Put together a thrifty meal

Lbreaks on 13/07/2014 - 14:56
Last edited 13/07/2014 - 20:34

After following the discussion here, I figured a sub-thread where OzBargainers could step up to the challenge of putting together a thrifty yet healthy meal would be interesting.

Your mission should you choose to accept it is to create a meal from readily available ingredients within these constraints:
- Around $3 or lower per adult serve (not strict).
- Prices should be readily available to a large population (weekly specials, local market are OK).
- All ingredients must be included in the cost (nothing like the "coles - feed a family for $10" nonsense).
- You have tried the recipe and it is edible ;)

Any other $$ saving tips or ideas on meals are welcome too.

Food & Grocery

Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 13/07/2014 - 16:39
    +16

    I have nothing to contribute, but I'm looking forward to the results :)

  • scrimshaw on 13/07/2014 - 16:52
    +8

    My personal saving strategies are:

    Plan meals ahead
    Bulk buy and bulk prepare.
    Freeze unused portions.

    Also since I'm on Keto and carbs are my enemy, that means a lot of cheap but filling foods like pasta, noodle and rice are out of my diet. Most of my calories come from fat and protein intake.
    Weekly Shopping list from local grocery

    Avocado 4 pack ($2.99)
    1KG zucchini ($3.99)
    1KG tomato ($4.20)
    1 block of Colby cheese ($5) (this will last roughly 2 weeks)
    chicken breast ($7.50)
    Dozen eggs $2.99
    Woolies Mid Rasher bacon 1KG ($8.30)
    half a head of cauliflower ($1.59)
    Bok Choy, three bunches ($2)

    $38.56 dollars for 7 days worth of food. You do the averages.

    Assumed already in pantry:
    Condiments like sauces, salt and pepper
    Butter
    Cooking oil
    Tea or coffee

    A typical day will consist of

    Brekkie
    An avocado, plus a cup of unsweetened tea. Maybe a boiled egg if I'm peckish.

    Meal 1
    Oven roasted vegetables (tomatoes, zucchini, with cheese and bacon on top) with chicken. Throw everything in the oven and it sorts itself out.

    Meal 2
    Bacon, Cheese and Tomato Omelette, served with buttered cauliflower and steam bok choy.

    • goosegog on 14/07/2014 - 12:46
      +4

      CANNOT BELIEVE THESE PRICES YOU LUCKY PERSON !! In W.A. 1kg of cheese is $8.99 Bacon is $12.99 per kg. We really lose out over here - so unfair & don't get me started on the cost of meat - only want a kg. or a roasting joint - not the whole animal !!

      • scrimshaw on 14/07/2014 - 22:05
        +3

        Grocery is usually more expensive in less densely populated regions. Go out to the cheaper, denser suburbs and you will find much better prices.

        For those wondering where to get cheap grocery from, check out the Village Fresh Grocer located at Shop 4, 11A Bay Drive @ Meadowbank

        The specials for this week
        Navel Orange 74c per kilo
        Colavita Olive oil $5.99 per litre
        Spanish Onions $2 per 1.5 kilos
        Zammit Honey Ham $7.99 per kilo
        Roma Tomatoes $1.99 per kilo bag
        Short Cut Bacon $5.99 per 750g bag
        Berliner (a meat sausage) $8.99 per kilo
        Salami $19.99 per kilo

        For those living in the asian suburbs, won't have to go very far for cheap vegetables. Eastwood is my favourite joint to stock up on vege.

        • Diji1 on 15/07/2014 - 20:29
          +2

          To add to that if you live in a higher socio-economic area expect supermarket prices to reflect this. Or at least this is the case with St Peter's/Norwood area of Adelaide.

      • spiff on 16/07/2014 - 17:58

        Clearly not ozbargaining the grocery deals enough.

        Short cut bacon was $8.99/kg at Woollies the other week.

        Scotch fillet was $12.99/kg at Woollies last week.

        Whole chickens were $3.30/kg at Coles last week.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/07/2014 - 16:57
    +2

    Simple Mexican meal
    Taco kit from Old El Paso, Mission or generic $3 on special(includes taco shells,spice mix and taco sauce)
    500gm regular mince meat $3 Coles
    1 onion, 200gm lettuce, 1 tomato, 100gm shredded cheese, vegetable oil, -less than $4 combined pro rata
    Feeds 4 people for around $10

    This meal assumes you are going to use shredded cheese, lettuce and vegetable oil for other meals. Onions are $1 for a 1kg bag at Woolworths at the moment(ongoing price). Tomatoes are around $6 a kilo but a single tomato could be purchased for $1 if chosen carefully. $3 for a Taco kit is the half price special but at least one of the brands of kits are available at $5 each week. Some generic brands sell at less than this every week. If you factored the Taco kit at $5, the meal still works out at $12 which fits into the $3 per adult serve requirement. The meal has veg, meat, cereal and dairy so I hope that counts as being healthy.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/07/2014 - 17:54
    +5

    Thai curries. Easy. Or laksa.

