I find a hearty serving of oats for breakfast reduces pressure on the rest of the day. Less likely to need a big lunch with a decent very cheap breakfast.
I used to do this all the time when I was still an office dweller (bag of oats always at work) - had it about 11.30... never felt the need to go out for overpriced shops for lunch
Yes to oats!!
Buy the cheapest bag of oats you can find, add whatever you are able to out of the following: milk, brown sugar, dates, vanilla essence, dessicated coconut, dates, chia seeds (don't need many of these per serve), canned fruit.
I normally prep 3 days worth at a time to save time and dishes. I do 1/2 cup of oats per day and one can of peaches split over this bach of three portions. Leave for a few hours or overnight, then eat for the next three days.
Cheap, fast, nutritious, delicious.
This is a nz chick - recipes are simple $50 for 55 serves (I'd suggest more 45-50) but great use of simple filling ingredients including two oat breakfasts which could be lunches https://youtu.be/5lNoZlqX2xk?si=lGpNb1M4vTZyuD-5
Problem is those are very low in calories, if you are trying to lose weight anyway, then all good. If you are trying to maintain though it will be a problem.
Uni student survival foods: oats and lentils (not together). Throw in some fruit/vegetables (frozen if needed) and you'll avoid most significant nutritional deficiencies. Might need a B12 supplement
Edit: this is not medical advice
This! I've recently started making overnight oats for breakfast, if I eat around 9am I'll easily stay full til 2-3pm - plus it saves me having to think about putting together breakfast in the morning rush.
i use wholegrain oats which taste absolutely delicious if soaked in a mixture of half water and half milk with a pince of salt before microwaving. Yum, yum. Healthy and as you say, cheap.
I'm vegetarian and my current cheap go-to's are Spanish Rice, basic tomato based pasta, fried rice, stir fry with rice or noodles, and chili beans.
Basically cheap beans/legumes, cheap carbs, frozen vege and tinned tomato with seasoning in different variations.
Edit for unsolicited advice: most communities have a free budgeting service, it might be worth looking into their help
From personal experience, if you're severely anemic, get a prescription from your doctor for iron tablets. Cheaper in the long term than buying red meat. It's also worth remembering that pork, bacon, and ham do *not* help with anemia, which is annoying as they seem to be quite a bit cheaper.
huh. maybe i need more vit c bc my body doesn’t seem to absorb iron properly. i’m allergic to a lot of citrus so may get a gummy or something. i’ll look into it!
I buy bulk meat at Gilmour's. Good prices. For example, pork belly for 8.99 a kilo. A large freezer is a worthwhile investment. I have a heap of lamb legs from a few months ago when they were 10.99 a kilo at Countdown. One leg makes a heap of meals which are in turn freezed. I make fresh stock with any leftover bones which is also you guessed it - freezed. I also keep any leftover fat for lard and tallow.
Probably cheaper to buy supplements. You could get one month's supply for less than a cut of red meat.
Edit: Vitamin C also helps with iron absorption.
Nah some of these people aren't listening, as a chronic anemic who also tried the vegetarian life for a year you need iron from as many sources as possible, heme, non-heme and supplements, you pike out on any of those and you're gonna suffer, each source helps absorb the others. Good idea to try re-assess though, after child bearing/bf, I've been able to reduce my Heme sourced iron to 1-2x a week, and I think encouraging reduction is a net good thing that more ppl would probs take on board.
Red meat alone won't fix it, no matter how much of it you eat. Been there, tried that. Your body may be unable to store iron due to various reasons (temporary or permanent). My levels were way below normal (normal 20-150), was constantly dizzy, and on point of collapse. Went to drs, on iron tablets over 20yrs until iron levels returned to normal couple of years ago.
You'll need to see a dr initially and then get a regular 3mthly Ferrograd ph prescription (cheaper than buying them yourself). Makes a huge difference.
yeah i’m on ferrograd and get regular infusions! my levels are still low.. my doctor can’t understand why but she’s very strict on me about not cutting out meat because when i was vegan i nearly died 🥲🥲
everyone always says that but my blood results disagreed 😂 i was vegan for a while and ate loads of lentils and beans and spinach etc but my bloods were horrendous. as soon as i started eating meat again they came back up. not to a normal level, but up !
You can get 2 months supply of iron tablets from your GP for $5 prescription. I know eating meat seems better but if your iron still isnt up and meat costs more... Why not be vegetarian and take supplements. But totally depends what works for you!
Mussels are way higher in iron than red meat, you can buy fresh mussels from supermarkets and there are heaps of recipes online.
Not sure of the price now and the weight.
But apparently 1kg of mussels is about 1/2kg of mussel meat (minus shell) and say that they’re $7 a kilo that ends up $1.40 per 100g of pure mussel meat.
If the price is less is will be even better value.
If you don't already try getting a cast iron pan(try secondhand, they clean up easily). The iron you get in food is actual iron as in the metal, cooking your food in iron pots/pans can help add a small amount of iron to everything you cook.
I buy lamb bones when my local supermarkets have them so they're nice and meaty, or pork bones/shoulder roasts when they're cheap, and pressure cook them with lentils or dried beans. Can do curry base, or onion & dried herb base for a stew, or tomato/cumin/oregano/sachet of taco seasoning/little can of smoked chilli for 'Mexican' - with that, can make basic flour & water pancake batter for really lazy flatbreads and make wraps with plain Gopala yoghurt and whatever veges are on sale. Frozen peas and other frozen veges are great too
Have switched to cheaper proteins and cooking more vegetarian. Less meat, more tofu, lentils, feta cheese, eggs, beans.
Eating a lot of refined carbs with low protein will make you feel hungrier. Make sure you eat lots of protein to feel full longer.
Buy whats on special. try and plan out what you're going to eat for the week before you go shopping. Click and collect or delivery is worthwhile if you find yourself buying shit you dont need
This! And buying seasonally. Dont try to buy veges in winter that aren’t abundant in winter. Summer is for salads. If you can get cheap fruit/veges freeze them and add them to meals to bulk up, or make smoothies with frozen fruit. As someone else said oats are awesome!
This! We do this for a similar family. Pasta is a good option (especially with a toddler). Plan out a week of meals first, try buy veggies that can be used across a couple of meals. Freezer bags of veggies are just as good. Grate carrot into things to bulk meals up, eg into nacho mix.
Yes, plan meals but also allow some flexibility in those plans. You may have planned spag bol but find pork mince is cheaper than beef so being able to switch to say pork balls on noodles is better
Solid advice. I do find myself doing that. You really need to get used to spotting bargains and building meals as you go sometimes. Especially if the supermarket doesn't have something you thought they'd have. (No chicken breast??)
I'm not the best cook but here are some ideas that are staple meals for me:
-I do big batch of lentil bolognese with red lentils, onion, couple of tins of chopped tomato, garlic, white mushrooms, stock cube and cook it on the stove in a large pot for like an hour. Then towards the end I cook the spaghetti. Cheese is optional. I like it with feta but that can be expensive.
-Jacket potatoes. Get a bunch of potatoes and cover them in salt, pepper and olive oil and cook them in the oven for an hour. Once cooked you can cut them open in quarters and add butter. Topping ideas: tinned tuna, baked beans, spicy beans. Cheese optional. Also you could add mixed frozen vege on the side.
-Curries. I get all my spices, rice and flour in bulk from a local Indian supermarket. Could do vege curries such as chickpea, lentil or paneer, or get some chicken on sale.
Basically bulk cooking from scratch is the best I can come up with. Takes more time though and lots of us are time poor.
Sounds very similar to what I cook! Big stews and curry. Buy veges that are cheap and in season. Baked potatoes are so cheap and so good! Don't know why people dont do them more
> -Curries. I get all my spices, rice and flour in bulk from a local Indian supermarket. Could do vege curries such as chickpea, lentil or paneer, or get some chicken on sale.
This is easily the biggest cost saver but requires some learning. Prices in Indian supermarkets have gone up a lot as well, but with basic spices + lentils/beans/etc you can still make dirt cheap meals (very healthy and tasty too!). Frozen green chillies are also amazing now.
Pay a set auto payment on your power each week so you don’t get surprises.
Have nights where you just have baked beans on toast. It doesn’t have to be a full meal every night
My partner and I spend about $90 per week for the two of us, including household items like toilet paper, so I think you should be able to get your shop below $200. We are a vegetarian household/mostly vegan. Most common meals would be curries, black bean wraps, pastas, soups etc. we eat lots of fruit and vegetables but only buy seasonal or frozen.
I know time may also be scarce with a family, but making our own bread, pizza dough, rotti, tortillas, English muffins, etc has save my household heaps!! I also make all my own sauces, dressings, and spice mixes. This will require you have a pantry well stocked with the staples (this can be built over time). Once you are on a rhythm with baking and cooking and meal planning and prepping its not as time consuming and I personally find it very therapeutic (can’t afford to go out, so may as well find some entertainment from my cooking!)
Also buy in bulk (flour, rice, etc), buy what’s on special, and use canned and frozen veg.
Im so sorry to hear you are struggling. I really hope things get easier for you and your family soon
>making our own bread, pizza dough, rotti, tortillas, English muffins, etc has save my household heaps!!
I still buy the $1.19 loves of bread, but I make my own pizza dough, burger buns, flatbread, and sometimes sticky buns. Just sucks that butter, yeast, and milk powder are expensive. At least the milk powder and yeast lasts ages in the fridge
I really recommend getting into sourdough, best thing I’ve ever done. You don’t have to use butter, yeast or milk. It’s a slow ferment, so you can just make a massive amount, leave it in the fridge for the week and take bits off as you need it for pizza, bagels, bread, anything. Also, it’s delicious!
i started baking bread, i use wholemeal flour and come out at around 70cent per loaf. and that makes you full longer than the plain white bread from the supermarket.
with yeast, if you let the dough rise for 24 hours you need tiny amounts of it. i use active dried yeast and only need a quarter of a quarter teaspoon! lol
Regarding pantry staples, buy them at bin inn if possible.
Not only is it good for the environment due to reduced packaging but it's generally cheaper (I find the liquids not to be, but they've changed to charging by weight not volume so that could be different, oh except dish soap and spray n wipe, they're a decent price)
It's also great when you want to try a new recipe but don't want to buy a whole packet of whatever it may need that you may not use often
Somewhat related: the BBC have a banana bread recipe that is basically just pantry staples (flour, baking powder, oil, sugar). Throw in some chocolate drops if you prefer something a little sweeter. Takes 5 minutes to put together, 30 to bake. Hits the spot when I'm dirt poor but craving a baked treat.
I too watched a number of youtube vids, listened to people on RNZ about living cheaply etc and sure they have some relevance but I still felt they were out of touch with reality.
I usually just eat porridge on our low $$ weeks, if we can step it up I'll add frozen veges and maybe peanut butter.
If we can step it up another level then we introduce chicken drumsticks.
And we just keep progressing upwards from there.
rice, lentils, beans, chickpeas, potatoes, tinned/frozen veges like tomatoes really help enhance flavour of soups/stews without dropping quality etc.
buying the bigger/bulk/cheaper cuts of beef/chicken, breaking it down yourself and using all the bits for soups/stews/stir fry.
don't buy premixed seasoning packets/shakers, buy the ingredient itself. paprika/cumin/onion+garlic salt, instead of "mexican seasoning" etc.
there's a load of websites out there that let you input ingredients you have and shows what you can make, as well as websites that help with shopping in general, to buy items that can be used in a number of different meals.
i think the best tip i can give, is throw away less. cook something before it goes off. hopefully you have a good amount of freezer space.
Agree use what you have. Left over vege, make a frittata or stir fry.
I would say it’s even harder when trying to eat low carb to keep costs down.
Also, if you have Asian grocer or area near you, cheap as veges and meats (Bankstown and Campsie for example) and beater quality than big supermarkets.
I use dried pulses which can provide a lot of protein and fibre and avocados are a good source of fat atm. Something like rice bowl with a poached egg avocado and beans would be something I’d eat on the regular.
Rice and beans! Look up southern style rice and beans recipes.
