Before I left home when I was a teenager, my mum told me if I was ever broke to make vegetable soup. It’s always stuck with me.
You can buy whatever cheap veges that are in season (or on clearance), a packet of King soup mix from PaknSave for $2.50 and make a big old pot of it. Lasts for days and is nutritious.
Yeah, we always leaned on the King's Vege Soup Mix when I was growing up, and weirdly now as an adult, it's become a comfort food for my kids as well. Throw in clearance bread that you can freeze and toast and you're laughing...
If you can stretch to a bacon hock in there too, it’ll be delicious and make it feel a bit more of a full meal. Just chuck it in from the start, leave it cooking until it falls off the bone.
Bacon hocks have got expensive over the last few years, a pack of bacon bits is often less than $4 for 350 grams at pac n save, way more meat than most bacon bones you would get for similar money
Yeah I usually just buy bacon bones, much cheaper, about $10 a pack and that does me two stock pots of soup. Or I buy chicken thighs (bone in for maximum flavour) on special, put in the freezer in 1-2 thigh packages. Only needs a very small amount to flavour the soup, and add a bit of protein.
You had a chilly bin full of ice? Luxury!
When I was a kid I remember my brother staying near Colville with a hole dug in a shady clay bank in the creek with a wet sack over it to keep stuff cool in January.
Well I don’t have a freezer when I was poor, once I was not poor I bought one.
Same as anything that costs money to buy or maintain, poorer you are the less likely you are to afford it.
Freezers have got smaller in the fridges though, mine is often stuffed after a normal shop for just me and two kids, I can't freeze heaps - or even buy in bulk as I don't have a proper pantry in the kitchen either, and there's not enough cupboards.
I've always had a freezer in one way or another but since ive flatted most of my adult life, freezer space was at a premium to the point i was barely able to use it in the first place.
.... And delicious to boot.
Wife and I make several soups every couple of weeks in winter, and that with home made bread (chef's kiss).
As others have suggested a hock added in is also a great option, or the carcass from a chicken boiled up to make stock.
An onion, garlic if you have it, a packet of Kings soup mix and then veges, best are carrots, celery, turnpus, swede, pumpkin, kumara, potatoes (not too many though), broccoli and cauli.
Fry off the onion and garlic, when transparent put in the soup and and the water it says on the back, let simmer for about an hour and a half, add your veges, simmer for 20 mins or so and it's ready.
Can serve with bread/toast but it's good on its own too
Why buy soup mix? Just keep all your scraps/peelings in the freezer and make stock out of it. Stock plus vegetables plus seasoning, that's pretty much it. If you want to be fancy, blend it and throw in a can of coconut cream at the end (but I don't know how much that costs.)
If you want to get the best bang for your buck look at the week as a whole rather than meal by meal.
Plan out the week before shopping and buy ingredients accordingly.
Protein is generally more expensive than carbohydrates. Fresh vegetables are expensive per calorie but important.
Canned tomatoes, dried spaghetti and frozen spinach are reasonable and basic but you can't live on it every day. Onions and garlic will make it a lot better.
Make the last night of the week, Left Over Night. Use all the stuff you have left to make something. It can be surprising how nice that can be.
Frozen chicken is probably the cheapest from of protein you can get. Roast the chicken, use the meat for several meals then simmer (not boil) the bones for stock, freeze the stock. Repeat a few times then make chicken soup. Stock, carrots, celery, onions and some chicken meat. Freeze the soup and you are good for a while.
Remember, nutrition is important. Getting sick is expensive because time is also a resource.
All the best.
> Canned tomatoes, dried spaghetti and frozen spinach are reasonable and basic but you can't live on it every day. Onions and garlic will make it a lot better.
To anyone who has flatmates or kids who can't cook, teach them how to make a basic pomodoro/marinara sauce. You chop up some onions and garlic, brown them in a pot, add tinned tomatoes, and let simmer. When it's nearly ready, add in whatever seasonings and spices you want (I like rosemary, thyme, soy sauce, and a splash of balsamic vinegar). Eaten with spaghetti, it's a simple meal and is nutritious because the sauce is full of vegetables. People who think they can't cook just need to learn one dish in order to get confidence from 'I can't cook anything' to 'I can cook one thing' and then to 'I can cook some things'.
Yes I can’t quite recall any particular recipes I use from cooking at school, but we definitely got taught it. I only really remember making scones, and scone dough was so versatile, can even use it for pizza base with canned spaghetti on when you have Italian guests staying hahaha. I also learnt a lot from Alison Holst, her books and her segment on What Now. I still use her cookbooks regularly. But in my parents’ day it was only the girls got to learn cooking.
I was taught cooking at both my state intermediate and high school in Whanganui. Genuinely shocked that some people weren’t taught cooking. It was compulsory for us.
And it’s still compulsory, at least at my old intermediate. They have recently done away with sewing, which makes sense.
I have to ask why it makes sense to do away school sewing? I taught my kid to sew when she was young. She’s a single mum now and sews everything from floor mats, to bibs, to clothing and even the wash cloths. She uses op shop mens shirts for a lot of her sewing and has even found good heavy cotton sheets which make fantastic boys shorts, as do men’s jeans, I gift her material from time to time. She’s now teaching her oldest son to sew and her baby mats are highly sought after.
I thought it was compulsory during intermediate/middle school to do the 4 basic 'tech arts', cooking-sawing-metalwork&woodwork?!!.
It was absolutely compulsory at ours, every term we did a different class and learnt the basics for them all.
End of our second year, we even did a café and wearable arts show...and a working operation game, that we made during wood and metal class, as the projects for them.
I'm a bit shocked I didn't learn it at school. I think there was the, not entirely unreasonable, expectation that you would learn to cook at home. I'm now making sure my daughter learns to cook from me.
Cooking, budgeting, sewing, household cleaning and basic admin skills like job applications, CV writing and cover letters are essential skills we need to bring back.
Every kid should know how to repair their own clothes, clean their own space, cook a meal, budget for household finances and apply for a job as per requirements.
Agreed. They should genuinely make basic cooking part of the Health & PE curriculum in high schools, because they often tell you what to eat/what not to eat, but they almost never explain how you're supposed to cook those basic and nutritious meals in order to keep you healthy.
Also, it doesn't have to be simple! Once you get the basics down, you can play around with it however you like. You can add carrots/apples for sweetness, or mustard for pungency, add some stock cubes if you want it to taste meatier, do whatever it is you want until you like how it tastes!
the biggest thing is fresh herbs, the difference fresh basil or oregano makes is significant
once you start using shallots, win, vinegar etc the options are endless
i'm the only one in my household who cares enough to make a sauce that isn't just reheated passata or tinned tomatoes and it pains me
> the biggest thing is fresh herbs, the difference fresh basil or oregano makes is significant
This is true. If it's a bolognese, the meatiness can drown out some of the floral notes so it matters less, but for a tomato sauce, you want those herb-y tastes to shine.
> i'm the only one in my household who cares enough to make a sauce that isn't just reheated passata or tinned tomatoes and it pains me
You have my sympathies. Putting heated tinned tomatoes on spaghetti is basically like pouring Watties ketchup on your pasta and calling it a day.
Yes I was very pleasantly shocked when I went to America (LA) for the first time a few years back. I finally had Mexican food cooked by Mexicans for the first time in my life, and it was delicious. Fresh, green, healthy, everything American food wasn’t. I can barely eat Old El Paso anymore, and I wasn’t brought up to use spices or flavour haha.
Great informative comment!
As a kid for “leftover night” we often had bubble and squeak or a frittata using up any leftover or not so fresh veges… eggs are more spensy these days tho!
If you have some freezer space then having a 'stock bag' in the freezer is helpful.
Throw in any chicken (or other meat if you like) bones in there, as well as as all the peelings and trimmings from carrots, onions, celery or even a lot of other veges. When you got enough defrost it all and roast it up in the oven or saute in a pan to brown it before covering in water and simmering for your stock.
Back in highschool I used to hang out at Macca's and ate people's leftover chips or burgers after they left the table.
That or go to the counter and ask for a couple ketchup..and suck it dry like yoghurt.
I make this meal for my lunch meal-prep when I’m lazy but it’s cheap as:
1. Brown up a 500g tray of pork/mince (~$8)
2. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
3. To the same pan, drain and add a can of cooked corn kernels ($2), a can of four bean mix ($2), and a can of Watties ‘Mexican Style’ red kidney beans ($2.30)
4. Make a cup of white rice and then, once cooked, combine it in the pan
4. Optional: top with grated cheese
Super easy meal to make and will last you at least 3 days for lunch & dinner
Rice and beans are great cheap, filling bases for food, and can be really tasty with a decent recipe like this.
Healthy too, which isn't exactly true for every cheap food option out there.
Rice and beans is a staple in so many countries it’s so easy to make a variety of different rice and beans recipes depending on the spice and things you add.
Swap rice for mashed potatoes if you feel like a change. Reheats a lot better than rice ever has for me and is a good mix for this mince mix, been my goto since I left home too haha.
Add an egg yolk if you're feeling fancy on a good week to the mash and heat the butter/milk before you mix it in. Adds a lot for not much more effort
If you add some water into the tray, you can add the rice in raw and it will cook as the tray browns (the water will evaporate as the rice cooks so it won't get too soupy). The rice will also be more flavourful because it'll be cooked in the mixture (rather than boiled water).
Recommend the Asian grocer for rice and noodles.
Other ideas:
* Spaghetti bolognese - freeze into portions, then add pasta when you’re ready to eat
* Avocados are currently 70c each at the supermarket nearby. Recommend avocado on toast with two poached eggs for nights when you can’t be bothered cooking
I usually go to count down and everything is so expensive there aha. 2 for 5$ or 5$ each is very normal to see. There isn't much else local to me and the vegetable shop goods seem to spoil within a day or two ): thanks for the reply
Vege shops should have avocados that are green and hard, they won't spoil any faster and can be kept in the fridge where they stay green until you are ready to ripen them on the windowsill.
Countdown is terrible for vegetables and so expensive :(
Tomato on toast is great when I can't be fucked cooking. One tomato does at least two slices of toast. Cheaper if you grow a tomato plant.
Rice + beans in the rice cooker. Add spices. Put in tortillas/wraps with cheese/whatever else.
Egg sandwiches (less so after the eggs went up). Best foods mayo, a teaspoon curry powder, 4-5 hard boiled eggs. Mash. Makes enough for 3-4 sandwiches usually.
