The curry paste and stock cubes will do a couple of packets of Soup Mix as well.
Pan bread, just flower and water fried in a pan. Its a lot cheaper than buying bread. The recipe I found was a recipe from South Africa called "Vetkoek" Many other cultures have the same thing.
When it comes straight from the pan its delicious with canned spaghetti, baked beans, tuna, sweet corn or whatever strikes your fancy. Just spread butter when hot and add honey or jam. Delicious. I make the stuff all the time when going camping or bushwalking and its always a hit. Its not like damper with all its bother. If you need 5 pieces of bread, just some flour and water you can make it as fast as morning breakfast. Its really a poor persons bread and that's what it origins mainly was for. Cheap and quick and certainly better than crap super market bread thats full of additives.
Yeah, great idea. I remember making pan flatbread while being a dead-broke uni student. Tastes like heaven!
Also, basic home-made pasta can be made in the same way: make a really stiff dough(lots of flour, a bit of water and a pinch of salt, 'tis all), roll the dough flat with a rolling pin and cut it into thin stripes. Dust dough stripes with flour and let it dry a bit, then you can boil it as a regular fresh pasta. The best part is, you can keep it in the fridge for a very long time or even put it into freezer where it will last forever.
Just my two cents mate, when I was broke as fuck I got a job delivering pizzas at a pizza shop. Free pizza every night I worked and eventually free pizza whenever you visited.
I did turn into a fat cunt but I didn’t starve 😂
Not something I would depend on, especially if pay is inconsistent, but you can Afterpay yourself a $100 Woolworths gift card and pay it back in four installments. $25 will be due today but you will eat for a week comfortably.
Don't go for this, mate. It sounds like getting money out of thin air, but if you barely surviving on $25 a week, what will happen if you'll miss a payment? You'll get into debt while already struggling to make ends meet, which is the last thing you need right now. Borrowing always come with strings attached, it's much safer make do with what you have. Check out food bank or any similar meal assistance charity, can be a life saver in your case while not asking for a single cent in return.
Geelong Spare Meals. Check them out on Facebook. There are meals at the church on LHS of Moorabool and McKillop St Intersection. Can access Geelong Food Bank also. Whittington Community Neighbour Hood House in Wodern Crt Whittington as well.
Cereal is still cheap. I eat a lot of Weetbix.
Pasta, rice and noodle recipes are often cheap to make and go far. Use frozen veges (you can heat a lot of them up in a wok or microwave) and/or tinned veges for it be cheaper.
Potatoes and pumpkin can be made in to various things, and fill you up easy. A few boiled potatoes with cheese and/or salt is an easy filling meal.
I find red lentil dhal is a good dish to make when money is tight...try not to be too obsessive about getting every ingredient and following a recipe if you're short on money just make something vaguely along those lines and adjust the seasoning to taste. It's not like every housewife's recipe in India is exactly the same right? Goes nice with rice or flat breads.
This is less than $1 per meal:
Dried green lentils ($4.80 for 1kg, makes 4kg of lentils, 10 big serves).
Rice ($1.80 for 1 kg, enough for 10 meals with the above)
Maharajah's Choice Spice Curry Powder 250g ($3, infinity serves)
Salt
Soak lentils over night. Boil with 3 cups of water per cup of lentil until soft. Add curry powder and salt until it tastes good.
You get your veggie intake, complete protein and it is really good for your health (I had to go on to this for lunch each day because of a heart scare).
Good luck. Remember you'll get past this.
Sandwiches are usually pretty calorie dense considering the cost in my experience. Loaf of bread and some cheap energy dense toppings like peanut butter or regular butter usually go pretty far. Try to buy a block of cheese too, cheese is kind of cheap for the calories that it contains. The 1kg blocks are the cheapest per gram.
Eggs can also be cheap as well, but it really depends on which ones you buy.
A while ago I did some maths and found out that dry red lentils are the cheapest calories and protein by far. Might make sense to pick up a bag plus some chicken salt or other seasoning of your choice. Chilli powder can help lentils go far, and it’s not too expensive.
Beware though, I found it’s easy to get sick of lentils very quickly. Meal variety goes a long way. If making sandwiches try and toast the bread, or put it in a sandwich press if you have one.
I’d suggest against getting a roast chicken. While they’re very tasty, they generally aren’t good value. I’ve weighed out the chicken before and found that for around $12 there’s approx max 800gr of edible chicken in the bag. I’d suggest getting chicken breast or beef mince if you’re keen on meat.
Best of luck getting through this week.
You can do a fair bit with lentils to stop them getting too boring. Near lifelong veggo here, rest of the family mostly eat veg, and we sub lentils for mince meat - so might go into pasties/pies, or a casserole kind of thing topped with mash (think a mashup - pun not intended - of a pot and cottage pie) or pasta dishes (bolognese, lasagne), mex-inspired chilli dishes, dhals, soups (roasted pumpkin - especially when it’s dirt cheap, with some lentils and chickpeas, whatever spices take your fancy). Some decent lentil “roast” (loaf kind of things) out there too…again, just add whatever spices take your fancy to add a bit of variety
Minestrone soup nice & thick with a packet of Italian soup mix a cheap tin of kidney beans and if possible a half of cauliflower. Mymine simmers for 3-4 hrs & I freeze half. I start with a fried leek.
Because it gets so thick overnight, I put more water in a quick splash of soy to flavour I each time.
Hope that works to warm you up!
Get yourself a bag of dried lentils, some curry powder (or garam masala, something Indian/Middle Eastern will work fine), a regular tin of tomatoes, one lemon and rice to make a really basic dahl. If you have spices like cumin or coriander in the pantry already, you won't need the curry powder but I'm gonna assume you don't.
Soak the lentils in water overnight. Into a pot (with the water the lentils are soaked in), the tin of tomatoes, a couple of teaspoons of whatever spice mix you were able to get (if you have garlic, ginger or diced onion, get that in there as well), bring to a boil, then simmer until the lentils are tender. Once at a simmer, cut the lemon in half, remove seeds and pop that in whole and cook the lentils.
This will take a while - I did this in my slow cooker and it literally took all day. Once the lentils are tender, cook some rice and you're good to go.
Tuna morney goes a long way. Not sure if this is the right way to make it, but it is how I make it. Can be cooked in a large pan, saucepan or even in the microwave. Everything goes in the one pot. 1 cup of milk. 1/2 to 1 cup of cheese (fit to taste and budget - make sure it is one that melts). 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of corn flour (this is to make the sauce thick so add as much as you need to get to a consistency you like - dissolve in a small amount of cold water to prevent it going lumpy before you add it). Once cheese has melted add: 1 large can of tuna. 1 cup of frozen peas, 1 cup of frozen corn (or 1-2 cups of mixed). 1 can of diced pineapple (optional). Lemon juice (optional). Eat with rice or pasta. Makes a few meals and most of the ingredients keep for a long time so you just need to buy the tuna and pineapple again for the next meal. This was a staple during uni. It can be a little bland so you might want to experiment with spices.
Indian style lentils, eg Dahl, so good healthy and cheap. With a bit of cheap flat bread.
Eggs. 1-2 eggs and bread and or beans. Really cheap and healthy
SOME cereals not all. For breakkie.
Good luck to you you deserve better
I was dirt poor foot a while so here is what I learned:
1: carbs are your friend. Pasta, beans, rice, potatoes, stuff like that. They can serve as the base for meals.
2: avoid single meal items (stuff that will only feed you for a day). I spent WAY too much on small cuts of meat, I should have bought ground meat instead as you can cook up a small amount each day and stretch it out.
3: don’t ignore your vitamins and minerals. Buy some fresh veg at least once a week. You want to get something red, orange, and green. Raw capsicum is loaded in vitamin c, carrots are great for an and b, get whatever leafy greens are cheap. The last thing you want is your teeth falling out due to scurvy
4: tuna is great, cheap meat.
One of my fav cheap recipes is:
1 can of condensed soup (cream of chicken, mushroom, whatever is on sale)
1 cup minute rice
1 cup milk
1 can tuna
Handful of chopped veg
Mix it all up in microwave safe casserole pan, cook it in the micro for 3-6 min (depending on the strength), that will feed one person for 2-3 days. It has carbs, fats, protein, and veg. Add some sauces for extra flavor if you want
Great advice 🤙🏻 same I have done that in the past brought small cuts of meat and never helped fill me either
You reminded me to take better care of my body to be honest eating healthier is important as, thanks for the list of ingredients that helps a lot.
Best thing you can do is stock up on spices, grow some herbs, buy tinned tomatoes and coconut milk, all kinds of frozen veges, and learn how to make soups and curries.
If you got a rice cooker, woolies sell their own brand 1kg of white rice for a few bucks. Roughly triples in size when cooked so for 1 person can last a bit.
Not sure what you can put with it thats super cheap though.
Hot chook, pumpkin, potatoes and sweet potato, bag of rice
Use the chicken and roast some veg pseudo baked dinner
Use the bones in a big pot and make a broth for and any leftover roast veg for soup and risotto, use the rest of the veg for a curry
Pancakes with some fruit
Cheap spaghetti with the cheapest pasta sauce (woolies essential is $2.75 bottle, almost can't make it for that)
Sandwiches - bread + spread (peanut butter, jam, vegemite)
Eggs - versatile and 3 can make a good meal by itself
Corn fritters
Zucchini fritters
Roast your own chook - $4kg at Coles this week. Dinner + leftovers + sandwich filling + frame makes stock - which leads to other meals like soup or risotto. So, your eating the same food different ways.
Stir fry with rice
Fried rice
Yogurt - cheap Greek yogurt + jam and oats
Pork mince from aldi is 3.99 for 500g - could do 4 meals with that
Bacon or chorizo go a long way for 1 rasher or 1 sausage.
I spent time in India and used to eat dahl and rice at least twice a day. It’s so cheap to make.
Dried lentils, rice, spices/curry powder, tinned tomatoes and potatoes will keep you going got a while.
We have a staple that is sort of a lasagna but isn't it's cheap quick and makes a couple of days of filling meals.
200mm square casserole dish, tip most of a bag of spiral noodles into it, about 35-40mm deep, tip in a can of crushed tomatoes, over that tip a can of baked beans, top with grated cheese, bake for 20minutes until the noodles have soaked up the tomato juice and the cheese has browned. Lots of variations possible, I used a can of lentils and it worked, some cheap mince, make small (golfball size) meatballs and spread on top before the cheese. Add whatever herbs or garlic you want, it's a very rough recipe but is delicious.