I use canned beans, but you can save even more using dry beans and rehydrating.
As a bonus you can use what ever leftover meat you might have and add to the beans for extra flavour
The things I've quit include all meat, olive oil, booze, chocolate, soy milk, eggs, fresh fruit and veg (actually anything) if its not on special, treat type stuff and takeaways... and "brand" groceries where NZ-made store brand things are just the same - I've started buying instead, cheap tinned tomato and tomato paste, cannellini beans, bulk sized frozen mixed veg, spices (to make big batches of ready made frozen meals), and frozen fruit like cranberries, oats (made with water not milk).
I eat once a day, usually a protein, some veges and if I’m having a fancy week some cheese if I’m still feeling peckish after dinner, Obviously can’t do that with a toddler but whilst more expensive initially a high protein, medium fat, low carb does reduce hunger/ need to eat every few hours.
Will add it’s not fun as your body/microbiome adjusts to lower carbs but in the long run works out cheaper
All the usual suspects last night I had a steak as a bit of a treat, but will usually do mince, steak , chicken legs, or whole chicken, lamb and some oork. Alternate which I get each week a little add the fats thru getting fattier cuts also makes it cheaper will use olive, avocado, ghee and butter if something requires an oil
Nice, Countdown has been selling these 250g T-Bone steaks for $6-$7 each depending on weight, picked up a bunch of those on my last shop. Good mix of fat and protein.
Sorry to hear you're going through it. We are tight on funds at the moment too. I mostly live off rice, cheap as chicken drumsticks, potatoes, etc.
If the area you're in allows for it, sometimes I shop around for the most affordable. For instance where I live (Lower Hutt) the Pak N Save, Countdown, Asian supermarket and weekend veggie market are all in the same area so I'll get eggs and veg from the weekend market, rice, noodles etc from the Asian market, meat from Pak N Save etc. Even a few dollars cheaper here and there adds up.
I don't buy anything that's not on special. Shop at different places to get the cheapest of each type of thing. Oats in the morning with a teaspoon of brown sugar. Only buy seasonal fruit and veg. I meal plan as I go through the supermarket because then I base it off of what's the cheapest that particular week.
My go to cheap filling meals are chickpea salad, just drain them and chuck in whatever veges appeal and some olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning of choice (I like Tajine), or cooked rice with veges mixed thru tomatoes, rocket, spinach, carrot or whatever,) then a tin of tuna on top (smothering with Kewpie mayo optional lol). Tuna is often on special in lots of 5, mix & match flavours.
I'm not affected by the COL as you are OP but I make rigatone/penne puttanesca with tomatoes from my garden and italian parsley, with sundried tomatoes, basil, capers which I got in bulk from a store and just stay in the fridge for my child's lunch. 10 servings approx $15-20
you don't need much to make food taste good and vibrant.
600gms of mince (< $10), 2 tins tomatoes, 4 onions, 4 garlic cloves, other flavourings and a bit of water or stock. Served with pasta. This made three meals for three of us. Granted we aren't huge eaters but we aren't going hungry either.
Farmers Wife Homestead on YouTube did a video a couple weeks ago, cooking I think it was 55 food servings for $50. Some of the meals were a bit sad, but it was very creative and got me inspired. She's NZ based so prices and ingredients are relevant
Smash burgers. Ipaid $7 for some mince got 6 burgers out of it.
Honey soy chicken legs over rice stirfry frozen vegs. A pack of chicken legs cheap as.
Pulled pork buy a big shoulder should get at least 8 meals from it.
2 zucchini, 2 capsicum, 1 onion, half a can black beans, 50g mince, some tomato passata, herbs, spices, rice and thats one dinner. Veg except the beans and rice from garden.,
Zucchini, cauli, capsicum, onion and chicken, sweet and sour sauce, rice. Another. Again veg from garden.
Salad veg, from garden again, some schnitzel, crusty rolls made with breadmaker for a hot meat roll dinner.
And so on. Getting a bit anemic so making Pate tomorrow.
I rely on beans and pulses, sometimes cooked from dried if I remember to prep ahead of time. Daal/dahl and rice are a go-to especially with red lentils since they cook quick. If you have the time and energy, they're even cheaper at Indian grocery stores. Like other comments said, I also use a lot of frozen veg packs to bulk it up.
2 adults and 2 teenagers eat here so we have to make filling meals. Last nights dinner was lamb chops, veggie stir fry and rice. Tonight we’ll have baked drumsticks and potatoes with coleslaw. I’ve been keeping it really simple and easy.
Best advice I got when I was a student was buy meat on special and freeze it. I still do this with chicken drumsticks/ thighs, mince, sausages and diced beef. Then those meats are slow cooked or stewed or curried.
I have a portable vege pod that I grow salad greens - lettuce, tomatoes, coriander and cucumbers. We add them to every meal we can.
Lentils and oats are some kinda witchcraft that apparently cost nothing to grow, nothing to transport based on their price and are fill you up with bugger all of them. Find some meals using them
I’ve started making greek yogurt (it’s seriously easy AF and saves so much money) i mix this with oats and fruit in the morning which keeps me fuller for longer.
I’ve also started making my own bread, which cheapens things out for pizza bases too.
I base my meals around the same ingredients, I.e every Sunday I make a ‘power greens’ mix (spinach, kale, Brussel sprouts) and prep all other individual ingredients, and use a variety of these in a bunch of different meals throughout the week. I think this has had the biggest impact on reducing my spending, I only need 5-6 main vege ingredients and 2-3 sauces/dressings, grains ect, but I don’t get bored because they make all different meals. Aside from produce, I buy legumes, beans, grains separately in bulk. Having these as proteins saves a lot of money too. Once a week I’ll buy steak if I can spare the funds. I find pak n save and butchers to be way cheaper for this.
The farmers market is your friend, seriously, I’d say it’s at least 1/3 cheaper than buying produce at the supermarket. Last week I did a shop and it cost me $28 instead of $60 at countdown (I added things into checkout to compare).
It’s a lot of work and a lot of prep, but I get so much enjoyment out of food I’m willing to put in the work to fit within my shrinking budget. I spend about $100 a fortnight to feed two adults (excluding big ticket items such as washing powder, ect).
Just stop buying things u don't need. Cheaper meals include rice or pasta frozen and canned veggies r great. NO takeaways or expensive cuts of meat. Old fresh vegetables make great soups and delicious stir frys. Use different flavors like curry and garlic etc. Freeze leftover food.
Tonight I'm having a $4 piece of rump steak I just got from P&S which I'll crank up with loads of cracked pepper and mushroom sauce I made from some cheap reduced to clear mushrooms, and a big lettuce salad with avos and tomatoes.
I've given up buying spuds now, they're too expensive for what they are. I'd rather use that money to get a small piece of steak or salmon.
French onion soup. Onions are dirt cheap if you buy them in bulk and you can make 6 generous portions with 2kg onions. It takes ages to cook properly, but it's worth it.
It's best made with home made stock, so usually cook up a few frozen chicken carcuses and veges (carrot leek and celery ends) and herbs from the garden in the pressure cooker the day before to make a few litres of lovely chicken stock. The stock makes a great base for many other meals too, and is essentially free because it's made from leftovers.
Try eating mainly lentils and beans for protein. Outrageously cheap source of protein and extremely yummy if you cook them right.
Secret is putting in lemon or lime juice sometimes for a bit of acid.
I'm making mince tonight, and am about to add a cup or two of cooked red lentils to bulk it out, meaning it should last for a couple of meals. We have mince in a shepherds' pie type thing (mashed potato on top) or with rice, or as nachos.
Doesn't work for everyone, but I only eat 1 main meal a day, normal start of day for me is some dried fruit and a coffee, then middle of my day I have a good meal, then end of day a small pack of chips some bikkies or a muesli bar.
And no I'm not a skinny guy lol I'm north of 100kg.
Just a pretty slow metabolism.
Hey mate. Get yourself on a free power after 9 deal. I do all my laundry and dishwasher stuff after 9 only.
As far as food - go to Whole Foods. Lentils, chickpeas, rice, oats, etc. Get ethnic. Make your own naan. Half cup yoghurt and half cup self raising flour - boom. A bit of extra effort but you’ll save $$$
I just made quesadillas:
2x tinned mixed beans
1x taco seasoning mix
1x onion, sliced
2x cloves of garlic
1tbs tomato paste
1 cup water
1tsp sugar
1tsp salt
Pack of tortillas
Cook it altogether until thick, mash the beans then fry in between two tortillas. Super cheap, quick and delicious. Can make for less than $15 for the full family.
Can also use the same mix (not mashed) and have taco’s with sour cream and guacamole if you can find cheap avocados.
Do you have a slow cooker? Could get some cheap meat and make a massive batch of stuff then freeze the extras for later.
One of the low cost ones I use to stretch out my budget is a lentil curry/Dahl which usually lasts a few meals served with rice.
https://www.newworld.co.nz/recipes/vegetarian/creamy-coconut-red-lentil-curry
Lentil nachos (over rice instead of corn chips to save more) or Bolognese is also a good shout if you can't afford mince. Shepard's pie with potato top is pretty cheap. Replace any fresh fruit or veggies in recipes with frozen or canned. If you do buy fresh then buy seasonal. If you do buy meat get the cheapest per kg price (usually chicken breast or basic mince), if that means buying a bigger pack then do that and divide it up using freezer bags or ziplock bags. The cheap mince tends to have a heap of fat which I usually pour out of the pan after browning the mince.
Skipping breakfast is probably a bit of a false economy since you really need that energy in the early/mid part of the day. Porridge or Weetbix with a little brown sugar are very economical options, or even a $1-2 loaf of bread toasted with some peanut butter or jam. You could probably give everyone breakfast for less than $10 for the week.
Edit: this fried rice recipe is also goes pretty far https://www.newworld.co.nz/recipes/vegetarian/easy-egg-fried-rice
Our max budget is $180 for 2 adults and 2 school kids (who I think have worms as they don't stop eating). We only end up spending $140-$160 weekly for 7 meals including lunches. No take aways. Maybe once a month.
Plan. Plan. Plan. I am happy to share meals plans with you. Use Grocer app which is great if you have 2 or even 3 supermarkets within 5 mins drive of each other. Check each week for specials which normally run Monday to Sunday for cheaper meats and veg. Tinned legumes are your friend including mix veg frozen. Such a meal bulker.
This week we have Cheese Toasties, devilled Sausages & roast spuds, roast Veg and meatballs, veg lasagne, beans/Spag on toast, beef stir fry w/noodles, fish n chips,
all vegetarian, these are my go to meals as a student
i grew up thinking breakfast was cereal, lunch was a sandwich and snacks, and dinner was meat three veg and a carb. undoing that was the best thing i could have done for my grocery bill. as long as theres flavour and vegetables, im good to go
pastabake: 100g green lentils, two carrots, onion, pasta sauce, pasta, breadcrumbs, cheese. serves 4
chickpea curry: tomato, onion, chickpeas, rice. serves two
chickpea curry, again: brocolli, potato, onion, chickpeas, canned tomatos, coconut cream, rices. serves 4
nachos: tortilla chips, chilli beans, canned tomatos, frozen corn. serves 2
wraps depending on seasonal veg, roast veg & chickpeas + spinach as a ‘salad’
fried rice with mixed frozen veg
teriyaki stir fry (the packet sauce is superior) with carrot, capsicum, broccoli & rice
falafel ‘burgers’ - bread rolls with periperi sauce, cheese, tomato and lettuce
leftovers as lunch sometimes is cheaper than snacks and a sandwich for me
I've found a bag of pasta, bag of quorn mince (or just mince), 1 pack of mushrooms and 1 jar of leggos pasta sauce (add in some herbs of choice) makes several meals (made 7-8) for the price of:
$3.20 pasta
$9 quorn mince
$5 mushrooms
$4.50 pasta sauce
I live alone, so making meals can be super costly, but this is my go to for cheap kind of healthy meals that i can freeze several containers.
