Discussion
I’m going to be moving soon and living by myself. I currently spend a fortune on food (either take aways or single meals from the supermarket).
I need some ideas for cheap meals that I can do for a bit as money will be tight for a bit.
Downside…I don’t like tomatoes, onions, mince so a lot of the meals I’ve found are out the question (it’s a texture thing more than taste).
Happy for things that can be frozen and reheated if doing extra. Ideally not chicken based stuff as well as I worry about under cooking and overcook and it’s horrible ha.
I need some ideas for cheap meals that I can do for a bit as money will be tight for a bit.
Downside…I don’t like tomatoes, onions, mince so a lot of the meals I’ve found are out the question (it’s a texture thing more than taste).
Happy for things that can be frozen and reheated if doing extra. Ideally not chicken based stuff as well as I worry about under cooking and overcook and it’s horrible ha.
Pasta dishes and slow cooker spring to mind. The latter especially if (as you say) you don't mind batch cooking and freezing.
The Hamlyn series of '200....' recipe books is good - I have the three slow cooker ones and the pasta one.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361722164605?hash=item5...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184345946845?epid=22300...
There's also a good slow cooker recipe thread here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Maybe also worth looking at veggie recipes.
I've always found the BBC Food website and Tesco website to be good for recipes.
The Hamlyn series of '200....' recipe books is good - I have the three slow cooker ones and the pasta one.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/361722164605?hash=item5...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184345946845?epid=22300...
There's also a good slow cooker recipe thread here:
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Maybe also worth looking at veggie recipes.
I've always found the BBC Food website and Tesco website to be good for recipes.
Edited by moorx on Saturday 15th April 11:34
LosingGrip said:
I’m going to be moving soon and living by myself. I currently spend a fortune on food (either take aways or single meals from the supermarket).
I need some ideas for cheap meals that I can do for a bit as money will be tight for a bit.
Downside…I don’t like tomatoes, onions, mince so a lot of the meals I’ve found are out the question (it’s a texture thing more than taste).
Happy for things that can be frozen and reheated if doing extra. Ideally not chicken based stuff as well as I worry about under cooking and overcook and it’s horrible ha.
- if you aren't a fan of tomatoes and onions you can always blitz them fine in a food processor, you wont notice they're there. get a hand blender to a tin of chopped tomatoesI need some ideas for cheap meals that I can do for a bit as money will be tight for a bit.
Downside…I don’t like tomatoes, onions, mince so a lot of the meals I’ve found are out the question (it’s a texture thing more than taste).
Happy for things that can be frozen and reheated if doing extra. Ideally not chicken based stuff as well as I worry about under cooking and overcook and it’s horrible ha.
- the under/overcooking only really applies to chicken breast. if concerned then get a thermometer. 'dark' chicken meat is much more forgiving before its overcooked, so thighs, legs, quarters.
as for suggestions, get on youtube and just search meal prep, tons of videos out there for breakfast, lunch, dinner. many good recipes will have instructions on if its freezable and for how long.
the most obvious thing one could meal prep would be a chilli con carne (there's a thread on that here). if you don't like mince you can leave it out (makes it vegetarian and much cheaper), use and/or substitute bacon, or do a chicken variant, or use chunks of beef/meat instead of mince. freezes well.
as for freezing, doing them flat in ziplock bags like the image below (not my image) allows you to thaw them out very quickly. many times i've thawed out and reheated a chili, curry or bolognese in less time than it takes to cook the rice or pasta i'm having with it.
As someone who lives on their own I always batch cook at the weekend. Something like a chicken curry is easy once you buy all the herbs and spices etc.
Get yourself a large stock pot (10 litre is ideal) I normally use 2kg of boneless chicken thigh fillets roughly £12 and looking at my last receipt around £9 on vegetables but I do absolutely pack mine out with them to make it go further etc. Normally get roughly 11 portions, takes a few hours but I do just slowly let it cook away with the lid on and watch TV.
If you don't like curry then there are endless one pot recipes out there, as above doing vegetarian options is the cheapest. I generally freeze mine in containers that can store 3-4 portions unless it's a minced based dish, for the same cost I seem to end up around double the portions!
The other good thing with a meat free option you can always grill some pork chops etc to go with it if you want a decent amount of meat but also a good serving of vegetables. I find this far more interesting than a portion of plain steamed vegetables.
Get yourself a large stock pot (10 litre is ideal) I normally use 2kg of boneless chicken thigh fillets roughly £12 and looking at my last receipt around £9 on vegetables but I do absolutely pack mine out with them to make it go further etc. Normally get roughly 11 portions, takes a few hours but I do just slowly let it cook away with the lid on and watch TV.