    Jar of paste from Asian supermarket = <$4
    Tin of coconut cream/milk = <$2
    Pack of tofu or some meat = varies but still inexpensive, you don't need much for 4 meals.
    Veggies = whatever you want. Ie. whatever is on special :)

    and either serve with rice or rice noodles (or whatever noodles you want, really, there are no rules).

    • Diji1 on 15/07/2014 - 20:29

      Mmmm, mouth is watering after reading …

    • Fappo on 16/07/2014 - 01:05
      +2

      Mae Ploy curry paste, that stuff is dirt cheap and it's the business. So much better than the overpriced crap at Coles or Woolies.

      Don't cheap out too much on the cocout milk/cream though, or the curry will definitely suffer.

      • [Deactivated] on 16/07/2014 - 01:59
        +2

        Mae Ploy curry paste

        You're already steps ahead :)

        Love their red and green curry pastes. 400g plastic tubs last forever and so cheap. I usually grab a huge 400-ish gram tin of coconut cream (product of Thailand) too. Works out far better value compared to the regular tins in the supermarket.

        I still haven't found a great laksa paste though. Tried Por Kwan brand and it's delicious but gritty. Frustratingly, the tiny Valcom brand jar from Woolies (at something stupid like $5 a jar) is pretty good but does lack in taste compared to the Por Kwan one.

        Penta make an arse kicking tom yum paste. 450g tub for around $5 at my local asian grocery. Can't go without it in the fridge. mmm

        • Fappo on 16/07/2014 - 11:14

          Cool, thanks for the tip. I'll have to give the Penta Tom Yum paste a go soon.

          I'm just about to run out of Mae Ploy green curry paste, and that is not an acceptable situation!

        • mskeggs on 16/07/2014 - 20:12
          +6

          When I bought the big tub of Mae Ploy I scooped out the paste like I had previously with Passage to Asia or whatever the Coles/Worth brand is. Quite soon after that I discovered that it is about 3 times hotter!
          The kids still get edgy when the tub is on the bench.

  • [Deactivated] on 13/07/2014 - 18:40
    +6

    Basic spaghetti bolognese
    1kg regular mince $5 at Coles
    670gm tomoato paste, just over $2 using generic brand
    2 onions $1 as per Woolworths deal above
    garlic, sugar, salt, pepper plus other herbs and spices to taste plus vegetable oil $3 pro rata providing you will use them for other recipes.
    Spaghetti 65 cents for generic 500gm pack.
    There are at least 5-6 serves in this quantity. Freeze any excess and use for future meals.
    Add $2 generic garlic bread for a side if required.

    • goosegog on 14/07/2014 - 13:33
      +3

      Make your own garlic bread - it's cheaper & tastier.

      • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2014 - 13:40

        I have made my own garlic bread before and enjoy the taste.

        Garlic is about $15 a kg at the moment so if you don't have garlic in stock, buying one garlic plus the bread and butter puts the cost over $2.

        I suppose if you bought garlic for the above meal you'd have left overs which you could make the garlic bread with. The bread price will vary greatly depending on whose bread or rolls you use.

        • hothed on 14/07/2014 - 15:41
          +2

          I think garlic in a jar is much cheaper than fresh garlic.

        • devilbabies on 14/07/2014 - 17:31
          +1

          just break off and buy the number of cloves you need .. at $15/kg there's no way i'm buying a full bulb.

        • hahaboy on 15/07/2014 - 10:55

          Yup. as hothed said, get on the garlic jars. Super cheap.

          Also, additional hint, if you use a lot, go to a local indian store. They sell 1kg jars, which are fairly cheap from memory.

        • sagrules on 25/07/2014 - 14:12

          can you please add link to recipe

        • [Deactivated] on 27/07/2014 - 12:45

          @sagrules:

          Are you talking about the Spaghetti Bolognese recipe? This is just a basic recipe I have modified for my own family based on a hand written recipe by my mother-in-law. I'm sure there are lots of Spaghetti Bolognese recipes around on the web which are much better than my simple one. When I make garlic bread I just make things up as I go along. Garlic cut up or crushed, a bit of parsley and butter and some nice bread rolls or pieces of bread that just happen to be around.

      • mrmarkau67 on 16/07/2014 - 11:25

        Make your own garlic bread - especially out of stale bread you would have tossed anyway.