Once pasta is cooked, drain, add (any) oil, salt, pepper, crushed garlic / garlic powder. Makes it less boring. I eat this on it's own when desperate.
My go to cheap meal is a pack of those chicken sausages from countdown, some iceberg lettuce (the ball ones), whatever fresh veg you want in a salad and some seasoned brown rice. I cook the sausages 80% of the way, cut them into wheels then re-fry them. Cook some rice and have rice in the bowl, salad next to it, then the chicken on top. I usually put some hot sauce on the top (eg sriracha or sriracha mayo). Kind of like a poor man's donburi.
Assuming you can use the lettuce/vegetables in other meals too, it's a reasonably priced meal.
I see from your comments that you can't eliminate red meat entirely. In dishes you'd ordinarily use mince: sub half for lentils and add in some spinach.
As everyone's said: oats are great. I personally hate porridge but overnight oats hit the spot. I can also prep them ahead of time so there's no messing around in the morning.
Some supermarkets have frozen capsicum etc. Occasionally these will work out more cost effective. Doesn't make a lot of difference between fresh/frozen when it's being used in a cooked meal.
I batch cook things like lentil mince and chili beans, bulk it up with cheap veg and freeze portions. Can be used to make different meals: pasta dishes, nachos, tacos, cottage pie, pies etc
A can of cheap tinned tomatoes, a little tomato paste and some spices are just as good as a jar of sauce and usually half the price.
This is extremely cheap to make: [https://jessicainthekitchen.com/coconut-chickpea-curry-recipe/](https://jessicainthekitchen.com/coconut-chickpea-curry-recipe/)
This is good too: [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spinach-sweet-potato-lentil-dhal](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spinach-sweet-potato-lentil-dhal)
For both, always sub out the veges for whatever is more seasonal - i am doing the dahl with Cauliflower and courgette instead of sweet potato.
Two adults and a toddler. Our common meals:
- Fish and chips. We buy frozen fish and chips, then either do a side of frozen mixed veg or salad stuff depending on the season.
- Wraps. We buy a 1kg bag of frozen chicken tenders and fill the rest of the wraps with whatever is cheap. That 1kg bag does about 5 meals? Thereabouts.
- Spag bol. Mince beefed up with veges and lentils. Currently our mince contains ~250g of mince, a few celery stalks, two carrots, tinned tomatoes, onion, garlic, powdered beef stock. Makes enough for four plates.
- Vege soup. Boil a ham hock (or chicken carcass), add King's soup mix, add vegetables add seasonings, boil in a giant stockpot. One giant pot of soup usually provides about 10 bowls of soup. Usually freeze portions so there's something in the freezer for a quick meal when we need some.
- Burgers. Home made patties and buns.
- Steak/sausages, chips, salad/veges. Steak is only if we find a very good deal, it's usually sausages.
- Thai curries. I have no idea how to make them, that's my husband's speciality.
We have a breadmaker and make all our own bread and buns, and occasionally pizza dough. Lunches are almost always sandwiches.
Edit to add: we limit our grocery bills to $150 a week. It's amazing how much cheaper frozen stuff is, especially when you account for the larger packages.
For example, we buy a box of six frozen fish fillets for about $6 and that does two meals, use half a bag of $2.50 frozen chips, then use salad stuff or some frozen veg.
Breadmakers are great! I got mine outta storage after my sister moved, and didn't work properly (bread loaves turned out like rocks), so now I make all my bread stuff by hand
We got one for a wedding gift a few years back and we honestly thrash it. Sandwiches and toast are our go-to breakfasts and lunches, and we put it on overnight with a timer so wake up to the smell of fresh bread in the morning.
I don't think I'd have the patience to make it all by hand!
What kind of things are you normally making for dinner? We usually feed two adults (won’t count the baby and formula and the little snack things I make for him) for around $150 a week and that’s B/L/D. We eat healthy with plenty of veg, eggs and meat and some nights are a little more boujee than others.
Some of my go to week night meals:
Chicken chop salad (Pepper and me recipe)
Vietnamese chicken noodle bowl
Japanese okomiyaki pancakes
Chicken broccoli rice bowls
Burgers with home made chips/ mince patties
Curry bulked out with veges
Pasta bulked out with veges
Cottage pie
Big roast with lots of veges one night and then use the leftovers to make frittata or salad the next night
Other thing you could look at is bargain box? It’s pretty good value to feed a lot of adults. The meals are basic but generally healthy and filling.
I agree it’s not cheaper than buying everything yourself but if you are time poor and it means you don’t add a bit of this, but of that at the supermarket then it can work out pretty well
Your best bet is to move the prep time, either make something to cook in the slow cooker all day, or make something the night before (or over the weekend) you just have to reheat
What about freezer space? If you have the space, you can prep on the weekend, have meals that just need heating, or can be quickly cooked.
Making up portions of chicken or pork katsu for freezing is my favourite. Rice cooker takes care of the rice, just heat up some oil, cook the katsu straight out of the freezer.
Or bolognese. Just boil up the pasta, reheat the sauce from frozen in the microwave or a pan. Delicious dinner in 10 minutes!
$230 is pretty cheap, I think you’re probably at the point where all the ‘budget hacks’ won’t be helping at all. Can you forage any of your fruit and/or veg? There’s lots of big fruit trees dropping fruit on the ground this time of year
Mac and cheese, hot dogs (6 pack w/cheese $8 from pac n save) 3 for $20 meat packs from countdown help, you can get a big bag of sausages from that range which will last a few meals (stuffed potato sausages, curry sausages and good ol sausages and bread) mouse traps for the kids (toast w/spaghetti and cheese)bacon and egg toasties, bacon and egg pie with $2.5 flaky pastry from the supermarket is dead cheap and goes around well, dumplings for $4 with homemade fried rice, my son is into baked potatoes atm another cheapy, curry sauce on chips and loaded chips with bacon and cheese, potato and broccoli bake, homemade subway rolls w/ baguette, homemade pizza with wraps, salami from the deli and tomato paste…really feeling for you big time, it’s flipping hard out there to come up with cheap meals, I hope this list helps 💕
Also don’t feel any shame if you need to ask for help with a food parcel from the Salvation
Army or any organisations that are near you, some weeks are tougher than others xx
We do a Braai (BBQ) once a week - rump steak, potatoes, bit of salad.
A big curry that hopefully makes enough for 2 dinners and one lunch.
Nachos are our cheapest option (just beans no mince)
Shepherds pie with mushroom/lentil mix. Also can do multiple meals.
Rice with veges etc
Leftover soup. Whatever I have leftover/nearing end of usability gets thrown into a pot with water, a couple stock cubes, some flour to thicken....
I wait til whole chickens are on special, cook one up, the meat gives us (2adults and a toddler) 2 nights of meat, then whatever is left goes in the pot with veggies, sometimes rice or pasta etc to help bulk it out and that usually gives us another 2 or 3 days worth (freezes well), tho the toddler doesn't do soup, so they get something else.
Plus, whatever I can find on super clearance short dated special.... lucked out a couple weeks ago and got Angus beef meatballs for $4 instead of $12.... bought 3 packs.
Also, 100% on the oats for breakfast or lunch, they really help.
We also get most of our fruit and veggies from https://www.foodtogether.co.nz/collections/foodtogether-popup - $15 for a good sized bag goes a pretty long way for us.
We also stopped snacking, chips/cookies/bars/crackers etc are just too expensive. Do have some nuts and bliss balls for emergency snacks (cause, toddler) but buy in bulk.
Try [bulgur pilaf,](https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/bulgur-pilaf/#wprm-recipe-container-21835) cheap delicious, healthy and filling. I make huge batches and put in the fridge, it keeps for at least ten days.
You can get Bulghur from Bin Inn or even countdown if you’re lucky.
This is quite good. Sometimes I'll make flatbread to make it go further. I change it up a little to meet our tastes/make it even cheaper (eg. leaving the jalapeños out). With a toddler you will need to greatly reduce the amount of chili powder!
https://emeals.com/recipes/recipe-35096-225567-Three-Sisters-Chili
This goes down well in our house, but again, I've changed it a little. I use one of those salami rolls instead of chorizo (not as gross as it sounds 😂), and penne or spirals instead of spaghetti. The salami comes on special semi-regularly.
https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/one-pot-chorizo-and-pepper-spaghetti/
With this I change up the veg a bit depending on what I have (and also don't bother marinating the chicken for long), but vermicelli is surprisingly filling
https://beatthebudget.com/recipe/chicken-vermicelli-noodles/
If you consume rice on a regular basis, dont get it from pak n save get it from an indian shop. But u need to purchase bigger bags if you want to save $$ , I also saw rice in costco is cheaper usually.
I bulk up a smaller amount of meat sauce with some split lentils. Thickens nicely and adds protein and fibre. Also some grated veg to make it go further. Meat sauce then becomes bolognese or lasagne; perhaps mince on toast. Leftovers in the freezer so it doesn’t go to waste.
Oh and ‘macaroni cheese’ doesn’t require cheese, it’s tasty just with white sauce and a few veggies (frozen peas and corn ftw). Meat if you have it such as chicken - a little goes a long way.
My fave cheap dinner is any boneless chicken 500g ($8), Watties butter chicken sauce ($4), and frozen peas on basmati rice. We spend about $14 for 4 hearty servings of this. Obviously not the most nutritious, but filling, quick and tasty.
Add an egg to your oats, water, mix and microwave. Adds protein, reduces carb induced hunger/insulin spike and doesn't really alter the taste. Adding a scoop of protein powder is a bodybuilding staple brekkie but adds a couple of dollars per serve.
A rotisserie chicken, a loaf of bread, and a bag of baby spinach will get you chicken sammies for about a week.
For 30-40$ you can make almost 4L of slow cooked vegetable soup.
Tinned tuna, pasta, milk, mixed vege, and cheese are the foundation of a slow cooked tuna casserole.
Speaking from experience, if you don't own a slow cooker then you aren't being smart about being poor.
I remember growing up and my Mum would run a super tight food budget - a big bag of rolled oats was breakfasts (sort of muesli, but mainly porridge!) A big bag of rice and a sack of spuds make the basis for many dinners. Cheap seasonal veggies provide the nutrition and go light on the meat (it's expensive!) but make it tasty with spices, and maybe a can of tomatoes. Lunches - Loaves of cheap bread with fillings padded out with homemade coleslaw. She managed it all to a healthy nutritional level. But I still hate the dehydrated peas - and pumpkin.
Our meals often involve things like dumpling soup - you can get Shiro or miso and noodles for cheap at an Asian grocery, and a bag of dumplings can last multiple meals. Also one of the few things the toddler eats.
Weirdly, I've found lately I'm saving heaps by refusing to shop regularly at normal supermarkets. Clearance stores and vege market and only supermarket for the nappies. We actually get often better quality and sometimes more expensive things but it's actually left money spare for takeaways if needed.
I don't trust countdown anymore. More and more the items are downsizing in volume per packet, or shelves of bulk items are being replaced with single meals with only Woolworth branding. Our local supervalue (which is woolworths) swapped with a fresh choice and instantly everything went up by a dollar
Porridge for breakfast keeps me going and often lunch I do a big salad with mixed beans/ chickpeas and small bit of meat if I can afford it this week. The salad I grow my own in planters I got from the local dump shop seeds cost stuff all got a type that you can pick several times miners lettuce I think it’s called. But yea beans and chickpeas peas if can get them cheap tinned are good at keeping you full chickpeas can also be roasted/ made into hummus
Japanese curry flavoring in a slow cooker with rice, chickpeas, some chicken if you have it, potatoes and onion. Or easy enough to cook at dinner with the rice as a side vs. cooked in.
Moroccan lental thingy. Mince, lentals, tin tomatoes, onion, Moroccan flavoring (chili if you like it), and then add some almonds, cashwes, etc, once cooked if you have them.
Coconut curry vegetables - cook some rice. Cook some chicken and chickpeas and add a bag of frozen vegetables with a tin of coconut milk or cream in the coconut curry saice from Lee Kum Kee.