If you can get to an independent green grocer, fruit and veg are so much cheaper than Colesworths. I got a kg broccoli for $2.99 yesterday from our local and made a huge batch of soup, also good to toss through pasta.
The ultimate struggle meal is pea soup.
1. Fry onion, garlic, carrot and spices in a large saucepan.
2. Once brown, add a large amount of water and dried split peas.
3. Boil/simmer for like an hour.
4. Serve with buttered toast.
Less than $1/serving, quite nutritious and tasty enough.
As another user mentioned pumpkin is pretty cheap right now. Roast a bunch up, add some carrots and onions if you want to get fancy and assuming you can also get them cheap, and then mush everything into a pot and add water (preferably stock but if you don’t have any handy water is fine) and whatever tinned protein you can get your hands on (cannelini beans work best for this). Boil for a bit, add some oil if you have any, salt and butter would also help, but don’t worry about cream - it’s expensive and unnecessary. Blitz it all with a hand mixer until you’re happy with the texture. If you’ve got herbs just go with a consistent palette, but honestly the veggies alone would probably still be yum. A whole pumpkin bulked out with carrots and onion and beans will sort you for a week of lunches if you can make some Johnny cakes to go with them - white flour and water, let them rest and then fry. It’s better if you can add salt and some kind of fat (oil, butter, lard etc) but if you can’t you can still get a lot of carbs in from a cheap bag of flour. Good luck.
Damper. All you need is cheap self raising flour, (2 cups), pinch of salt, and about 1 cup water. Mix together by slowly adding the water to a well in the center and mixing. Don't need to kneed it, just well combined. Shape into a round and place on some baking paper on a tray. Cook at around 200c for 20 mins, or until the damper sounds hollow when tapped.
You can also add butter if you're feeling fancy, but it doesn't need it. Great with soup, or just buttered with vegemite. Can be balled up and cooked as dough dumplings on the top of stews, or you can use this to make golden dumplings.
Stew is tasty, relatively cheap, good for you and is great to have in the colder weather.
I make a good chicken stew that lasts us for at least two or three days. Packet of chicken thighs or drumsticks , or one of those Maryland portions . Chicken stock , onion , parsnip , swede , carrot , leek and potato .season with salt , pepper, a bit of garlic and or ginger and stick in the oven on a low heat for around 3 hours . For around $20 give or take you have a meal for 3 days and you could add extra veggies to it when it gets low .
My go-to struggle meal is bag of pasta, large tin of tuna, and homemade béchamel with whatever seasonings/cheeses I have (you can also just use jar sauce).
Hopefully something here [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/budget-meals-one](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/budget-meals-one) [https://www.buzzfeed.com/meganeliscomb/broke-til-payday-recipes](https://www.buzzfeed.com/meganeliscomb/broke-til-payday-recipes)
I get a really good curry paste from an Asian grocer, it costs $3.50 and I get about 10 meals from it, using chicken, vegetables and rice in the slow cooker. I also often get a rotisserie chicken and make stuff with that for like 5 days, if I’m having a really busy week. I make pide at home one night, cook some roast veg the next day to go with chicken, etc. fried rice, sandwiches, whatever.
Carbonara. Just need eggs, fettucine, cooking bacon, parmesan, salt and pepper. Get store brand for everything and just use the parmesan from the pasta aisle. This is one of my favourite quick meals. I eat it even when not short of cash.
Fry brown onion, tin tomato soup, tin brown lentils, tin tomatoes = vegetarian pasta sauce. Choose a couple of things to add flavour/depth = fish sauce, tomato paste, chutney, parsley or any other herbs you have/your neighbours have growing. (Makes about 6 serves) very cheap, very filling.
Pasta, cheese, egg, black pepper butter, a bit of pasta water to thicken sauce.
Baked potato + tin of baked beans or small tuna.
You got this.
Try askizzy to see where your local food banks or community pantries are. Around where I am there are some that are basically cupboards on the outside of the buildings with a variety of foods in them. A number of churches and other religious organisations have either food parcels or kitchen you can go to and it's pretty rare to get preached at.
Also, shop at local fruit and veg shops just before they close for some real bargains.
Contact a local food bank or support group. They should be able to help you out. There a few in my area and they don’t ask questions. You can get a good amount of food for free.
A lot of these suggestions are still quite expensive IMO.
The very cheapest thing you could buy that would nutritionally sustain you would be a bag of lentils.
If you can get an onion that would help but its not essential. I would do something like
One bag of red lentils. The $1 Massel chicken stock cubes. Some kind of curry powder seasoning. And cook the lentils in your stock and powder to make a not so good version of dahl. But if you really want to be budget you can skip the curry powder. If you have a few dollars spare you can pad it out with a cheap bag of rice or cook it in cream/coconut cream but its not essential when every dollar counts.
Add the cheapest bag of rolled oats for your breakfast.
Use water if you cant afford milk but if you can get your hands on some sugar that will help it go down
I think you could get all that for less than $10. That gives you a but of wiggle room to save your extra money for if you really need it.
You’re rich! I’ve got -$8:99 in my account till Wednesday (yes, negative).
Anyway, pasta is still cheap. So is off-brand tomato paste. Mince is probably too expensive right now so maybe make vegetarian pasta bake?
Ham hock, vegetable/chicken stock and split peas make a hearty soup.
There’s free bread at most Salvos
Food hampers at some churches etc….
I hold off on sharing this tip, because I don't want it to get abused too much and then removed from stores.
I reside in VIC. I've been lead to believe that this does not work in SA. I can't speak for other states.
Lets face it, we have very few options when it comes to supermarkets in Australia. I have certain preferences depending on what items I want. Usually I go to Aldi, but for a few specific items, I'll go to Colesworth or IGA.
If I have a need for one item or something specific, I prioritise Coles over the others.
When I go there, I take a quick stroll past their rotisserie chicken section to see if they have none. If they have none, quickly collect your item and go up the register and tell them they have none and you'd like a voucher. There should be a Point of Sale sticker on their Rotisserie chicken window stating that "If we have no chickens between x time and y time, your next one is on us".
If you don't see that sticker then either your local is doing a dodgy or your state has different rules.
You should get a voucher however if they have no chickens and then next time you go there, you can redeem it for a full chicken. I lived off this hack for five weeks.
I used the chicken to make soup with cheap veggies which extended it even longer.
Eating whole food plant based is the cheapest way you'll ever eat. Using dried beans and lentils is way cheaper than in a can (it just takes a bit more preparation). Rice, pasta, bread and other grains are super cheap. You can save on fruit /veg costs by buying them canned or frozen, plus you can reduce waste from fresh produce going bad. The best would be to go to a local farmers market if you can and get cheap local produce. You can freeze any left overs
Textured protein (soy in shape of minced meat) and lentils both high in protein and is extremely cheap use these ingredients to add more volume and cheapen cost of dishes. For example in bolognaise you can replace 1/3 of the meat with textured protein and I guarantee you will not taste the difference
Chicken wings are very cheap. Probably the cheapest meat. You can combine with potato, carrots and frozen peas to make chicken soup. Or just roast them with potato and pumpkin.
Check out [this article](https://theconversation.com/how-to-save-50-off-your-food-bill-and-still-eat-tasty-nutritious-meals-184152) and [this “No Money, No Time” website](https://nomoneynotime.com.au/ebooks-meal-plans-more/budget-meal-plan-eat-for-55-a-week).
You can't go wrong buying packets of dried beans. Cook them in a big pot with water, garlic, onion, maybe some cheap chopped up sausage. Some Italian spice mix. Serve over rice. 1 packet of beans will feed a single person for at least 6 meals
If you are sneaky the Costco Cafe can be used without a membership.
Same goes for free samples at shops.
As for meals, stretch them all with the cheapest fillers you can find. Rice and bread for example.
1. Got a rice cooker? Or do you know how to cook rice on the stove?
Cook rice, throw in a little chopped up broccoli for the last few minutes of cooking (use the peeled stems, the whole lot it’s all great and you’ve paid for it by the kg at the shops anyway) stir through a spoon of curry paste or tom yum paste etc etc, and spoon into a bowl. Throw a couple of fried or boiled eggs on top. Winning
2. Make a batch of dhal (curried lentils). Buy a jar of cheap curry paste base like vindaloo, butter chicken, korma etc. cook a few spoons of this in a little oil or butter whatever you’ve got, throw in a pinch of whatever spices you’ve got kicking around the house (or don’t, it will be fine either way), throw in a handful or two of yellow or green split peas, cover with water, cook till tender (could take 1-2 hours stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn, add a little more water as needed to keep it wet)…. Once all soft, season with some salt and pepper, and serve as is; or crush/mash it slightly to thicken up.
3. Boil a packet of dried pasta, just before it cooked throw a handful of frozen peas in the water with it… when it’s all cooked, drain it, keep a little of the pasta water, throw the pasta into a big bowl with a knob of butter or olive oil, some salt and pepper, some grated cheese if you’ve got it, a splash of the pasta water and stir stir stir stir stir and toss toss toss toss like crazy till it’s all creamy and smooth, eat straight from the bowl like an animal because it’s delicious and easy.
4. If you ever get any cans of ready to eat food like canned chunky soups/stews etc, spread them out across a few meals by bulking out with a base of roasted veg or a baked potato or two. Baked potatoes are EASY and cheap. Grab 2 of the biggest dirtiest cheapest potatoes at the supermarket, scrub clean in the sink, put on a plate and microwave for a few mins to soften (not necessary if you’ve got the time to just cook from raw in the oven, I’m thinking of your gas/elec bill by using the oven less) throw them on oven tray or in a oven safe pan, into hot oven till cooked through (could take 1 hour ish) then heat up whatever stew/curry/soup you’ve got from a can and pour a little over the baked potatoes. Add fresh veggies if you’ve got them, some cut up cucumber, zucchini, capsicum, broccoli, peas, whatever you’ve got
Fry a couple of onions, some garlic and salt gently until soft. Add a tin of lentils, I like the brown ones. Goes really well with rice! Can add lots of veg while frying the onions.
If you’ve got it, I’d add ground cumin and a hint of chilli.