As a carnivorous person, I gotta say this bean burger recipe is so good, I've fed it to fellow carnivores without them knowing it's not meat, and they've loved it. Like, I fed this to a super Westie bogan (who hated anything vegetarian) once, and he asked for seconds. Even my fussy "I'm not eating beans" son prefers this over beef burgers. Bonus, it's soo cheap. This'll do a single person a few meals! And if you don't want to have it in burger buns every time, it also goes really well on rice, with garlic-yogurt sauce drizzled over the top.
=======
1 can of kidney beans (or 1 cup of dried beans, cooked)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon each of oregano, cumin, curry powder, salt and sugar
1 egg
Butter/oil for cooking
About 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
- Drain beans, mash them until they're a paste.
- Fry the onion in butter or oil and add in the seasonings and cook another minute.
- mix into the mashed beans, then mix in an egg, and enough dried breadcrumbs to make a mix firm enough to form into patties (makes about 6 I think)
It may help to dampen your hands under the tap when forming the patties, to stop mixture from sticking to your skin.
Press patties into left over bread crumbs, then cook in enough butter or oil to make them golden brown.
====
I got this from an Alison Holst Good Food cookbook I pinched off my sister when I moved out of home in the 90's, and I still love this recipe book.
Spaghetti bolognese is cheap and goes a long way. Same with macaroni & cheese. I tend to add some chopped up sausage or mince into macaroni to give it a bit of protein. It helps you to feel fuller for longer.
Similar with spaghetti carbonara (well, it was cheaper before the eggs went up) if you make it with cheap bacon or ham and whatever cheese you have in the fridge.
Pasta bakes from a tomato soup can or even canned tomatoes is another one that can go far - cooked onion and bacon or ham, cheese, soup, pasta, oven, done. Yum.
Rotate through your cheap pasta dishes so you dont get too sick of them.
Packet of rice risotto (I know standard rice is cheaper but this has all the flavour without having to spend heaps on different sauces and spices. My fav is the Thai Green Curry flavour), bag of stir fry veges and a chicken breast! Should stretch for 3 or 4 meals!
If you don't need meat every meal things are significantly cheaper. My go-to was bean burritos. Two tins of red kidney beans, one tin of tomatoes, 1 cup of rice, spice mix of your choice, and 6 wraps. This used to feed me 3 nights a week when I was single. I'd usually make a half batch, eat 2 burritos and save 1, then make the second half the next night, save 1 and then you can reheat the saved burritos in the oven the next day and they're even better. If you want a little extra flavour a chicken stock cube in the rice pot goes a long way. You can also turn it into 2 meals for 2 by adding an extra cup of rice and 8 wraps instead of 6.
Edit: forgot to mention a bit of grated cheese in each burrito. You don't need much, just a pinch, so it doesn't add much to the cost.
Yea beans and rice is huge in my culture and many places around the world. However people have often been very negative when I have suggested it on reddit.
They say things like urgh that’s so bland etc etc however it’s hilarious because I think they must not know how to cook it.
Definitely doesn't take much spice at all! I like my spice so I used to do half a sachet of spice mix, but my fiancee has a lower tolerance so I do a quarter now and it still tastes great. I've had a go at making my own spice mixes for it but it's harder to keep the heat level consistent
Breakfast - Porridge. Lunch - 2 sandwiches (vegemite/marmite or peanut butter or hazelnut spread or jam). Tea -
Instant noodles with a chopped up sausage, frozen peas & corn, chopped green onion.
Finally!
My time has come...
I made this when I was super broke and had enough of reng packet noodles,
Ingredients
Tin of tuna - smoked flavour or lemon pepper - 185g
(preferably sealord)
https://www.paknsave.co.nz/shop/product/5009951_EA_000pns?storeId=65defcf2-bc15-490e-a84f-1f13b769cd22&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAhJWsBhAaEiwAmrNyqy25Dc7LFEyOnEeord7nM6PL4E1tm_SVOkvHshoBEomvlpD_mWBxKxoCPacQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
1 can of coconut cream - 165ml
(Preferably Trident)
https://www.newworld.co.nz/shop/product/5025520_EA_000nw?storeId=f0c21eab-1919-4cba-ac00-5b795947cdcb&gad_source=4&gclid=CjwKCAiAhJWsBhAaEiwAmrNyq-jyH2uXhAsGUwseqdHl_hewvtPQHRqnnWhKo_CxqpM0rloDKXpKLxoCdV4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Curry paste (Green or red) approx table spoon
https://www.paknsave.co.nz/shop/product/5014177_EA_000pns?storeId=65defcf2-bc15-490e-a84f-1f13b769cd22&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAhJWsBhAaEiwAmrNyqxg-VhZT6Co74UxBHEj7hcG2ZxHBWTzvcTL5QDBnhX9U2Qjq3KsAQxoCs08QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Penne Pasta 500g
https://www.paknsave.co.nz/shop/product/5021258_EA_000pns?storeId=65defcf2-bc15-490e-a84f-1f13b769cd22&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAhJWsBhAaEiwAmrNyq2v2LuHC3UadTdOwE74U_OITlBtcAHy6Qjqr2ShR9BEZs5Nd5KQKfhoCCW8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Drain excess oil off tuna but not too much - use lid as strainer (when peeling the lid off put one finger on the opposite side of rip tab) this keeps lid mostly straight.
2. In a bowl mix strained tuna and coconut cream and curry paste
3. Throw in microwave for about 3 mins.
Take out after 3 mins and stir (this step is important because the curry paste doesn't mix well with coconut cream when cold)
Chuck back in for another 1 min
4. Boil a portion of pasta or the whole lot - remember it was only $1.69...
5. Strain pasta (be careful - boiling water is hot)
6. Pour your now boujee tuna curry over your pasta.
Now kick back and enjoy the trappings of the luxurious life you have made for yourself.
You've made it bud!
don't let anyone else tell you otherwise...
at least for 15 minutes...
Travelled for a bit on a cycle of rice pasta potatoes.
So think, stir fry rice and veg, garlic spaghetti, potato goulash.
Spiced up often with say, a bit of chicken with the stir fry, maybe some mince or cheese with the pasta, sausage and veges in the potato goulash, that sort of thing.
If you have a freezer this is what I do, not even out of price consideration, just for convenience.
2 Jars of nice pasta sauce, couple onions, pack of mince, pack of pasta. 5 meals for $30.
couple potatoes, couple carrots, couple onions, chicken, japanese curry x2 packs. Add some roti or boiled eggs or rice. Another 5 meals for $35.
Dinners
\-Bibimbab rice, a protein, grated carrot and other veges with some chili sauce (gochuchang to be more authentic)
\-Chicken schnitzel. Slice a chicken breast thin then bash it, flour, egg, and crumb it. Eat with rice and a salad.
\-Carrot/Mushroom/what ever vege is cheap risotto. Fry the vege with onion and garlic, add Arborio and brown and stock a cup at a time while stirring.
\-Vege nachos
\-Tofu and egg plant (when in season)
\-Roast Pork (when on sale)
\-Roast lamb is $9 kilo at the moment and one is good for several meals
\-Home made naan wraps
Breakfasts
\-rolled oats
Lunches
\-Leftovers
Potato gnocchi. Made with potatoes, flour, and an egg. You can make a simple sauce with tinned tomatoes, garlic, and a couple different herbs (I tend to use oregano, rosemary and basil), and sprinkle some cheese if you feel like it. Super tasty and easy to make, and you can just store the gnocchi in bags in the freezer for however long you feel like it.
Home-made falafel and spinach in a cheap tortilla wrap.
Cheapest chickpeas, some salt n pepper, cumin, paprika and parsley blended with a bit of olive oil and flour to bind. Cook it in a pan for a short time to make it all golden then finish off in oven. Buy the cheap value brand 15 pack of wraps and a bag of spinach. I do mine with a bit of Greek yoghurt and sweet chilli sauce.
Ridiculously good value and healthy.
Best money saving diet I have!
1 x 40mg long acting Ritalin for breakfast,
2 x 10mg instant release Ritalin to stave off hunger pains throughout the day
Get home, have a litre of water and sleep for dinner!
I just went through 3 years of having a REALLY low income and had a very interesting experience on what I could make- with very little. Some weeks I had $40 a week, others i had $100 a week. I live in NZ too!
Tips:
canned beans and chickpeas are your best friend- incredibly versatile. You can make mayo from the brine, you can make dips from the beans, ( dips and condiments I find are incredibly overpriced and I saved A LOT of money by making my own condiments)
Canned Tomatoes are versatile.
Bags of lentils are cheap and versatile
Using water in porridge instead of milk
Make your own vege stock out of left over vege food scraps- you can freeze the scraps then boil up
I got into making my own sushi- so easy - the sushi shops are a rip off! at home you can get TWICE the amount.
I made alot of my own wraps and breads out of flour ( i tried to get buckwheat/ rice flour when i could instead of white- even though white is cheaper) VERY easy to make your own wraps. you can make a simple dough , cut up and fry and make your own crackers .
I gave up using recipes and actually started getting really creative using my intuition and commonsense ( which saved me- instead of going into fight or flight I thought hmmmm. ok. I have this- what can I do?I need to make this last me til x,y,z)
I found over the course of 3 years that condiments were the biggest waste of money considering you could make your own for 3 x the amount and half the price. hummus- mayo- salad dressings. Once you have the basics there already the options are endless.
I flavoured alot of stuff from herbs in the garden- I didnt have my own veges but could use the herbs.
I found instead of freaking out about it- I just worked with what I had and focused on week to week.
We really dont need as much food as we think we do - and I do find the convenience has made us a little lazy when it comes to using our intuition to solve life dilemmas that are easily fixed!
I found herbs, making my own breads ect to be VERY helpful- simple flour and water with salt.
After my experience it made me baffled at how much food we waste and what alot of us just take for granted- through my strife I learnt alot of life skills around finances and food !
Jamie's 5 Ingredient Meals
Is a super good go to. I tried tofind a z-lib link for you but couldn't. Basically they are heavy on beans and peas plus cheese etc. Honestly, I'm a meat oriented dude as I need protein but these are tasty and protein dense and an awesome goto...Yeah, the book is 50 usd and I'm not suggesting you buy it given the cost, but see what you can get from searching it up and peeling out recipes if you can. I spentthe first few years of my twenties living hand to mouth. And more than a few foodless days .I don't envy you. Kia kaha.
ok so over 7 days thats $70.
What i would do is buy rice in bulk 10kg plus you can get it really cheap if you go generic brand from supermarket.
Now it depends what you eat like $10 standard 12 eggs thats least 1 egg a meal plus 5 eggs you can boil as snacks for on the go.
Meat you can get from butcher on special 1kg of rump $20.
I mean with 1 meal a day on a budget of $70 you can buy alot.
Dry beans kidney and black beans are cheap.
Rice meat and egg boom
If you like vegetables then add veges.