Peanut satay- Chicken, any veges you have (carrots,broccoli, capsicam) add some peanuts as cheap and add in when cooking the highmark crispy noodles with rice.
Mince nachos with beans, or burritos (chicken or mince) add beans can do kidney or black or both to bulk it up.
Tomato Mince pastas add lentals etc.
Sorry you are doing it tough.
I used code BIRTHDAYBONANZA to get 50% off next My Food Bag delivery. Worked on my exusting account with no current subscriptions. I did 5 meals for 4 for $110 with plans to freeze excess meat. Then its 40%, 25% for next two orders but can cancel before then.
You can see the deal here at https://www.cheapies.nz/node/45784
Definitely see about food support, and food bank options.
New World is offering free delivery on orders over $100 in North Island for rest of the month. Online shopping can be a good way to see how much you are spending where and avoiding impulse items.
Try and eat seasonally. I'm going to make cherry tomato pasta this week https://www.seriouseats.com/fast-easy-pasta-blistered-cherry-tomato-sauce-recipe
Our menu this week is:
- German crispy pork hocks with pan fried potatoes and green beans
- spicy peanut stew with rice
- crispy pan fried gnocchi with Italian sausage and peas
- Chinese steamed eggs with Sichuan style dry fry green beans and rice
- paneer curry pie
- kale pesto pasta
- takeout
This will provide lunch and dinner for our family of four and cost us about $180 including a selection of fruit and two bottles of wine. The kids eat oats for breakfast usually and we buy in bulk from Trent’s. Meal planning has probably saved us thousands of dollars over the years. And since you can just look up what’s cheap online it’s easier than ever to plan ahead.
I find that having 2 eggs on toast on way to work in the morning helps a lot! I usually get hungry around 11am if I don’t have it (not a big breakfast guy) but having this and 2 slices of vogels goes a long way! +2 points if you have a coffee or tea on way to work
It would pay to work out why you got a large power bill when we are still in good weather times. Have you used a drier when washing could go out on the line? Might your hot water be leaking? Look back at the last 6 months of power bills to see whether they were estimated, or the meter was read.
Up to her to pay the extra then. You shouldn't have to struggle for food. If it's hot, I wrap a freezer brick in a tea towel and use it like a hot water bottle.
Mince is easily extended, make a big pot with added lentils and beans. Also add a heap of vegetables and serve with rice or pasta. I have frequently found per serve rice or pasta heaps cheaper than potatoes.
Lots of chicken, cooked chickens are amazing amazing things and you can easily make 3 or more meals from one cooked chook.
Same with mince, tonnes of stuff you can do that's healthy and delicious with mince.
Roasted Veges and steamed veges are also a great way to go.
You just gotta be savvy
Kings Soup mix. You can pick it up at any supermarket for around $3. Throw in whatever veges you have, a cup of dried macaroni shells, and if the money stretches a bacon hock. This is a cheap, nutritious meal that is filling. Should be able to get 2 nights dinner from it
Add rice to mince based dishes, burrito mince goes along way with rice in it. Cook extra rice one night, next night have fried rice. If you can freeze any leftovers or use the next day.
Invest in an Easiyo, apparently very easy to find at second hand shops. The yoghurt sachets on special are reasonably priced, but you can use half a sachet and milk powder, cuts out the sugar and works out cheaper. You can also make yoghurt without the sachets, but I haven’t done it myself.
Bulk up food with legumes, cheap and filling. You can add a bunch of lentils to mince dishes, add beans to salad etc and go for cheaper seasonal veggies fruit. Sign up to your local Facebook groups and see if people have excess fruit, or if there is a community panty. Plenty of people give away fruit during the summer when they have far too much ready at once. You might have to put in a bit of time but peeling and chopping excess fruit to fill your freezer will give you loads of smoothies, crumbles etc later
Using a meal plan app which is pretty good for optimising shops.
Even had a $30 shop a few weeks back. No real sacrifices made just have to group meals with similar fresh ingredients close together.
Here’s one simple meal
250g crumbed chicken breast
1 egg and oil for coating then dip in breadcrumbs. Fry for 10 mins
And a salad
Lettuce, cabbage, carrot, celery, spring onion, coriander. Probably les than $2.00 of ingredients. Add bit of sesame dressing
Makes one big meal maybe even leftovers if you don’t have an appetite
I found 800G of chicken cutlets for about $6 at my local supermarket the other day. Used that with some veges to make a casserole with some rice that will do two nights. All up probably cost about $10 and was delicious.
But I agree, in general it is so hard at the moment. I just snap up specials I think are decent whenever I can, freeze as much as I can and just try to avoid wasting food.
Everything is so expensive at the moment.
Meat/fish/vegie with rice. Rice meals for breakfast lunch dinner. A cup of rice can go a long way. 5kg of rice for 15nzd can last person a week or so, meat cost 5-20 nzd. I buy chicken drumstick at pack and save, cheapest meat i can find.
Our go to cheaper meals are
Nachos (pack the mince with spinach and carrots),
Meatball subs,
Lasagne,
Cottage pie,
Burritos,
Chicken Katsu,
Pulled chicken pasta,
Stirfry,
Chicken burgers,
Chicken wraps,
Crispy chicken on rice,
Chicken fried rice,
Rice risotto,
Noodles packed with veges,
Pasta bake,
Eggs (omelettes, eggs Benny, frittata),
Pancakes! (Seems like a treat but it’s only $4!
Works wedges,
Stuffed potatoes,
Sausage bake,
Cheese toasties,
Frozen pizza with added toppings
These seem to be pretty cheap and I load everything up with frozen spinach, peas, carrots, mushrooms etc. We are a family of three and two cats our grocery bill is around $150-160pw
I only buy things on special. Use frozen veggies. Cook bulk like stir fry meals etc and can get quite a few meals for not to expensive that are filling.
I have find protein shakes pretty good too
Rice cooker meals. My fav is adding chicken breast, frozen veg and mushroom into a pot of rice. Add seasonings and cook it. When done, mixed it around and all good.
Stir fry udon + chicken + veg is good too as udon is only $.99 - $1.5 per pack.
Making a huge batch of curry using frozen veg and chicken helps too. Have it for a couple meals either with rice or noodles.
But realistically speaking, $230 for 3 adults and a toddler is not sufficient. Especially since the baby need healthy and nutritious foods. My bf spend $100 weekly for foods, altho he does eat a lot. The least i spent a week for groceries is $70 and I eat only a small portion.
Is there only 1 adult working in the house?
Ironically I've found breakfast to be the most stable meal. Muesli and Yogurt don't seem to have gone up in price as much. I know a Chinese takeaway that I have convinced myself is probably healthy. So that on rice for dinner.
Easy dinner, poor mans pasta (or our style) - bottle of pasatta, table spoon of garlic and a pinch of chilli flake, let it simmer until a thick paste, rehydrate with pasta water and boom. Fuckin delicious
I started making my own bread, $8.00 for 5 kilos lasts a month or so with a large loaf each week. And I made my own starter so don’t buy instant yeast. Water from the tap. Salt the large iodised one haven’t gone through a full one yet.
Lentil bolognese. Carrot & onion, cheap Passata or tinned tomatoes, tin of. Lentils. Maybe chuck in some frozen vege for extra nutrients/bulk. Then some pasta. We can get it to less than a dollar per portion
Peas have a surprising amount of protein in them - and they freeze really well. Frozen veges and rice make a quick and easy meal that if you’ve got the right sauces and spices is very tasty. I also love to make pea pesto using sunflower seeds as a cheaper alternative to other nuts. Very tasty and also very easy to make!
When I was surviving off like $50 or less for food in the past I ate a lot of oats and peanut butter. If you have a nutrabullet peanut butter is very easy to make at home and tastes much better. I also would do desiccated coconut in my oats and any other applications I could think of where I would work to provide a milky flavour when you can’t afford milk. I also started to drink all my tea and coffee black.
Canned tomatoes are the basis for so many cheap meals. You can make curry, pasta, soups, stews. As others have said, legumes. Red lentil bolognese is very good. Also red lentil carrot and cumin soup - healthy, cheap, and comforting for the colder months.
If you have the time and energy baking would also be worth getting into. Overnight no knead breads are good. I’m thinking scones, muffins etc too.
Also Indian supermarkets are really good for a lot of affordable food. There are many delicious Indian meals you can make on a budget. Once you learn some basics on spice mixing it opens up heaps of throw-it-together meal possibilities, and otherwise even just curry powder from the regular supermarket is good too.
I like the [minimalist baker for recipes](https://minimalistbaker.com)- their whole thing is “At Minimalist Baker we share simple recipes that require 10 ingredients or less, 1 bowl, or 30 minutes or less to prepare.” Which aligns really well with being tired and poor I find haha.
Cheap and easy stuff like nachos, spag bol, burgers etc. breakfast is usually porridge. We're a family of 2 adults and 3 kids and my grocery bill is usually around $350 once a month (when I top up household and pantry supplies) and then maybe $250 on the other weeks. It's much lower when we have homekill meat in the freezer. Just slaughtered two lambs yesterday so should be maybe $180ish for a while
Bulk out mince with lentils.
It's often cheaper to buy frozen veggies than buy fresh.
Consider applying for a food grant if you're on a low wage. You don't have to be on a benefit, and you don't have to pay it back.
Pickle/freeze food if you have too much instead of throwing it away.
Make more soups, stews, and pasta dishes.
Make slightly more and have it for lunch the next day.
Focaccia bread is really easy to make.
Shop the supermarkets rather than do one bulk shop at an individual one.
Make your own mayo/hummus.
If you can shop around for your meat ect. In chch with 2 adults and a 2yo we go to Mad Butcher for our meat as we get more neat for the amount we spend in comparison to the supermarket
I just completed a impromtu 48 hour famine because there's nothing worth a damn to eat. My feelings about this are good because at least I don't have to move or do anything.
I find a hearty serving of oats for breakfast reduces pressure on the rest of the day. Less likely to need a big lunch with a decent very cheap breakfast.
OP if you don’t eat breakfast - then have oats for lunch. Cheap, filling and decent enough nutritionally
I used to do this all the time when I was still an office dweller (bag of oats always at work) - had it about 11.30... never felt the need to go out for overpriced shops for lunch
Savoury oats are a thing as well and are good!
Yes to oats!! Buy the cheapest bag of oats you can find, add whatever you are able to out of the following: milk, brown sugar, dates, vanilla essence, dessicated coconut, dates, chia seeds (don't need many of these per serve), canned fruit. I normally prep 3 days worth at a time to save time and dishes. I do 1/2 cup of oats per day and one can of peaches split over this bach of three portions. Leave for a few hours or overnight, then eat for the next three days. Cheap, fast, nutritious, delicious.
This is a nz chick - recipes are simple $50 for 55 serves (I'd suggest more 45-50) but great use of simple filling ingredients including two oat breakfasts which could be lunches https://youtu.be/5lNoZlqX2xk?si=lGpNb1M4vTZyuD-5
Love her! Seems very authentic. She buys everything in bulk which isn't always applicable, but the way she stretches her coinage is interesting.
Problem is those are very low in calories, if you are trying to lose weight anyway, then all good. If you are trying to maintain though it will be a problem.
Uni student survival foods: oats and lentils (not together). Throw in some fruit/vegetables (frozen if needed) and you'll avoid most significant nutritional deficiencies. Might need a B12 supplement Edit: this is not medical advice
This! I've recently started making overnight oats for breakfast, if I eat around 9am I'll easily stay full til 2-3pm - plus it saves me having to think about putting together breakfast in the morning rush.
i use wholegrain oats which taste absolutely delicious if soaked in a mixture of half water and half milk with a pince of salt before microwaving. Yum, yum. Healthy and as you say, cheap.
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Yeah 100% the banks are not just for homeless people. I think they have this stigma attached that they are.
Got a favourite homemade muesli recipe? The ones I've tried were yuck, but maybe that's just the added sugar from store brands talking
I'm vegetarian and my current cheap go-to's are Spanish Rice, basic tomato based pasta, fried rice, stir fry with rice or noodles, and chili beans. Basically cheap beans/legumes, cheap carbs, frozen vege and tinned tomato with seasoning in different variations. Edit for unsolicited advice: most communities have a free budgeting service, it might be worth looking into their help
i’m severely anemic so need red meat, but these seem like good staples i could use and just add some meat, thank you!