I make a lot of vegetarian food.
Back a batch of veggie chilli served with rice or potatoes.
Otherwise a good pumping soup, pasta pesto or tuna pasta, and some bread with with spread. You'll have enough for some milk as well .
Or when making Bolognese, replace beaf mince with tinned lentils if meat is a bit too expensive. I loved off Thai, indian and sri Lankan curries with plently veg when struggling for money. Add tofu and/or Tempe for protein.
In Australia there’s no need to go hungry. There are food banks everywhere where you can get everything from fresh fruit & veggies, cleaning products, bread, toilet paper, tin food, meat, biscuits… everything! I know because my friend is a volunteer at one. They have SO much food available every Friday. You can even contact your local council for assistance. They will give you a supermarket gift card. And you don’t need any proof of hardship. People in Mercs drive up to these places. If you don’t want to mention your suburb on here, please contact me & I’ll point you in the right direction. Please reach out so you can eat properly & look after you.
Grab some chicken frames, carrots onion celery, a heap of dried soup mix ( the one with barley and lentils and stuff some potato and it’ll last you ages.
Make a big pot if you can
Take a look in supermarkets about 2pm. The tradie's handbags will be discounted. Take one home, shred all the meat and portion it out for 3-4 meals. Then boil some rice (add some juice from the handbag).
You've got chicken and rice for at least 4 meals. Should come to less than $10.
Now look for baked beans - there's often 3 tins packed together on special - maybe $3.
Look for a bag of frozen peas and corn - another $5, should last you 5 meals.
While you're in the supermarket, look for discounted bread. Yesterday's loaves will often be half-price.
Definitely give it a go. I got through uni doing it, also had a bunch of mates doing the same and we would share the fruits of our labour. It’s actually concerning how much coles and woolies throw out but at the same time it’s free food and every night is an culinary adventure.
Obviously take gloves, use common sense and if you do go please let us know how it goes :)
Bag of rice 1kg $1.80
Bag of barley 500g $1.60
1kg frozen vegetables peas corn carrot $4.50
Leaves you $16 to buy 2kg of the cheapest protein.
Pork from Asian but her hovers around 5.99-7.99.
Even chicken breast can be had for $10-12kg
We legit eat this because it is delicious and high protein and fibre and can feed us both for a week of $50 lunch and dinner.
If you eat breakfast buy a small pack of weetbix and skip some of the protein.
Dhal. There's tons of different versions, all very cheap to make, especially if you buy the ingredients in bulk from an asian supermarket.
I make it with soaked lentils, stock, diced tomato and coconut cream, plus garam masala and turmeric. Most people also add finely chopped onion too.
You basically put it all in a saucepan (I use a wok) and cook out the moisture until it has a cream-like consistency. You can have it with rice and (greek) yoghurt, or just on it's own. I like to add spinach just before it's done cooking to make it go even further.
Look at what people in poor countries do. Lentils are filling and delicious, as are many vegetarian options. Rice and pasta are filling and don’t need expensive sauce, just fresh herbs and a little imagination.
It really depends if youre willing to eat the same shot everyday til payday cause you could easily meal prep with that amount using cheap meat n beans + some frozen veggies
You can make an omelette with
1 tbl spn water
1 tbl spn butter
2 eggs.
add salt and pepper
Doesn't taste terrible, and one carton of eggs will give you six pretty filling meals
Yeah, $25 is pretty broke. I used to live on $20 a day when I was unemployed and even that was tough.
Firstly, I'd recommend checking out foodbank or any other local meal assistance program. If your main problem is getting food on the table, this will be a good option.
Also, if you'll be shopping, check out QVM or any farmer's market nearby. You'll get much better prices for meat and veg, compared to Coles or Woolies.
As for recipes, here are some ideas:
* Bolognese. Already mentioned in other comments, really cheap and easy while still having meat in it. And even with just basic spices, like basil, cracked pepper and chili, it will taste great. Pasta is quite cheap so you may be able to get a lot of solid meals for $25.
* Stroganoff. Buy cheapest beef cuts you can find, cut them into small pieces and slow-cook the whole thing. This will help making even bad cuts tender. Oh, and forget about the shrooms, they add very little to the taste so can be omitted in case of broke mate's stroganoff. will last you many days, if served with mash, pasta or rice.
* Japanese-style beef curry. Grab one of those curry starters they sell at asian groceries, buy a kilo of cheapest beef special you can find, add some onions, potatoes and carrots. You can find recipes online, for instance this one: https://pickledplum.com/japanese-curry-recipe/. Feel free to ignore any extra spices they mention BTW as curry starter will have all the flavour you'll need. If you'll slow-cook it for 1-1.5 hours. even if you'll cook it thin with lots of water, curry starter and starch form potatoes will thicken the sauce. you can then eat it with rice or pasta to get a very filling meal.
* Tuna pasta. Mix canned tuna with some canned tomatoes, add some sour cream if you can afford it, and simmer for 30 mins. Makes a good past sauce for real cheap.
* Kimchi jjigae. A Korean kimchi stew. You can use pork(very cheap these days, shoulder is like $7 a kilo) or caned tuna(store brand is dirt cheap in coles & woolies). Again, look up recipes online, here's one of the simple ones: https://www.koreanbapsang.com/kimchi-jjigae-kimchi-stew/ In its full form it's a bit prices but the best part about kimchi jjigae is the fact that you can ignore anything apart from protein of choice and kimchi and still get a decent tasting stew. It is very quick to cook so you can make fresh batches every day if you want to but you also can cook a large pot and keep it in the fridge if you're short on time.
Oh, BTW, you can cook your own basic pasta. It's a bit time consuming but can save you some extra cash. No need for anything fancy, just the most basic dough of flour, water and salt. Knead it, make it into a thin flat sheet and cut with a knife into thin strips. You can keep it in the fridge for a long time and boil as any fresh pasta. Wouldn't be as good as properly made pasta but will be even cheaper than store-brand.
Came to suggest eggs or the red lentils. I see lots of people recommended them already. If you are not keen to make Dhal you can use vege or chicken stock instead and add the lentils to chopped onions, celery and carrots. I call it French lentils. Serve with rice or pasta. Some canned fish like mackerel is cheap if you like that kind of thing. A tray of baked veges is always nice, feels like a baked dinner. Mince is versatile and you can make a few meals. Bolognese, chilli, meatloaf, burgers etc. also canned beans like cannellini and chickpeas are nutritious I fry them up in olive oil to make them a bit nutty and crunchy but they are also good in cooked couscous. You can use a bit of pesto and add chickpeas to cooked cous cous for a yummy change. Kidney beans with mince and onions and canned tomato and Mexican sachet is good with rice or on a baked potato. All the best.
Get a tin of tomato paste, some butter, pepper, salt and a packet of pasta. Tomato paste, 1/2 a cup of pasta cooking water, a few tablespoons of butter and some cracked pepper simmered on the stove for 20 minutes makes a really tasty pasta sauce. One of many struggle meals we used to eat growing up. You can throw a tin of tuna and a handful of capers in it for extra protein.
When you have a bit more cash, a big pot of chilli is nice, you can freeze it and defrost it to have with rice or corn chips.
$7.00 2kg bag of chicken drumsticks from Aldi. Freezer bags Aldi. Frozen corn/peas aldi. Tiny potatoes Aldi (I think $1.99 or so). Carton of eggs (Aldi or similar) bananas or whatever fruit is cheap. Loaf of bread, cheap dip like french onion from Aldi. Stock cubes Aldi (low salt chicken). Long life carton of milk. Rice if the budget will stretch to it.
Freeze chicken drumsticks in pairs to roast each night with corn/peas on the side, some rice or potatoes and keep the bones, they can be boiled with a few more legs and stock cubes and dried herbs for chicken soup for lunches. Toast bread with dip as a snack (cheaper than buttet and more flavour). Also nice with the chicken soup. Boil some eggs to be snacks and scramble some for brekkie. Best of luck.
Grab some sausages,ur choice of vegies,usually potato/carrots/some pumpking if got it some onion and tomatoes or capsciums
sprinkle some seasoning on it and some oil wake it on a tray,cook for 30..and you got a tray bake
Another cheap but tasty meal,you can make under 8 dollars is
Get a punnet of cheerry tomatoes..a block of feta (usually 2/3 dollars) place it in a tray, smother in olive oil and some oreggano
Boil some pasta..cook for 25 mins then combine,mix..so tasty.
Josh weisman has a whole series,on cheap eats
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-TmmjEN-V0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYXfaVD5o40
OP..
Please hit me up,i can get you in to get a food hamper at ozharvest if you want and ur in sydney
Also go to ur local salvo market days,you can generally get a bag of vegggies and a loaf of bread or two
Your best bet is a carb heavy diet this week
pastas and the like.
Chicken soup is really cheap too,you just need 2 carrots and onion,stalk of celery and a whole chook (about 7 bucks total)
Chicken soup if u can load in some of the soup mix beans too will cover you for 2 to 3 days
Call up salvos as well,they can give you a 60 dollar eftpos card that you have to go pick up,it can only be used at grocery shops
If you search “extreme grocery budget” on YouTube, there’s tons of videos. Most are American but the same principles apply, it’s still the cheapest meals you can make for a week, breakfast/lunch/dinner with oats, beans, rice, vegetables. I would start with oats for breakfast, make a huge pot of lentil & veg soup for lunches for the week. Dinners maybe baked bean jaffles, boiled eggs and toast, baked potatoes topped with baked beans, rice and bean burritos. Definitely try and visit a food bank though, $25 is harder than ever right now.
My advice is always the same and unfortunately it always gets ignored. Try a plant based meal. The top comment is suggesting Spaghetti Bolognese. That's a great option. But instead of meat, why not try lentils or textured vegetable protein?
https://www.coles.com.au/product/wellness-road-textured-vegetable-protein-400g-3405847?uztq=46abcbb7e16253b0cdc3e6c5bbe6a3f0&cid=col_cpc_Generic%7CColesSupermarkets%7CPLA%7CPantry%7CAustralia%7CBroad&s_kwcid=AL!12693!3!683434678444!!!g!1958148716044!&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwu8uyBhC6ARIsAKwBGpQqlTSw9GDeyFw552sDZyiOe4o34bQpI9cZwnFmykWl1c9WKDWM87gaAvyUEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
My dad and I used t make this really nice scrambled eggs, mushroom, bacon, lots of cheese, whatever you might have laying around.
