A week of tasty and thrifty meals

I’ve just done a Cooking on a Budget course, organised by the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership. I learnt that you can eat really well on a budget, but you’ve got to do a bit of forward planning.

Planning is not one of my strong suits: that’s why I write a blog about experimenting with seasonal ingredients. So, I challenged myself to come up with a week’s meal plan that was tasty, seasonal and thrifty.

One idea from the course was that it’s better value to buy a whole chicken, so my week started with a roast dinner, which seems ridiculous if you’re on a budget, but it did work out cheaper because I used the chicken to make five meals.

And I did save money overall. My shopping list is at the end of the post. It came to less than £25. The only other ingredients I used are oil, salt, sugar, rice and pasta. At the end of the week, I had soya sauce, chilli flakes, red lentils and oats to add to the store cupboard, as well as a portion of chicken and a portion of vegetarian chilli in the freezer.

SUNDAY

Lunch

Roast chicken with potatoes, carrots and leeks

I feel so indulgent roasting a chicken just for myself. I rub butter on the bird, squeeze half a lemon over it, and then put the lemon shell inside. I roast it according to the instructions on the packet.

30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, I put sliced potatoes around the bird. 15 minutes later, I add a chopped carrot and leek. This is a delicious meal: a proper Sunday lunch. I leave enough vegetables for tomorrow’s lunch.

Making chicken stock

In the afternoon, I make chicken stock. I leave the chicken carcass to go cold then pull all the meat off it – quite a messy business – and put three portions in the fridge in a cling-wrapped bowl, and two portions in a plastic bag in the freezer.

I then pull the carcass apart, put it in a saucepan with one chopped onion and one chopped carrot, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for one and a half hours.

Dinner

Scrambled egg with carrot and red cabbage salad

After all that cooking, I keep it simple. First I make coleslaw, grating some carrot and red cabbage, and making a dressing with a glug of oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. I then scramble an egg and eat it on toast.  

MONDAY

Breakfast

Porridge

Porridge is a really cheap, healthy way to start the day, but you’ve got to make it your own. I like mine made with milk, with a mashed banana stirred in just before the end of the cooking time. Some people will only make it with water and a sprinkle of salt. For others, there must be drizzled honey. Up to you.

Lunch

Left overs from the roast chicken

I take one portion of the roast chicken in the fridge and eat it with left over vegetables and the last of the gravy, heating it all up in the microwave. I make sure it’s piping hot – no use giving myself food poisoning.

Dinner

Frittata with feta, potato, leek and spinach

I love frittatas. First I cook the potato for 10 minutes in boiling water. Then I fry a leek until it softens (5-10 minutes), add a chopped garlic clove, stir for about 30 seconds, add the spinach, stir until it wilts (about a minute), add the cooked potatoes, pour over three whisked eggs, and crumble some feta on top. I finish it off under the grill. It’s very tasty and very easy. I leave enough for lunch tomorrow. 

TUESDAY

Breakfast

Porridge

This morning I make it with milk, and put a sliced apple on top. Not as good as yesterday’s banana porridge.

Lunch

Leftover frittata

Dinner

Chicken soup with cabbage, carrot, lemon and rice

This soup is slightly scary to look at. I forgot the red cabbage would turn the whole thing purple! However, it tastes delicious and takes about 15 minutes to rustle up.

I boil the rice for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I cut the cabbage and carrot up into thin pieces. I then bring some chicken stock to the boil, add the cabbage, simmer for three minutes, add the carrot and one portion of chicken from the fridge, bring it back to the boil and simmer for three minutes.

I pour the whole lot into a bowl, add the rice, and squeeze some lemon juice over the top. It’s really warming and comforting on a cold day.

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast

Porridge again

Lunch

Chicken, carrot and spinach salad

I make chicken salad with the last of the chicken in the fridge (you can only keep cooked chicken in the fridge for three days). I make a dressing with a tablespoon of oil, a dessertspoon of lemon juice and a sprinkle of chilli flakes, and then toss it with the chicken, spinach and some finely chopped carrot. I am not going to lie to you: it was a bit dry, but tasty nonetheless.

Dinner

Vegetarian chilli

This is a recipe from the Cooking on a Budget course. I fry an onion and two cloves of garlic, and then simmer 225g red lentils, a tin of kidney beans and a tin of tomatoes in chicken stock for 30 minutes. I add chilli flakes and a splash of soya sauce to boost the flavour. I make four portions, saving one for tomorrow and freezing two more. 

I eat it with a baked potato and spinach, and it’s very good indeed. 

THURSDAY

Breakfast

You guessed it: it’s porridge and a banana again.

Lunch

Veggie chilli leftovers

Dinner

Sardine pasta with chilli, lemon and leek

This is a very quick, tasty dinner. It’s a recipe from Delicious magazine. Don’t be put off by the smell of the tinned sardine. Once fried with garlic, chilli and lemon, it tastes delicious. I use a whole tin of sardines just for me (although the recipe says this should feed two people). I cook a leek separately and then add it at the end. 

FRIDAY

Breakfast

Porridge with apple

Lunch

Feta salad

I’m pretty hungry by lunchtime so I have spinach, carrot and feta salad with toast. I chop up feta and carrot, put them on top of spinach leaves, and then drizzle over a dressing made with 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 dessertspoon of lemon juice, and a sprinkle of chilli flakes.

Dinner

Chicken stir-fry with red cabbage, leek and rice

I love a good stir-fry and using cooked chicken makes it very quick to make. I take the chicken out of the freezer in the morning and leave it on the side to defrost.

To make the stir-fry, I chop up the cabbage and leek really finely, put some oil in a saucepan, and add the cabbage, leek and a splash of water. I put on the lid and steam the veggies for 10 minutes. I don’t stir them so that the leeks don’t turn purple. In the meantime, I boil the rice for 10 minutes.

Once the vegetables are ready, I put some oil in a big frying pan and fry a garlic clove and some chilli flakes. After about a minute, I add the chicken and some soya sauce, and fry for two minutes. I then throw in the veggies and stir to combine everything. 

SATURDAY

Breakfast

Porridge and banana

Lunch

Egg on toast

I still have two eggs left, so I have one scrambled on toast for lunch. There’s still lots of cabbage so I make carrot and cabbage coleslaw again.

Dinner

Vegetarian chilli with red cabbage and apple

I take the veggie chilli out of the freezer in the morning. In order to make the meal a bit different, I cook red cabbage with a grated apple and 1 tablespoon of water for 15 minutes and eat it alongside. This is such a delicious way to eat red cabbage. We have it with our Christmas dinner every year.

It’s a hearty end to a week which has been really enjoyable. Because I’d done the planning in advance, I didn’t have to worry about what I was going to eat every day. And I did save money, quite a lot of money. Experimenting in the kitchen is a good thing. I come up with so many recipes that way. But planning has its place too, especially while I’m watching the pennies.

Shopping list

Fresh

4 leeks

2 large baking potatoes

5 carrots

1 red cabbage

3 onions

1 bulb garlic

1 bag spinach

2 lemons

4 apples

6 bananas

6 free range eggs

4 pints milk

1 loaf bread

1 packet feta cheese

1 British chicken

1 packet butter

Dry

1 porridge oats

1 tin sardine

1 bottle soya sauce

1 jar chilli flakes

1 packet red lentils

1 tin of tomatoes

1 tin kidney beans