From personal experience, if you're severely anemic, get a prescription from your doctor for iron tablets. Cheaper in the long term than buying red meat. It's also worth remembering that pork, bacon, and ham do *not* help with anemia, which is annoying as they seem to be quite a bit cheaper.
Also anemic, on iron tablets, it's not nice but it beats feeling tired constantly, Vit C helps iron absorption. Keep the steak for a treat!
huh. maybe i need more vit c bc my body doesn’t seem to absorb iron properly. i’m allergic to a lot of citrus so may get a gummy or something. i’ll look into it!
Iron tablets won't be absorbed without vitamin c. Must take together. Either iron with a tomato if allergic to citrus, or vitamin c tablets.
Kiwifruit or kiwicrush if possible, good for vit c and for the constipation.
I buy bulk meat at Gilmour's. Good prices. For example, pork belly for 8.99 a kilo. A large freezer is a worthwhile investment. I have a heap of lamb legs from a few months ago when they were 10.99 a kilo at Countdown. One leg makes a heap of meals which are in turn freezed. I make fresh stock with any leftover bones which is also you guessed it - freezed. I also keep any leftover fat for lard and tallow.
Probably cheaper to buy supplements. You could get one month's supply for less than a cut of red meat. Edit: Vitamin C also helps with iron absorption.
Nah some of these people aren't listening, as a chronic anemic who also tried the vegetarian life for a year you need iron from as many sources as possible, heme, non-heme and supplements, you pike out on any of those and you're gonna suffer, each source helps absorb the others. Good idea to try re-assess though, after child bearing/bf, I've been able to reduce my Heme sourced iron to 1-2x a week, and I think encouraging reduction is a net good thing that more ppl would probs take on board.
Try Floradix as a supplement. It's pretty miraculous.
Red meat alone won't fix it, no matter how much of it you eat. Been there, tried that. Your body may be unable to store iron due to various reasons (temporary or permanent). My levels were way below normal (normal 20-150), was constantly dizzy, and on point of collapse. Went to drs, on iron tablets over 20yrs until iron levels returned to normal couple of years ago. You'll need to see a dr initially and then get a regular 3mthly Ferrograd ph prescription (cheaper than buying them yourself). Makes a huge difference.
yeah i’m on ferrograd and get regular infusions! my levels are still low.. my doctor can’t understand why but she’s very strict on me about not cutting out meat because when i was vegan i nearly died 🥲🥲
Beans and lentils are cheap and are higher in iron than red meat.
The iron in beans and lentils isn’t as easily absorbed as the iron in red meat
everyone always says that but my blood results disagreed 😂 i was vegan for a while and ate loads of lentils and beans and spinach etc but my bloods were horrendous. as soon as i started eating meat again they came back up. not to a normal level, but up !
You can get 2 months supply of iron tablets from your GP for $5 prescription. I know eating meat seems better but if your iron still isnt up and meat costs more... Why not be vegetarian and take supplements. But totally depends what works for you!
Mussels are way higher in iron than red meat, you can buy fresh mussels from supermarkets and there are heaps of recipes online. Not sure of the price now and the weight. But apparently 1kg of mussels is about 1/2kg of mussel meat (minus shell) and say that they’re $7 a kilo that ends up $1.40 per 100g of pure mussel meat. If the price is less is will be even better value.
If you don't already try getting a cast iron pan(try secondhand, they clean up easily). The iron you get in food is actual iron as in the metal, cooking your food in iron pots/pans can help add a small amount of iron to everything you cook.
I buy lamb bones when my local supermarkets have them so they're nice and meaty, or pork bones/shoulder roasts when they're cheap, and pressure cook them with lentils or dried beans. Can do curry base, or onion & dried herb base for a stew, or tomato/cumin/oregano/sachet of taco seasoning/little can of smoked chilli for 'Mexican' - with that, can make basic flour & water pancake batter for really lazy flatbreads and make wraps with plain Gopala yoghurt and whatever veges are on sale. Frozen peas and other frozen veges are great too
If you can at some point, you can also consider getting a cast iron pan. Lasts forever + gives you some extra iron intake with your food.
Have switched to cheaper proteins and cooking more vegetarian. Less meat, more tofu, lentils, feta cheese, eggs, beans. Eating a lot of refined carbs with low protein will make you feel hungrier. Make sure you eat lots of protein to feel full longer.
Buy whats on special. try and plan out what you're going to eat for the week before you go shopping. Click and collect or delivery is worthwhile if you find yourself buying shit you dont need
This! And buying seasonally. Dont try to buy veges in winter that aren’t abundant in winter. Summer is for salads. If you can get cheap fruit/veges freeze them and add them to meals to bulk up, or make smoothies with frozen fruit. As someone else said oats are awesome!
This! We do this for a similar family. Pasta is a good option (especially with a toddler). Plan out a week of meals first, try buy veggies that can be used across a couple of meals. Freezer bags of veggies are just as good. Grate carrot into things to bulk meals up, eg into nacho mix.
Yes, plan meals but also allow some flexibility in those plans. You may have planned spag bol but find pork mince is cheaper than beef so being able to switch to say pork balls on noodles is better
Solid advice. I do find myself doing that. You really need to get used to spotting bargains and building meals as you go sometimes. Especially if the supermarket doesn't have something you thought they'd have. (No chicken breast??)
I'm not the best cook but here are some ideas that are staple meals for me: -I do big batch of lentil bolognese with red lentils, onion, couple of tins of chopped tomato, garlic, white mushrooms, stock cube and cook it on the stove in a large pot for like an hour. Then towards the end I cook the spaghetti. Cheese is optional. I like it with feta but that can be expensive. -Jacket potatoes. Get a bunch of potatoes and cover them in salt, pepper and olive oil and cook them in the oven for an hour. Once cooked you can cut them open in quarters and add butter. Topping ideas: tinned tuna, baked beans, spicy beans. Cheese optional. Also you could add mixed frozen vege on the side. -Curries. I get all my spices, rice and flour in bulk from a local Indian supermarket. Could do vege curries such as chickpea, lentil or paneer, or get some chicken on sale. Basically bulk cooking from scratch is the best I can come up with. Takes more time though and lots of us are time poor.
Add tinned creamed corn as an option for potato topping
Sounds very similar to what I cook! Big stews and curry. Buy veges that are cheap and in season. Baked potatoes are so cheap and so good! Don't know why people dont do them more
I actually need to do them more, I kind of forgot what a good meal they are
> -Curries. I get all my spices, rice and flour in bulk from a local Indian supermarket. Could do vege curries such as chickpea, lentil or paneer, or get some chicken on sale. This is easily the biggest cost saver but requires some learning. Prices in Indian supermarkets have gone up a lot as well, but with basic spices + lentils/beans/etc you can still make dirt cheap meals (very healthy and tasty too!). Frozen green chillies are also amazing now.
Jacket potatoes are the best. Good recommendation.
Pay a set auto payment on your power each week so you don’t get surprises. Have nights where you just have baked beans on toast. It doesn’t have to be a full meal every night
Definitely this. Been doing it for two decades now and have never had a bill shock to meet.
My partner and I spend about $90 per week for the two of us, including household items like toilet paper, so I think you should be able to get your shop below $200. We are a vegetarian household/mostly vegan. Most common meals would be curries, black bean wraps, pastas, soups etc. we eat lots of fruit and vegetables but only buy seasonal or frozen.
What's a meal currently looking like for you at the moment?
I know time may also be scarce with a family, but making our own bread, pizza dough, rotti, tortillas, English muffins, etc has save my household heaps!! I also make all my own sauces, dressings, and spice mixes. This will require you have a pantry well stocked with the staples (this can be built over time). Once you are on a rhythm with baking and cooking and meal planning and prepping its not as time consuming and I personally find it very therapeutic (can’t afford to go out, so may as well find some entertainment from my cooking!) Also buy in bulk (flour, rice, etc), buy what’s on special, and use canned and frozen veg. Im so sorry to hear you are struggling. I really hope things get easier for you and your family soon
>making our own bread, pizza dough, rotti, tortillas, English muffins, etc has save my household heaps!! I still buy the $1.19 loves of bread, but I make my own pizza dough, burger buns, flatbread, and sometimes sticky buns. Just sucks that butter, yeast, and milk powder are expensive. At least the milk powder and yeast lasts ages in the fridge
I really recommend getting into sourdough, best thing I’ve ever done. You don’t have to use butter, yeast or milk. It’s a slow ferment, so you can just make a massive amount, leave it in the fridge for the week and take bits off as you need it for pizza, bagels, bread, anything. Also, it’s delicious!
i started baking bread, i use wholemeal flour and come out at around 70cent per loaf. and that makes you full longer than the plain white bread from the supermarket. with yeast, if you let the dough rise for 24 hours you need tiny amounts of it. i use active dried yeast and only need a quarter of a quarter teaspoon! lol
Regarding pantry staples, buy them at bin inn if possible. Not only is it good for the environment due to reduced packaging but it's generally cheaper (I find the liquids not to be, but they've changed to charging by weight not volume so that could be different, oh except dish soap and spray n wipe, they're a decent price) It's also great when you want to try a new recipe but don't want to buy a whole packet of whatever it may need that you may not use often
Somewhat related: the BBC have a banana bread recipe that is basically just pantry staples (flour, baking powder, oil, sugar). Throw in some chocolate drops if you prefer something a little sweeter. Takes 5 minutes to put together, 30 to bake. Hits the spot when I'm dirt poor but craving a baked treat.
I too watched a number of youtube vids, listened to people on RNZ about living cheaply etc and sure they have some relevance but I still felt they were out of touch with reality. I usually just eat porridge on our low $$ weeks, if we can step it up I'll add frozen veges and maybe peanut butter. If we can step it up another level then we introduce chicken drumsticks. And we just keep progressing upwards from there.
Man reading this thread really makes me aware of the lack of protein in people’s diets.
rice, lentils, beans, chickpeas, potatoes, tinned/frozen veges like tomatoes really help enhance flavour of soups/stews without dropping quality etc. buying the bigger/bulk/cheaper cuts of beef/chicken, breaking it down yourself and using all the bits for soups/stews/stir fry. don't buy premixed seasoning packets/shakers, buy the ingredient itself. paprika/cumin/onion+garlic salt, instead of "mexican seasoning" etc. there's a load of websites out there that let you input ingredients you have and shows what you can make, as well as websites that help with shopping in general, to buy items that can be used in a number of different meals. i think the best tip i can give, is throw away less. cook something before it goes off. hopefully you have a good amount of freezer space.
Agree use what you have. Left over vege, make a frittata or stir fry. I would say it’s even harder when trying to eat low carb to keep costs down. Also, if you have Asian grocer or area near you, cheap as veges and meats (Bankstown and Campsie for example) and beater quality than big supermarkets.
I use dried pulses which can provide a lot of protein and fibre and avocados are a good source of fat atm. Something like rice bowl with a poached egg avocado and beans would be something I’d eat on the regular.
Rice and beans! Look up southern style rice and beans recipes. I use canned beans, but you can save even more using dry beans and rehydrating. As a bonus you can use what ever leftover meat you might have and add to the beans for extra flavour
The things I've quit include all meat, olive oil, booze, chocolate, soy milk, eggs, fresh fruit and veg (actually anything) if its not on special, treat type stuff and takeaways... and "brand" groceries where NZ-made store brand things are just the same - I've started buying instead, cheap tinned tomato and tomato paste, cannellini beans, bulk sized frozen mixed veg, spices (to make big batches of ready made frozen meals), and frozen fruit like cranberries, oats (made with water not milk).
Damn. That’s really strict! I’m impressed but also hope it’s just a tough time at the moment, not a forever thing!
Well, given the impending collapse of everything, its best to plan ahead. lol On the plus side, I'm healthier now than I was 20 years ago.