  • itajac on 13/07/2014 - 19:10
    +2

    Bean & Chorizo soup
    Berlotti beans $3 1/2kg (Deli)
    Pumpkin piece 500grms/$1 kg (grocer)
    Green beans 150grms= $2 (Aldi)
    Carrot 1 20c/ $1 bag
    Corn kernels 1cup = $1/$3 1kg pack (homebrand less sweet)
    Chorizo 1-2 $3/$10-20kg (safeway/deli)
    Add salt and a sprinkle of oregano to taste
    For approx. $10, I can make this soup which is hearty n tasty and healthy except for the chorizo (fried with a bit of oil) but that's what gives it the flavour. My kids love it n so do I .

    • Azn310 on 16/07/2014 - 10:05

      Chorizo 1-2 $3/$10-20kg (safeway/deli) .. I'm a bit lost here, $10 for 20kg of chorizo? I really need an address of that deli because my family would be set for life. Paying off mortgage would be a breeze

      • itajac on 16/07/2014 - 19:31
        +1

        Sorry typo, meant $10-$20 (dollars not kilos,lol). Sorry if I confused you, was trying to multitask (obviously a fail). I wouldn't recommend you only eat chorizo, cause as tasty as it is it will clog your arteries with delicious fat. :P

  • red-hot on 13/07/2014 - 21:15

    Potato & Ham Soup.
    I just found this recipe (ok, I didn't create it myself)

    http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/56927/delicious-ham-and-potat…

    and figured over 8,000 voters couldn't be wrong.
    It's yum, & can be varied with whatever meat or vegies are in the fridge/ pantry. The combination of creamy potatoes with the salty ham is a winner.
    I haven't costed it but I'd guesstimate it'd come in under $10 for all the ingredients for a whole family, plus leftovers! Enjoy!

  • [Deactivated] on 13/07/2014 - 23:52
    +1

    White bean tuna salad.
    1 can cannellini bean.Rinse and drain.
    2cans tuna in springwater or olive oil.we usually buy Serena when on special.
    Salad leaves or spinach
    Red onion ,sliced finely

    The rest can be found in yr pantry or yr neighbor's garden.
    Salt n pepper to taste
    Parsley
    Red wine vinegar
    3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    A pinch of dried oregano
    Lemon

    Optional
    1red chilli

    Toss it all together.squeeze juice of the lemon over salad.serve with toasted crunchy bread.

    Serves 2 adults n 2 kids.

    Variation
    Serve with some boiled pasta mixed in instead of with toasted bread.

  • spychiatrist on 13/07/2014 - 23:53
    +1

    My cooking is so bad that the food takes 2 days to finish because of the leftovers being recycled/reheated. My advise is cook crap and you'll save money because the food lasts for days. Saves you lots of time as well because you just reheat and serve.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2014 - 00:08

      Can you explain that in more detail? Curious about what you mean. What kind of meals are you preparing, etc?

      • mskeggs on 14/07/2014 - 11:11
        +4

        They mean if you cook something that tastes bad, it will make more servings as nobody is going back for seconds! ;-)

  • juventino on 14/07/2014 - 02:20
    +8

    1) Fried rice

    The beauty of it is you can chuck whatever you like in there

    • 200-250 gram of rice = 50 cents
    • 2 eggs = 50 cent
    • meat ( 1 can of tuna on special )= $1
    • vegies ( 2 stalks of celery or mixed frozen vegies ) = 50 cent

    plus a bit of salt and pepper or soy sauce .

    • Azn310 on 16/07/2014 - 10:01

      To the non-rice eaters. Rice cooker $20-30. Rice comes in a bag of 5kg, 10kg so at least $10 off your wallet. And some space for the rice to relax in your home for the next 12 months or so (because you are not likely to touch it until it goes bad)

      For the rice eaters, fried rice is definitely a cheap, fast and easy fix to get rid of things in your fridge.

    • postman on 29/07/2014 - 10:30

      Also taste great with spaghetti, pasta, noodle, etc (instead of rice).

  • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2014 - 04:09
    +3

    I gather that there are a couple of 'roadkill cookbooks' out there to be read, if you happen to drive in an area where wildlife carnage is high.
    Particularly thrifty way to eat, especially if you then use your hot engine block to do some or all of the cooking while you drive.

    'Panfried Possum', 'Wombat in White Sauce', 'Kangaroo and Kale' (extra healthy option).
    I'm sure that all of those recipes have been thought of before and along with others are all there to be read and tried by keen OzBargainers.

    Bon Appétit.

    • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2014 - 05:09

      Dijon-glazed Dingo rates highly as well… so I hear.

      • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2014 - 05:40

        Very fancy.

