Easy Meals on A Low Budget

Good Nutrition

Sometimes, it’s easier and cheaper to fill up on candy or confectionery, rather than a full meal. Buying a meal out can be expensive but there are cheap filling meals you can make that will keep you and your family fed and healthy and perhaps cut down the need for expensive take-aways and filling up on cheap carbohydrates. These meals are the kind I used to feed my kids on when they were young. We didn’t have much money, so expensive roasts were definitely out and we certainly couldn’t afford takeaways! Growing kids always seem to eat much more than packaged meals offer, so the cheapest, most nutritious way to feed yourself and your family is with home cooked meals. They do not need to be fancy or expensive, nor do they need to take hours to prepare, though you can of course, if you want. And when everyone is satisfied with their food, there is less need for snacking and sneaking extras to top up, so fewer problems with weight management.

Example Meals

Champ

The meals included champ – a filling meal, with mashed potato, butter and chopped scallions (spring onions) mixed together forming the “champ” and topped with a fried egg. My kids used to like making the champ into a volcano, with the fried egg on top. Of course, the yolk then became the lava running down the slopes. This can also be served with a portion of tinned baked beans. This is a carbohydrate heavy meal, although the fried egg adds protein and good fats and the scallions add a bit of greenery. This is a meal you can make to feed everyone when funds are low.

Casserole

Best made in a slow cooker, where it will take 5 or 6 hours to cook on the high setting. One pound of steak pieces, an onion, a stock cube and a pint of water for this. Fry the meat to seal it, in a frying pan, then fry the onions. Add to the slow cooker with the stock made from a stock cube and a pint of water. Set the slow cooker to high and come back in 5 or 6 hours to a wonderful meal that you can serve with potatoes or crusty bread. You can add pieces of carrot to the slow cooker too, if you want.

Meal Planning

Of course, really organised people plan their meals, know what they have in the house and what they are going to feed everyone for the next few days! It took me quite a while to learn that and I am still learning even now. But if you keep a few things in the freezer, the fridge and the food cupboard, you will always be able to feed your family, even if you are in a rush and you won’t need to  blow your budget on a take away.

At least, get some packets of fish fingers and a few pizzas in your freezer, along with frozen chips and peas. These will always make a quick meal for you.

With baked beans in the cupboard, bread in the freezer and eggs and cheese in the fridge, you can make beans on toast, poached eggs or scrambled eggs with toast and beans and cheese on toast. There are several more variations you can produce just with these.

Your Meal Planner

If you want to start planning ahead for cheap, tasty nutritious meals, download a free meal planner. This is not yet complete, so it’s free for you to download for personal use only. If you like, it, let me know.