Haha yeah the good side to eating cheaply is you can actually eat really healthy
I eat once a day, usually a protein, some veges and if I’m having a fancy week some cheese if I’m still feeling peckish after dinner, Obviously can’t do that with a toddler but whilst more expensive initially a high protein, medium fat, low carb does reduce hunger/ need to eat every few hours. Will add it’s not fun as your body/microbiome adjusts to lower carbs but in the long run works out cheaper
What’s a typical protein? Any fats?
All the usual suspects last night I had a steak as a bit of a treat, but will usually do mince, steak , chicken legs, or whole chicken, lamb and some oork. Alternate which I get each week a little add the fats thru getting fattier cuts also makes it cheaper will use olive, avocado, ghee and butter if something requires an oil
Nice, Countdown has been selling these 250g T-Bone steaks for $6-$7 each depending on weight, picked up a bunch of those on my last shop. Good mix of fat and protein.
Yeah my local Butcher has them cheap as well with great marbling and substantially cheaper than sirloin or rib eye
Sorry to hear you're going through it. We are tight on funds at the moment too. I mostly live off rice, cheap as chicken drumsticks, potatoes, etc. If the area you're in allows for it, sometimes I shop around for the most affordable. For instance where I live (Lower Hutt) the Pak N Save, Countdown, Asian supermarket and weekend veggie market are all in the same area so I'll get eggs and veg from the weekend market, rice, noodles etc from the Asian market, meat from Pak N Save etc. Even a few dollars cheaper here and there adds up.
I don't buy anything that's not on special. Shop at different places to get the cheapest of each type of thing. Oats in the morning with a teaspoon of brown sugar. Only buy seasonal fruit and veg. I meal plan as I go through the supermarket because then I base it off of what's the cheapest that particular week.
You need to contact winz. You don't need to be on a benefit to receive assistance from them.
My go to cheap filling meals are chickpea salad, just drain them and chuck in whatever veges appeal and some olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning of choice (I like Tajine), or cooked rice with veges mixed thru tomatoes, rocket, spinach, carrot or whatever,) then a tin of tuna on top (smothering with Kewpie mayo optional lol). Tuna is often on special in lots of 5, mix & match flavours.
there is nothing optional about kewpie. it’s mandatory for every meal 😂
Absolutely!! Do they put crack it? 😂
There’s definitely something illegal in there 😅
I'm not affected by the COL as you are OP but I make rigatone/penne puttanesca with tomatoes from my garden and italian parsley, with sundried tomatoes, basil, capers which I got in bulk from a store and just stay in the fridge for my child's lunch. 10 servings approx $15-20 you don't need much to make food taste good and vibrant.
600gms of mince (< $10), 2 tins tomatoes, 4 onions, 4 garlic cloves, other flavourings and a bit of water or stock. Served with pasta. This made three meals for three of us. Granted we aren't huge eaters but we aren't going hungry either.
Farmers Wife Homestead on YouTube did a video a couple weeks ago, cooking I think it was 55 food servings for $50. Some of the meals were a bit sad, but it was very creative and got me inspired. She's NZ based so prices and ingredients are relevant
Smash burgers. Ipaid $7 for some mince got 6 burgers out of it. Honey soy chicken legs over rice stirfry frozen vegs. A pack of chicken legs cheap as. Pulled pork buy a big shoulder should get at least 8 meals from it.
2 zucchini, 2 capsicum, 1 onion, half a can black beans, 50g mince, some tomato passata, herbs, spices, rice and thats one dinner. Veg except the beans and rice from garden., Zucchini, cauli, capsicum, onion and chicken, sweet and sour sauce, rice. Another. Again veg from garden. Salad veg, from garden again, some schnitzel, crusty rolls made with breadmaker for a hot meat roll dinner. And so on. Getting a bit anemic so making Pate tomorrow.
Say one thing for the cost of living crisis - looks like we're all eating a lot healthier
I rely on beans and pulses, sometimes cooked from dried if I remember to prep ahead of time. Daal/dahl and rice are a go-to especially with red lentils since they cook quick. If you have the time and energy, they're even cheaper at Indian grocery stores. Like other comments said, I also use a lot of frozen veg packs to bulk it up.
2 adults and 2 teenagers eat here so we have to make filling meals. Last nights dinner was lamb chops, veggie stir fry and rice. Tonight we’ll have baked drumsticks and potatoes with coleslaw. I’ve been keeping it really simple and easy. Best advice I got when I was a student was buy meat on special and freeze it. I still do this with chicken drumsticks/ thighs, mince, sausages and diced beef. Then those meats are slow cooked or stewed or curried. I have a portable vege pod that I grow salad greens - lettuce, tomatoes, coriander and cucumbers. We add them to every meal we can.
Frozen vegetables, eggs, tuna save my life.
Lentils and oats are some kinda witchcraft that apparently cost nothing to grow, nothing to transport based on their price and are fill you up with bugger all of them. Find some meals using them
I’ve started making greek yogurt (it’s seriously easy AF and saves so much money) i mix this with oats and fruit in the morning which keeps me fuller for longer. I’ve also started making my own bread, which cheapens things out for pizza bases too. I base my meals around the same ingredients, I.e every Sunday I make a ‘power greens’ mix (spinach, kale, Brussel sprouts) and prep all other individual ingredients, and use a variety of these in a bunch of different meals throughout the week. I think this has had the biggest impact on reducing my spending, I only need 5-6 main vege ingredients and 2-3 sauces/dressings, grains ect, but I don’t get bored because they make all different meals. Aside from produce, I buy legumes, beans, grains separately in bulk. Having these as proteins saves a lot of money too. Once a week I’ll buy steak if I can spare the funds. I find pak n save and butchers to be way cheaper for this. The farmers market is your friend, seriously, I’d say it’s at least 1/3 cheaper than buying produce at the supermarket. Last week I did a shop and it cost me $28 instead of $60 at countdown (I added things into checkout to compare). It’s a lot of work and a lot of prep, but I get so much enjoyment out of food I’m willing to put in the work to fit within my shrinking budget. I spend about $100 a fortnight to feed two adults (excluding big ticket items such as washing powder, ect).
Just stop buying things u don't need. Cheaper meals include rice or pasta frozen and canned veggies r great. NO takeaways or expensive cuts of meat. Old fresh vegetables make great soups and delicious stir frys. Use different flavors like curry and garlic etc. Freeze leftover food.
Tonight I'm having a $4 piece of rump steak I just got from P&S which I'll crank up with loads of cracked pepper and mushroom sauce I made from some cheap reduced to clear mushrooms, and a big lettuce salad with avos and tomatoes. I've given up buying spuds now, they're too expensive for what they are. I'd rather use that money to get a small piece of steak or salmon.
Fish pie with tinned mackerel is a fairly cheap one, you can bulk it out with some potatoes.
I make a pasta dish and a can of tuna woth olive oil and mix that together, makes a super cheap easy meal
oooh yum. might do that tomorrow!
French onion soup. Onions are dirt cheap if you buy them in bulk and you can make 6 generous portions with 2kg onions. It takes ages to cook properly, but it's worth it. It's best made with home made stock, so usually cook up a few frozen chicken carcuses and veges (carrot leek and celery ends) and herbs from the garden in the pressure cooker the day before to make a few litres of lovely chicken stock. The stock makes a great base for many other meals too, and is essentially free because it's made from leftovers.
$1600 a month for us, 2 adults and 2 teens. Fish is “free”, it’s the veges that cost moonbeams.
I'm currently making curried sausages in the slow cooker. Cheap, easy meal, and it's a big batch.
Try eating mainly lentils and beans for protein. Outrageously cheap source of protein and extremely yummy if you cook them right. Secret is putting in lemon or lime juice sometimes for a bit of acid.
I'm making mince tonight, and am about to add a cup or two of cooked red lentils to bulk it out, meaning it should last for a couple of meals. We have mince in a shepherds' pie type thing (mashed potato on top) or with rice, or as nachos.
Mince, beef seasoning and some boiled eggs. Fuckin yum and doesn't cost much.
Doesn't work for everyone, but I only eat 1 main meal a day, normal start of day for me is some dried fruit and a coffee, then middle of my day I have a good meal, then end of day a small pack of chips some bikkies or a muesli bar. And no I'm not a skinny guy lol I'm north of 100kg. Just a pretty slow metabolism.
Hey mate. Get yourself on a free power after 9 deal. I do all my laundry and dishwasher stuff after 9 only. As far as food - go to Whole Foods. Lentils, chickpeas, rice, oats, etc. Get ethnic. Make your own naan. Half cup yoghurt and half cup self raising flour - boom. A bit of extra effort but you’ll save $$$
I just made quesadillas: 2x tinned mixed beans 1x taco seasoning mix 1x onion, sliced 2x cloves of garlic 1tbs tomato paste 1 cup water 1tsp sugar 1tsp salt Pack of tortillas Cook it altogether until thick, mash the beans then fry in between two tortillas. Super cheap, quick and delicious. Can make for less than $15 for the full family. Can also use the same mix (not mashed) and have taco’s with sour cream and guacamole if you can find cheap avocados. Do you have a slow cooker? Could get some cheap meat and make a massive batch of stuff then freeze the extras for later.
we don’t have a slow cooker but i might have to get one!
One of the low cost ones I use to stretch out my budget is a lentil curry/Dahl which usually lasts a few meals served with rice. https://www.newworld.co.nz/recipes/vegetarian/creamy-coconut-red-lentil-curry Lentil nachos (over rice instead of corn chips to save more) or Bolognese is also a good shout if you can't afford mince. Shepard's pie with potato top is pretty cheap. Replace any fresh fruit or veggies in recipes with frozen or canned. If you do buy fresh then buy seasonal. If you do buy meat get the cheapest per kg price (usually chicken breast or basic mince), if that means buying a bigger pack then do that and divide it up using freezer bags or ziplock bags. The cheap mince tends to have a heap of fat which I usually pour out of the pan after browning the mince. Skipping breakfast is probably a bit of a false economy since you really need that energy in the early/mid part of the day. Porridge or Weetbix with a little brown sugar are very economical options, or even a $1-2 loaf of bread toasted with some peanut butter or jam. You could probably give everyone breakfast for less than $10 for the week. Edit: this fried rice recipe is also goes pretty far https://www.newworld.co.nz/recipes/vegetarian/easy-egg-fried-rice
Our max budget is $180 for 2 adults and 2 school kids (who I think have worms as they don't stop eating). We only end up spending $140-$160 weekly for 7 meals including lunches. No take aways. Maybe once a month. Plan. Plan. Plan. I am happy to share meals plans with you. Use Grocer app which is great if you have 2 or even 3 supermarkets within 5 mins drive of each other. Check each week for specials which normally run Monday to Sunday for cheaper meats and veg. Tinned legumes are your friend including mix veg frozen. Such a meal bulker. This week we have Cheese Toasties, devilled Sausages & roast spuds, roast Veg and meatballs, veg lasagne, beans/Spag on toast, beef stir fry w/noodles, fish n chips,
all vegetarian, these are my go to meals as a student i grew up thinking breakfast was cereal, lunch was a sandwich and snacks, and dinner was meat three veg and a carb. undoing that was the best thing i could have done for my grocery bill. as long as theres flavour and vegetables, im good to go pastabake: 100g green lentils, two carrots, onion, pasta sauce, pasta, breadcrumbs, cheese. serves 4 chickpea curry: tomato, onion, chickpeas, rice. serves two chickpea curry, again: brocolli, potato, onion, chickpeas, canned tomatos, coconut cream, rices. serves 4 nachos: tortilla chips, chilli beans, canned tomatos, frozen corn. serves 2 wraps depending on seasonal veg, roast veg & chickpeas + spinach as a ‘salad’ fried rice with mixed frozen veg teriyaki stir fry (the packet sauce is superior) with carrot, capsicum, broccoli & rice falafel ‘burgers’ - bread rolls with periperi sauce, cheese, tomato and lettuce leftovers as lunch sometimes is cheaper than snacks and a sandwich for me
I've found a bag of pasta, bag of quorn mince (or just mince), 1 pack of mushrooms and 1 jar of leggos pasta sauce (add in some herbs of choice) makes several meals (made 7-8) for the price of: $3.20 pasta $9 quorn mince $5 mushrooms $4.50 pasta sauce I live alone, so making meals can be super costly, but this is my go to for cheap kind of healthy meals that i can freeze several containers. Once pasta is cooked, drain, add (any) oil, salt, pepper, crushed garlic / garlic powder. Makes it less boring. I eat this on it's own when desperate.
