The budget crunch is hitting us all hard, and with the news that the average food shopping bill has risen by 13.7 per cent, it’s time to suck it up and draw in your purse strings. But there’s no need to go overboard and start harvesting crumbs off the breadboard or siphoning off your leftover breakfast (soya)milk. Vegetarian and vegan meals are cheap, and there’s less need for medical insurance thanks to lower risk of heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, impotence… the list goes on!
Check out our three thrifty meal ideas to feed your whole family for under a fiver*, and there’ll be no need to cancel that holiday in Barbados after all.
Bangers ‘n’ Mash
Yes, this staple English dish is easily converted for us veggies, and won’t make your heart go ‘pop’ either. Head to your nearest supermarket and pick up:
• A box of sausages from the vegetarian section of the freezer (or two boxes if you’re sausage crazy)
• A couple of hefty potatoes to mash
• A can of mushy peas, or frozen peas if the mushy variety freak you out
• Gravy, and lots of it!
Pasta with Roasted Veg and Tomato Sauce
One of the simplest meals in the history of man. Ok, a slight exaggeration but this dish will satisfy rumbling bellies and costs barely anything. Low in fat, high in energy and all you need is:
• A packet of dried pasta
• A handful of chopped veg of your choice (one handful per person)
• A jar of tomato pasta sauce, or make your own with some tomatoes and a blender)
• Redwood’s Cheezly for grating and melting on top
Giant Pizza
When you make pizza at home, the sky’s the limit on how big you make it. Well, as long as it fits in the oven… Throw on any ingredient you like, the wackier the better!
• Flour, yeast and water (plus a pinch of salt if you’re feeling naughty)
• Tomato purée
• Vegan ‘meat’ like pepperoni, ham or chicken pieces
• A sprinkling of onion, pepper, oregano and garlic
• Top it off with layers of melting Cheezly
* Unless there are, like, fifty of you.
Sausage/pasta: BBCGoodFood / CC
Pizza: DowntownPet / CC