      • hahaboy on 15/07/2014 - 10:57

        but it ate my baby :'(

        • [Deactivated] on 16/07/2014 - 02:02
          +1

          That's what makes it so tender ;)

        • hahaboy on 16/07/2014 - 09:42

          @waterlogged turnip:

          oh fair enough. I can't resist. Pass me a slice please.

  • blackfrancis75 on 14/07/2014 - 10:03
    +4

    You can't get more Aussie than the traditional Kai See Minh, a.k.a Mock Chow Mein:
    * 500g mince
    * onion, diced
    * quarter cabbage, chopped
    * celery, sliced
    * 1 tin green beans
    * 1 packet Chicken Noodle soup
    * 2 tsp (Keen's) Curry powder
    * 3 tbsp long-grain rice
    * 3 cups water
    * splash of Worcestershire sauce

    Fry onion, brown mince, throw everything else in and simmer for at least 30 mins. Done.

    Some people add pineapple pieces, though I am not a fan.
    Easy mid-week meal. Family favorite through generations. Still good reheated left-overs; if there are any!

  • mskeggs on 14/07/2014 - 10:27
    +6

    Roast a chicken when on special or from a discount butcher, we get two 1.1kg small ones for $8. Roast potatoes and carrots/pumpkin/sweet potato, whichever is cheapest but figure $1 kilo. Add a green vegetable, and you are done for under $12 to feed 4 adults with left overs for sandwiches and soup the next day or two.
    You can make essentially the same meal but with $3kg chicken pieces dusted in seasoned flour for a variation.

    Another nice cheapie is a quiche. Line a greased oven proof dish with a sheet of frozen pastry, stir in a bowl 5 or 6 eggs, half a cup of homebrand thick cream, half a cup or a bit more grated cheese and whatever you like/have as left overs for flavour. I cube a small potato and pan fry it, chop up the scraggly left over bit of capsicum, a mushroom and rasher or two of bacon. Serves 4 for about $6, maybe less. Serve with a salad.
    I often make 2 as I have everything out and take the left overs for lunch.

    • rain on 17/07/2014 - 07:06

      alternatively get a whole chicken 1.9-2.1 ~$5-6, cut it up into breast, legs, thigh, wings. Make stock with the carcass and cook whatever you want with the rest
      Usually do a chilli/ burrito bowl with breasts
      chicken:
      Marinate breast (find online, though mine was pinapple juice, paprika, cumin, salt pepper, chilli)at least 1/2hr
      Dice breast into cubes and cook in a pan
      chilli/base
      Get some beans, black, kidney, whatever you favour
      Can of diced tomatoes, or regular tomatoes diced
      Also can add whatever vegies you like, corn, peas, potato, whatever you like

      Substitute Sour Cream with Greek yoghurt (1 kilo for $5, at smaller shops/ grocers)
      Guac- avo (bit expensive but do able)
      Cheese
      Lettuce or other salad you want add

  • goosegog on 14/07/2014 - 13:14
    +4

    Shepherds Pie - wholesome, nutricious & filling
    To feed 4
    MAIN DISH
    Apx. 500gm mince
    1 large onion chopped
    Handful of chopped mushrooms
    2 sticks of chopped celery
    1 can baked beans
    Squirt of both tomato & bbq. sauce
    Dash of both worcester & soy sauce
    1-2 tsp. of mixed herbs.
    Salt & pepper

    Method

    Brown mince, onion, mushroom & celery
    Throw in all other ingredients & cook for apx. 20-30 mins until smells wonderful & your tummy is rumbling with the thought of eating it.

    TOPPING

    Whilst the main part is simmering away - boil enough potatoes to make a mash to cover your cooking dish ( don't cheat & buy the ready made variety - won't be as good )
    When boiled, drain, add pepper, butter, milk & a small amount of grated cheese - mash up
    Cover the meat part of the dish with the mashed potato
    Top with a little more grated cheese & then a sprinkling of Paprika
    Grill the ready meal until brown.

    Serve with veg. such as carrots, beans, cauli.

    Lay back, burp & rub your full up tummy with happiness !!

  • DeWalt on 14/07/2014 - 14:20
    +1

    Some great recipes guys, thanks :)

    I've got a few other suggestions for under $10

    Pancakes with seasonal fruit
    Chicken in flour with spices, plus mixed veg on the side
    French toast
    Crepes with fruit medley
    Stir fry (beef strips, snow peas, etc)
    Omelette with cheese, parsley, onion & tomato
    Carrot soup
    Broccoli soup
    Pumpkin soup
    Cottage pie (vice shepherds pie)

    These can all be found on taste.com.au :)
    Eg.
    http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/35302/gluten+free+pancakes+w…

  • spy on 14/07/2014 - 14:40
    +18

    Mi Goreng. 35c per serving

    • altomic on 14/07/2014 - 20:55

      Woolies mi goreng - 21cents per serving

      • scrimshaw on 14/07/2014 - 22:13

        The Home Brand Mi Goreng is surprisingly pretty good. Not as good as the Indomie stuff though, because they give you very little chilli sauce and it's also of an inferior type.