If you don't like curry then there are endless one pot recipes out there, as above doing vegetarian options is the cheapest. I generally freeze mine in containers that can store 3-4 portions unless it's a minced based dish, for the same cost I seem to end up around double the portions!
The other good thing with a meat free option you can always grill some pork chops etc to go with it if you want a decent amount of meat but also a good serving of vegetables. I find this far more interesting than a portion of plain steamed vegetables.
As above, batch cooking is the way, as are leftovers.
A whole chicken is about 4 quid, and that will get you a roast chicken dinner. Some of the leftovers can be used for a curry, or with pasta. Also, chop up leftover chicken pieces, mix together with mashed potatoes and a little gravy, and bake for about 30 minutes for a chicken mash pie.
If you include the spuds, pasta, rice and veg, that's three meals for under a tenner.
Those individual packs of fresh carrots, cauliflower and brocolli for about a quid are good for two portions and cook easily in the microwave.
A whole chicken is about 4 quid, and that will get you a roast chicken dinner. Some of the leftovers can be used for a curry, or with pasta. Also, chop up leftover chicken pieces, mix together with mashed potatoes and a little gravy, and bake for about 30 minutes for a chicken mash pie.
If you include the spuds, pasta, rice and veg, that's three meals for under a tenner.
Those individual packs of fresh carrots, cauliflower and brocolli for about a quid are good for two portions and cook easily in the microwave.
LosingGrip said:
I’m going to be moving soon and living by myself. I currently spend a fortune on food (either take aways or single meals from the supermarket).
I need some ideas for cheap meals that I can do for a bit as money will be tight for a bit.
Downside…I don’t like tomatoes, onions, mince so a lot of the meals I’ve found are out the question (it’s a texture thing more than taste).
Happy for things that can be frozen and reheated if doing extra. Ideally not chicken based stuff as well as I worry about under cooking and overcook and it’s horrible ha.
What's your idea of cheap/expensive?I need some ideas for cheap meals that I can do for a bit as money will be tight for a bit.
Downside…I don’t like tomatoes, onions, mince so a lot of the meals I’ve found are out the question (it’s a texture thing more than taste).
Happy for things that can be frozen and reheated if doing extra. Ideally not chicken based stuff as well as I worry about under cooking and overcook and it’s horrible ha.
You can live quite reasonably cooking meat and veg plus whatever spices etc you like, £4 gets meat for two meals or more, sometimes a tin of tuna or something instead. Frozen veg add less than £1 a meal. Spuds and rice are cheap. Bread is cheap. It's not too hard to live on £5 per person per day.
If you want to get significantly below that, then you need to be careful and probably veggie?
You can chip off the odd quid or so by looking at what fresh veg is good value.
But the big thing is avoiding poor value ready meals and takeaways.
Breakfast and lunch can add up. Toast is cheaper than cereals. Sandwiches for lunch unless the works canteen is good and cheap.
Avoid takeaway coffee.
Thanks everyone, some good ideas to go on!
.
OutInTheShed said:
What's your idea of cheap/expensive?
You can live quite reasonably cooking meat and veg plus whatever spices etc you like, £4 gets meat for two meals or more, sometimes a tin of tuna or something instead. Frozen veg add less than £1 a meal. Spuds and rice are cheap. Bread is cheap. It's not too hard to live on £5 per person per day.
If you want to get significantly below that, then you need to be careful and probably veggie?
You can chip off the odd quid or so by looking at what fresh veg is good value.
But the big thing is avoiding poor value ready meals and takeaways.
Breakfast and lunch can add up. Toast is cheaper than cereals. Sandwiches for lunch unless the works canteen is good and cheap.
Avoid takeaway coffee.
£5 a meal would be an ok amount You can live quite reasonably cooking meat and veg plus whatever spices etc you like, £4 gets meat for two meals or more, sometimes a tin of tuna or something instead. Frozen veg add less than £1 a meal. Spuds and rice are cheap. Bread is cheap. It's not too hard to live on £5 per person per day.
If you want to get significantly below that, then you need to be careful and probably veggie?
You can chip off the odd quid or so by looking at what fresh veg is good value.
But the big thing is avoiding poor value ready meals and takeaways.
Breakfast and lunch can add up. Toast is cheaper than cereals. Sandwiches for lunch unless the works canteen is good and cheap.
Avoid takeaway coffee.