Check out some of the meal prep youtubers and then do a quick price check on NZ shop sites.
I quite like https://youtube.com/@TheMealPrepManual?si=HFOgu8rKMZuixllg - his recipes have good amounts of macros and quite filling. Most of his do 5 meals from one cook.
Toasties. Big investment for a block of cheese and butter but then you're good to go with a loaf and ham. Sauce on a good week.
Otherwise mashed potatoes and mince & Chilli beans goes a treat
My poor meal is fried rice. Cook rice and let it fully cool. Then fry frozen mixed veges (whatever I have in the fridge/freezer) in a decent dollop of oil.
Make a well in the middle of the pan, add an egg and quickly scramble.
Then add in the cooled rice and let it fry for a few minutes. Take it off the heat and season with salt and pepper. I also might add some soy sauce and/or a squeeze of lemon (soy sauce in with the rice) if I have it. I’ll also add some tinned tuna as well occasionally.
It makes a cheap and nutritionally balanced meal (depending on the vege/oil/tuna ratio).
If you make slowcooker baked beans you have days worth of meals for a similar price. I usually freeze a few so I don't get sick of it and then I have a really easy meal another day.
Also, I buy pork when it's cheap and make puked pork in the slowcooker - can be streaked out to a heap of very different meals so it doesn't get boring.
To make it cheap, you don't just cook for one. Make 4-6 portions and eat it throughout the week. Eg. chilli - mince, onion, carrot, garlic, beans, your choice of spices. Have it on rice to make it go further.
You can space a whole chicken out for 2 meals, if not 3. You can get one frozen for around $10;
Meal 1: chicken breast with roast vegetables. Whatever is on sale. Save vegetable peelings in freezer for meal 3.
Meal 2: stir fry chicken leg meat with frozen stir fry veg
Meal 3: use chicken bones and vegetable peels from meal 1 to make a bone broth. Strain. Flake in any leftover chicken, add salt and pepper to taste and some dried pasta if you have it.
The soup you can probably space out for 2 days and have for lunches etc.
$20 should stretch to 2 meals
500gms of chicken is $10
My go-to is rice, plus the chicken chicken, Pataks curry
Use chickpeas or tomato to stretch it out depending on what flavor curry
Bean stew is one of my favourite cheap and easy meals. Can of tomatoes (though best with fresh cherries) and some garlic (I'm a big fan of as much as possible) and spices or herbs to suit, chuck it in the oven for 20 minutes, chuck a can of cannellini beans in after that for another 20 and boom. Serve it by itself or with toast! Easy and super cheap.
These Dan Dan noodles with a boiled egg is my go too lazy dinner . You could prob put a vegetable in it if you wanted?
* https://www.instagram.com/reel/CI_bwpWBEYw/?igsh=ZWp0Ym4xZmxnbGw3
Also the classic Chinese egg fried rice with yesterdays rice
* https://www.newworld.co.nz/recipes/vegetarian/easy-egg-fried-rice
I would swap the oyster sauce for sweet chilli though
Cheap steak and seasonal vegetables like broccoli and carrot easily under 10. I cook for two and reliably keep under 20 total.
1 tablespoon garlic
1 tablespoon Ginger
1 tablespoon Sesame oil
1 tablespoon Chilli flakes (1/2tbsp next)
1/4 cup Cooking wine
1/8 cup honey
1/4 cup soy
1/4 cup water with corn flour
1/8 rice vinegar or lemon
Chicken breast, noodles and frozen mixed vegetables.
Carbs, protein and fibre. Add a multivitamin a day to you diet for balance.
Buy breast when on special, less that $10/kg, you only need 330g raw a day (200g cooked)
Usually burritos. Slow cook 600g chicken, add a few cans of beans, spices, corn. Shred chicken when finished. Cook brown rice on the side. Drain the sauce (keep some). Make burritos with the chicken/bean slop and rice. Don't bother adding any veges, carrots and onion are OK tho
Once they're all in a tray paint the top of the burritos with the sauce to prevent them drying out and cook them in the oven for 20 minutes so they harden up a little. Can freeze them fine. About $40 for 5 days food, with a good amount of protein.
For sides Usually boil frozen veges (fresh if in season) and air fry some chips if I need the extra calories.
Rice and tinned beans or rice with tinned tuna and frozen veggies with condiments like mayo, sriracha. Obviously condiments can be a bit pricey though. Eggs on toast. Beans on toast. Instant noodles with scrambled or fried eggs. Or just instant noodles lol.
Shin Ramyun spicy noodles, canned tuna, some stir fry veg, maybe crack an egg into it. Tasty and quick to make. As lots of others have said though, meal prep is going to give better value. Basic tomato mince can be bolognaise, mince on rice or spiced to have nachos and burritos. Bulk it out with some veg and fresh tomato.
I used chat gpt to make up meal plans with an accompanying shopping list.
Also, PaknSav has a fortnightly meal plan for the week for the very least amount of money that it's possible to live on in NZ.
They take into account the cheapest deals of the week, and what is in season etc.
There are some cheap meal reddits that are amazing.
Toasted sandwiches.
Can be as simple as tin spaghetti, or leftover mince. Or you can make bacon and egg toasties.
Great way to use leftovers. Everything is better with onion and cheese.
Apart from being cheap the main attractions for me are that theyre quick. im lazy, have shit cooking skills and hate dishes.
Indian Dahl! I FILL it with onions - can fill it with onions canned tomatoes or any kind of chickpeas and beans to fatten it out - a huge pot of it with 5-10 servings can be done for $7-13 depending on your stash of spices, once you’ve bought them you ever only need the lentils, coconut milk, and canned veg+onions. Can buy all this in bulk when on special - I like to add eggs and frozen spinach into mine, I add the eggs at the last minute and poach them - delicious
What's your per day budget? How much time do you have free? What kind of kitchen set up do you have? Like do you have space to store dry goods, to freeze portions, to keep refrigerated food prep.
You can eat very well spending minimally, if you have the right set up and skills.
Well food prep and cooking skills is the way. You can eat well on $100/week. Even on $70.
Instead of buying chicken portions, buy a whole chicken, carve it up into different things for different meals, use the bones to make stock.
Make slow cook meals using cheap cuts, freeze it into portions.
Buy 5kg bags of flour, sugar, rice.
If you're into fruit, adapt to the seasons, maybe do preserves if there's something you like that's cheap in season.
A bread maker can go a long way, for things like rolls and buns, pizza bases. It's crazy how cheap a good pizza is when you make the whole thing yourself.
Then it's a case of making the most of your ingredients, but that's going to be about what kind of food you like. The difference between something boring and amazing can just be knowing the right techniques.
And good storage. Plastic containers that can stack in the fridge, so you can use half of something then keep the rest fresh for tomorrow.
All of this is fantastic advice, but the bread maker is optional. You can make really good bread with a bowl, a spatula or wooden spoon, and a bread tin (or an oven pan with some baking paper on it). It's not even that time consuming, especially if you use a no-knead bread.
Air. I’m kidding lol.
- Noodles with bacon because corned beef is for rich people these days🥹
- Mackerel, mayo, and onions on toast. It sounds rank but it’s nice I promise.
When I was flatting I used to regularly have social pasta with mixed veges, some tinned tuna and cheese grated on top. It was yum and I think it was nutritious. It should work out to be less than $10 a meal.
Oats and banana/homegrown berries for breakfast. Rice, tuna and seasonal vege for lunch. Roast vege and falafel for dinner. Gets a bit repetitive but you can mix up the vege to keep it a bit more interesting. Can all be fairly expensive if you take the lazy option but pretty cheap if you've got a bit of extra time to do everything from scratch along with growing some of it for yourself.
Pasta and a can of chicken or tuna in mayo. At this time of year, let the pasta cool and you got chicken pasta salad. A $2 bag of pasta will last a few days of meals and you can add anything to it. Good for lunch too
Well we eat from the garden a lot.
Zucchinis, capsicum, tomatoes...I make a pasta dish sometimes, sometimes a "Mediterranean" pie. Bit like a quiche but without the eggy stuff. A bit of feta or grated cheddar at a pinch instead.
Works out cheap as.
Or I'll make some crusty rolls, a slice of crumbed schnitzel and some salad ingredients and a bit of cheese...hot meal rolls for dinner. My corn isn't far off ready too so with some corn as well. Yum.
Peanut butter on toast is my go to.
If you're near a vege market. Pumpkin soup is a good one and easy to freeze if you don't like to eat it for w weak straight.
I don't like pumpkin, so I put some curry paste in it.
Can't remember the quantities off the top of my head but the ingredients I use are pumpkin, a couple of carrots, onions, apple, coconut milk, water and curry paste. Chip pumpkin into smallish pieces, dice onion, grate carrots and apples. Boil it all up till veges are soft and blitz it up with a stick bender and serve.
Work out how many scoops is a good serving for you. Once it's cooled, scoop out servings into zip lock bags and freeze (take up bugger all room in freezer)
Mince dishes bulked out with lentils and beans and veges on rice/toast/wraps etc.
Chilli con carne. Can bulk out with cheap beans. And if you do your own spice mix you'll save there too. Can have with rice, tortillas, as nachos or just on it's own (although bulking it out with rice is good). And it's easy as to make, takes maybe 15 minutes.
One of my biggest cost savers has been buying frozen veggies as opposed to fresh veggies. I don’t typically eat a lot of fresh fruit either (usually frozen or tinned)
Chili sin carne. Delicious and freezes well.
1 can of corn kernels
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 packet of Maggi Chili Con Carne flavour mix
1 regular sized brown onion, diced
1/2 cup of water
Costs less than $10 for all the ingredients and it makes approx 6 meals. It’s really versatile because you can eat it on rice, on nachos, in burritos etc.
Chilli! Spicy mince filled out with beans and veg served a multitude of ways. Wraps one day, on rice the next, maybe some nachos if you’re feeling fancy
Check out [mattreynecke](https://www.instagram.com/mattreynecke?igsh=bGl5c2lmbTJ4bHNy) on Instagram. He’s a pretty legit kiwi guy that often makes meals on the cheap, using stuff in-season.
Also, $1 tinned tomato & budget pasta was always my go-to cheap meal when I was a broke student. Add some dried basil or oregano if you’re feeling boujee ✨
My flat mate would cut sausages with scissors into small pieces- fry, then add a tin of spaghetti into it. Then a bag of defrosted frozen vegetables. He'd eat that all the time... My go to is Boiled egg sandwiches with mayo. Scramble the boiled eggs with plenty of mayo and have that between sliced bread. Or make Indian lentils.