        • Scrooge McDuck on 14/07/2014 - 22:30
          +2

          I have noticed that in the last 2 months Woolies has halved the amount of chilli sauce in their Mi Goreng sachets.

          You guys should try Aldi's Mi Goreng. They're tastier, you're not supporting a company which profits from human misery (Woolworths Ltd is the largest poker machine operator in Australia) and you're backing a competitor to the Coles-Woolies duopoly.

        • hahaboy on 15/07/2014 - 10:59

          @Scrooge McDuck:

          WOO! Go Aldi! Competition for the win.

        • owen777 on 15/07/2014 - 22:14

          There is no Aldi in Perth :(

    • Geewhizz on 15/07/2014 - 06:50

      Mi Goreng. 35c per serving

      Bottle of multivitamins $15, but I suppose once you divide it into 'servings' you're still within the specified budget. lol

      • hahaboy on 15/07/2014 - 11:00

        Let's see you not get hungry eating only mutivitamins.

  • StewBalls on 14/07/2014 - 14:45
    +5

    Frittata - use any meat/veggie leftovers/specials as desired (you can add meats/cheese as desired), chopped, put in baking dish & covered with lightly beaten egg & baked…yummy & healthy! :D

    • GafferFish on 15/07/2014 - 20:02
      +2

      Here's a link to my favourite frittata recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/light-frittata-78691

      I usually just chop up whatever veggies are cheap until there's a big bowl full, double the amount of eggs to 4 and add rolled oats on top before the cheese. Makes 4 servings, full of veggies.

      • StewBalls on 16/07/2014 - 20:06

        Nice, very similar to my usual version, although I usually omit the flour to keep the carbs down, but that's just personal preference! Cheers! :)

    • [Deactivated] on 16/07/2014 - 18:23

      Sounds delish. I would love to bake but it really takes too long (with preheating and actual cooking), not to mention it uses a lot of electricity. Prefer to do it on a sealed pan.

      • StewBalls on 16/07/2014 - 20:03

        You can microwave it, but the taste is not quite the same…

  • t_c on 14/07/2014 - 15:00
    +2

    3 Cheeseburgers for $3. done.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/151918

  • bs0 on 14/07/2014 - 17:45

    Keeping it really simple -
    Plain rice on special for ~ $1/kg
    Any kind of sauce, eg. Sweet soy sauce, $2-4/bottle

    Cook rice in rice cooker, serve with sweet soy (maybe pepper too).

    Honestly, I eat a lot of different foods but as long as i can remember, I've always liked plain rice.

    • scrimshaw on 14/07/2014 - 17:53
      +2

      Diabeetus?

      Try Japanese kewpie mayonnaise, it's amazing on steamed rice. In my poor student days I would make Japanese style fried rice with the Mayo and a little bit of garlic and onion. Smells so awesome afterwards

  • FourMills on 14/07/2014 - 18:29
    +1

    Food shelters are free. They don't even check if you're homeless so you can get a free meal all the time.

    • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 14/07/2014 - 19:16
      +3

      "Tip: Discarded pizza boxes are an excellent source of cheese"

    • HN Professional on 14/07/2014 - 19:47
      +1

      Oh you.

      It will take more than that to unseat either Davo93 or jv.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2014 - 19:17
    +5

    I'm female, healthy BMI trying this sugar-free diet and have lost 4kg in a month so far!

    Weekly Grocery Spend (Coles and Harris Farm)
    - Can of 4 Mixed Beans $1
    - Big head of Lettuce $2.50
    - 1kg Carrots $1
    - Size 18 Chicken $7
    - Dozen of Eggs $3.50
    - Avocado $2
    - Bread Weekly Special $3
    - Frozen Vegetables (last two weeks) $3
    - 2 cans of tuna in springwater $2
    - Random fruit $6

    I make salads, carrot soup, asian stirfries (with lots of vegetables), oatmeal, sandwiches. No chocolate, no junk food, I've curbed sugar from my diet to lose weight for summer. My pantry has staples like basmati rice, curry powder, pesto, etc. It's quite cheap to feed myself, only problem is when I go out on the weekends to eat. Ha.

    • mskeggs on 15/07/2014 - 07:23
      +3

      4kg is a lot to lose if you are already at a healthy BMI!

      • [Deactivated] on 17/07/2014 - 14:20

        True, but I'm quite skinny fat, BMI around 22, 24% BF. Aiming towards 18 BMI and getting ready for summer.

  • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2014 - 19:49
    +2

    Do people actually read posts before replying to them?? lol

    the challenge of putting together a thrifty yet healthy meal

    • juventino on 14/07/2014 - 19:53
      +2

      Look at the last line of the OP's post :)

      • [Deactivated] on 14/07/2014 - 20:46
        +4

        BRB - busy eating my own words. nom nom nom

  • Mikaela on 14/07/2014 - 20:35

    I will definitely have to try some of these meal suggestions

  • HN Professional on 14/07/2014 - 20:47
    +6

    Do not read this thread on an empty stomach; I've gone and ripped open a bag of Maxx, a party pack of Crunchie and Timeout, munching on them now….thereby defeating the purpose of reading this :-(

    • sandsay on 17/07/2014 - 05:55

      You're lucky for having snacks on hand. I only have green apples.

  • fredzfrog on 15/07/2014 - 00:59
    +1

    My safeway (I know its woolworths, but damn it, nostalgia!) sometimes puts out a trolly of older veges, you can bag up for $2/bag. wait around all day for the vege trolley and then make some vege soup at home. :)

  • ironsword on 15/07/2014 - 01:06

    Pasta Bolognese
    Pasta Remano Spaghetti 1Kg ALDI = $1.19
    Beef Mince Tasman Meats 2Kg = $8
    Passata tomato sauce Remano 700mL ALDI = $1.49
    Parmesan Grated cheese Westacre farms 100g ALDI = 1.69

    Each Serving = ~570 Cals = $0.81
    100g pasta = 158 Cals = $0.12
    100g beef mince = 332 Cals = $0.40
    140mL passata sauce = 58 Cals = $0.31
    5g cheese = 22 Cals = $0.08

    Add a bit of sugar/salt/pepper/herbs/chilli etc…

  • Cluster on 15/07/2014 - 02:36

    Brown rice and beans (bought dry in bulk and rehydrated). A multivitamin tablet every few days. There's a diet that will feed a survivalist OzBargainer for around $1 per day and sustain them in the long term.

  • r3ckless on 15/07/2014 - 06:19
    +2

    This is my thrifty but primariky healtht meaal

    3 boiled eggs with yolk
    1 can of olive oil tunA
    Half cup of brown rice
    Chilli

    • mash all together. Is so tastey

    500odd calories. Plenty of protein/fats/minimal carbs

  • hahaboy on 15/07/2014 - 11:07
    +5

    Beef stew:

    • Beef offcuts with bones and all - $10
    • Potatos, carrots, onion, garlic, pumpkin - $2 to $6
    • Goon bag wine (for stock) - $cheap
    • Beef stock cube + water - 20c
    • oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper - should be household staples. Cheap.

    Steps:
    - Brown off meat
    - Bang everything in one pot
    - Bring to boil and simmer
    - Leave on for 2-3 hous on low heat
    - Enjoy a delicious meal with some crusty bread

    Probably enough for 6-8 servings.

  • Mikaela on 15/07/2014 - 16:32
    +3

    This recipe is a regular in our household as it's quite cheap and we find it tasty

    Pasta Bake:

    About half a packet of pasta of your choice (we use Penne) (0.55c)
    500g beef Mince ($2.50)
    1 diced onion ($0.20)
    2 teaspoons minced garlic (0.10c)
    1 tin of canned diced tomatoes (0.79c)
    1.5 cups of frozen vegetables (0.30c)
    Shredded cheese to cover the top ($1.00)

    Cook the pasta as per directions on packet
    Brown mince and onion and add in the garlic
    Once browned add in tinned tomatoes and frozen vegetables
    Put the cooked pasta in a casserole dish and add the sauce mixture. Mix it around
    Add the cheese on top
    Bake for 20 minutes or so in a 200c oven

    Prices are approximate costs from Aldi. $5.45 total. Serves 3 adults nicely

  • infinite on 15/07/2014 - 17:03
    +7

    Meals are as cheap or as expensive as their ingredients. The steps to follow to get the cheapest possible meals =

    • Shop at the local markets for all fruit & veg at the "discount hour" (last hour of trading on the weekend). General rule of thumb is that you can pick up any in-season fruit & veg for about 1/10th the normal cost, so long as you buy 1kg minimum. If you eat well and live in a household of 2 or more, 1kg of carrots/broccoli/zucchini/cauliflower/capsicum/tomato/cabbage/lettuce/berries/spinach/onions/etc… should be getting consumed or close to it in 7 days, anyway.

