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

Yoghurt

Natural and Greek yoghurt are both great in dressings, marinades, sauces and muesli.

Eggs

Use free-range whenever possible, especially for quiches, omelettes, stir-fries, cakes and Yorkshire puddings.

Salad

Lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions and mushrooms, to garnish.

Vegetables

Carrots, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower and leeks are good for quick meals.

Fruit

Apples, pears, lemons and limes are delicious in fruit salads, dressings and puddings.

HINTS, TIPS & SUGGESTIONS

On buying vegetables

When buying vegetables, see that the green ones are crisp and a fresh green colour, not yellow. Root vegetables should be firm and not coarse. Tomatoes should be firm and red, but if bought a little green can be ripened in a dark drawer. Potatoes should be firm and have no shoots. Lettuce and other salad vegetables should be crisp, not limp.

On cooking vegetables

Most vegetables should be cooked in a small amount of water and covered while cooking. When cooking frozen peas add 1 tablespoon of cold water to 500g peas with a knob of butter and a pinch of salt. Double the amount of water when cooking fresh peas. Cover the peas and cook on a very low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5–10 minutes.

Greens can be shredded and cooked with 4 tablespoons of water for 500g, a knob of butter and a pinch of salt. Cook until just tender but not soggy.

Spinach should not be shredded but covered and cooked with a drop of water and a knob of butter and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper. Cook on a low heat for 3–5 minutes.

Once the vegetables are cooked, drain them and save the liquid for stocks and soups.

On fan ovens

If the recipe you are following involves oven cooking and you have a fan oven, reduce the oven temperature by 20°C (68°F).

A NOTE ABOUT SHOPPING

An important tip to remember is to keep a ‘shopping purse’, that is, a purse used strictly for your weekly groceries. Say you want to allow yourself £33 for the week, put that amount in your purse at the beginning of the week. That way you can easily tell if you are keeping within budget.

Should you overshoot your weekly target in the beginning, this need not mean a failure to budget successfully; your weekly budget will gradually balance out.

A good way to keep within budget is to use up any ingredients you may already have in. This method is particularly useful towards the end of the week when you can use up ingredients in soups and stews.

TIPS FOR BUYING FOR OR

Obviously single people and couples can make great use of this book.

Most of the ingredients in the recipes can be divided more or less by two, and surpluses can be chilled or frozen for future use.

It is not advisable to buy large quantities of highly perishable foods. These should be bought daily or every other day.

A TYPICAL WEEKLY SHOPPING LIST

1 small roasting chicken

2 × 1.5kg plain wholemeal flour

1.5kg plain white flour

2 large tins of baked beans

2 × 400g tins of tomatoes

1kg porridge oats

500g raisins

500g red split lentils

500g wholewheat spaghetti

500g black-eyed beans

2 × 500g sunflower margarine

1 litre sunflower oil

2 tins of tuna

1 jar Marmite or Vegemite

115g houmous

700g Cheddar cheese

2 mackerel

900g frozen peas

5 litres milk

12 eggs

500g lean minced beef

5kg potatoes

1 small red cabbage

900g onions

450g carrots

1 head of broccoli

1 green pepper

garlic

120g mushrooms

1 cucumber

4 lemons

3 lettuces

600g tomatoes

1 bunch of bananas

900g apples

450g pears

12 oranges

BREAKFASTS

Perfect Creamy Porridge

Feeds 4

115g porridge oats

850ml milk (whole, skimmed or soy)

4 tsp soft light brown sugar, for sprinkling

1 tsp ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

Method

1 Bring the oats and milk to the boil in a large saucepan, stirring with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3–5 minutes, stirring continually, until creamy.

2 Serve sprinkled with the sugar and ground cinnamon.

– ALTERNATIVELY –

Be indulgent and cook with a knob of butter or add cream.

Simmer with chopped banana and raisins.

Top with stewed fruit – try apples, pears, plums or rhubarb.

Top with fresh berries, grated apple, sliced strawberries or prunes.

For a crunchy topping, add roasted sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts.

Chocolate Porridge

Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder or 100g of Fairtrade chocolate to the milk and sweeten to taste.

Toasted Oats with Raisins, Bananas and Strawberries

Feeds 4. Serve with milk or yoghurt

200g rolled oats

100g raisins

2 bananas, sliced

50g strawberries, sliced

caster sugar, for sprinkling, or runny honey, for drizzling

Method

1 Toast the oats in a large frying pan over a high heat for 3–5 minutes until browned.

2 Mix the toasted oats, raisins, bananas and strawberries in a large bowl then divide into 4 bowls and sprinkle each with sugar or drizzle with honey, as desired.

– ALTERNATIVELY –

Add different fruits according to what is in season, such as blackberries, mulberries or grated apple, or chopped nuts, dates and prunes.

Golden Apricot Granola

Feeds 6–8. Serve with fruit and milk or yoghurt

2 tbsp runny honey

2 tbsp soft light brown sugar

juice of half a lemon

100ml sunflower oil

300g large rolled oats

55g sunflower seeds

55g chopped hazelnuts

4 tbsp sesame seeds

55g sultanas

55g dried apricots, chopped

pinch of salt

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F), Gas 2. Place the honey, sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl and blend.

2 Gradually mix in the sunflower oil and then the dry ingredients until they are all coated.

3 Spread the mixture into 2 baking trays lined with baking paper.

4 Bake in the oven, stirring frequently, for 45–60 minutes until golden and crispy.

5 Remove the trays from the oven and allow the mixture to cool for about 40 minutes. When cool, break into lumps and store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Peanut Butter and Date Granola

Feeds 4. Serve with fruit and milk or yoghurt

4 tbsp runny honey

100ml sunflower oil

115g crunchy peanut butter

300g large rolled oats

55g seedless raisins

55g chopped dates

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F), Gas 2. Place the honey, sunflower oil and peanut butter in a large pan and warm over a low heat until the peanut butter has just melted and all the ingredients are starting to blend, then remove from the heat.

2 Add the dry ingredients and mix until fully coated.

3 Spread the mixture into 2 baking trays lined with baking paper.