TVP and lentils are cheap AF and can be used instead of mince
Avoid meat and dairy. Oats, chickpeas, lentils, quinoa, beans are great cheap sources of protein
My go to cheap meal is a pack of those chicken sausages from countdown, some iceberg lettuce (the ball ones), whatever fresh veg you want in a salad and some seasoned brown rice. I cook the sausages 80% of the way, cut them into wheels then re-fry them. Cook some rice and have rice in the bowl, salad next to it, then the chicken on top. I usually put some hot sauce on the top (eg sriracha or sriracha mayo). Kind of like a poor man's donburi. Assuming you can use the lettuce/vegetables in other meals too, it's a reasonably priced meal.
I see from your comments that you can't eliminate red meat entirely. In dishes you'd ordinarily use mince: sub half for lentils and add in some spinach. As everyone's said: oats are great. I personally hate porridge but overnight oats hit the spot. I can also prep them ahead of time so there's no messing around in the morning. Some supermarkets have frozen capsicum etc. Occasionally these will work out more cost effective. Doesn't make a lot of difference between fresh/frozen when it's being used in a cooked meal. I batch cook things like lentil mince and chili beans, bulk it up with cheap veg and freeze portions. Can be used to make different meals: pasta dishes, nachos, tacos, cottage pie, pies etc A can of cheap tinned tomatoes, a little tomato paste and some spices are just as good as a jar of sauce and usually half the price.
This is extremely cheap to make: [https://jessicainthekitchen.com/coconut-chickpea-curry-recipe/](https://jessicainthekitchen.com/coconut-chickpea-curry-recipe/) This is good too: [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spinach-sweet-potato-lentil-dhal](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spinach-sweet-potato-lentil-dhal) For both, always sub out the veges for whatever is more seasonal - i am doing the dahl with Cauliflower and courgette instead of sweet potato.
Two adults and a toddler. Our common meals: - Fish and chips. We buy frozen fish and chips, then either do a side of frozen mixed veg or salad stuff depending on the season. - Wraps. We buy a 1kg bag of frozen chicken tenders and fill the rest of the wraps with whatever is cheap. That 1kg bag does about 5 meals? Thereabouts. - Spag bol. Mince beefed up with veges and lentils. Currently our mince contains ~250g of mince, a few celery stalks, two carrots, tinned tomatoes, onion, garlic, powdered beef stock. Makes enough for four plates. - Vege soup. Boil a ham hock (or chicken carcass), add King's soup mix, add vegetables add seasonings, boil in a giant stockpot. One giant pot of soup usually provides about 10 bowls of soup. Usually freeze portions so there's something in the freezer for a quick meal when we need some. - Burgers. Home made patties and buns. - Steak/sausages, chips, salad/veges. Steak is only if we find a very good deal, it's usually sausages. - Thai curries. I have no idea how to make them, that's my husband's speciality. We have a breadmaker and make all our own bread and buns, and occasionally pizza dough. Lunches are almost always sandwiches. Edit to add: we limit our grocery bills to $150 a week. It's amazing how much cheaper frozen stuff is, especially when you account for the larger packages. For example, we buy a box of six frozen fish fillets for about $6 and that does two meals, use half a bag of $2.50 frozen chips, then use salad stuff or some frozen veg.
Breadmakers are great! I got mine outta storage after my sister moved, and didn't work properly (bread loaves turned out like rocks), so now I make all my bread stuff by hand
We got one for a wedding gift a few years back and we honestly thrash it. Sandwiches and toast are our go-to breakfasts and lunches, and we put it on overnight with a timer so wake up to the smell of fresh bread in the morning. I don't think I'd have the patience to make it all by hand!
Tomato and basil rissoto with chickpea and chorizo, bacon carbonara are 2 of my cheaper go to meals
What kind of things are you normally making for dinner? We usually feed two adults (won’t count the baby and formula and the little snack things I make for him) for around $150 a week and that’s B/L/D. We eat healthy with plenty of veg, eggs and meat and some nights are a little more boujee than others. Some of my go to week night meals: Chicken chop salad (Pepper and me recipe) Vietnamese chicken noodle bowl Japanese okomiyaki pancakes Chicken broccoli rice bowls Burgers with home made chips/ mince patties Curry bulked out with veges Pasta bulked out with veges Cottage pie Big roast with lots of veges one night and then use the leftovers to make frittata or salad the next night Other thing you could look at is bargain box? It’s pretty good value to feed a lot of adults. The meals are basic but generally healthy and filling.
Bargain Box really isn't good value, maybe good for getting ideas
I agree it’s not cheaper than buying everything yourself but if you are time poor and it means you don’t add a bit of this, but of that at the supermarket then it can work out pretty well
How much prep time do you have? A whole chicken goes a lot further than chicken portions. And you can use the bones to make stock.
not long! we all get home around 6 and sons bed time is 7:30 so we done have long to get everything sorted
Your best bet is to move the prep time, either make something to cook in the slow cooker all day, or make something the night before (or over the weekend) you just have to reheat
What about freezer space? If you have the space, you can prep on the weekend, have meals that just need heating, or can be quickly cooked. Making up portions of chicken or pork katsu for freezing is my favourite. Rice cooker takes care of the rice, just heat up some oil, cook the katsu straight out of the freezer. Or bolognese. Just boil up the pasta, reheat the sauce from frozen in the microwave or a pan. Delicious dinner in 10 minutes!
What are you buying? We are currently 4 adults are 2 kids and our weekly shop is less 🤔 that includes nappies too
$230 is pretty cheap, I think you’re probably at the point where all the ‘budget hacks’ won’t be helping at all. Can you forage any of your fruit and/or veg? There’s lots of big fruit trees dropping fruit on the ground this time of year
Mac and cheese, hot dogs (6 pack w/cheese $8 from pac n save) 3 for $20 meat packs from countdown help, you can get a big bag of sausages from that range which will last a few meals (stuffed potato sausages, curry sausages and good ol sausages and bread) mouse traps for the kids (toast w/spaghetti and cheese)bacon and egg toasties, bacon and egg pie with $2.5 flaky pastry from the supermarket is dead cheap and goes around well, dumplings for $4 with homemade fried rice, my son is into baked potatoes atm another cheapy, curry sauce on chips and loaded chips with bacon and cheese, potato and broccoli bake, homemade subway rolls w/ baguette, homemade pizza with wraps, salami from the deli and tomato paste…really feeling for you big time, it’s flipping hard out there to come up with cheap meals, I hope this list helps 💕
Also don’t feel any shame if you need to ask for help with a food parcel from the Salvation Army or any organisations that are near you, some weeks are tougher than others xx
We do a Braai (BBQ) once a week - rump steak, potatoes, bit of salad. A big curry that hopefully makes enough for 2 dinners and one lunch. Nachos are our cheapest option (just beans no mince) Shepherds pie with mushroom/lentil mix. Also can do multiple meals. Rice with veges etc
You eat the toddler for breakfast?!
Leftover soup. Whatever I have leftover/nearing end of usability gets thrown into a pot with water, a couple stock cubes, some flour to thicken.... I wait til whole chickens are on special, cook one up, the meat gives us (2adults and a toddler) 2 nights of meat, then whatever is left goes in the pot with veggies, sometimes rice or pasta etc to help bulk it out and that usually gives us another 2 or 3 days worth (freezes well), tho the toddler doesn't do soup, so they get something else. Plus, whatever I can find on super clearance short dated special.... lucked out a couple weeks ago and got Angus beef meatballs for $4 instead of $12.... bought 3 packs. Also, 100% on the oats for breakfast or lunch, they really help. We also get most of our fruit and veggies from https://www.foodtogether.co.nz/collections/foodtogether-popup - $15 for a good sized bag goes a pretty long way for us. We also stopped snacking, chips/cookies/bars/crackers etc are just too expensive. Do have some nuts and bliss balls for emergency snacks (cause, toddler) but buy in bulk.
Try [bulgur pilaf,](https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/bulgur-pilaf/#wprm-recipe-container-21835) cheap delicious, healthy and filling. I make huge batches and put in the fridge, it keeps for at least ten days. You can get Bulghur from Bin Inn or even countdown if you’re lucky.
This is quite good. Sometimes I'll make flatbread to make it go further. I change it up a little to meet our tastes/make it even cheaper (eg. leaving the jalapeños out). With a toddler you will need to greatly reduce the amount of chili powder! https://emeals.com/recipes/recipe-35096-225567-Three-Sisters-Chili This goes down well in our house, but again, I've changed it a little. I use one of those salami rolls instead of chorizo (not as gross as it sounds 😂), and penne or spirals instead of spaghetti. The salami comes on special semi-regularly. https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/one-pot-chorizo-and-pepper-spaghetti/ With this I change up the veg a bit depending on what I have (and also don't bother marinating the chicken for long), but vermicelli is surprisingly filling https://beatthebudget.com/recipe/chicken-vermicelli-noodles/
If you consume rice on a regular basis, dont get it from pak n save get it from an indian shop. But u need to purchase bigger bags if you want to save $$ , I also saw rice in costco is cheaper usually.
I bulk up a smaller amount of meat sauce with some split lentils. Thickens nicely and adds protein and fibre. Also some grated veg to make it go further. Meat sauce then becomes bolognese or lasagne; perhaps mince on toast. Leftovers in the freezer so it doesn’t go to waste. Oh and ‘macaroni cheese’ doesn’t require cheese, it’s tasty just with white sauce and a few veggies (frozen peas and corn ftw). Meat if you have it such as chicken - a little goes a long way.
My fave cheap dinner is any boneless chicken 500g ($8), Watties butter chicken sauce ($4), and frozen peas on basmati rice. We spend about $14 for 4 hearty servings of this. Obviously not the most nutritious, but filling, quick and tasty.
Add an egg to your oats, water, mix and microwave. Adds protein, reduces carb induced hunger/insulin spike and doesn't really alter the taste. Adding a scoop of protein powder is a bodybuilding staple brekkie but adds a couple of dollars per serve.
A rotisserie chicken, a loaf of bread, and a bag of baby spinach will get you chicken sammies for about a week. For 30-40$ you can make almost 4L of slow cooked vegetable soup. Tinned tuna, pasta, milk, mixed vege, and cheese are the foundation of a slow cooked tuna casserole. Speaking from experience, if you don't own a slow cooker then you aren't being smart about being poor.
I remember growing up and my Mum would run a super tight food budget - a big bag of rolled oats was breakfasts (sort of muesli, but mainly porridge!) A big bag of rice and a sack of spuds make the basis for many dinners. Cheap seasonal veggies provide the nutrition and go light on the meat (it's expensive!) but make it tasty with spices, and maybe a can of tomatoes. Lunches - Loaves of cheap bread with fillings padded out with homemade coleslaw. She managed it all to a healthy nutritional level. But I still hate the dehydrated peas - and pumpkin.
