Healthy eating on a budget
In Australia, we have had 10 our interest rate raise since 4 May 2022. Yes 10. A lot of households are feeling the pain of cost of living. Now we are a family of 4 with young children. For us, we have to adjust our spending to meet all these costs. Here are my tips:
1. Cut down on takeaway food... this mean some planning
Wait .. what? Cut down on takeaway food? What about those sport training when the ki
ds are eat
ing in the car at 7 pm? Getting organised and planning ahead would save a small fortun
ate.
Have some ready to eat foods ready to eat in the fridge is very handy. We usually have a packet or two of tofu, either plain or flavoured ready to go in the fridge. Tofu are great for wraps or sandwiches on the go. Or if the family is having dinner at home, one of the kids favourite is a packet of instant noodle with tofu, and a big serving of mixed vegetables. Our go-to are bok choy, sliced cucumber, wombok and mushrooms.
2. If possible, use a 'base' sauce for everything.
Instead of bottles and bottles of different pasta sauce, try tomato paste. For a
tomato based pasta sauce, take 2-3 big spoonful of the tomato paste, adding some crushed garlic, Italian herb mixed, salt and some water. Now you have a DIY tomato sauce that is very budget friendly. You can adjust the taste of the sauce easily. You can even get creative and use some wine or stock to add extra flavour. This leads to my next point.
3. Learn to make white sauce from scratch.
Ok guys. This doesn't sound as scary as this sound. It is really quite easy
and as student dietitian, I learnt it in TAFE. Basically you make a 'roux' first by cooking equal part of fat (I usually use olive oil) and flour. Once this roux is done, add your liquid gradually while whisking until you have the consistency that you like. I just use whatever plant-based milk I have at home. My favourite is a combination of almond milk and soy milk as I find it gives me a medium body sauce. Once the sauce is thicky and silky, add whatever flavours you like. Salt, pepper, mustard, garlic, nutmeg, rosemary, or even mushroom to make a mushroom sauce. This takes extra 1-2 minutes but over time, it becomes second nature.
4. Make some meals in bulk and freeze for a convenient meals served in minutes
How many t
imes did I order takeaway because I either couldn't bother to cook, or not enough ingredients to cook a decent meal. So having these homemade convenient meal is super easy and does save myself from myself!
There are many more other tips of healthy eating on a budget. I will be writing more in future blogs. Until next time.
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