    • Get chatting or friendly with a kid who works in the meat section at your local supermarket. Find out what times of the day the meat get's discounted. Come in at the hour of the day meat get's it's 2nd or 3rd discount, which is usually in the range of 45%-75% off. Coles/Woolies tend to discount later in the day, Foodland/IGA discounts heavily each morning. Assuming your a household or 2 or more, you can pick up a month's worth of beef/Chick/pork for $30-$40 easily, this way. Beef mince reduced down to $2-$3 a KG is an absolute bargain via this method, especially with how versatile it is. You can get chicken legs for as little as $1 a kg as well this way, which is great in a curry or simply just baked with a bit of wing-sauce on it.

    • Figure out cheap "bases" for meals. Stir Fry's & Curries for example are brilliantly cheap to make in large volume, as they can almost all be made from a tin of paste from the local Asian grocer, for under $2. You just add in the cheap veg & discounted meat mentioned above & your set. The old "veg" bake is a great cheap option for any meal of the day, too. Just toss in a pile of the leftover cheap veg you bought, fry it, toss it in a Pyrex dish with a bit of bacon and a couple of eggs / cheese & oven bake it till it set's. You can add Lamb for the vegetarians I guess.

    • Healthy & cheaper alternatives to rice & pasta. Believe it or not, rice and pasta per KG are easily replaceable with cheaper options if you can get them from the markets on sale. Julienne some zucchini & warm it for 30 seconds as a pasta replacement, or "rice" some cauliflower for a rice replacement. Both are awesome replacement options & completely take on the flavour of what ever you eat them with. Youtube is your friend for finding quick & easy video guides on how to do it, with little more than a $1 peeler for the zucchini & a stab mixer or blender of any type for the cauliflower.

    • If bread is your thing, hit up your local Asian bakeries. Most do actual fresh bread (unlike the shit sold at Coles/Woolies) for like $1-$1.50 a loaf & you can buy yesterday's loaves for toast for like $0.50c

    • Re-purpose large old buckets & $1 Tupperware from the charity shops as garden pots. Buy a couple of $2 herb packets from Bunnings to plant and you'll have Basil/Oregano/Coriander/Parsley/Chili/CherryTomato's/etc… all year round. The entire effort involved in maintaining them is a small sprinkle of water each day and that's it.

    • mskeggs on 15/07/2014 - 18:16
      +1

      You are looking for cheaper alternatives to rice and pasta!?!?!?
      Truly an ozbargainer!
      Considering about 10c worth of either is a meal it is a tough job.

    • scrimshaw on 15/07/2014 - 18:19
      +2

      Yeap, on paleo and keto cauliflower is a good rice replacement.
      You can eat it either raw or boiled or baked. All nice.

      There is something called Spaghetti squash which cooked, will easily turn into stringy form just like noodle.
      http://steamykitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/baked-sp…
      I have never seen it before though.

      Curry powder and onion is a must-have. Fry up the onions with a bit of oil and curry powder on a pan until fragrant. Then add whatever, for veg maybe some cauliflower, peppers or eggplant. Potato or lentil if you want carbs. Authentic indian for less than $3 dollars.

    • hahaboy on 17/07/2014 - 00:13

      just on the last point…some herbs aren't as simple as just sowing + water.

      They need fertilisers, proper ground, ideal weather and still don't always grow perfectly.

  • eathb on 15/07/2014 - 17:34
    +1

    Scrambled eggs and avocado on toast:

    1 Avocado: $0.50
    Pure egg white 100ml: $1.50
    Coles brand loaf of bread: $1

    Total: $3 exactly

    boom.

    • [Deactivated] on 15/07/2014 - 20:30
      +2

      Oh my, where do you get such cheap avocados? I just paid $2 for a small avocado, and that was on sale. I'm in inner Sydney.

    • Azn310 on 16/07/2014 - 09:55
      +1

      eathb is an avocado farmer

      boom.

  • eathb on 15/07/2014 - 17:41

    Alternatively, a toast sandwich:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toast_sandwich

    $1 for a Coles brand loaf of bread
    $1-2 for butter

    • mskeggs on 15/07/2014 - 18:18

      As youngsters my spouse and I used to have pizza toast a few times a week. A slice of bread, a little tomato paste, ham, mushroom, capsicum or whatever is left over from previous meals with a little grated cheese on top, grilled till it melted. Under 50c a serve and tastes pretty good.

  • Kyou mo Kawaii on 15/07/2014 - 17:48

    Chicken 'n' Mayo $2
    Small Fries $1

    Medium Soft Drink - Free from Student Edge

  • fcukinky on 15/07/2014 - 18:07
    +1

    I get a lot of ideas off this site for cheap meals and if you have a lot of the standard items in your pantry they work out cheap.. http://www.budgetbytes.com/

    • scrimshaw on 15/07/2014 - 18:14
      +2

      The Good And Cheap cookbook, which was recently posted on Ozbargain, contains some fairly simple recipes which won't break the bank.

      https://8b862ca0073972f0472b704e2c0c21d0480f50d3.googledrive…

      My favourites are the crustless quiche and the oven baked cauliflower. Made them last night and it was awesome.