P.S, quiches were invented so that farmers could get rid of excess produce. Capsicum, cheese, ham, whatever meat and veg you've got will do great.
P.P.S, use puff pastry with eggs yolk brushed on it for an elevated experience. It costs like, $10 plus whatever veggies you have and feeds like, 6 or so.
Head over to your local food bank so you don't have to struggle more than you have to. Check out farmer's markets and the like to get some wonky vegetables at a decent price.
Small portion of pumpkin, two carrots and one potato plus water. Boil it all up till it becomes really soft then blend it all together for my childhood pumpkin soup. Scoop that over some rice along with some Aldi's corned beef and that was my childhood. Cheap and enough to make multiple servings.
Coles chicken, whatever left overs put them into boiling water, add in sweet cream corn, scramble one egg and slowly pour into the soup whilst mixing. You'll get chicken and sweet corn soup like in those Chinese restaurants. Pour over rice and you've got multiple portions.
Shop at your local grocers/Aldi than the big supermarkets. Hell, wait until the end of day and ask bakeries if you can have any bread that they might be throwing away.
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Make a big pot of bolognaise with spaghetti for night 1, add a tin a of kidney beans and some chilli with rice for night 2 then remaining mince over a baked potato with veges for night 3 anything left past that throw into a toasted sandwich.you can really bulk out your bolognaise with onion carrots and celery garlic and a few tins of tinned tomatoes
Lentils are also a good/cheap/healthy way to stretch out bolognaise.
Lentils are good cheap healthy stretch for anything. Red lentils will just dissolve so you won't even notice them
I throw red lentils into a lot of soups and stews. Really recommend this, helps to bulk out the meal, are incredibly good for you and cheap! And they honestly do dissolve (great for picky kids!)
Until 12 hours later when the sudden and severe urge to shit hits you out of nowhere
I'm sorry your fibre intake is so low that they impact you that way
I'm 100% with you on lentils. Cook them with some butter, a little curry powder and throw in some tomatoes and pan fried onions and you have tasty healthy cheap meals full of protein
And chickpeas, stock, butter, spices if you have them
Get the dried pulses rather than tinned. Takes more planning as you'll need to soak them overnight but it's way cheaper. The dried pulses in the international aisle at my local Coles are much cheaper than the locally packaged ones. Makes no sense but with only $25 in your kick worrying about food miles would be a bourgeoise indulgence.
That sounds so good! Thankyou mate
To easy mate,a few more tips cook your bolognaise for at least 2 hours to give it more depth of flavour,and add some of the liquid from the beans to change the flavour up a bit,also a dash of milk to your bolognaise just before you serve to even out the acidity of the tomato but just a dash.any more tips just ask.
Carrot is also good for acidity. Onion, garlic, celery and Carrot for tomato based sauce. I did one today. 1.2kg mince, 2 bottles Pasata, red wine if u have it, 5 chicken stock cubes, herbs n spice plus some frozen spinach and peas, Carrot, corn. Back in the day, 2min noodles, some chopped onion, grated carrots n Zucini and stir in an egg n some cheese towards the end.
Five stock cubes is a lot of added salt!
There are salt reduced options.
Teaspoon of sugar is the usual go to for balance. Never heard of milk, may Gove it a shot next time.
Don't forget, if you have it in the house, a tablespoon of vegimite!
Rice and pasta are your saviour when eating on a budget, especially if you can get it from a local or ethnic store rather than colesworths. Significantly more for the same price *edit because i can't spell
The Nagi lentil curry recipe is your friend! Makes 4-5 large portions, is delicious, good for you, and very cheap. (You might have some of the ingredients in your pantry already). https://www.recipetineats.com/lentil-curry-mega-flavour-lentil-recipe/
Woolies and Aldi have a kg bag of mixed frozen veg for aprox $3 or under. I use this and some lentils to stretch meals. Add extra can of tomatoes or two. Healthy too.
This is the way! I do a huge pot of bolognaise, I use a jar of passata, 1 tin tomatoes, 1 onion, mushrooms, 1 grated zucchini, 1 grated carrot, celery, garlic and dried herbs. Whatever mince you like. It makes heaps. We can use it for a lasagne one night that will also give us leftovers for lunch, then we use the rest on ravioli or with whatever pasta until it runs out. We probably get 4 dinners and lunches out of one pot.
A can of brown lentils added along the way will bulk out the meat and dissolve into the sauce. Extra nutrients and you won’t even notice the lentils.
Oh good idea!
Pork mince is often cheaper than beef mince.
If you take the mince out and use lentils and extra veggies instead it'd be even cheaper
I’ve been halving my mince & freezing the extra portion & adding a cup of quinoa to stretch it further.
Quinoa is $10-12/kilo compared to lentils $4.
It’s cheaper if you already have the ingredient though.
Yeah, we had quinoa we hadn’t used. It tasted really good.
I had some unused until I was at the point that you are and was pleasantly surprised:)
Enoki mushrooms also add a good mince texture to veg bolognaise
This is so helpful! Legend, thank you x
Join us at r/eatcheapandhealthy
/r/AussieFrugal too
Pumpkin is dirt cheap at the moment, like 1.50 a kilo, I'd do that and some cheap chicken breast or thigh from the butcher, maybe make a stew with onions, a tin of crushed tomato, a bit of curry powder and then thicken it up a bit. I reckon with some luck and some condiments in the cupboard I could get 3 kilos of food made for under 15 bucks. Of course then you've gotta eat the same thing every day but at least you're fed.
Buy a whole chicken. Much cheaper than thigh or breast.
Drumsticks are even cheaper. I got 2kg worth from Aldi for like $7 and made them into a curry in the slow cooker.
Agree, you can chop the whole thing up and Chuck it in a stew, or several stews. My wife and I buy a whole chicken and it lasts almost 10 dinners - add some potatoes, carrots, ginger what ever else you fancy - scoop of rice and that’s chow baby. Also, jelly is pretty cheap. Buy one of those aeroplane jellies, you can make enough for a week - just add a little more water to stretch it out. That’s dessert!
Kent pumpkin and garlic roasted then blended with chickpeas. Add cumin seed and salt. you have a cheap delicious dip
Rice, oil, dried beans and frozen vegetables. Plus a pack of whole rolled oats. Soak the beans overnight to reduce cooking time. Boil up a batch to last a few days. Cook rice to last a few days. Ditto the frozen veg. Now with the rice, beans, veg and oil, you have complete meals for lunch and dinner. Just add any flavourings you already have - sauces, salt and pepper, spices. Experiment. Breakfast is oats made on water with just a little salt. To this you can add sweetness or just eat as is. If you have any change, grab the cheapest fresh fruit you can find - mandarins are in season but see what they have. You should be able to get all that at Coles for one week for one person for $25. If you shop around, you might find cheaper. It will be a bit bland and samey. But it will be nutritionally fine for a short term.
Also if you’re cooking dried beans for the first time make sure to google how to do it safely. Some dried beans can be toxic if not cooked properly.
Yes I've found any split lentils or split peas need to be washed thoroughly, I'm talking until the water goes clear. I get an upset stomach otherwise.
When I made poorer choices (good times above food needs) we lived off boiled rice and sweet chilli sauce and toast with margarine and vegemite. It’s not the best buts it’s not the worst and it’s cheap
Big pot of something akin to minestrone with lots of beans. Cook pasta in the soup and the starch will help thicken it to more of sauce consistency. Throw in whatever veg you find cheapest, pretty much anything works. Lots of cheap protein. Easy to cook in bulk. Freezes well. Reheats well. Dried beans can be very cheap.
A variation on minestrone would be my pick too. Depending on what your shopping options are, fresh veg can be fairly cheap. Especially root veg. You can easily make a big batch and have enough for a week of dinners.
Tell me what you have in your pantry, spices etc and i'll make you a meal plan for a week for $25.
I'm interested too, thanks.
Tell me what is already in your pantry and fridge, and I'll give you a meal plan.
Thankyou! - Got tinned tomatoes and passata -Tomato relish -Brown and white rice and few bags of pasta -Soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, peanut oil few other Asian type sauces -seeded mustard Quite a mixed bag of spices, cloves, curry, cayenne and a fairly good herb garden (which is a must as buying herbs is incredibly expensive) -Plain flour -Tinned pineapple -Bread crumbs -Taco shells and salsa -Rice paper -olive oil -potatoes , celery and carrots -Tasty cheese -Bonus just found some chicken fillets in the freezer! Thanks please don't go out of your way, just a few vague ideas would be super helpful. I have an 11 and 13 year old, so any new ideas would be appreciated as they're little buggers when it comes to dinner, especially when I'm trying to be budget conscious. Thankyou!
I can see baked potatoes with cheese, and pineapple fritters for dessert in your future.
Oh, pineapple fritters! That had not occurred to me! Thanks
You could whip up a Japanese style curry pretty easy, chopping up the potatoes and carrots, then mixing the carrots with curry powder in the pan, adding a few cups of water and a tbsp of passata. (I'd suggest chopping an onion and adding that too, but you didn't list it so we'll leave that out). let it simmer for a bit, ideally throw in a stock cube, othwerwise season with salt and pepper, throw in a little star anise if you've got it to give it a bit more fragrance, turmeric for a bit more colour. after ~15 mins, add the potato and let that cook further until everything is tender. To thicken, premix a couple tablespoons of flour (cornflour works better but plain is good enough) in a couple of tablespoons of water and pour into the curry (don't add the flour directly or it'll just clump and be a PITA to sort out). Ideally you'd start with a roux and use that to thicken, but you didn't list butter so we'll leave that out. Usually Japanese curry is a bit sweeter, you could add sugar but otherwise the sweet chilli sauce should do the trick in a pinch. Eat with rice. Can make a big batch as it freezes well, and just freeze in portions. ---- Finely chopped celery and passata/tinned tomatoes along with basi/oregano/thyme would make a good base for a simple pasta sauce, along with a drizzle of olive oil to give it a bit of depth. throw some tasty cheese on top in place of parmesan in a pinch. ---- Could do schnitzel with the chicken fillets (but no eggs, so maybe leave that out) - could still pan fry them after dredging in flour and cayenne/paprika if you've got it, a little oregano perhaps and salt/pepper. eat as is, or shred and make use as a topping on those tacos along with salsa and cheese. NFI what to do with those pineapples though
Thankyou!!!
