Bernadine Lawrence - How to Feed Your Family for £5 a Day

Strange to think I wrote that back in 1991, and even stranger to go back all those years when I bought my first car – a 1950s Bentley MK VI, the most voluptuous car I’d ever seen.

So much has changed since then – the children have grown up, as children always do all too quickly before your eyes, and I am now a grandmother!

Mind you, I don’t feel it and am grateful to be fit enough to run around and play boisterous games with my grandchildren, which I put down to my good diet and genes. I’ve always been fascinated by the nutrients nature has provided to help us stay healthy and youthful and which you can easily find at your local greengrocer.

There’s a Victorian saying, ‘The healthiest feast costs the least!’, and it still rings true today. In order to stay within budget, it’s necessary to eat less red meat and more beans and pulses, which turns out to be healthier anyway. I know it’s incredible but after all these years, it’s still possible to feed a family of four a healthy diet for just £5 a day. This is because, fortunately, the cost of its staple ingredients – wholegrains, beans, pulses and chicken – has not risen sharply, and let’s pray it continues to stay that way in the face of rising food prices and increasing global food insecurity.

One key approach that can help you stay within budget is to plan meals as a weekly whole, rather than on a daily basis, so a week’s worth of meals can be made from one main ingredient. For example, a pot roast can become sandwiches, pies, stews, stir-fries and soups. Another, of course, is eating seasonal produce, which tends to be cheaper and fresher than produce bought out of season.

In order to keep within budget, I try not to waste food or throw it away, and turn leftover ingredients into meals. ‘Wilful waste makes woeful want’ after all, and food waste is a major global issue.

This updated edition of How to Feed Your Family for £5 a Day is even better than before, and not just because of the new, mouthwatering and simple-to-follow recipes. More than that, these recipes are based on a diet which is sustainable – better for the planet, better for the body and better for the purse, and they all use ingredients that are a cinch to get hold of.

Also included to help you avoid overspending is my Good Budget Guide, which includes Top Shopping Tips, a Seasonal Food Calendar, Uses for Leftover Ingredients and tried-and-tested advice to show you how to eat better and save money.

MEASURING GUIDE

The most accurate way of measuring with a spoon is to use level measures; that is, level off the top of the spoon with a knife. (A heaped spoon can contain anything from two to four times as much as a level spoon.)

Spoon Measurements

1 teaspoon = 5ml

2 teaspoons = 10ml/1 dessertspoon

3 teaspoons = 15ml/1 tablespoon

1 tablespoon = 15ml

1 level tablespoon sugar = 28g

1 heaped tablespoon flour = 28g

With a well-stocked store cupboard you can knock up a quick meal at any time with just leftover ingredients. It’s like having a meal for nothing!

Tinned Food

Fish

Tuna, sardines, salmon and mackerel are all rich in Omega 3 and 6. Great for tuna pasta, sardines on toast, fish cakes and salmon salad.

Beans

As well as baked beans, try red kidney beans for quick chilli con carne, butter beans in casseroles and chickpeas in curries and fresh houmous.

Tomatoes

Plum tomatoes, chopped and unchopped, are perfect for tomato-based sauces, pizza toppings, salsa, bolognese sauce and Neapolitan sauce.

Tomato purée

This is wonderful used in pizza toppings, tomato sauces, soups and casseroles.

Sweetcorn

Natural sweetcorn with only water added is perfect in pasta, salads or soups, or with tuna and mayonnaise in sandwiches or jacket potatoes.

Dry Food

Flour

Plain wholemeal flour is great for bread, pastry, crumble toppings and pancakes. Plain white flour can be used for sauces, cakes and for mixing with wholemeal flour.

Beans

Red kidney beans work well in chillies and salads. Black-eyed beans complement rice and peas. Butter beans are delicious in curries and stews. Mung beans are perfect in soups and for making home-sprouted beans.

Pulses

Green lentils/brown lentils taste great in pies, stews, curries, loaves and burgers. Red split lentils are so versatile and can be used in flans, pies, soups, stews, curries, loaves and burgers.

Sugar

Soft light brown sugar is best for cakes and crumble toppings.

Rice

Brown rice is packed with B vitamins and fibre.

Pasta

Wholewheat pasta is more nutritious than white pasta, and great for a quick meal.

Popcorn

Fast, healthy and delicious, popcorn is a great treat for kids.

Dried fruit

Raisins, currants, sultanas, apricots – add them to muesli, cakes and biscuits.

Spices / Condiments

Dried yeast to make your own bread.

Baking powder for cakes and biscuits.

Curry powder to make your own vegetable, fish, chicken or meat curries. Use in marinades and sauces.

Dried chillies are handy for spicing up meals.

Turmeric gives food a lovely flavour and yellow colour, and complements chicken.

Paprika is great in sauces, stews and marinades, and complements other spices.

Whole black peppercorns for freshly ground black pepper.

Coarse sea salt enhances flavours.

Nutmeg, whole cloves, cinnamon and ginger go well with sweet or savoury food.

Dried herbs such as parsley, sage, mint, basil and dill, for flavouring food with ease.

Jars / Bottles

Honey is great with pancakes, yoghurt, muesli, marinades, cakes and sauces.

Wholefruit jam – try it with pancakes and ice cream.

Peanut butter – try it with banana on toasted wholemeal butties, in satay sauce, stir-fries, smoothies, biscuits and crumble toppings.

Marmite or Vegemite are both great for making stocks, go nicely with tomato purée, work well in soups, casseroles, stews, curries, sauces, marinades and bastes, and (last but not least) are great on toast.

English mustard is delicious in dressings and marinades, and with roast meat and grills.

Olive oil – sauté or roast vegetables in olive oil and then add the oil to salad dressings and marinades.

Sunflower oil is lovely and light, perfect for cooking with, and for using in salad dressings and flan pastry.

Vinegar – malt, cider, wine and balsamic are all good in dressings, sauces and marinades.

Soy sauce is handy for seasoning stir-fries, stews, casseroles, soups and marinades.

Ketchup can be used to make delicious sauces and marinades, and children love it.

Salad cream – children love it on salad, especially with cucumber, or blended with tinned tuna or salmon for sandwich fillings and pasta dishes.

Fridge

Meat

Keep raw meat, poultry or chicken well wrapped and in the bottom part of the fridge where it is coolest.

Milk

Full-fat organic milk is rich in Omega 3. Soy milk is a good alternative.

Margarine

Sunflower margarine is high in polyunsaturates and is good in crumbles.

Cheese

Cheddar is handy for pizzas, quiches, flans, baked potatoes and pasta dishes.