      • superm86 on 18/07/2014 - 14:42

        That is nice to see people actually using these books and not just collecting them :)

  • fchis on 15/07/2014 - 18:12
    +1

    Given $3 for each adult, you can make dumplings or wanton soup noodles or fried rice/noodles with meat and mixed vegies, meat/sausage pasta and etc… The catch is you need to buy the ingredients in bulk to meet the price constraint.

    Its not that hard with $3 budget.

    • mskeggs on 15/07/2014 - 18:26
      +2

      For $3 per serve I can buy commercial wontons. Mrs Ho in Pitt St sells 50 for $15 (cash only).
      I serve 20 wontons, a small portion of rice noodles, a chicken thigh fillet, some bok choy and bean sprouts in a chicken broth to feed 4 adults. Total cost under $10. You can buy the chicken broth base in little sachets 5 for $1, and add a spoon of garlic, a little ginger and chilli to taste.

      Same for a fried noodle dish like pad see ew or mee goreng. 1kg fresh rice noodles, $3 at market. 500g chicken fillet about $4.50, some choy sum, garlic, sprouts, an egg or three, plus appropriate sauces. Certainly

      • [Deactivated] on 16/07/2014 - 18:26

        Wow, $0.30 per dumpling? I'm going to check that out. Thanks!

        • mskeggs on 16/07/2014 - 20:16
          +1

          Yes, but that is the frozen pork wontons. Chicken is about $0.50, prawn more still. They also do some mean portuguese custard tarts warm at $1 each!

  • GafferFish on 15/07/2014 - 20:19
    +1

    Garbage Soup is my go to recipe in winter.

    Ingredients:
    250g dried soup mix - $0.70c from Aldi
    1-2 onions - $0.40
    2t minced garlic
    vegetable soup stock powder
    vegetable oil
    whatever vegetables are cheap: celery, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, zucchini, turnips, parsnip, swedes - $1 to $2/kg at the local farmers markets

    Total cost: $4.00 at most
    Makes about 2L of soup - 4 to 8 servings depending on how big an appetite you have.

    Pour enough oil into your biggest pot to cover the bottom.
    Fry onions and garlic until translucent.
    Add the soup mix and chopped veggies.
    Add water until the pot is full and stock powder at the rate of 1t per cup of water.
    Cook for an hour or until everything is soft.
    Puree using a hand blender - turns the soup a nice garbage green colour and hides the flavours of the vegetables you don't like (but were very cheap).

    Serve with toast or crackers (I like the square ones from Aldi $1/250g)

  • mrluke on 15/07/2014 - 22:05
    +5

    I'm a single male with no time, not much interest in cooking but interest in health and fitness…

    So I buy whatever frozen fish (hopefully salmon) is on sale frozen usually can always get 2 pieces for like $4…

    20 minutes in the oven, 15 minutes later I put $1 frozen microwave vegetables in (I have all varieties in freezer so chose what I feel like), it's ready in 20 minutes while I'm not even watching… I spend probably 3 minutes in the kitchen for salmon and steamed veggies for $3… you can't really beat that.

    • mrluke on 15/07/2014 - 22:15

      And so veggies aren't plain I drizzle them with this garlic and chive vegetable sauce I got which is very tasty and a bottle of that has lasted me 3 months and I eat this meal 3 times a week on average… Sauce was $3 on special, I eyed it off for a while though…

      Or baked beans on toast costs about $1, eggs on toast 50c.

      If I want to live a little, I always buy on special frozen party pies/sausage rolls, goes half price all the time, so I get 24 for $6… 4 meals as I eat 6 in 1 sitting so again no cooking apart from turning on oven and it's a treat for $1.50 with a few squirts of dead horse…

    • mrluke on 15/07/2014 - 22:18

      2 snags in bread costs 50c… if you want to get fancy you can make mashed potato for another 50c…

  • mrluke on 15/07/2014 - 22:27
    +1

    Canned soup $1… don't forget time is money too! I'm not wasting 2 hours of my day making soup or buying 10 ingredients, following a fancy recipe only to balls it up somehow… and then you have a million dishes, need containers and fills your freezer…

    Or just nuke a can of soup, clean 1 bowl and 1 spoon, I've eaten and cleaned up before you have finished chopping let alone cooking with your stir fest and laksas and spaghetti Bolognese… it's like 3 hours of work when all is done and I can spend that time way better! :)

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