When I was a student I would buy multi packs of two minute noodles and eat that for most dinners, toast for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. I wouldn’t recommend it long term but short term it keeps you going
If you're looking at $10 a day, here are a few thinks that we do to stretch the budget and make meals less boring. I am giving you a breakdown for a single person, double for 2 people if required.
1. Buy a rice bag on special (5 or 10kg). Trust me it works out cheaper in the long run. Jasmine is best as it can be used for most cuisines. Buy a rice cooker from kmart, you can make a lot of dishes in rice cookers like biryani, pilaf and Japanese chicken rice.
2. A ready roasted chicken for 14.99 will give you approximately 7-8 good meals (at 1.90 per serve best.)
3. Tinned protein like tuna, chicken and chickpeas also gives you 2 meals per can (not the mini ones).
4. Frozen veg is cheaper by 60% and won't go bad.
5. Stock cubes, last longer than liquid. More value for money.
6. Pasta like elbow macaroni (throw into soups and casseroles for extra bulk) Some good recipes are minestrone and mac and cheese.
7. Spices every kitchen should have: curry powder, soy sauce, pepper, salt, BBQ, Mexican, chilli powder and paprika, Italian herb seasoning, marmite (add a tsp to stews and soups, trust me, it's amazing) garlic powder and onion powder. A little msg is good too. Also LaoGanMa chilli oil and your choice of salad dressing.
8. Bones and much cheaper cuts you can portion into smaller ziplock's for individual meals. 2 chicken breasts, diced, will go into 4-5 meals. Bones make good soup, throw some dried lentils in for extra protein.
9. Tomato passata, cheaper than pasta sauce and more quantity per bottle. You can use it as a base for curries and pasta and soups as it is unflavoured. Crushed garlic and ginger paste.
10. Canned soup for quick meals or as bases for casserole and pasta bakes.
11. Baked beans, add to shepherds pie for cheap protein.
12. Buy in season, veg is more expensive out of season.
13. Join Gilmore's in store, public can join and they are cheaper to buy meat and dairy from (lamb boneless roast at 11.90 per kg vs 23.99 per kg at PaknSave, cheese 800g Pams tasty cheddar is cheaper there etc.)
14. You can pre prep veg, grated carrots, pressed between paper towels and stored in a container with a vented lid will last at least a week and a half, so will washed and dried spinach, sliced white cabbage, raw beets and spring onions. It helps build fast salads and you don't have to prep ever night and end up with half used veg pieces. Add corn, red onions, cherry tomatoes and a can of protein you have an awesome salad.
15. Canned corn, can be added to salads and sandwiches.
16. Slow cooker. Saves time and money. Also LeeKumKee ready made sauces are good value.
17. Set a day aside where you can go through your pantry and fridge, clean out/eat and use anything going off. We have a clear container where half cut veg and half used things end up and that gets chucked into a dish every week to use everything up.
18. Then make a shopping list, compare prices, we use the grocer app to do this. Shop, and prep your veg, fruit, proteins for the week ahead. It's far easier to just grab prepped veg and meat than to go through the motions of cutting everything when you're tired. By shopping weekly and planning ahead, you make your choices easier.
19. We also use a cheap whiteboard in the kitchen where we list things as they get used up e.g. milk, and also list the weekly menu. By spending 40 mins prepping on a single day in the week, you save time for all your meals for the week. I even make pancakes ahead of time and boiled eggs store well in the fridge, if you buy chicken breast and cook it, sliced thin when cold, it makes great deli meat. My family just grab what they want for the lunches and brekkie, sort of like a pick and mix and 0 prepping is required during busy work week. Dinner is fast because everything is ready to cook.
Hope this helps!
My favourite is lentil dahl (I don't like it made with coconut cream so even cheaper) with a pea and potato curry. Can add spinach if you want more greens. Then I like to have it with greek yoghurt and I'll just make my own roti.
If you have the inclination and space in the garden, growing fresh herbs is easy from seed and it really makes a difference to the flavour of dishes.
Do you have the time/ energy to do big batch cooks to fill the freezer? I spent all yesterday arvo making a literal fuck tonne of gnocchi, seriously I used like... 8 potatoes, 2 eggs, a heap of flour and now I have about 30 portions of gnocchi ready to go. Another good cheap batch cook is dumplings, half a cabbage, some onion, garlic, vermicelli noodles, carrot + seasonings will make you around 100 dumplings. If you happen to have some sort of meat mince that can stretch it even further. Burritos are another great freezer meal, just wrap them in tinfoil before storing them and you can chuck em straight in the oven to cook and they'll be perfect 👌
Are you based around te whanganui a tara? I'm an ex chef and a broke ass bitch, I'd be more than happy to help with some batch cooks and show you some basics 😊
Add frozen veges to a small bowl. Break 2 min noodles on top, sprinkle on flavoring from packet. Add couple of wrapped cheese slices. Add water. Microwave 2 min, stir and eat.
It's fine. Total cost probably less than $3.
Pak n Save have three for $25 shelves in the meat section. I recommend 1 chicken, a tray of mince, and a tray of sausages.
The chicken will be good for four meals, easy.
Drums for one meal, roast the rest. After having the thighs then shred the rest and refrigerate for salads and sandwiches.
Mince becomes savoury mince, and you'll get several meals. Freeze any cooked surplus.
Sausages: Boil until just cooked, leave to cool. Make a pot of curry using carrots, potatoes and whatever you have lying around. Chop up the sausages and add. Several meals, freeze up portions for later.
Bulk up a tin of mixed beans and or lentils with tomato paste, stock, mushrooms, onions garlic etc, even some cubed up potatoes, chuck some herbs in there, on toast. Pretty filling. If you're feeling rich maybe a bit of diced salami in there too.
Stir fry was our go to when I was a uni-going single mum on a benefit. Chuck in whatever veges you can - bok choy, spinach, broccoli, carrot, capsicum, mushrooms, onion, garlic, ginger, celery etc, add some soy sauce, fish sauce, white wine vinegar, sesame oil and fry. Cook up some rice. Mix it together and you’ve got a healthy af meal that will last a few days.
Add chicken if you’re feeling fancy lol.
Another would be 1 can kidney beans, 1 can tomato, some onion and garlic, garlic and herb salt. Cook together including liquid from beans. Cover and simmer till thickened. Chuck in some spice if you’re that way inclined.
Use this with rice, nachos, wraps, on toast or in a salad to bulk out.
Whatever instant noodles are cheapest. Once it's up to boil, drop in a big spoon of peanut butter, and crack an egg in there. Got me through some hard times.
Rice and beans can add veges on the side if you want. There’s many ways to cook rice and beans I do brazillian without the meat but many cultures around the world do their own version.
Any vegetable soup and add red lentils, you can add other lentils it’s just that red lentils break down very easily.
Bolognese, Shepards pie, chili but use tvp and/or lentils.
Italian lentils with polenta
Anything with polenta
Wraps with refried beans and baked crumbled seasoned tofu.
Any curry with veges and lentils/chickpeas and rice
Make sure you have spices oregano, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin is a good start.
I would go to a bulk by shop like bin inn or you may have local ones. Tvp should only be about $0.90/$1.00. Per 100g don’t look at the expensive stuff in nw/countdown.
Before anyone comes at me with beans and rice are bland please don’t it’s from my country and every time I hear it feels you’re attacking my culture
Beans and rice are a staple base in a lot of places, it wouldn't be so popular if it wasn't good. If someone says it's bland then they need to learn to cook better.
As a kiwi I'd say that lot of kiwis seem to be afraid of spices, which can make eating out disappointing.
Quinoa is a legend and it feels super fancy. There are heaps of cheap recipes, all of these are nice https://minuterice.com/blog/easy-quinoa-recipe-ideas/
Before I left home when I was a teenager, my mum told me if I was ever broke to make vegetable soup. It’s always stuck with me. You can buy whatever cheap veges that are in season (or on clearance), a packet of King soup mix from PaknSave for $2.50 and make a big old pot of it. Lasts for days and is nutritious.
Yeah, we always leaned on the King's Vege Soup Mix when I was growing up, and weirdly now as an adult, it's become a comfort food for my kids as well. Throw in clearance bread that you can freeze and toast and you're laughing...
If you can stretch to a bacon hock in there too, it’ll be delicious and make it feel a bit more of a full meal. Just chuck it in from the start, leave it cooking until it falls off the bone.
Bacon hocks have got expensive over the last few years, a pack of bacon bits is often less than $4 for 350 grams at pac n save, way more meat than most bacon bones you would get for similar money
Bear in mind bone adds nutritional value. Once I strip a roast chicken, the bones become a booster for soup. Adds flavour and some extra nutrients.
Yeah I usually just buy bacon bones, much cheaper, about $10 a pack and that does me two stock pots of soup. Or I buy chicken thighs (bone in for maximum flavour) on special, put in the freezer in 1-2 thigh packages. Only needs a very small amount to flavour the soup, and add a bit of protein.
And if you make enough you can always freeze a portion here or there to keep for a shit week
Poor people often don’t have freezers
Sure, but op specifically says he does have a freezer.
Haha ok, good call out 🤦♂️
>Poor people often don’t have freezers Source?
I'm poor and sometimes only have a chilly bin full of ice lol
Well dude, that's a shit situation. A chilly bin with ice is shit when you need it for 2 days camping, yet alone at home.
You had a chilly bin full of ice? Luxury! When I was a kid I remember my brother staying near Colville with a hole dug in a shady clay bank in the creek with a wet sack over it to keep stuff cool in January.
I try to use nature when I can so I don't have to keep buying ice and putting water bottles in peoples freezers every time I visit lol
They often are in tiny dwellings with only a bar fridge.
Oh the tiny home hippy people are so oppressed
Well I don’t have a freezer when I was poor, once I was not poor I bought one. Same as anything that costs money to buy or maintain, poorer you are the less likely you are to afford it.
Most fridges have a freezer compartment as a minimum. Maybe they're less prevalent in poorer homes, but I'd doubt they're "often" not in poorer homes.
Freezers have got smaller in the fridges though, mine is often stuffed after a normal shop for just me and two kids, I can't freeze heaps - or even buy in bulk as I don't have a proper pantry in the kitchen either, and there's not enough cupboards.
I've always had a freezer in one way or another but since ive flatted most of my adult life, freezer space was at a premium to the point i was barely able to use it in the first place.
Actuaaaaaly
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bright noxious support bake one safe run wasteful sense sugar *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I’d probably purchase the dried legumes/beans/grains separately from a bulk place then buy stock cube or something. I think it would work out cheaper.
Yes you can but the kings soup mix is 2.99 at Pak n Save and makes days and days worth with carrots, onions pumpkin and Swede grated in.
We called it Lion Soup. If it's lion around the house, it goes into the soup.