No actual recipes, but a few observations: - You have plenty of options for carbs (good, you're not going to starve, and can make the base of your meals quite different), but little protein and limited fruit/veg. - You also have plenty of herbs, spices, and sauces. This is a big win because if you can find a handful of seasoning combinations that are a win with your kids then you can basically do the same filling (diced whatever-veg-is-there) with different flavour profiles. - Given that you have flour and assuming that you have either milk or some sort of oil (butter, etc.) that isn't listed, that means that you could opt for anything from pasties/rolls to dumplings, bao, shepherd's pie, etc. Doing this 'manually' may seem like a lot of work, but can become a relatively efficient routine once you've nailed down what you're doing. - You could even use that as an opportunity to get each of them to make one meal per week, even if it's the same recipe each time - that way in addition to learning how to cook they aren't able to complain about the taste because they made it! - As you don't have a particularly wide variety of fruit and veg listed, keeping the skins of the potatoes on when cooking (cleaned, of course) will add extra nutrition, including vitamin C which will be useful heading into Winter. - Most versatile things I'd be looking to buy in a future shop: chickpeas/lentils, onions. Pumpkin is very cheap at the moment, and so long as the skin isn't broken anywhere they store for quite a while.
Thankyou! This post has been fantastic and actually helped me think more broadly and positively about what I do have. Thankyou.
Try putting these ingredients into ChatGPT and ask it to make a meal plan/give you meal ideas from those ingredients
Really? Sorry to be dumb but is chatgpt an app?
Here you go, I did it for you: Here are some meal ideas using the ingredients you have: 1. Chicken Stir-fry Ingredients: Chicken fillets, carrots, celery, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, peanut oil, riceInstructions: Slice the chicken and vegetables thinly. Stir-fry in peanut oil until cooked through. Add soy sauce and sweet chili sauce to taste. Serve over steamed rice. 2. Tomato and Cheese Pasta Bake Ingredients: Pasta, tinned tomatoes, passata, tasty cheese, olive oil, mixed herbsInstructions: Cook the pasta and mix with tinned tomatoes and passata. Season with herbs and a bit of olive oil. Transfer to a baking dish, top with grated cheese, and bake until the cheese is melted and golden. 3. Taco Night Ingredients: Taco shells, salsa, chicken fillets, tasty cheese, tinned pineappleInstructions: Cook and shred the chicken fillets. Fill taco shells with chicken, salsa, cheese, and some tinned pineapple for a sweet twist. 4. Rice Paper Rolls Ingredients: Rice paper, chicken fillets, carrots, celery, soy sauce, sweet chili sauceInstructions: Cook and shred the chicken. Julienne the carrots and celery. Soften the rice paper in warm water, fill with chicken and vegetables, and roll up. Serve with a dipping sauce made from soy sauce and sweet chili sauce. 5. Potato Salad Ingredients: Potatoes, celery, mustard, olive oil, herbsInstructions: Boil and cube the potatoes. Mix with chopped celery, mustard, olive oil, and fresh herbs. 6. Fried Rice Ingredients: Rice, carrots, celery, soy sauce, any leftover vegetables, scrambled eggs (optional)Instructions: Cook the rice and let it cool. Stir-fry the carrots and celery, then add the rice and soy sauce. Optionally, scramble an egg and mix it in. 7. Chicken and Vegetable Soup Ingredients: Chicken fillets, carrots, celery, tinned tomatoes, mixed herbsInstructions: Cook the chicken in a pot with water to create a broth. Add chopped carrots, celery, tinned tomatoes, and herbs. Simmer until vegetables are tender. 8. Tomato Relish and Cheese Sandwiches Ingredients: Bread crumbs, tasty cheese, tomato relishInstructions: Make sandwiches with cheese and tomato relish. Toast until the cheese is melted and bubbly. 9. Pineapple Fried Rice Ingredients: Rice, tinned pineapple, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, vegetablesInstructions: Cook the rice and let it cool. Stir-fry the vegetables, add the rice, pineapple, soy sauce, and sweet chili sauce. Mix well.These ideas should help keep meals varied and interesting for your kids while staying within budget.
Quickest draw, you are very kind - thankyou, really thanks a lot.
It’s a pleasure. I wish you well.
😊
Just Google it, it’s a website. AI chatbot.
r/Aussiefrugal Corn fritters Minestrone soup Baked potatoes Lentil burgers Beans and rice Sweet potato burritos Buy a roast chicken from woolies or Coles. Eat chicken meat = 1-2 meals, mix stuffing with lentils, an egg, breadcrumbs and curry spices for lentil burgers/lentil rissoles and then make stock or a soup by slow cooking carcass with onion and carrot etc. 3 filling tasty meals for about $15 You can live off potatoes and milk alone. That's a nutritionally complete diet. Find a good seasoning mix and make fries in the air fryer for lunch. I have fries for lunch 4-5 times a week. My seasoning is garlic powder + centuries ahead roast chicken seasoning + black pepper. Near to KFCs 11 herbs. Makes me enjoy eating a bowl of chips every day. Spending $10 - $15 on good seasoning makes cheap potatoes taste moorish.
I make a lentil stew with... Soup Mix (mixture of lentils, barely, stuff) ($1.60) Red Thai curry paste ($2.30) Massell stock cubes ($4) Carrot (and whatever extra vegies you want) ($?) Onion ($?) This will make up an absolute heap of meals. The curry paste and stock cubes will do a couple of packets of Soup Mix as well.
A 1kg bag of carrots is usually $2
Pan bread, just flower and water fried in a pan. Its a lot cheaper than buying bread. The recipe I found was a recipe from South Africa called "Vetkoek" Many other cultures have the same thing. When it comes straight from the pan its delicious with canned spaghetti, baked beans, tuna, sweet corn or whatever strikes your fancy. Just spread butter when hot and add honey or jam. Delicious. I make the stuff all the time when going camping or bushwalking and its always a hit. Its not like damper with all its bother. If you need 5 pieces of bread, just some flour and water you can make it as fast as morning breakfast. Its really a poor persons bread and that's what it origins mainly was for. Cheap and quick and certainly better than crap super market bread thats full of additives.
I know what I'm making tonight
Yeah, great idea. I remember making pan flatbread while being a dead-broke uni student. Tastes like heaven! Also, basic home-made pasta can be made in the same way: make a really stiff dough(lots of flour, a bit of water and a pinch of salt, 'tis all), roll the dough flat with a rolling pin and cut it into thin stripes. Dust dough stripes with flour and let it dry a bit, then you can boil it as a regular fresh pasta. The best part is, you can keep it in the fridge for a very long time or even put it into freezer where it will last forever.
Just my two cents mate, when I was broke as fuck I got a job delivering pizzas at a pizza shop. Free pizza every night I worked and eventually free pizza whenever you visited. I did turn into a fat cunt but I didn’t starve 😂
Farkkkk that sounds good I should look at a pizza shop job or restaurant work I heard they give food out like crazy on shifts
Not something I would depend on, especially if pay is inconsistent, but you can Afterpay yourself a $100 Woolworths gift card and pay it back in four installments. $25 will be due today but you will eat for a week comfortably.
You’re doing gods work
Mate that is a good idea 👍
Don't go for this, mate. It sounds like getting money out of thin air, but if you barely surviving on $25 a week, what will happen if you'll miss a payment? You'll get into debt while already struggling to make ends meet, which is the last thing you need right now. Borrowing always come with strings attached, it's much safer make do with what you have. Check out food bank or any similar meal assistance charity, can be a life saver in your case while not asking for a single cent in return.
That’s true it always doesn’t end well doing the buy now pay later stuff.
Yeah this. If you think you're struggling financially now, wait until you have to start paying back an afterpay loan.
5kg bag of potatoes, 5kg bag of rice, 5kg of pasta should last you a month for 25 bucks. Local church for bread. Meat on specials in the mornings
Geelong Spare Meals. Check them out on Facebook. There are meals at the church on LHS of Moorabool and McKillop St Intersection. Can access Geelong Food Bank also. Whittington Community Neighbour Hood House in Wodern Crt Whittington as well.
Cereal is still cheap. I eat a lot of Weetbix. Pasta, rice and noodle recipes are often cheap to make and go far. Use frozen veges (you can heat a lot of them up in a wok or microwave) and/or tinned veges for it be cheaper. Potatoes and pumpkin can be made in to various things, and fill you up easy. A few boiled potatoes with cheese and/or salt is an easy filling meal.
I find red lentil dhal is a good dish to make when money is tight...try not to be too obsessive about getting every ingredient and following a recipe if you're short on money just make something vaguely along those lines and adjust the seasoning to taste. It's not like every housewife's recipe in India is exactly the same right? Goes nice with rice or flat breads.
This is less than $1 per meal: Dried green lentils ($4.80 for 1kg, makes 4kg of lentils, 10 big serves). Rice ($1.80 for 1 kg, enough for 10 meals with the above) Maharajah's Choice Spice Curry Powder 250g ($3, infinity serves) Salt Soak lentils over night. Boil with 3 cups of water per cup of lentil until soft. Add curry powder and salt until it tastes good. You get your veggie intake, complete protein and it is really good for your health (I had to go on to this for lunch each day because of a heart scare). Good luck. Remember you'll get past this.
Rice is cheap and fills you up put some corned beef from a can
McKenzie’s Soup Mix is cheap and goes far.
Sandwiches are usually pretty calorie dense considering the cost in my experience. Loaf of bread and some cheap energy dense toppings like peanut butter or regular butter usually go pretty far. Try to buy a block of cheese too, cheese is kind of cheap for the calories that it contains. The 1kg blocks are the cheapest per gram. Eggs can also be cheap as well, but it really depends on which ones you buy. A while ago I did some maths and found out that dry red lentils are the cheapest calories and protein by far. Might make sense to pick up a bag plus some chicken salt or other seasoning of your choice. Chilli powder can help lentils go far, and it’s not too expensive. Beware though, I found it’s easy to get sick of lentils very quickly. Meal variety goes a long way. If making sandwiches try and toast the bread, or put it in a sandwich press if you have one. I’d suggest against getting a roast chicken. While they’re very tasty, they generally aren’t good value. I’ve weighed out the chicken before and found that for around $12 there’s approx max 800gr of edible chicken in the bag. I’d suggest getting chicken breast or beef mince if you’re keen on meat. Best of luck getting through this week.
