By George Mathias
A mum who creates budget-friendly meals has given her top tips for keeping costs down – and revealed five dishes which can feed a family for less than £2.
Grace Mortimer, 30, came up with Instagram page My First Meals after hearing about families struggling to put food on the table amid spiraling living costs.
Her account now has more than 450,000 followers and has spawned a book which has featured on the Sunday Times’ bestsellers list.
Grace, a mum-of-one, says her dishes “don’t compromise on flavour” despite the tiny costs.
And she’s now revealed her latest tips for feeding the family on a budget.
Grace, of Gloucester, said: “With the cost of food rising to all time highs at the moment, I think we’re all feeling the pinch.
“My weekly food shop has risen by 50 per cent on average. I shop at Aldi because I find it to be the cheapest.
“Plus other supermarkets price match with them, so it makes coming up with a meal plan a lot easier for people to use who don’t have one nearby.”
Grace advises that people steer clear of the branded goods where possible.
And she also says that you should always check the world food aisles in larger supermarkets – as they often have products such as tinned tomatoes and coconut milk for much cheaper.
Another big tip, she says, is “storing your leftovers separately.”
Grace said: “If you’ve made spaghetti bolognese, don’t chuck the sauce and the pasta into the same Tupperware or pot because then your only option when it comes to using them is, well, spaghetti bolognese!
“The pasta can be used in a pasta bake for example, with some tinned tomatoes, friend bacon, steamed spinach and mozzarella.
“And the bolognese sauce can be turned into a cottage pie using some leftover or frozen veg and topped with mashed potato.”
She also says that people should be wary of supermarket deals.
Grace said: “These are usually endorsing big brands and can appear great value but below the price ticket on each shelf is a weight to price ratio and sometimes you’re better off buying a different brand altogether or the supermarket own if you need multiple tins of something.”
She also says that people should stop looking down on frozen veg.
“There’s just no need for the snobbery around frozen veg, It’s brilliant value, keeps for longer and often has higher nutrient density than some fresh veg which has been sitting in chilled warehouses for weeks.
Finally, she says social media is a great tool for scoping out great budget meals.
She said: “It’s a fantastic free resource full of recipe creators and the comments section are the equivalent of trip advisor!
“If they don’t work, you’ll be able to see, if people are raving about it, it’s probably a great recipe!”
Grace’s £2 family meal ideas are as follows, with all prices based from Aldi:
Seriously Garlicky Seafood Spaghetti
INGREDIENTS:
500g spaghetti – 28p
250g seafood sticks – 99p
1 tin of chopped tomatoes – 35p
1 bulb of garlic – 16p
1 red onion – 12p
TOTAL = £1.90
METHOD:
Slice the onion and mince the garlic.
Add both to a large saucepan with a good drizzle of oil and fry until golden.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and bring to a simmer.
Dice the seafood sticks and add them to the bubbling tomato sauce.
Meanwhile, boil the spaghetti according to packet instructions, saving a little pasta water before draining it.
Once the pasta is cooked, add it to the sauce along with the reserved pasta water and give it a good season (if you wish).
Serve!
Chicken, Broccoli & Potato Pie
INGREDIENTS:
1 whole broccoli – 75p
2 baking potatoes – 25p
1 tin cream of chicken soup – 67p
Total = £1.67
METHOD:
Turn the oven to 200 degrees fan.
Slice the whole broccoli (including the stalk) and chop one of the potatoes into cubes.
Add both to a large pan with a good drizzle of oil and sauté until the potato has crisped up.
Then transfer to an ovenproof dish if you don’t have a cast iron pan (if you do, leave it in the pan) and pour over the chicken soup.
Give it a good mix.
Finely slice the remaining potato and arrange over the top of the top.
Brush the potato slices with a little oil and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until the potato on top is golden and crispy.
Then remove and serve.
You can add any random veg you have lying around into this or perhaps some fried bacon lardons if you wish but it’s delicious on its’ own and very filling! Alternatively this makes a lovely side dish with roast chicken.
Roasted Carrot & Coconut Soup with Garlic Bread
INGREDIENTS:
1 kg of carrots – 66p
1 tin of coconut milk 79p
1 garlic baguette – 37p
1 stock pot (I used chicken but veggie is fine) – 25p
Total = £2.07
METHOD:
Turn the oven to 180 degrees c fan.
Peel and chop the carrots and add them to a lined tray along with some oil. Season if you wish with salt and pepper.
Roast the carrots for 1 hour.
After which, remove them and add them to a food processor along with the coconut milk, stock pot and 500ml of boiling water. Blitz until smooth.
Add the mixture to a large saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer.
Meanwhile, place the garlic bread in the oven for 15 minutes.
Serve!
Refried Butter Bean Flatbreads
INGREDIENTS:
1 drained tin of chickpeas – 55p
1 drained tin of butter beans – 59p
1 red onion – 12p
500ml of plain yoghurt – 35p
2 cups of self raising flour – 40p
Total = £2.01
METHOD:
Turn the oven to 200 degrees (fan).
Add the chickpeas to a lined tray along with a drizzle of oil and season if you wish.
Once the oven is up to temperature, roast for half an hour.
Combine 400ml of yoghurt with 2 cups of self raising flour and bring together to form a dough. If too wet to handle, add a little extra flour.
Roll the dough into flatbreads on a well floured surface – it makes approximately 8.
Add the flatbreads one by one to a hot frying pan with a little oil and fry on both sides until golden.
Slice the onion in half and dice both halves – add one half to a frying pan with a little oil and fry until crispy then add the butter beans. Once the the mixture starts to dry out – add a little water to loosen it and break the beans down, then bring to a simmer.
Finally, add the other half of sliced onion to a bowl with a sprinkling of salt to part-pickle them.
Then assemble the flatbreads with a spoonful of leftover yoghurt, refried beans, roasted chickpeas then pickled onion and serve.
(I added a little coriander and chilli sauce to mine but they are delicious as they are.)
Pea Green Crispy Gnocchi with Pangrattato
INGREDIENTS:
500g gnocchi – 99p
2 cups of frozen peas – 40p
1 sliced red onion – 12p
1 vegetable stock cube – 5p
1 slice of white bread, grated – 2p
Total cost = £1.58
METHOD:
Add the peas, stock cube and 100ml of water to a food processor and blitz until smooth then set aside.
Add the onion and gnocchi to a hot frying pan with a little oil and fry until crispy and golden.
Finally, add the grated bread to a separate frying pan with a good glug of oil, season if you wish and fry until crispy and toasty.
Then add the sauce to the gnocchi and bring to a simmer. Top with the crispy breadcrumbs (pangrattato) and you’re done!
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