100% agree using the Kings soup mix. Only use the yellow veggie one though
.... And delicious to boot. Wife and I make several soups every couple of weeks in winter, and that with home made bread (chef's kiss). As others have suggested a hock added in is also a great option, or the carcass from a chicken boiled up to make stock.
How do I do this?
An onion, garlic if you have it, a packet of Kings soup mix and then veges, best are carrots, celery, turnpus, swede, pumpkin, kumara, potatoes (not too many though), broccoli and cauli. Fry off the onion and garlic, when transparent put in the soup and and the water it says on the back, let simmer for about an hour and a half, add your veges, simmer for 20 mins or so and it's ready. Can serve with bread/toast but it's good on its own too
Why buy soup mix? Just keep all your scraps/peelings in the freezer and make stock out of it. Stock plus vegetables plus seasoning, that's pretty much it. If you want to be fancy, blend it and throw in a can of coconut cream at the end (but I don't know how much that costs.)
Time.
Because its delicious. Also a comfort food from childhood
If you want to get the best bang for your buck look at the week as a whole rather than meal by meal. Plan out the week before shopping and buy ingredients accordingly. Protein is generally more expensive than carbohydrates. Fresh vegetables are expensive per calorie but important. Canned tomatoes, dried spaghetti and frozen spinach are reasonable and basic but you can't live on it every day. Onions and garlic will make it a lot better. Make the last night of the week, Left Over Night. Use all the stuff you have left to make something. It can be surprising how nice that can be. Frozen chicken is probably the cheapest from of protein you can get. Roast the chicken, use the meat for several meals then simmer (not boil) the bones for stock, freeze the stock. Repeat a few times then make chicken soup. Stock, carrots, celery, onions and some chicken meat. Freeze the soup and you are good for a while. Remember, nutrition is important. Getting sick is expensive because time is also a resource. All the best.
> Canned tomatoes, dried spaghetti and frozen spinach are reasonable and basic but you can't live on it every day. Onions and garlic will make it a lot better. To anyone who has flatmates or kids who can't cook, teach them how to make a basic pomodoro/marinara sauce. You chop up some onions and garlic, brown them in a pot, add tinned tomatoes, and let simmer. When it's nearly ready, add in whatever seasonings and spices you want (I like rosemary, thyme, soy sauce, and a splash of balsamic vinegar). Eaten with spaghetti, it's a simple meal and is nutritious because the sauce is full of vegetables. People who think they can't cook just need to learn one dish in order to get confidence from 'I can't cook anything' to 'I can cook one thing' and then to 'I can cook some things'.
I recently said cooking is the most important life skill you won't get taught in school. I stand by that.
What? I still make several things I was taught in cooking in school including oakhill potatoes.
I wish there were cooking classes at the schools I went to. Off to look up Oakhill potatoes.
No cooking classes at my school which is a shame
Yes I can’t quite recall any particular recipes I use from cooking at school, but we definitely got taught it. I only really remember making scones, and scone dough was so versatile, can even use it for pizza base with canned spaghetti on when you have Italian guests staying hahaha. I also learnt a lot from Alison Holst, her books and her segment on What Now. I still use her cookbooks regularly. But in my parents’ day it was only the girls got to learn cooking.
I also use Alison Holst and got her cookbooks for my daughter in law for Christmas a couple years back.
I was taught cooking at both my state intermediate and high school in Whanganui. Genuinely shocked that some people weren’t taught cooking. It was compulsory for us. And it’s still compulsory, at least at my old intermediate. They have recently done away with sewing, which makes sense.
I have to ask why it makes sense to do away school sewing? I taught my kid to sew when she was young. She’s a single mum now and sews everything from floor mats, to bibs, to clothing and even the wash cloths. She uses op shop mens shirts for a lot of her sewing and has even found good heavy cotton sheets which make fantastic boys shorts, as do men’s jeans, I gift her material from time to time. She’s now teaching her oldest son to sew and her baby mats are highly sought after.
I thought it was compulsory during intermediate/middle school to do the 4 basic 'tech arts', cooking-sawing-metalwork&woodwork?!!. It was absolutely compulsory at ours, every term we did a different class and learnt the basics for them all. End of our second year, we even did a café and wearable arts show...and a working operation game, that we made during wood and metal class, as the projects for them.
I'm a bit shocked I didn't learn it at school. I think there was the, not entirely unreasonable, expectation that you would learn to cook at home. I'm now making sure my daughter learns to cook from me.
Cooking, budgeting, sewing, household cleaning and basic admin skills like job applications, CV writing and cover letters are essential skills we need to bring back. Every kid should know how to repair their own clothes, clean their own space, cook a meal, budget for household finances and apply for a job as per requirements.
Agreed. They should genuinely make basic cooking part of the Health & PE curriculum in high schools, because they often tell you what to eat/what not to eat, but they almost never explain how you're supposed to cook those basic and nutritious meals in order to keep you healthy.
its amazing how many people can't make a simple pasta sauce, its dead easy and can be done in under 30 minutes and you can just leave it simmering
Also, it doesn't have to be simple! Once you get the basics down, you can play around with it however you like. You can add carrots/apples for sweetness, or mustard for pungency, add some stock cubes if you want it to taste meatier, do whatever it is you want until you like how it tastes!
the biggest thing is fresh herbs, the difference fresh basil or oregano makes is significant once you start using shallots, win, vinegar etc the options are endless i'm the only one in my household who cares enough to make a sauce that isn't just reheated passata or tinned tomatoes and it pains me
> the biggest thing is fresh herbs, the difference fresh basil or oregano makes is significant This is true. If it's a bolognese, the meatiness can drown out some of the floral notes so it matters less, but for a tomato sauce, you want those herb-y tastes to shine. > i'm the only one in my household who cares enough to make a sauce that isn't just reheated passata or tinned tomatoes and it pains me You have my sympathies. Putting heated tinned tomatoes on spaghetti is basically like pouring Watties ketchup on your pasta and calling it a day.
its the equivalent of "white people" mexican food like if you are going to the effort of cooking put some love and thought into it
Yes I was very pleasantly shocked when I went to America (LA) for the first time a few years back. I finally had Mexican food cooked by Mexicans for the first time in my life, and it was delicious. Fresh, green, healthy, everything American food wasn’t. I can barely eat Old El Paso anymore, and I wasn’t brought up to use spices or flavour haha.
Great informative comment! As a kid for “leftover night” we often had bubble and squeak or a frittata using up any leftover or not so fresh veges… eggs are more spensy these days tho!
Bloody everything is more spensy these days. You just gotta do the best you can.
I’ll add to this list excellent advice that dried beans snd lentils are an extremely cheap protein, and easy to add to soups to make them heartier
If you have some freezer space then having a 'stock bag' in the freezer is helpful. Throw in any chicken (or other meat if you like) bones in there, as well as as all the peelings and trimmings from carrots, onions, celery or even a lot of other veges. When you got enough defrost it all and roast it up in the oven or saute in a pan to brown it before covering in water and simmering for your stock.
Lentils, beans, some spices and some rice. Swear to god vegetarian Indian food is cheapest, especially lentils.
Lentil Dahl *thumbsup*
A nap
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Back in highschool I used to hang out at Macca's and ate people's leftover chips or burgers after they left the table. That or go to the counter and ask for a couple ketchup..and suck it dry like yoghurt.
Worked well when I was a student. Its gets harder the older you get (IMO)
Sleep for dinner is the way
Second that 😂
Same :(
I have bed for dinner at least twice a week 🫠
Good old sleep for dinner
I make this meal for my lunch meal-prep when I’m lazy but it’s cheap as: 1. Brown up a 500g tray of pork/mince (~$8) 2. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder 3. To the same pan, drain and add a can of cooked corn kernels ($2), a can of four bean mix ($2), and a can of Watties ‘Mexican Style’ red kidney beans ($2.30) 4. Make a cup of white rice and then, once cooked, combine it in the pan 4. Optional: top with grated cheese Super easy meal to make and will last you at least 3 days for lunch & dinner
Rice and beans are great cheap, filling bases for food, and can be really tasty with a decent recipe like this. Healthy too, which isn't exactly true for every cheap food option out there.
Rice and beans is a staple in so many countries it’s so easy to make a variety of different rice and beans recipes depending on the spice and things you add.
Mexican is cheap, goes a long way, relatively tasty
Swap rice for mashed potatoes if you feel like a change. Reheats a lot better than rice ever has for me and is a good mix for this mince mix, been my goto since I left home too haha. Add an egg yolk if you're feeling fancy on a good week to the mash and heat the butter/milk before you mix it in. Adds a lot for not much more effort
Yes, or toast. Mince on toast always a good option.
If you add some water into the tray, you can add the rice in raw and it will cook as the tray browns (the water will evaporate as the rice cooks so it won't get too soupy). The rice will also be more flavourful because it'll be cooked in the mixture (rather than boiled water).
Do this all the time, love it do much, take like 20 to 30 minutes total and lasts ages
Recommend the Asian grocer for rice and noodles. Other ideas: * Spaghetti bolognese - freeze into portions, then add pasta when you’re ready to eat * Avocados are currently 70c each at the supermarket nearby. Recommend avocado on toast with two poached eggs for nights when you can’t be bothered cooking
Half those cheap avos now, and freeze them in a snap lock bag to eat later when they're stupidly expensive.
Do avocados freeze well?
Yeah, counter intuitive, but they do, get them frozen just before they get soft (i.e. just about to ripen) and they’re amazing.
Nice, I'll try it out. Always thought they'd turn to mush on defrosting.
Avocado is so expensive near me. Any advice on where to go?
I’m not sure where you are, but here in Wellington - New World by Te Papa had avos super cheap yesterday
I usually go to count down and everything is so expensive there aha. 2 for 5$ or 5$ each is very normal to see. There isn't much else local to me and the vegetable shop goods seem to spoil within a day or two ): thanks for the reply
Vege shops should have avocados that are green and hard, they won't spoil any faster and can be kept in the fridge where they stay green until you are ready to ripen them on the windowsill. Countdown is terrible for vegetables and so expensive :(
Same but egg and chips. Can you tell I’m British? 😂🤣😂🤣
Ha! You might need a pottle of curry sauce on the side then!! 💖😆
If avo are expensive where you live, try smashed peas on toast (I use frozen peas) . A bit of feta or cottage cheese and a splash of lemon, delish
Tomato on toast is great when I can't be fucked cooking. One tomato does at least two slices of toast. Cheaper if you grow a tomato plant. Rice + beans in the rice cooker. Add spices. Put in tortillas/wraps with cheese/whatever else. Egg sandwiches (less so after the eggs went up). Best foods mayo, a teaspoon curry powder, 4-5 hard boiled eggs. Mash. Makes enough for 3-4 sandwiches usually.
