Tag: family meals

Savvy mum dishes up portion for 62p!

A savvy shopper has revealed how she dishes up tasty home cooked meals from scratch from just 62p a portion.

Mum of two Laura Light cooks up family favourites including carbonara, chicken chow mein and slow cooker peach chicken for pennies, with enough leftovers for her husband to enjoy at work the next day.


Laura, from Southampton, has been shopping frugally for years, after bringing her weekly spend down from £215 a week to just £40 after she had her second daughter eight years ago.

Now she shops at discount retailers, relies on own brand products and uses meat in great value hampers from online food retailer MuscleFood.com to keep her costs down.

Laura meal plans each week, always shops with a list and checks her cupboards, fridge and freezer to make sure she’s using everything with no waste.

Among her favourite family meals using meat from MuscleFood.com is carbonara at just 62p per portion, slow cooker peach chicken coming in at 67p each, Chinese beef stir fry at 99p per portion and maple and honey pork loin traybake for a pound each.


Laura also rustles up tasty sausage rolls for packed lunches which cost her just 22p each to cook.

Laura who runs the blog Savings4SavvyMums said: “When we first seriously looked at our finances eight years ago, I was shocked at just how much we were spending. We went from two salaries to one so we had to make some serious savings.

“I found that making small changes was the best way for us to cut costs. Small things like my husband taking leftovers for lunch saved £3 a day, switching to the budget own brand lines saved us a fortune and buying in bulk to keep costs down.

“Now, with food prices going up all the time, my strict budgeting and everything I’ve learnt over the last eight years is really helping us keep costs down.

“Buying our meat in bulk from MuscleFood certainly helps. I’ve always bought chicken in bulk and the quality from the online retailer means I use less meat than if I was buying frozen, essentials chicken from the supermarket.

“For example, I use two chicken breasts for the four of us in my chicken chow mein. That provides enough for all of us for dinner in the evening with leftovers for the next day. I’m making that for 77p a portion so it’s a really cheap, healthy meal.

“My children love chicken nuggets and chips, just like all kids, so rather than buying them frozen, I’m making them from scratch and saving money.”

Laura continued: “Cooking from scratch really can save you cash and it doesn’t have to be as time consuming as people may think.

“When I recently made beef lasagne I compared making my own sauce to buying the cheapest, own brand sauces from the supermarkets. Mine worked out at 15p cheaper. Those 15p’s soon add up.

“Cooking and eating on a budget is now more important than ever so I’ve put a few tips together to help people wanting to save a few pounds on their weekly shop.”

Here are Laura’s top tips for budget cooking:

  1. Check your cupboards and freezer – always check what you already have before you go shopping. Tinned and frozen veg are great staples to have – you can use them in anything and they taste good too. There’s also zero food waste.
  2. Use the slow cooker – make the slow cooker your friend, If you’re short of time, throw it all in before you head out and cook on low for around eight hours. You can prep and freeze bags of meat and veg to pop in the slow cooker. Just remember these will retain moisture so finish off the last 30min to an hour of slow cooking with the lid removed.
  3. Eat own brand – always buy the cheapest own brand item and move up to the next one if you don’t like it. Most people can’t tell the difference. This is a no-brainer with pasta, rice and budget vegetables.

To find out more about the ingredients Laura uses, please see here:

https://www.musclefood.com/black-friday-two-penny

Feed your kid on a budget during the summer holidays

 With food prices rising amid the cost-of-living crisis, parents are being provided helpful ways to feed their children during the summer holidays.

The penny-pinching experts at NetVoucherCodes.co.uk have looked at affordable ways to plan family meals throughout the summer break.

As supermarkets and fast-food chains increase their prices at the highest rates in over a decade, many parents are worried about the cost of feeding the kids during the holidays.

To support parents in the UK, restaurants and garden centres are offering discounted meals for kids to eat out, but there’s also simple methods to save money when cooking for the family at home.

Mitch Barnes, online consumer expert from NetVoucherCodes.co.uk said: “We wanted to give parents a helping hand this summer, as many will feel the pinch of rising food costs in their weekly expenses.

 “There are numerous schemes available this summer with a wide range of pubs and supermarket restaurants offering special discounts for kids to eat out. 

“But we also wanted to provide simple ways for parents to save money on making meals at home for their children during the holidays.”

Here are NetVoucherCodes.co.uk’s budget-friendly ways to feed your kid on a budget this summer:

Picky bits for dinner

A classic British summer favourite which many households are familiar with this summer. To make the most of the leftover meals, leave them in the fridge overnight and get creative about which bits can be used for dinner. This tip will save you from making a last-minute trip to the supermarket.

Batch cooking

Many parents use this effective way to make batches of school lunches in the week. Use this tip throughout summer by freezing your food and allocating which days the kids can tuck into a delicious meal without going out to buy more ingredients.

Shop around for summer deals

If the local supermarkets are near one another, don’t be afraid to venture out to each store to work out which has the best offers. Most shops will be near the end of summer discounts, which means the chances of finding even better deals are at an all-time high.

Discounted pub meals

Local pubs are providing a variety of discounts for kids to eat cheaper this summer, from half price fish and chips to chicken nuggets for a dime. Head down and find out which are available.

A trip to the garden centre

Taking the family to the garden centre is the perfect summer day out, with fresh flowers, gardening tools and this summer – discounted meals. Lots of centres are taking on the helping kids this summer initiative, so look up your local garden centre to see what offers are available.

Cheap meals at supermarket restaurants

Throughout the summer holidays, many supermarket chains are offering further discounts on kid’s meals to help with the rising food costs. Have a look at which ones are offering free meals, with many promoting a £1 dine out option.

‘Once a week’ rule

Set some time aside for a family meal out by using the ‘once a week’ rule where you either dine out weekly or you get a takeaway of your choice as a family treat. This way you can plan around your food shops so less food will be wasted, which will also help to prevent overspending allocating food budgets.

Social media budget recipes

Everyone has a favourite social media recipe which has become a weekly make. But if you’re unsure of any meals which can be added to your cookbook, explore social media apps for simple recipes which will cost less than a fiver to make.

Family pizza making

Instead of the Saturday night takeaway, it can be a proper family get together making your own homemade pizzas. While the children are off school it’s a perfect initiative to use this to spend quality time with them, without having to splash a fortune on takeout.

Yellow stickers before scheme ends

The best before scheme is phasing out, so it’s important to make the most of a late minute dash to the shops for reduced labelled food. Have a look in the evenings and on a Sunday afternoon to have the best chance of securing food on a budget.

Family meal plan

It’s best to be organised when planning meals to save the extra pennies. To make this more creative, mark each day with a different colour pen and decorate with stickers when it’s time for a special dish or a day when you’re dining out. 

Try veggie days

Meats typically cost the most on weekly meals. If you decide to swap the meat for veggie choices it can save around a third on select meals during the week. Have a look at meals which don’t involve meat or try out some delicious veggie options for half the price.

For budget-friendly ways to feed the kids during the summer holidays, head over to NetVoucherCodes.co.uk.