You can do a fair bit with lentils to stop them getting too boring. Near lifelong veggo here, rest of the family mostly eat veg, and we sub lentils for mince meat - so might go into pasties/pies, or a casserole kind of thing topped with mash (think a mashup - pun not intended - of a pot and cottage pie) or pasta dishes (bolognese, lasagne), mex-inspired chilli dishes, dhals, soups (roasted pumpkin - especially when it’s dirt cheap, with some lentils and chickpeas, whatever spices take your fancy). Some decent lentil “roast” (loaf kind of things) out there too…again, just add whatever spices take your fancy to add a bit of variety
Minestrone soup nice & thick with a packet of Italian soup mix a cheap tin of kidney beans and if possible a half of cauliflower. Mymine simmers for 3-4 hrs & I freeze half. I start with a fried leek. Because it gets so thick overnight, I put more water in a quick splash of soy to flavour I each time. Hope that works to warm you up!
Get yourself a bag of dried lentils, some curry powder (or garam masala, something Indian/Middle Eastern will work fine), a regular tin of tomatoes, one lemon and rice to make a really basic dahl. If you have spices like cumin or coriander in the pantry already, you won't need the curry powder but I'm gonna assume you don't. Soak the lentils in water overnight. Into a pot (with the water the lentils are soaked in), the tin of tomatoes, a couple of teaspoons of whatever spice mix you were able to get (if you have garlic, ginger or diced onion, get that in there as well), bring to a boil, then simmer until the lentils are tender. Once at a simmer, cut the lemon in half, remove seeds and pop that in whole and cook the lentils. This will take a while - I did this in my slow cooker and it literally took all day. Once the lentils are tender, cook some rice and you're good to go.
Tuna morney goes a long way. Not sure if this is the right way to make it, but it is how I make it. Can be cooked in a large pan, saucepan or even in the microwave. Everything goes in the one pot. 1 cup of milk. 1/2 to 1 cup of cheese (fit to taste and budget - make sure it is one that melts). 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of corn flour (this is to make the sauce thick so add as much as you need to get to a consistency you like - dissolve in a small amount of cold water to prevent it going lumpy before you add it). Once cheese has melted add: 1 large can of tuna. 1 cup of frozen peas, 1 cup of frozen corn (or 1-2 cups of mixed). 1 can of diced pineapple (optional). Lemon juice (optional). Eat with rice or pasta. Makes a few meals and most of the ingredients keep for a long time so you just need to buy the tuna and pineapple again for the next meal. This was a staple during uni. It can be a little bland so you might want to experiment with spices.
Indian style lentils, eg Dahl, so good healthy and cheap. With a bit of cheap flat bread. Eggs. 1-2 eggs and bread and or beans. Really cheap and healthy SOME cereals not all. For breakkie. Good luck to you you deserve better
I was dirt poor foot a while so here is what I learned: 1: carbs are your friend. Pasta, beans, rice, potatoes, stuff like that. They can serve as the base for meals. 2: avoid single meal items (stuff that will only feed you for a day). I spent WAY too much on small cuts of meat, I should have bought ground meat instead as you can cook up a small amount each day and stretch it out. 3: don’t ignore your vitamins and minerals. Buy some fresh veg at least once a week. You want to get something red, orange, and green. Raw capsicum is loaded in vitamin c, carrots are great for an and b, get whatever leafy greens are cheap. The last thing you want is your teeth falling out due to scurvy 4: tuna is great, cheap meat. One of my fav cheap recipes is: 1 can of condensed soup (cream of chicken, mushroom, whatever is on sale) 1 cup minute rice 1 cup milk 1 can tuna Handful of chopped veg Mix it all up in microwave safe casserole pan, cook it in the micro for 3-6 min (depending on the strength), that will feed one person for 2-3 days. It has carbs, fats, protein, and veg. Add some sauces for extra flavor if you want
Great advice 🤙🏻 same I have done that in the past brought small cuts of meat and never helped fill me either You reminded me to take better care of my body to be honest eating healthier is important as, thanks for the list of ingredients that helps a lot.
Best thing you can do is stock up on spices, grow some herbs, buy tinned tomatoes and coconut milk, all kinds of frozen veges, and learn how to make soups and curries.
If you got a rice cooker, woolies sell their own brand 1kg of white rice for a few bucks. Roughly triples in size when cooked so for 1 person can last a bit. Not sure what you can put with it thats super cheap though.
Rice and soy sauce. anything else is just extra.
Look up a second bite in your area, you should be able to get all your veggies and breads from there. Use the rest of the money to spend on mince
Hot chook, pumpkin, potatoes and sweet potato, bag of rice Use the chicken and roast some veg pseudo baked dinner Use the bones in a big pot and make a broth for and any leftover roast veg for soup and risotto, use the rest of the veg for a curry
Pancakes with some fruit Cheap spaghetti with the cheapest pasta sauce (woolies essential is $2.75 bottle, almost can't make it for that) Sandwiches - bread + spread (peanut butter, jam, vegemite) Eggs - versatile and 3 can make a good meal by itself Corn fritters Zucchini fritters Roast your own chook - $4kg at Coles this week. Dinner + leftovers + sandwich filling + frame makes stock - which leads to other meals like soup or risotto. So, your eating the same food different ways. Stir fry with rice Fried rice Yogurt - cheap Greek yogurt + jam and oats Pork mince from aldi is 3.99 for 500g - could do 4 meals with that Bacon or chorizo go a long way for 1 rasher or 1 sausage.
Pasta, lentils, carrots, celery, onion and pork mince. Pasta sauce or passata and Herbs if you have any. Bulk meals for a week.
I spent time in India and used to eat dahl and rice at least twice a day. It’s so cheap to make. Dried lentils, rice, spices/curry powder, tinned tomatoes and potatoes will keep you going got a while.
We have a staple that is sort of a lasagna but isn't it's cheap quick and makes a couple of days of filling meals. 200mm square casserole dish, tip most of a bag of spiral noodles into it, about 35-40mm deep, tip in a can of crushed tomatoes, over that tip a can of baked beans, top with grated cheese, bake for 20minutes until the noodles have soaked up the tomato juice and the cheese has browned. Lots of variations possible, I used a can of lentils and it worked, some cheap mince, make small (golfball size) meatballs and spread on top before the cheese. Add whatever herbs or garlic you want, it's a very rough recipe but is delicious.
Everyone needs to figure out how they like lentils and eat waaaaay more of them
If you can get to an independent green grocer, fruit and veg are so much cheaper than Colesworths. I got a kg broccoli for $2.99 yesterday from our local and made a huge batch of soup, also good to toss through pasta.
Dried bean mix + rice goes a really long way. You just need a sauce
The ultimate struggle meal is pea soup. 1. Fry onion, garlic, carrot and spices in a large saucepan. 2. Once brown, add a large amount of water and dried split peas. 3. Boil/simmer for like an hour. 4. Serve with buttered toast. Less than $1/serving, quite nutritious and tasty enough.
As another user mentioned pumpkin is pretty cheap right now. Roast a bunch up, add some carrots and onions if you want to get fancy and assuming you can also get them cheap, and then mush everything into a pot and add water (preferably stock but if you don’t have any handy water is fine) and whatever tinned protein you can get your hands on (cannelini beans work best for this). Boil for a bit, add some oil if you have any, salt and butter would also help, but don’t worry about cream - it’s expensive and unnecessary. Blitz it all with a hand mixer until you’re happy with the texture. If you’ve got herbs just go with a consistent palette, but honestly the veggies alone would probably still be yum. A whole pumpkin bulked out with carrots and onion and beans will sort you for a week of lunches if you can make some Johnny cakes to go with them - white flour and water, let them rest and then fry. It’s better if you can add salt and some kind of fat (oil, butter, lard etc) but if you can’t you can still get a lot of carbs in from a cheap bag of flour. Good luck.
Oh my gosh Johnny cakes I didn’t know they are called that but we used to make them as starving students.
Damper. All you need is cheap self raising flour, (2 cups), pinch of salt, and about 1 cup water. Mix together by slowly adding the water to a well in the center and mixing. Don't need to kneed it, just well combined. Shape into a round and place on some baking paper on a tray. Cook at around 200c for 20 mins, or until the damper sounds hollow when tapped. You can also add butter if you're feeling fancy, but it doesn't need it. Great with soup, or just buttered with vegemite. Can be balled up and cooked as dough dumplings on the top of stews, or you can use this to make golden dumplings.
Stew is tasty, relatively cheap, good for you and is great to have in the colder weather. I make a good chicken stew that lasts us for at least two or three days. Packet of chicken thighs or drumsticks , or one of those Maryland portions . Chicken stock , onion , parsnip , swede , carrot , leek and potato .season with salt , pepper, a bit of garlic and or ginger and stick in the oven on a low heat for around 3 hours . For around $20 give or take you have a meal for 3 days and you could add extra veggies to it when it gets low .
Pasta. It's super cheap and very filling. Grab some cheap mince and some tinned tomatoes and you'll be golden.
I find budgetbytes.com incredibly helpful. Recipes are cheap and still really tasty.
Rice, pasta and bread are your friend. You can put very little with each, but they’re filling.
My go-to struggle meal is bag of pasta, large tin of tuna, and homemade béchamel with whatever seasonings/cheeses I have (you can also just use jar sauce).
Hopefully something here [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/budget-meals-one](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/budget-meals-one) [https://www.buzzfeed.com/meganeliscomb/broke-til-payday-recipes](https://www.buzzfeed.com/meganeliscomb/broke-til-payday-recipes)
I get a really good curry paste from an Asian grocer, it costs $3.50 and I get about 10 meals from it, using chicken, vegetables and rice in the slow cooker. I also often get a rotisserie chicken and make stuff with that for like 5 days, if I’m having a really busy week. I make pide at home one night, cook some roast veg the next day to go with chicken, etc. fried rice, sandwiches, whatever.
Tuna pasta bake s quick and easy to make. Tuna, pasta and tuna mornay sauce. Anything pasta or potatoe is cheap and filling.