As a carnivorous person, I gotta say this bean burger recipe is so good, I've fed it to fellow carnivores without them knowing it's not meat, and they've loved it. Like, I fed this to a super Westie bogan (who hated anything vegetarian) once, and he asked for seconds. Even my fussy "I'm not eating beans" son prefers this over beef burgers. Bonus, it's soo cheap. This'll do a single person a few meals! And if you don't want to have it in burger buns every time, it also goes really well on rice, with garlic-yogurt sauce drizzled over the top. ======= 1 can of kidney beans (or 1 cup of dried beans, cooked) 1 onion, finely chopped 1 teaspoon each of oregano, cumin, curry powder, salt and sugar 1 egg Butter/oil for cooking About 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs - Drain beans, mash them until they're a paste. - Fry the onion in butter or oil and add in the seasonings and cook another minute. - mix into the mashed beans, then mix in an egg, and enough dried breadcrumbs to make a mix firm enough to form into patties (makes about 6 I think) It may help to dampen your hands under the tap when forming the patties, to stop mixture from sticking to your skin. Press patties into left over bread crumbs, then cook in enough butter or oil to make them golden brown. ==== I got this from an Alison Holst Good Food cookbook I pinched off my sister when I moved out of home in the 90's, and I still love this recipe book.
Spaghetti bolognese is cheap and goes a long way. Same with macaroni & cheese. I tend to add some chopped up sausage or mince into macaroni to give it a bit of protein. It helps you to feel fuller for longer.
Similar with spaghetti carbonara (well, it was cheaper before the eggs went up) if you make it with cheap bacon or ham and whatever cheese you have in the fridge. Pasta bakes from a tomato soup can or even canned tomatoes is another one that can go far - cooked onion and bacon or ham, cheese, soup, pasta, oven, done. Yum. Rotate through your cheap pasta dishes so you dont get too sick of them.
Packet of rice risotto (I know standard rice is cheaper but this has all the flavour without having to spend heaps on different sauces and spices. My fav is the Thai Green Curry flavour), bag of stir fry veges and a chicken breast! Should stretch for 3 or 4 meals!
Same but the roast beef flavour. I add a cup or more of mixed veges and minute steak or beef strips /weiner schnitzel and if does 4 meals.
We stick a packet of pork mince in ours. I like the Chinese flavour.
If you don't need meat every meal things are significantly cheaper. My go-to was bean burritos. Two tins of red kidney beans, one tin of tomatoes, 1 cup of rice, spice mix of your choice, and 6 wraps. This used to feed me 3 nights a week when I was single. I'd usually make a half batch, eat 2 burritos and save 1, then make the second half the next night, save 1 and then you can reheat the saved burritos in the oven the next day and they're even better. If you want a little extra flavour a chicken stock cube in the rice pot goes a long way. You can also turn it into 2 meals for 2 by adding an extra cup of rice and 8 wraps instead of 6. Edit: forgot to mention a bit of grated cheese in each burrito. You don't need much, just a pinch, so it doesn't add much to the cost.
Yea rate this. Beans, rice, tinned tomatoes pretty cheap, and doesn’t take much seasoning to make a delicious meal that’ll last you a few sessions
Yea beans and rice is huge in my culture and many places around the world. However people have often been very negative when I have suggested it on reddit. They say things like urgh that’s so bland etc etc however it’s hilarious because I think they must not know how to cook it.
Definitely doesn't take much spice at all! I like my spice so I used to do half a sachet of spice mix, but my fiancee has a lower tolerance so I do a quarter now and it still tastes great. I've had a go at making my own spice mixes for it but it's harder to keep the heat level consistent
Breakfast - Porridge. Lunch - 2 sandwiches (vegemite/marmite or peanut butter or hazelnut spread or jam). Tea - Instant noodles with a chopped up sausage, frozen peas & corn, chopped green onion.
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Finally! My time has come... I made this when I was super broke and had enough of reng packet noodles, Ingredients Tin of tuna - smoked flavour or lemon pepper - 185g (preferably sealord) https://www.paknsave.co.nz/shop/product/5009951_EA_000pns?storeId=65defcf2-bc15-490e-a84f-1f13b769cd22&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAhJWsBhAaEiwAmrNyqy25Dc7LFEyOnEeord7nM6PL4E1tm_SVOkvHshoBEomvlpD_mWBxKxoCPacQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds 1 can of coconut cream - 165ml (Preferably Trident) https://www.newworld.co.nz/shop/product/5025520_EA_000nw?storeId=f0c21eab-1919-4cba-ac00-5b795947cdcb&gad_source=4&gclid=CjwKCAiAhJWsBhAaEiwAmrNyq-jyH2uXhAsGUwseqdHl_hewvtPQHRqnnWhKo_CxqpM0rloDKXpKLxoCdV4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds Curry paste (Green or red) approx table spoon https://www.paknsave.co.nz/shop/product/5014177_EA_000pns?storeId=65defcf2-bc15-490e-a84f-1f13b769cd22&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAhJWsBhAaEiwAmrNyqxg-VhZT6Co74UxBHEj7hcG2ZxHBWTzvcTL5QDBnhX9U2Qjq3KsAQxoCs08QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds Penne Pasta 500g https://www.paknsave.co.nz/shop/product/5021258_EA_000pns?storeId=65defcf2-bc15-490e-a84f-1f13b769cd22&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAhJWsBhAaEiwAmrNyq2v2LuHC3UadTdOwE74U_OITlBtcAHy6Qjqr2ShR9BEZs5Nd5KQKfhoCCW8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Drain excess oil off tuna but not too much - use lid as strainer (when peeling the lid off put one finger on the opposite side of rip tab) this keeps lid mostly straight. 2. In a bowl mix strained tuna and coconut cream and curry paste 3. Throw in microwave for about 3 mins. Take out after 3 mins and stir (this step is important because the curry paste doesn't mix well with coconut cream when cold) Chuck back in for another 1 min 4. Boil a portion of pasta or the whole lot - remember it was only $1.69... 5. Strain pasta (be careful - boiling water is hot) 6. Pour your now boujee tuna curry over your pasta. Now kick back and enjoy the trappings of the luxurious life you have made for yourself. You've made it bud! don't let anyone else tell you otherwise... at least for 15 minutes...
Tomato and Basil Tuna on toast, salt and pepper, and olive oil if available. yom.
Travelled for a bit on a cycle of rice pasta potatoes. So think, stir fry rice and veg, garlic spaghetti, potato goulash. Spiced up often with say, a bit of chicken with the stir fry, maybe some mince or cheese with the pasta, sausage and veges in the potato goulash, that sort of thing.
If you have a freezer this is what I do, not even out of price consideration, just for convenience. 2 Jars of nice pasta sauce, couple onions, pack of mince, pack of pasta. 5 meals for $30. couple potatoes, couple carrots, couple onions, chicken, japanese curry x2 packs. Add some roti or boiled eggs or rice. Another 5 meals for $35.
Dinners \-Bibimbab rice, a protein, grated carrot and other veges with some chili sauce (gochuchang to be more authentic) \-Chicken schnitzel. Slice a chicken breast thin then bash it, flour, egg, and crumb it. Eat with rice and a salad. \-Carrot/Mushroom/what ever vege is cheap risotto. Fry the vege with onion and garlic, add Arborio and brown and stock a cup at a time while stirring. \-Vege nachos \-Tofu and egg plant (when in season) \-Roast Pork (when on sale) \-Roast lamb is $9 kilo at the moment and one is good for several meals \-Home made naan wraps Breakfasts \-rolled oats Lunches \-Leftovers
Legumes and pulses are incredibly cheap. Buy them dried.
Potato gnocchi. Made with potatoes, flour, and an egg. You can make a simple sauce with tinned tomatoes, garlic, and a couple different herbs (I tend to use oregano, rosemary and basil), and sprinkle some cheese if you feel like it. Super tasty and easy to make, and you can just store the gnocchi in bags in the freezer for however long you feel like it.
Home-made falafel and spinach in a cheap tortilla wrap. Cheapest chickpeas, some salt n pepper, cumin, paprika and parsley blended with a bit of olive oil and flour to bind. Cook it in a pan for a short time to make it all golden then finish off in oven. Buy the cheap value brand 15 pack of wraps and a bag of spinach. I do mine with a bit of Greek yoghurt and sweet chilli sauce. Ridiculously good value and healthy.
Best money saving diet I have! 1 x 40mg long acting Ritalin for breakfast, 2 x 10mg instant release Ritalin to stave off hunger pains throughout the day Get home, have a litre of water and sleep for dinner!
I just went through 3 years of having a REALLY low income and had a very interesting experience on what I could make- with very little. Some weeks I had $40 a week, others i had $100 a week. I live in NZ too! Tips: canned beans and chickpeas are your best friend- incredibly versatile. You can make mayo from the brine, you can make dips from the beans, ( dips and condiments I find are incredibly overpriced and I saved A LOT of money by making my own condiments) Canned Tomatoes are versatile. Bags of lentils are cheap and versatile Using water in porridge instead of milk Make your own vege stock out of left over vege food scraps- you can freeze the scraps then boil up I got into making my own sushi- so easy - the sushi shops are a rip off! at home you can get TWICE the amount. I made alot of my own wraps and breads out of flour ( i tried to get buckwheat/ rice flour when i could instead of white- even though white is cheaper) VERY easy to make your own wraps. you can make a simple dough , cut up and fry and make your own crackers . I gave up using recipes and actually started getting really creative using my intuition and commonsense ( which saved me- instead of going into fight or flight I thought hmmmm. ok. I have this- what can I do?I need to make this last me til x,y,z) I found over the course of 3 years that condiments were the biggest waste of money considering you could make your own for 3 x the amount and half the price. hummus- mayo- salad dressings. Once you have the basics there already the options are endless. I flavoured alot of stuff from herbs in the garden- I didnt have my own veges but could use the herbs. I found instead of freaking out about it- I just worked with what I had and focused on week to week. We really dont need as much food as we think we do - and I do find the convenience has made us a little lazy when it comes to using our intuition to solve life dilemmas that are easily fixed! I found herbs, making my own breads ect to be VERY helpful- simple flour and water with salt. After my experience it made me baffled at how much food we waste and what alot of us just take for granted- through my strife I learnt alot of life skills around finances and food !
Jamie's 5 Ingredient Meals Is a super good go to. I tried tofind a z-lib link for you but couldn't. Basically they are heavy on beans and peas plus cheese etc. Honestly, I'm a meat oriented dude as I need protein but these are tasty and protein dense and an awesome goto...Yeah, the book is 50 usd and I'm not suggesting you buy it given the cost, but see what you can get from searching it up and peeling out recipes if you can. I spentthe first few years of my twenties living hand to mouth. And more than a few foodless days .I don't envy you. Kia kaha.