. £2 each at the moment in Sainsbury's - lots of different fillings, have half a packet and then add broccoli or any other vegetables to be vaguely healthy. Buy some source as well if you wish to pour over the pasta. That's cheap. Also cooks in a few minutes so if you detest cooking you can't get much quicker !
I suppose I should be thinking about what the oven etc uses.
When it's just me and I'm lazy, the oven chips feature at least once a week.
But I try to avoid too much stodge and eat more veg.
Curries with a veg side dish and no rice, maybe a naan.
Steak sandwich and soup with lots of veg lobbed in.
Sausages, because I cook the whole packet and eat the rest cold in sarnies.
The odd pizza, but jut have half of it with some veg or a substantial salad.
I buy spice mixes like Chinese 5 spice, Benghali, Moroccan etc,
I oscillate between trying to get serious and follow actual recipes, vs foraging in the freezer at random.
Sometimes it's nice to just have a fish finger sandwich and a tin of beans.
The Hairy Dieters is currently the cookbook o choice if I'm making an effort.
When it's just me and I'm lazy, the oven chips feature at least once a week.
But I try to avoid too much stodge and eat more veg.
Curries with a veg side dish and no rice, maybe a naan.
Steak sandwich and soup with lots of veg lobbed in.
Sausages, because I cook the whole packet and eat the rest cold in sarnies.
The odd pizza, but jut have half of it with some veg or a substantial salad.
I buy spice mixes like Chinese 5 spice, Benghali, Moroccan etc,
I oscillate between trying to get serious and follow actual recipes, vs foraging in the freezer at random.
Sometimes it's nice to just have a fish finger sandwich and a tin of beans.
The Hairy Dieters is currently the cookbook o choice if I'm making an effort.
Just eat meat. It's great.
When my wife and kids were away for a few days last year I pretty much lived on steak from either the butcher or Morrisons. £5-6 for a pretty decent sirloin or ribeye. Minutes to cook, no hassle to clean, keeps for ages and tastes great cold next day if you're not hungry. Butchers are generally better but more expensive and less convenient. Grilled lamb chops are good for a bit of variety.
I also lost weight and felt great.
When my wife and kids were away for a few days last year I pretty much lived on steak from either the butcher or Morrisons. £5-6 for a pretty decent sirloin or ribeye. Minutes to cook, no hassle to clean, keeps for ages and tastes great cold next day if you're not hungry. Butchers are generally better but more expensive and less convenient. Grilled lamb chops are good for a bit of variety.
I also lost weight and felt great.
Venisonpie said:
Jamie Oliver has a series at the moment - £1 meals. They largely involve cooking for a family the cost of which when broken down equates to a quid per head. It's less than your budget but might inspire some ideas.
There's a fair bit of artistic license with this,he has so many ingredients in stock as it were that the average person would have to go out and buy........and some of the portions sizes are small to meet the £1 per portion criteria,but if you're into cooking there's a lot of ideas here on a budgetVenisonpie said:
Jamie Oliver has a series at the moment - £1 meals. They largely involve cooking for a family the cost of which when broken down equates to a quid per head. It's less than your budget but might inspire some ideas.
Was going to post the same thing, the series is spot on for keeping meal costs down and they all look good! If you're focusing on budget, apart from the above great shouts the only suggestion I have is bags of pre-chopped frozen veg.
You're looking at roughly £1 for a kilo (depending on the veg you get) and you can throw it in whatever you want. No wastage, no more forgetting about that green pepper at the back of the fridge. Plus it's just as good as fresh in terms of nutrients.
You're looking at roughly £1 for a kilo (depending on the veg you get) and you can throw it in whatever you want. No wastage, no more forgetting about that green pepper at the back of the fridge. Plus it's just as good as fresh in terms of nutrients.
An example I have with my wife requires and instant pot air fryer / pressure cooker but can be done with other methods.
Chicken cooked on top of potatoes to catch juices. Eat leg / thigh with other veg
Breasts cold next day in wraps with salad
Retain all of the bones, skin etc and pressure cook to make a chicken stock which can use any remaining chicken, with frozen corn and noodles for a Chinese style soup.
And get an instant read thermometer pen with it
Chicken cooked on top of potatoes to catch juices. Eat leg / thigh with other veg
Breasts cold next day in wraps with salad
Retain all of the bones, skin etc and pressure cook to make a chicken stock which can use any remaining chicken, with frozen corn and noodles for a Chinese style soup.
And get an instant read thermometer pen with it
Edited by Type R Tom on Monday 17th April 16:48
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