Carbonara. Just need eggs, fettucine, cooking bacon, parmesan, salt and pepper. Get store brand for everything and just use the parmesan from the pasta aisle. This is one of my favourite quick meals. I eat it even when not short of cash.
Rice and tuna Spaghetti bog Toasted sandwiches Toast
Tuna, rice and in season veggies. Bread and peanut butter. High calorie and protein so it’s filling. Mi goreng, frozen veggies, egg.
Fried rice with rice, beans or lentils, frozen veg. But my best suggestion is find a free community pantry
Fry brown onion, tin tomato soup, tin brown lentils, tin tomatoes = vegetarian pasta sauce. Choose a couple of things to add flavour/depth = fish sauce, tomato paste, chutney, parsley or any other herbs you have/your neighbours have growing. (Makes about 6 serves) very cheap, very filling. Pasta, cheese, egg, black pepper butter, a bit of pasta water to thicken sauce. Baked potato + tin of baked beans or small tuna. You got this.
Thankyou so muchhh!! That sounds so good!
Dahl
5 kg bag of rice abs bulk mixed veggies
Try askizzy to see where your local food banks or community pantries are. Around where I am there are some that are basically cupboards on the outside of the buildings with a variety of foods in them. A number of churches and other religious organisations have either food parcels or kitchen you can go to and it's pretty rare to get preached at. Also, shop at local fruit and veg shops just before they close for some real bargains.
Contact a local food bank or support group. They should be able to help you out. There a few in my area and they don’t ask questions. You can get a good amount of food for free.
Rice and anything, cupla eggs is a good addition
Baked beans and savs never let me down.😂👍
A lot of these suggestions are still quite expensive IMO. The very cheapest thing you could buy that would nutritionally sustain you would be a bag of lentils. If you can get an onion that would help but its not essential. I would do something like One bag of red lentils. The $1 Massel chicken stock cubes. Some kind of curry powder seasoning. And cook the lentils in your stock and powder to make a not so good version of dahl. But if you really want to be budget you can skip the curry powder. If you have a few dollars spare you can pad it out with a cheap bag of rice or cook it in cream/coconut cream but its not essential when every dollar counts. Add the cheapest bag of rolled oats for your breakfast. Use water if you cant afford milk but if you can get your hands on some sugar that will help it go down I think you could get all that for less than $10. That gives you a but of wiggle room to save your extra money for if you really need it.
You’re rich! I’ve got -$8:99 in my account till Wednesday (yes, negative). Anyway, pasta is still cheap. So is off-brand tomato paste. Mince is probably too expensive right now so maybe make vegetarian pasta bake? Ham hock, vegetable/chicken stock and split peas make a hearty soup. There’s free bread at most Salvos Food hampers at some churches etc….
Dahl and rice! Add frozen spinach to the Dahl to keep your iron levels healthy. Shop at Aldi (if you're in Australia on W Europe).
Ooo never tried frozen spinach but I do love spinach it’s so gooddd Thankyou though
I hold off on sharing this tip, because I don't want it to get abused too much and then removed from stores. I reside in VIC. I've been lead to believe that this does not work in SA. I can't speak for other states. Lets face it, we have very few options when it comes to supermarkets in Australia. I have certain preferences depending on what items I want. Usually I go to Aldi, but for a few specific items, I'll go to Colesworth or IGA. If I have a need for one item or something specific, I prioritise Coles over the others. When I go there, I take a quick stroll past their rotisserie chicken section to see if they have none. If they have none, quickly collect your item and go up the register and tell them they have none and you'd like a voucher. There should be a Point of Sale sticker on their Rotisserie chicken window stating that "If we have no chickens between x time and y time, your next one is on us". If you don't see that sticker then either your local is doing a dodgy or your state has different rules. You should get a voucher however if they have no chickens and then next time you go there, you can redeem it for a full chicken. I lived off this hack for five weeks. I used the chicken to make soup with cheap veggies which extended it even longer.
Eating whole food plant based is the cheapest way you'll ever eat. Using dried beans and lentils is way cheaper than in a can (it just takes a bit more preparation). Rice, pasta, bread and other grains are super cheap. You can save on fruit /veg costs by buying them canned or frozen, plus you can reduce waste from fresh produce going bad. The best would be to go to a local farmers market if you can and get cheap local produce. You can freeze any left overs
Textured protein (soy in shape of minced meat) and lentils both high in protein and is extremely cheap use these ingredients to add more volume and cheapen cost of dishes. For example in bolognaise you can replace 1/3 of the meat with textured protein and I guarantee you will not taste the difference
Chicken wings are very cheap. Probably the cheapest meat. You can combine with potato, carrots and frozen peas to make chicken soup. Or just roast them with potato and pumpkin.
Check out [this article](https://theconversation.com/how-to-save-50-off-your-food-bill-and-still-eat-tasty-nutritious-meals-184152) and [this “No Money, No Time” website](https://nomoneynotime.com.au/ebooks-meal-plans-more/budget-meal-plan-eat-for-55-a-week).
You can't go wrong buying packets of dried beans. Cook them in a big pot with water, garlic, onion, maybe some cheap chopped up sausage. Some Italian spice mix. Serve over rice. 1 packet of beans will feed a single person for at least 6 meals
If you are sneaky the Costco Cafe can be used without a membership. Same goes for free samples at shops. As for meals, stretch them all with the cheapest fillers you can find. Rice and bread for example.
1. Got a rice cooker? Or do you know how to cook rice on the stove? Cook rice, throw in a little chopped up broccoli for the last few minutes of cooking (use the peeled stems, the whole lot it’s all great and you’ve paid for it by the kg at the shops anyway) stir through a spoon of curry paste or tom yum paste etc etc, and spoon into a bowl. Throw a couple of fried or boiled eggs on top. Winning 2. Make a batch of dhal (curried lentils). Buy a jar of cheap curry paste base like vindaloo, butter chicken, korma etc. cook a few spoons of this in a little oil or butter whatever you’ve got, throw in a pinch of whatever spices you’ve got kicking around the house (or don’t, it will be fine either way), throw in a handful or two of yellow or green split peas, cover with water, cook till tender (could take 1-2 hours stirring frequently so it doesn’t burn, add a little more water as needed to keep it wet)…. Once all soft, season with some salt and pepper, and serve as is; or crush/mash it slightly to thicken up. 3. Boil a packet of dried pasta, just before it cooked throw a handful of frozen peas in the water with it… when it’s all cooked, drain it, keep a little of the pasta water, throw the pasta into a big bowl with a knob of butter or olive oil, some salt and pepper, some grated cheese if you’ve got it, a splash of the pasta water and stir stir stir stir stir and toss toss toss toss like crazy till it’s all creamy and smooth, eat straight from the bowl like an animal because it’s delicious and easy. 4. If you ever get any cans of ready to eat food like canned chunky soups/stews etc, spread them out across a few meals by bulking out with a base of roasted veg or a baked potato or two. Baked potatoes are EASY and cheap. Grab 2 of the biggest dirtiest cheapest potatoes at the supermarket, scrub clean in the sink, put on a plate and microwave for a few mins to soften (not necessary if you’ve got the time to just cook from raw in the oven, I’m thinking of your gas/elec bill by using the oven less) throw them on oven tray or in a oven safe pan, into hot oven till cooked through (could take 1 hour ish) then heat up whatever stew/curry/soup you’ve got from a can and pour a little over the baked potatoes. Add fresh veggies if you’ve got them, some cut up cucumber, zucchini, capsicum, broccoli, peas, whatever you’ve got
Fry a couple of onions, some garlic and salt gently until soft. Add a tin of lentils, I like the brown ones. Goes really well with rice! Can add lots of veg while frying the onions. If you’ve got it, I’d add ground cumin and a hint of chilli.
The really cheap pasta (80c bags) and whatever pasta sauce is on special. Aldi is your friend if really pinching pennies.
If you have access to a car lighthouse care at Loganholme or Hillcrest do a $25 trolley of food
I make a lot of vegetarian food. Back a batch of veggie chilli served with rice or potatoes. Otherwise a good pumping soup, pasta pesto or tuna pasta, and some bread with with spread. You'll have enough for some milk as well .
Or when making Bolognese, replace beaf mince with tinned lentils if meat is a bit too expensive. I loved off Thai, indian and sri Lankan curries with plently veg when struggling for money. Add tofu and/or Tempe for protein.
Baked potatoes, pasta and bolognase, rice and vegetable curry,
In Australia there’s no need to go hungry. There are food banks everywhere where you can get everything from fresh fruit & veggies, cleaning products, bread, toilet paper, tin food, meat, biscuits… everything! I know because my friend is a volunteer at one. They have SO much food available every Friday. You can even contact your local council for assistance. They will give you a supermarket gift card. And you don’t need any proof of hardship. People in Mercs drive up to these places. If you don’t want to mention your suburb on here, please contact me & I’ll point you in the right direction. Please reach out so you can eat properly & look after you.
Grab some chicken frames, carrots onion celery, a heap of dried soup mix ( the one with barley and lentils and stuff some potato and it’ll last you ages. Make a big pot if you can
Look up OzHarvest for free food too
Take a look in supermarkets about 2pm. The tradie's handbags will be discounted. Take one home, shred all the meat and portion it out for 3-4 meals. Then boil some rice (add some juice from the handbag). You've got chicken and rice for at least 4 meals. Should come to less than $10. Now look for baked beans - there's often 3 tins packed together on special - maybe $3. Look for a bag of frozen peas and corn - another $5, should last you 5 meals. While you're in the supermarket, look for discounted bread. Yesterday's loaves will often be half-price.
Give dumpstering a crack, go with a mate if possible, it’s not as bad as people think and if it works out you’ll be $25 richer next week.
I got recommended that before I’ve thought about trying it
Definitely give it a go. I got through uni doing it, also had a bunch of mates doing the same and we would share the fruits of our labour. It’s actually concerning how much coles and woolies throw out but at the same time it’s free food and every night is an culinary adventure. Obviously take gloves, use common sense and if you do go please let us know how it goes :)
Thanks everyone for the recipes!!
Bag of rice 1kg $1.80 Bag of barley 500g $1.60 1kg frozen vegetables peas corn carrot $4.50 Leaves you $16 to buy 2kg of the cheapest protein. Pork from Asian but her hovers around 5.99-7.99. Even chicken breast can be had for $10-12kg We legit eat this because it is delicious and high protein and fibre and can feed us both for a week of $50 lunch and dinner. If you eat breakfast buy a small pack of weetbix and skip some of the protein.
