Links to our favourite low cost meals (Under ten dollars) – with the total cost of making the meal tallied up for you here.
While you are waiting for me to get my act together and tally up the cost of cooking my recipes -
check out Philippa Sandall’s website: Money Saving Meals
Philippa posts her recipes regularly on the Official Low GI News site, and this new site contains a wealth of budget ideas, which are low – medium GI range. Last month her book “Money Saving Meals” became available, only costs $19.95, and you can purchase it from Great Ideas in Nutrition
On this part of the site I’ll gradually demonstrate to you ideas to prevent great tasting healthy food from breaking the bank! Click on the picture or link to go to the recipe.
Baba’s blitva
Ingredients:
Silverbeet (Swiss Chard) $1.99
Garlic $0.99 for a bulb - four cloves used: $0.49
Olive Oil approx 40mL used - $4.99 for 500mL bottle: $0.40
Potato (4 small new potatoes) $1.10
Total cost: $0.99 per serve
Balsamic & blood orange marinated skirt steak
Ingredients:
Skirt steak $6
asparagus $2.50
Pumpkin $1.99
Beans $1.10
Blood orange (200g) $0.75
Balsamic vinegar $4.50 per 250 mL bottle
- 60 ml required
($1.08 used)
Total cost: $6.71 per serve
Apple and pear porridge:
Ingredients:
Oats, 500g $3.76
Granny smith apple 1.5kg $5.39 (for 8 apples)
Packham pear $4 (for 4 pears)
Skim milk (2L) $5.01
Ground cinnamon $1.42 packet
Nutmeg $2.90 packet
Total cost: $5.62 per day or $2.81 per serve
Hi Libby,
First off, love your site, have been checking it out for a while now. the puppies are so adorable. Good luck with the excercise, something I need to get into as well !
The recipe for Baba's Blitva looks delicious, I will be trying it this week and let you kow how it turned out. My Fella and I I LOVE garlic, and with the addition of Silverbeet, I know this will be a winner.
Keep up the fantastic work on your site, it is greatly appreciated.
S J McG
Thanks!! The Blitva is wonderful – it took me a few goes to make it well – my sister in law came around and showed me, and she was putting twice the amount of garlic in it that I was – so when I increased the garlic it was even more delicious! Also, we did a variation one day when no potatoes were available – we added half a bag of frozen peas at the frying stage. Then mushed the peas up to a semi puree – I liked it even better than the potato version – garlicky salty spinach peas… mmmmm!!
Hi great site. I have type 2 and have to live on a shoe sting, as my husband passed away 12 mths ago. and living in a small town of only 700 small shop and no car, Will be useing this site.
hi i have a question ? My dads doctor but him on a low glycemic diet for weight loss and doc said he has to eat a half cup of regular oatmeal every morning and my dad does not like oatmeal. Is their anything that could replace the oatmeal that has the same nutrition in it. please help
Hi Shelly, has he tried cooking oatmeal with other things? My husband also hates oatmeal, but when I stirred in a cup of grated apple and put a little honey over it, he said it tasted completely different, and enjoyed it. Maybe his Doctor could refer him to a dietitian to help with some ideas? Most Doctors know a little about nutrition, but dietitians know a whole lot more! I know that with a GP referral, many dietitians can also bulk bill, so it may not cost him much at all to visit an expert. Most people don't know that exercise physiologists can also bulk bill for patients with diabetes. You can get five government funded sessions with an exercise physiologist per year in Australia if you are diabetic. Here's some nutrition data for oats: http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/breakfast-cere... You can see from this that they are high in fibre and protein compared to other high carb cereals. This means they fill you up much better, especially if served with some low fat milk and fruit. I find if I eat porridge I skip morning tea (this is probably why your dad's doc suggested them – if you feel full you don't snack as much). Other foods high in fibre include nuts, beans, lentils, vegetables and fruits. So your Dad could also try choosing multigrain breads, eating things like minestrone, or stews with lots of vegetables, and snacking on a small handful of nuts (they are very moorish – and if you eat enough nuts, beans, & lentils you can still put on weight!! Portion size is very important. For a breakfast meal, a couple of slices of multigrain bread with a savoury spread, like low fat cheese, tomato, or with an egg, or low fat yoghurt with fruit and some muesli would keep him going just like a bowl of porridge!