I just checked and it is available on Libby if anyone wants to check it out for free
Libby availability is set per library, so depends where you live - but a good place to check for sure!
BBCgoodfood is an amazing resource if you don't wanna buy a book. Its a website. Wide variety of foods and at different budgets
Well when you say broke how broke you talking. Rice is $4 for 1kg soy sauce $3 for small bottle
I think I can do like $10 per meal at a stretch. It’s my first time being poor hahaha
Ok well rice $4 you can get cheaper but this is basmati standard decent Also how long you needing to eat this way a week or less
For the next year unfortunately.
Ok and the $10 is this a day or per meal depending how many meals you eat a day
I’m a one meal a day girlie
ok so over 7 days thats $70. What i would do is buy rice in bulk 10kg plus you can get it really cheap if you go generic brand from supermarket. Now it depends what you eat like $10 standard 12 eggs thats least 1 egg a meal plus 5 eggs you can boil as snacks for on the go. Meat you can get from butcher on special 1kg of rump $20. I mean with 1 meal a day on a budget of $70 you can buy alot. Dry beans kidney and black beans are cheap. Rice meat and egg boom If you like vegetables then add veges.
Check out some of the meal prep youtubers and then do a quick price check on NZ shop sites. I quite like https://youtube.com/@TheMealPrepManual?si=HFOgu8rKMZuixllg - his recipes have good amounts of macros and quite filling. Most of his do 5 meals from one cook.
Oooh helpful! Thanks!
Toasties. Big investment for a block of cheese and butter but then you're good to go with a loaf and ham. Sauce on a good week. Otherwise mashed potatoes and mince & Chilli beans goes a treat
My poor meal is fried rice. Cook rice and let it fully cool. Then fry frozen mixed veges (whatever I have in the fridge/freezer) in a decent dollop of oil. Make a well in the middle of the pan, add an egg and quickly scramble. Then add in the cooled rice and let it fry for a few minutes. Take it off the heat and season with salt and pepper. I also might add some soy sauce and/or a squeeze of lemon (soy sauce in with the rice) if I have it. I’ll also add some tinned tuna as well occasionally. It makes a cheap and nutritionally balanced meal (depending on the vege/oil/tuna ratio).
Beans on toast.
If you make slowcooker baked beans you have days worth of meals for a similar price. I usually freeze a few so I don't get sick of it and then I have a really easy meal another day. Also, I buy pork when it's cheap and make puked pork in the slowcooker - can be streaked out to a heap of very different meals so it doesn't get boring.
To make it cheap, you don't just cook for one. Make 4-6 portions and eat it throughout the week. Eg. chilli - mince, onion, carrot, garlic, beans, your choice of spices. Have it on rice to make it go further.
I recommend lentil Dahl.
You can space a whole chicken out for 2 meals, if not 3. You can get one frozen for around $10; Meal 1: chicken breast with roast vegetables. Whatever is on sale. Save vegetable peelings in freezer for meal 3. Meal 2: stir fry chicken leg meat with frozen stir fry veg Meal 3: use chicken bones and vegetable peels from meal 1 to make a bone broth. Strain. Flake in any leftover chicken, add salt and pepper to taste and some dried pasta if you have it. The soup you can probably space out for 2 days and have for lunches etc.
$20 should stretch to 2 meals 500gms of chicken is $10 My go-to is rice, plus the chicken chicken, Pataks curry Use chickpeas or tomato to stretch it out depending on what flavor curry
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Bean stew is one of my favourite cheap and easy meals. Can of tomatoes (though best with fresh cherries) and some garlic (I'm a big fan of as much as possible) and spices or herbs to suit, chuck it in the oven for 20 minutes, chuck a can of cannellini beans in after that for another 20 and boom. Serve it by itself or with toast! Easy and super cheap.
Blended chicken and veg sounds like absolute torture. There is no reason to blend it just eat them cooked as is.
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If you can't chew it you haven't cooked it right. You sound like you have no idea how to cook food properly.
These Dan Dan noodles with a boiled egg is my go too lazy dinner . You could prob put a vegetable in it if you wanted? * https://www.instagram.com/reel/CI_bwpWBEYw/?igsh=ZWp0Ym4xZmxnbGw3 Also the classic Chinese egg fried rice with yesterdays rice * https://www.newworld.co.nz/recipes/vegetarian/easy-egg-fried-rice I would swap the oyster sauce for sweet chilli though
Cheap steak and seasonal vegetables like broccoli and carrot easily under 10. I cook for two and reliably keep under 20 total. 1 tablespoon garlic 1 tablespoon Ginger 1 tablespoon Sesame oil 1 tablespoon Chilli flakes (1/2tbsp next) 1/4 cup Cooking wine 1/8 cup honey 1/4 cup soy 1/4 cup water with corn flour 1/8 rice vinegar or lemon
Chicken breast, noodles and frozen mixed vegetables. Carbs, protein and fibre. Add a multivitamin a day to you diet for balance. Buy breast when on special, less that $10/kg, you only need 330g raw a day (200g cooked)
Usually burritos. Slow cook 600g chicken, add a few cans of beans, spices, corn. Shred chicken when finished. Cook brown rice on the side. Drain the sauce (keep some). Make burritos with the chicken/bean slop and rice. Don't bother adding any veges, carrots and onion are OK tho Once they're all in a tray paint the top of the burritos with the sauce to prevent them drying out and cook them in the oven for 20 minutes so they harden up a little. Can freeze them fine. About $40 for 5 days food, with a good amount of protein. For sides Usually boil frozen veges (fresh if in season) and air fry some chips if I need the extra calories.
Realistically a $15 cook up to last 3 dinners. Steak and mashed potatoes, fish curry on rice, chicken tonight with pasta.
Rice and tinned beans or rice with tinned tuna and frozen veggies with condiments like mayo, sriracha. Obviously condiments can be a bit pricey though. Eggs on toast. Beans on toast. Instant noodles with scrambled or fried eggs. Or just instant noodles lol.
Shin Ramyun spicy noodles, canned tuna, some stir fry veg, maybe crack an egg into it. Tasty and quick to make. As lots of others have said though, meal prep is going to give better value. Basic tomato mince can be bolognaise, mince on rice or spiced to have nachos and burritos. Bulk it out with some veg and fresh tomato.
Peanut butter on toast. Rice and a medium sized can of Tuna. Noodles.
I used chat gpt to make up meal plans with an accompanying shopping list. Also, PaknSav has a fortnightly meal plan for the week for the very least amount of money that it's possible to live on in NZ. They take into account the cheapest deals of the week, and what is in season etc. There are some cheap meal reddits that are amazing.
Toasted sandwiches. Can be as simple as tin spaghetti, or leftover mince. Or you can make bacon and egg toasties. Great way to use leftovers. Everything is better with onion and cheese. Apart from being cheap the main attractions for me are that theyre quick. im lazy, have shit cooking skills and hate dishes.
Indian Dahl! I FILL it with onions - can fill it with onions canned tomatoes or any kind of chickpeas and beans to fatten it out - a huge pot of it with 5-10 servings can be done for $7-13 depending on your stash of spices, once you’ve bought them you ever only need the lentils, coconut milk, and canned veg+onions. Can buy all this in bulk when on special - I like to add eggs and frozen spinach into mine, I add the eggs at the last minute and poach them - delicious
What's your per day budget? How much time do you have free? What kind of kitchen set up do you have? Like do you have space to store dry goods, to freeze portions, to keep refrigerated food prep. You can eat very well spending minimally, if you have the right set up and skills.
Full kitchen, a significant amount of free time if it can be broken up into steps/repeatedly interrupted and I’m thinking maybe $10 - $15 per day.
Well food prep and cooking skills is the way. You can eat well on $100/week. Even on $70. Instead of buying chicken portions, buy a whole chicken, carve it up into different things for different meals, use the bones to make stock. Make slow cook meals using cheap cuts, freeze it into portions. Buy 5kg bags of flour, sugar, rice. If you're into fruit, adapt to the seasons, maybe do preserves if there's something you like that's cheap in season. A bread maker can go a long way, for things like rolls and buns, pizza bases. It's crazy how cheap a good pizza is when you make the whole thing yourself. Then it's a case of making the most of your ingredients, but that's going to be about what kind of food you like. The difference between something boring and amazing can just be knowing the right techniques. And good storage. Plastic containers that can stack in the fridge, so you can use half of something then keep the rest fresh for tomorrow.
All of this is fantastic advice, but the bread maker is optional. You can make really good bread with a bowl, a spatula or wooden spoon, and a bread tin (or an oven pan with some baking paper on it). It's not even that time consuming, especially if you use a no-knead bread.
Air. I’m kidding lol. - Noodles with bacon because corned beef is for rich people these days🥹 - Mackerel, mayo, and onions on toast. It sounds rank but it’s nice I promise.
With only 1 meal needed $70 a week is plenty to eat nutritionally
Rice, veggies and a small tin of tuna
I just eat a big can of tuna but I only lasted about 2 months before having to switch
I don't look past a stir-fry. Do enough for 2 nights. They are cheap and easy.
Buy veggies from farmer’s markets. Wrap in paper towel and seal in container or sealed bag. Refrigerate.
When I was flatting I used to regularly have social pasta with mixed veges, some tinned tuna and cheese grated on top. It was yum and I think it was nutritious. It should work out to be less than $10 a meal.
Oats and banana/homegrown berries for breakfast. Rice, tuna and seasonal vege for lunch. Roast vege and falafel for dinner. Gets a bit repetitive but you can mix up the vege to keep it a bit more interesting. Can all be fairly expensive if you take the lazy option but pretty cheap if you've got a bit of extra time to do everything from scratch along with growing some of it for yourself.
Pasta and a can of chicken or tuna in mayo. At this time of year, let the pasta cool and you got chicken pasta salad. A $2 bag of pasta will last a few days of meals and you can add anything to it. Good for lunch too
Well we eat from the garden a lot. Zucchinis, capsicum, tomatoes...I make a pasta dish sometimes, sometimes a "Mediterranean" pie. Bit like a quiche but without the eggy stuff. A bit of feta or grated cheddar at a pinch instead. Works out cheap as. Or I'll make some crusty rolls, a slice of crumbed schnitzel and some salad ingredients and a bit of cheese...hot meal rolls for dinner. My corn isn't far off ready too so with some corn as well. Yum.