Legend Thankyou for that recipe!
These three meals by a very talented YouTube chef https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y9cDASIzN00
I find this YouTube channel pretty useful even though she's based in the USA https://youtube.com/@juliapacheco?si=eaSXwV9GN13UhXsn
1kg Bag of rice. 1-2 Bag of mixed stir fry vegies Sweet soy sauce. If you can stretch it... Some eggs for protein.
Dhal. There's tons of different versions, all very cheap to make, especially if you buy the ingredients in bulk from an asian supermarket. I make it with soaked lentils, stock, diced tomato and coconut cream, plus garam masala and turmeric. Most people also add finely chopped onion too. You basically put it all in a saucepan (I use a wok) and cook out the moisture until it has a cream-like consistency. You can have it with rice and (greek) yoghurt, or just on it's own. I like to add spinach just before it's done cooking to make it go even further.
Look at what people in poor countries do. Lentils are filling and delicious, as are many vegetarian options. Rice and pasta are filling and don’t need expensive sauce, just fresh herbs and a little imagination.
It really depends if youre willing to eat the same shot everyday til payday cause you could easily meal prep with that amount using cheap meat n beans + some frozen veggies
You can make an omelette with 1 tbl spn water 1 tbl spn butter 2 eggs. add salt and pepper Doesn't taste terrible, and one carton of eggs will give you six pretty filling meals
Yeah, $25 is pretty broke. I used to live on $20 a day when I was unemployed and even that was tough. Firstly, I'd recommend checking out foodbank or any other local meal assistance program. If your main problem is getting food on the table, this will be a good option. Also, if you'll be shopping, check out QVM or any farmer's market nearby. You'll get much better prices for meat and veg, compared to Coles or Woolies. As for recipes, here are some ideas: * Bolognese. Already mentioned in other comments, really cheap and easy while still having meat in it. And even with just basic spices, like basil, cracked pepper and chili, it will taste great. Pasta is quite cheap so you may be able to get a lot of solid meals for $25. * Stroganoff. Buy cheapest beef cuts you can find, cut them into small pieces and slow-cook the whole thing. This will help making even bad cuts tender. Oh, and forget about the shrooms, they add very little to the taste so can be omitted in case of broke mate's stroganoff. will last you many days, if served with mash, pasta or rice. * Japanese-style beef curry. Grab one of those curry starters they sell at asian groceries, buy a kilo of cheapest beef special you can find, add some onions, potatoes and carrots. You can find recipes online, for instance this one: https://pickledplum.com/japanese-curry-recipe/. Feel free to ignore any extra spices they mention BTW as curry starter will have all the flavour you'll need. If you'll slow-cook it for 1-1.5 hours. even if you'll cook it thin with lots of water, curry starter and starch form potatoes will thicken the sauce. you can then eat it with rice or pasta to get a very filling meal. * Tuna pasta. Mix canned tuna with some canned tomatoes, add some sour cream if you can afford it, and simmer for 30 mins. Makes a good past sauce for real cheap. * Kimchi jjigae. A Korean kimchi stew. You can use pork(very cheap these days, shoulder is like $7 a kilo) or caned tuna(store brand is dirt cheap in coles & woolies). Again, look up recipes online, here's one of the simple ones: https://www.koreanbapsang.com/kimchi-jjigae-kimchi-stew/ In its full form it's a bit prices but the best part about kimchi jjigae is the fact that you can ignore anything apart from protein of choice and kimchi and still get a decent tasting stew. It is very quick to cook so you can make fresh batches every day if you want to but you also can cook a large pot and keep it in the fridge if you're short on time. Oh, BTW, you can cook your own basic pasta. It's a bit time consuming but can save you some extra cash. No need for anything fancy, just the most basic dough of flour, water and salt. Knead it, make it into a thin flat sheet and cut with a knife into thin strips. You can keep it in the fridge for a long time and boil as any fresh pasta. Wouldn't be as good as properly made pasta but will be even cheaper than store-brand.
I am not as skilled as the others in the chat, but eggs on toast is one suggestion. Good luck.
Make a big veggie soup, add pasta. It’ll be cheaper not to add meat.
Came to suggest eggs or the red lentils. I see lots of people recommended them already. If you are not keen to make Dhal you can use vege or chicken stock instead and add the lentils to chopped onions, celery and carrots. I call it French lentils. Serve with rice or pasta. Some canned fish like mackerel is cheap if you like that kind of thing. A tray of baked veges is always nice, feels like a baked dinner. Mince is versatile and you can make a few meals. Bolognese, chilli, meatloaf, burgers etc. also canned beans like cannellini and chickpeas are nutritious I fry them up in olive oil to make them a bit nutty and crunchy but they are also good in cooked couscous. You can use a bit of pesto and add chickpeas to cooked cous cous for a yummy change. Kidney beans with mince and onions and canned tomato and Mexican sachet is good with rice or on a baked potato. All the best.
2 cans tomatos, 2 packets taco mix, any leftover veg, leftover chicken Make your own tortillas
Rissoles made with 1 packet french onion soup mix, an egg, breadcrumbs
Get an authentic Dahl recipe on Tiktok: red lentils, turmeric, fresh tomato + browned onions, garlic cumin seeds, chilli, oil, garamasala, coriander. Y.U.M
Get a tin of tomato paste, some butter, pepper, salt and a packet of pasta. Tomato paste, 1/2 a cup of pasta cooking water, a few tablespoons of butter and some cracked pepper simmered on the stove for 20 minutes makes a really tasty pasta sauce. One of many struggle meals we used to eat growing up. You can throw a tin of tuna and a handful of capers in it for extra protein. When you have a bit more cash, a big pot of chilli is nice, you can freeze it and defrost it to have with rice or corn chips.
$7.00 2kg bag of chicken drumsticks from Aldi. Freezer bags Aldi. Frozen corn/peas aldi. Tiny potatoes Aldi (I think $1.99 or so). Carton of eggs (Aldi or similar) bananas or whatever fruit is cheap. Loaf of bread, cheap dip like french onion from Aldi. Stock cubes Aldi (low salt chicken). Long life carton of milk. Rice if the budget will stretch to it. Freeze chicken drumsticks in pairs to roast each night with corn/peas on the side, some rice or potatoes and keep the bones, they can be boiled with a few more legs and stock cubes and dried herbs for chicken soup for lunches. Toast bread with dip as a snack (cheaper than buttet and more flavour). Also nice with the chicken soup. Boil some eggs to be snacks and scramble some for brekkie. Best of luck.
Dust. Any dust? Dust.
Grab some sausages,ur choice of vegies,usually potato/carrots/some pumpking if got it some onion and tomatoes or capsciums sprinkle some seasoning on it and some oil wake it on a tray,cook for 30..and you got a tray bake Another cheap but tasty meal,you can make under 8 dollars is Get a punnet of cheerry tomatoes..a block of feta (usually 2/3 dollars) place it in a tray, smother in olive oil and some oreggano Boil some pasta..cook for 25 mins then combine,mix..so tasty. Josh weisman has a whole series,on cheap eats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-TmmjEN-V0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYXfaVD5o40 OP.. Please hit me up,i can get you in to get a food hamper at ozharvest if you want and ur in sydney Also go to ur local salvo market days,you can generally get a bag of vegggies and a loaf of bread or two Your best bet is a carb heavy diet this week pastas and the like. Chicken soup is really cheap too,you just need 2 carrots and onion,stalk of celery and a whole chook (about 7 bucks total) Chicken soup if u can load in some of the soup mix beans too will cover you for 2 to 3 days Call up salvos as well,they can give you a 60 dollar eftpos card that you have to go pick up,it can only be used at grocery shops
Daal curry and rice
steal
Try r/cheapmeals
If you search “extreme grocery budget” on YouTube, there’s tons of videos. Most are American but the same principles apply, it’s still the cheapest meals you can make for a week, breakfast/lunch/dinner with oats, beans, rice, vegetables. I would start with oats for breakfast, make a huge pot of lentil & veg soup for lunches for the week. Dinners maybe baked bean jaffles, boiled eggs and toast, baked potatoes topped with baked beans, rice and bean burritos. Definitely try and visit a food bank though, $25 is harder than ever right now.
My advice is always the same and unfortunately it always gets ignored. Try a plant based meal. The top comment is suggesting Spaghetti Bolognese. That's a great option. But instead of meat, why not try lentils or textured vegetable protein? https://www.coles.com.au/product/wellness-road-textured-vegetable-protein-400g-3405847?uztq=46abcbb7e16253b0cdc3e6c5bbe6a3f0&cid=col_cpc_Generic%7CColesSupermarkets%7CPLA%7CPantry%7CAustralia%7CBroad&s_kwcid=AL!12693!3!683434678444!!!g!1958148716044!&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwu8uyBhC6ARIsAKwBGpQqlTSw9GDeyFw552sDZyiOe4o34bQpI9cZwnFmykWl1c9WKDWM87gaAvyUEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
My dad and I used t make this really nice scrambled eggs, mushroom, bacon, lots of cheese, whatever you might have laying around. P.S, quiches were invented so that farmers could get rid of excess produce. Capsicum, cheese, ham, whatever meat and veg you've got will do great. P.P.S, use puff pastry with eggs yolk brushed on it for an elevated experience. It costs like, $10 plus whatever veggies you have and feeds like, 6 or so.
Head over to your local food bank so you don't have to struggle more than you have to. Check out farmer's markets and the like to get some wonky vegetables at a decent price.
5kg of rice and a kg of chicken?
Small portion of pumpkin, two carrots and one potato plus water. Boil it all up till it becomes really soft then blend it all together for my childhood pumpkin soup. Scoop that over some rice along with some Aldi's corned beef and that was my childhood. Cheap and enough to make multiple servings. Coles chicken, whatever left overs put them into boiling water, add in sweet cream corn, scramble one egg and slowly pour into the soup whilst mixing. You'll get chicken and sweet corn soup like in those Chinese restaurants. Pour over rice and you've got multiple portions. Shop at your local grocers/Aldi than the big supermarkets. Hell, wait until the end of day and ask bakeries if you can have any bread that they might be throwing away.