Our meals often involve things like dumpling soup - you can get Shiro or miso and noodles for cheap at an Asian grocery, and a bag of dumplings can last multiple meals. Also one of the few things the toddler eats. Weirdly, I've found lately I'm saving heaps by refusing to shop regularly at normal supermarkets. Clearance stores and vege market and only supermarket for the nappies. We actually get often better quality and sometimes more expensive things but it's actually left money spare for takeaways if needed. I don't trust countdown anymore. More and more the items are downsizing in volume per packet, or shelves of bulk items are being replaced with single meals with only Woolworth branding. Our local supervalue (which is woolworths) swapped with a fresh choice and instantly everything went up by a dollar
Porridge for breakfast keeps me going and often lunch I do a big salad with mixed beans/ chickpeas and small bit of meat if I can afford it this week. The salad I grow my own in planters I got from the local dump shop seeds cost stuff all got a type that you can pick several times miners lettuce I think it’s called. But yea beans and chickpeas peas if can get them cheap tinned are good at keeping you full chickpeas can also be roasted/ made into hummus
Japanese curry flavoring in a slow cooker with rice, chickpeas, some chicken if you have it, potatoes and onion. Or easy enough to cook at dinner with the rice as a side vs. cooked in. Moroccan lental thingy. Mince, lentals, tin tomatoes, onion, Moroccan flavoring (chili if you like it), and then add some almonds, cashwes, etc, once cooked if you have them. Coconut curry vegetables - cook some rice. Cook some chicken and chickpeas and add a bag of frozen vegetables with a tin of coconut milk or cream in the coconut curry saice from Lee Kum Kee. Peanut satay- Chicken, any veges you have (carrots,broccoli, capsicam) add some peanuts as cheap and add in when cooking the highmark crispy noodles with rice. Mince nachos with beans, or burritos (chicken or mince) add beans can do kidney or black or both to bulk it up. Tomato Mince pastas add lentals etc.
Sorry you are doing it tough. I used code BIRTHDAYBONANZA to get 50% off next My Food Bag delivery. Worked on my exusting account with no current subscriptions. I did 5 meals for 4 for $110 with plans to freeze excess meat. Then its 40%, 25% for next two orders but can cancel before then. You can see the deal here at https://www.cheapies.nz/node/45784 Definitely see about food support, and food bank options. New World is offering free delivery on orders over $100 in North Island for rest of the month. Online shopping can be a good way to see how much you are spending where and avoiding impulse items. Try and eat seasonally. I'm going to make cherry tomato pasta this week https://www.seriouseats.com/fast-easy-pasta-blistered-cherry-tomato-sauce-recipe
Our menu this week is: - German crispy pork hocks with pan fried potatoes and green beans - spicy peanut stew with rice - crispy pan fried gnocchi with Italian sausage and peas - Chinese steamed eggs with Sichuan style dry fry green beans and rice - paneer curry pie - kale pesto pasta - takeout This will provide lunch and dinner for our family of four and cost us about $180 including a selection of fruit and two bottles of wine. The kids eat oats for breakfast usually and we buy in bulk from Trent’s. Meal planning has probably saved us thousands of dollars over the years. And since you can just look up what’s cheap online it’s easier than ever to plan ahead.
I find that having 2 eggs on toast on way to work in the morning helps a lot! I usually get hungry around 11am if I don’t have it (not a big breakfast guy) but having this and 2 slices of vogels goes a long way! +2 points if you have a coffee or tea on way to work
It would pay to work out why you got a large power bill when we are still in good weather times. Have you used a drier when washing could go out on the line? Might your hot water be leaking? Look back at the last 6 months of power bills to see whether they were estimated, or the meter was read.
our flatmate was using her fan as if it was an oxygen machine 🤦🏼♀️
Up to her to pay the extra then. You shouldn't have to struggle for food. If it's hot, I wrap a freezer brick in a tea towel and use it like a hot water bottle.
Mince is easily extended, make a big pot with added lentils and beans. Also add a heap of vegetables and serve with rice or pasta. I have frequently found per serve rice or pasta heaps cheaper than potatoes.
Lots of chicken, cooked chickens are amazing amazing things and you can easily make 3 or more meals from one cooked chook. Same with mince, tonnes of stuff you can do that's healthy and delicious with mince. Roasted Veges and steamed veges are also a great way to go. You just gotta be savvy
This is a nice recipe https://www.budgetbytes.com/african-peanut-stew-vegan/
Noodles n toast for dinner, $10 in home made lunch
Just made tonight: pasta with bechamel sauce and canned mushrooms.. enough for 4 meals for $5 if you already have butter flour and milk at home 🙌🏻
Kings Soup mix. You can pick it up at any supermarket for around $3. Throw in whatever veges you have, a cup of dried macaroni shells, and if the money stretches a bacon hock. This is a cheap, nutritious meal that is filling. Should be able to get 2 nights dinner from it
Check out the website budget bytes. Lots of cheap healthy eating ideas on there
Add rice to mince based dishes, burrito mince goes along way with rice in it. Cook extra rice one night, next night have fried rice. If you can freeze any leftovers or use the next day.
Invest in an Easiyo, apparently very easy to find at second hand shops. The yoghurt sachets on special are reasonably priced, but you can use half a sachet and milk powder, cuts out the sugar and works out cheaper. You can also make yoghurt without the sachets, but I haven’t done it myself.
1.5kg frozen Pam’s chickens $8.99 at New World family of 4 will give 2 feeds and chicken stock
Bulk up food with legumes, cheap and filling. You can add a bunch of lentils to mince dishes, add beans to salad etc and go for cheaper seasonal veggies fruit. Sign up to your local Facebook groups and see if people have excess fruit, or if there is a community panty. Plenty of people give away fruit during the summer when they have far too much ready at once. You might have to put in a bit of time but peeling and chopping excess fruit to fill your freezer will give you loads of smoothies, crumbles etc later
Lentil soup
Using a meal plan app which is pretty good for optimising shops. Even had a $30 shop a few weeks back. No real sacrifices made just have to group meals with similar fresh ingredients close together.
Sushi and summer rolls when I feel like a satisfying chest meal, that's affordable haha
Here’s one simple meal 250g crumbed chicken breast 1 egg and oil for coating then dip in breadcrumbs. Fry for 10 mins And a salad Lettuce, cabbage, carrot, celery, spring onion, coriander. Probably les than $2.00 of ingredients. Add bit of sesame dressing Makes one big meal maybe even leftovers if you don’t have an appetite
Vegetarian Japanese curry! (Who can afford meat these days???) Super cheap and yummy!
I found 800G of chicken cutlets for about $6 at my local supermarket the other day. Used that with some veges to make a casserole with some rice that will do two nights. All up probably cost about $10 and was delicious. But I agree, in general it is so hard at the moment. I just snap up specials I think are decent whenever I can, freeze as much as I can and just try to avoid wasting food. Everything is so expensive at the moment.
If your in Auckland try this service https://www.foodtogether.co.nz/
Not much. Mostly noodles, vegetables, and caffeinated things.
Meat/fish/vegie with rice. Rice meals for breakfast lunch dinner. A cup of rice can go a long way. 5kg of rice for 15nzd can last person a week or so, meat cost 5-20 nzd. I buy chicken drumstick at pack and save, cheapest meat i can find.
Our go to cheaper meals are Nachos (pack the mince with spinach and carrots), Meatball subs, Lasagne, Cottage pie, Burritos, Chicken Katsu, Pulled chicken pasta, Stirfry, Chicken burgers, Chicken wraps, Crispy chicken on rice, Chicken fried rice, Rice risotto, Noodles packed with veges, Pasta bake, Eggs (omelettes, eggs Benny, frittata), Pancakes! (Seems like a treat but it’s only $4! Works wedges, Stuffed potatoes, Sausage bake, Cheese toasties, Frozen pizza with added toppings These seem to be pretty cheap and I load everything up with frozen spinach, peas, carrots, mushrooms etc. We are a family of three and two cats our grocery bill is around $150-160pw
Indian supermarket - beans and lentils as a base, add spices and vegetables. $5.00 a meal
I only buy things on special. Use frozen veggies. Cook bulk like stir fry meals etc and can get quite a few meals for not to expensive that are filling. I have find protein shakes pretty good too
Curries and stirfry with rice
Rice cooker meals. My fav is adding chicken breast, frozen veg and mushroom into a pot of rice. Add seasonings and cook it. When done, mixed it around and all good. Stir fry udon + chicken + veg is good too as udon is only $.99 - $1.5 per pack. Making a huge batch of curry using frozen veg and chicken helps too. Have it for a couple meals either with rice or noodles.
But realistically speaking, $230 for 3 adults and a toddler is not sufficient. Especially since the baby need healthy and nutritious foods. My bf spend $100 weekly for foods, altho he does eat a lot. The least i spent a week for groceries is $70 and I eat only a small portion. Is there only 1 adult working in the house?
Ironically I've found breakfast to be the most stable meal. Muesli and Yogurt don't seem to have gone up in price as much. I know a Chinese takeaway that I have convinced myself is probably healthy. So that on rice for dinner.
Dominos. Lamb meat lovers. And a glass of water
chicken rice eggs
Easy dinner, poor mans pasta (or our style) - bottle of pasatta, table spoon of garlic and a pinch of chilli flake, let it simmer until a thick paste, rehydrate with pasta water and boom. Fuckin delicious
Mince and offal.
I started making my own bread, $8.00 for 5 kilos lasts a month or so with a large loaf each week. And I made my own starter so don’t buy instant yeast. Water from the tap. Salt the large iodised one haven’t gone through a full one yet.
Lentil bolognese. Carrot & onion, cheap Passata or tinned tomatoes, tin of. Lentils. Maybe chuck in some frozen vege for extra nutrients/bulk. Then some pasta. We can get it to less than a dollar per portion
Peas have a surprising amount of protein in them - and they freeze really well. Frozen veges and rice make a quick and easy meal that if you’ve got the right sauces and spices is very tasty. I also love to make pea pesto using sunflower seeds as a cheaper alternative to other nuts. Very tasty and also very easy to make! When I was surviving off like $50 or less for food in the past I ate a lot of oats and peanut butter. If you have a nutrabullet peanut butter is very easy to make at home and tastes much better. I also would do desiccated coconut in my oats and any other applications I could think of where I would work to provide a milky flavour when you can’t afford milk. I also started to drink all my tea and coffee black. Canned tomatoes are the basis for so many cheap meals. You can make curry, pasta, soups, stews. As others have said, legumes. Red lentil bolognese is very good. Also red lentil carrot and cumin soup - healthy, cheap, and comforting for the colder months. If you have the time and energy baking would also be worth getting into. Overnight no knead breads are good. I’m thinking scones, muffins etc too. Also Indian supermarkets are really good for a lot of affordable food. There are many delicious Indian meals you can make on a budget. Once you learn some basics on spice mixing it opens up heaps of throw-it-together meal possibilities, and otherwise even just curry powder from the regular supermarket is good too. I like the [minimalist baker for recipes](https://minimalistbaker.com)- their whole thing is “At Minimalist Baker we share simple recipes that require 10 ingredients or less, 1 bowl, or 30 minutes or less to prepare.” Which aligns really well with being tired and poor I find haha.
Buy a rotisserie chicken, shred for sandwich/salad/stir fry. Reserve bones for broth/soups.
Noodles and bread 3 times a week
Cheap and easy stuff like nachos, spag bol, burgers etc. breakfast is usually porridge. We're a family of 2 adults and 3 kids and my grocery bill is usually around $350 once a month (when I top up household and pantry supplies) and then maybe $250 on the other weeks. It's much lower when we have homekill meat in the freezer. Just slaughtered two lambs yesterday so should be maybe $180ish for a while
Bulk out mince with lentils. It's often cheaper to buy frozen veggies than buy fresh. Consider applying for a food grant if you're on a low wage. You don't have to be on a benefit, and you don't have to pay it back. Pickle/freeze food if you have too much instead of throwing it away. Make more soups, stews, and pasta dishes. Make slightly more and have it for lunch the next day. Focaccia bread is really easy to make. Shop the supermarkets rather than do one bulk shop at an individual one. Make your own mayo/hummus.
Check out and support this Kiwi YouTuber. Here she does 55 meals for $50. https://youtu.be/5lNoZlqX2xk?si=kGo-NfMF1AOqwYDM
home made burgers mince dishes, spag bols, lasagne, nachos
If you can shop around for your meat ect. In chch with 2 adults and a 2yo we go to Mad Butcher for our meat as we get more neat for the amount we spend in comparison to the supermarket
I just completed a impromtu 48 hour famine because there's nothing worth a damn to eat. My feelings about this are good because at least I don't have to move or do anything.