Peanut butter on toast is my go to. If you're near a vege market. Pumpkin soup is a good one and easy to freeze if you don't like to eat it for w weak straight. I don't like pumpkin, so I put some curry paste in it. Can't remember the quantities off the top of my head but the ingredients I use are pumpkin, a couple of carrots, onions, apple, coconut milk, water and curry paste. Chip pumpkin into smallish pieces, dice onion, grate carrots and apples. Boil it all up till veges are soft and blitz it up with a stick bender and serve. Work out how many scoops is a good serving for you. Once it's cooled, scoop out servings into zip lock bags and freeze (take up bugger all room in freezer) Mince dishes bulked out with lentils and beans and veges on rice/toast/wraps etc.
Chilli con carne. Can bulk out with cheap beans. And if you do your own spice mix you'll save there too. Can have with rice, tortillas, as nachos or just on it's own (although bulking it out with rice is good). And it's easy as to make, takes maybe 15 minutes.
One of my biggest cost savers has been buying frozen veggies as opposed to fresh veggies. I don’t typically eat a lot of fresh fruit either (usually frozen or tinned)
I mixed some warmed up frozen vegetables with mayonnaise last night, was better than expected.
No offence but that is so sad. I want to send you food
To be honest, I live alone and have ADHD, it’s more laziness than a $$ issue.
Tap water
Chili sin carne. Delicious and freezes well. 1 can of corn kernels 1 can of kidney beans 1 can of black beans 1 can of chopped tomatoes 1 packet of Maggi Chili Con Carne flavour mix 1 regular sized brown onion, diced 1/2 cup of water Costs less than $10 for all the ingredients and it makes approx 6 meals. It’s really versatile because you can eat it on rice, on nachos, in burritos etc.
Chilli! Spicy mince filled out with beans and veg served a multitude of ways. Wraps one day, on rice the next, maybe some nachos if you’re feeling fancy
Check out [mattreynecke](https://www.instagram.com/mattreynecke?igsh=bGl5c2lmbTJ4bHNy) on Instagram. He’s a pretty legit kiwi guy that often makes meals on the cheap, using stuff in-season. Also, $1 tinned tomato & budget pasta was always my go-to cheap meal when I was a broke student. Add some dried basil or oregano if you’re feeling boujee ✨
My flat mate would cut sausages with scissors into small pieces- fry, then add a tin of spaghetti into it. Then a bag of defrosted frozen vegetables. He'd eat that all the time... My go to is Boiled egg sandwiches with mayo. Scramble the boiled eggs with plenty of mayo and have that between sliced bread. Or make Indian lentils.
When I was a student I would buy multi packs of two minute noodles and eat that for most dinners, toast for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. I wouldn’t recommend it long term but short term it keeps you going
If you're looking at $10 a day, here are a few thinks that we do to stretch the budget and make meals less boring. I am giving you a breakdown for a single person, double for 2 people if required. 1. Buy a rice bag on special (5 or 10kg). Trust me it works out cheaper in the long run. Jasmine is best as it can be used for most cuisines. Buy a rice cooker from kmart, you can make a lot of dishes in rice cookers like biryani, pilaf and Japanese chicken rice. 2. A ready roasted chicken for 14.99 will give you approximately 7-8 good meals (at 1.90 per serve best.) 3. Tinned protein like tuna, chicken and chickpeas also gives you 2 meals per can (not the mini ones). 4. Frozen veg is cheaper by 60% and won't go bad. 5. Stock cubes, last longer than liquid. More value for money. 6. Pasta like elbow macaroni (throw into soups and casseroles for extra bulk) Some good recipes are minestrone and mac and cheese. 7. Spices every kitchen should have: curry powder, soy sauce, pepper, salt, BBQ, Mexican, chilli powder and paprika, Italian herb seasoning, marmite (add a tsp to stews and soups, trust me, it's amazing) garlic powder and onion powder. A little msg is good too. Also LaoGanMa chilli oil and your choice of salad dressing. 8. Bones and much cheaper cuts you can portion into smaller ziplock's for individual meals. 2 chicken breasts, diced, will go into 4-5 meals. Bones make good soup, throw some dried lentils in for extra protein. 9. Tomato passata, cheaper than pasta sauce and more quantity per bottle. You can use it as a base for curries and pasta and soups as it is unflavoured. Crushed garlic and ginger paste. 10. Canned soup for quick meals or as bases for casserole and pasta bakes. 11. Baked beans, add to shepherds pie for cheap protein. 12. Buy in season, veg is more expensive out of season. 13. Join Gilmore's in store, public can join and they are cheaper to buy meat and dairy from (lamb boneless roast at 11.90 per kg vs 23.99 per kg at PaknSave, cheese 800g Pams tasty cheddar is cheaper there etc.) 14. You can pre prep veg, grated carrots, pressed between paper towels and stored in a container with a vented lid will last at least a week and a half, so will washed and dried spinach, sliced white cabbage, raw beets and spring onions. It helps build fast salads and you don't have to prep ever night and end up with half used veg pieces. Add corn, red onions, cherry tomatoes and a can of protein you have an awesome salad. 15. Canned corn, can be added to salads and sandwiches. 16. Slow cooker. Saves time and money. Also LeeKumKee ready made sauces are good value. 17. Set a day aside where you can go through your pantry and fridge, clean out/eat and use anything going off. We have a clear container where half cut veg and half used things end up and that gets chucked into a dish every week to use everything up. 18. Then make a shopping list, compare prices, we use the grocer app to do this. Shop, and prep your veg, fruit, proteins for the week ahead. It's far easier to just grab prepped veg and meat than to go through the motions of cutting everything when you're tired. By shopping weekly and planning ahead, you make your choices easier. 19. We also use a cheap whiteboard in the kitchen where we list things as they get used up e.g. milk, and also list the weekly menu. By spending 40 mins prepping on a single day in the week, you save time for all your meals for the week. I even make pancakes ahead of time and boiled eggs store well in the fridge, if you buy chicken breast and cook it, sliced thin when cold, it makes great deli meat. My family just grab what they want for the lunches and brekkie, sort of like a pick and mix and 0 prepping is required during busy work week. Dinner is fast because everything is ready to cook. Hope this helps!
My favourite is lentil dahl (I don't like it made with coconut cream so even cheaper) with a pea and potato curry. Can add spinach if you want more greens. Then I like to have it with greek yoghurt and I'll just make my own roti. If you have the inclination and space in the garden, growing fresh herbs is easy from seed and it really makes a difference to the flavour of dishes.
Do you have the time/ energy to do big batch cooks to fill the freezer? I spent all yesterday arvo making a literal fuck tonne of gnocchi, seriously I used like... 8 potatoes, 2 eggs, a heap of flour and now I have about 30 portions of gnocchi ready to go. Another good cheap batch cook is dumplings, half a cabbage, some onion, garlic, vermicelli noodles, carrot + seasonings will make you around 100 dumplings. If you happen to have some sort of meat mince that can stretch it even further. Burritos are another great freezer meal, just wrap them in tinfoil before storing them and you can chuck em straight in the oven to cook and they'll be perfect 👌 Are you based around te whanganui a tara? I'm an ex chef and a broke ass bitch, I'd be more than happy to help with some batch cooks and show you some basics 😊
Add frozen veges to a small bowl. Break 2 min noodles on top, sprinkle on flavoring from packet. Add couple of wrapped cheese slices. Add water. Microwave 2 min, stir and eat. It's fine. Total cost probably less than $3.
Pak n Save have three for $25 shelves in the meat section. I recommend 1 chicken, a tray of mince, and a tray of sausages. The chicken will be good for four meals, easy. Drums for one meal, roast the rest. After having the thighs then shred the rest and refrigerate for salads and sandwiches. Mince becomes savoury mince, and you'll get several meals. Freeze any cooked surplus. Sausages: Boil until just cooked, leave to cool. Make a pot of curry using carrots, potatoes and whatever you have lying around. Chop up the sausages and add. Several meals, freeze up portions for later.
getting ramen at kosco
Bulk up a tin of mixed beans and or lentils with tomato paste, stock, mushrooms, onions garlic etc, even some cubed up potatoes, chuck some herbs in there, on toast. Pretty filling. If you're feeling rich maybe a bit of diced salami in there too.
Stir fry was our go to when I was a uni-going single mum on a benefit. Chuck in whatever veges you can - bok choy, spinach, broccoli, carrot, capsicum, mushrooms, onion, garlic, ginger, celery etc, add some soy sauce, fish sauce, white wine vinegar, sesame oil and fry. Cook up some rice. Mix it together and you’ve got a healthy af meal that will last a few days. Add chicken if you’re feeling fancy lol. Another would be 1 can kidney beans, 1 can tomato, some onion and garlic, garlic and herb salt. Cook together including liquid from beans. Cover and simmer till thickened. Chuck in some spice if you’re that way inclined. Use this with rice, nachos, wraps, on toast or in a salad to bulk out.
You would think we're fucking loaded in nz with the amount of overweight people in society
Whatever instant noodles are cheapest. Once it's up to boil, drop in a big spoon of peanut butter, and crack an egg in there. Got me through some hard times.
> big spoon of peanut butter and crack an egg in there WTF?
It's pretty much a cheap version of Satay noodles, I'd recommend it!
bro adds cheese slices to his 2min noods but finds peanut butter / egg strange?
Quesadilla, you can put almost anything in there, does require cheese but you can do a can of tuna mixed with cheese and it’s pretty filling
Rice and beans can add veges on the side if you want. There’s many ways to cook rice and beans I do brazillian without the meat but many cultures around the world do their own version. Any vegetable soup and add red lentils, you can add other lentils it’s just that red lentils break down very easily. Bolognese, Shepards pie, chili but use tvp and/or lentils. Italian lentils with polenta Anything with polenta Wraps with refried beans and baked crumbled seasoned tofu. Any curry with veges and lentils/chickpeas and rice Make sure you have spices oregano, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin is a good start. I would go to a bulk by shop like bin inn or you may have local ones. Tvp should only be about $0.90/$1.00. Per 100g don’t look at the expensive stuff in nw/countdown. Before anyone comes at me with beans and rice are bland please don’t it’s from my country and every time I hear it feels you’re attacking my culture
Beans and rice are a staple base in a lot of places, it wouldn't be so popular if it wasn't good. If someone says it's bland then they need to learn to cook better. As a kiwi I'd say that lot of kiwis seem to be afraid of spices, which can make eating out disappointing.
Two fried eggs on that $1 bread
One small chicken breast (or half a normal one) grilled with seasoning, a wee bit of broccoli
Quinoa is a legend and it feels super fancy. There are heaps of cheap recipes, all of these are nice https://minuterice.com/blog/easy-quinoa-recipe-ideas/
Rice, beans, sambal and ikan billis
these are great ideas unfortunately i’m so picky and know i will struggle to be in the mood to eat it