Cheap meal recipes

With the cost of living crisis becoming very real for everyone across the country, we want to help as much as we can here at Good Housekeeping. Food prices have sky rocketed, making the basic need of eating and feeding our families a very costly business. However, making some small changes to your weekly shop and the way you cook can make a huge difference.

Making a shopping list stops you from buying unnecessary ingredients and in turn spending unnecessary money by being tempted with eye-catching luxuries. Another way to save is by cooking with more grains and pulses. They are cheap to buy, fill you up easily and can be used to bulk out recipes to make them stretch further.

Waste nothing; this is absolutely key, not only will you be saving money but you’ll asp be saving the planet, win win! Add the remaining veg and meat that’s left in the fridge at the end of the week to a soup or stew. Another way to save on waste is to freeze your leftover bread that would otherwise go stale, veg and fruit that would otherwise go mould, and entire meals that won’t get eaten otherwise. Follow our guide on freezing if the thought of it makes you nervous. We have plenty of freeze-ahead inspiration to prevent you from getting bored with the same old go to recipes!

Go vegetarian or vegan for some of your meals. Vegetables are much cheaper than meat and you’ll be doing you bit for the planet too!

Cook recipes from scratch rather than buying pre-made things such as sauces or bread and always, always save leftovers from the night before for lunches or dinners the next day.

Finally, get organised and write a meal plan for the week. This will ensure that leftovers and remaining veg and meat is accounted for, preventing unnecessary purchases and avoiding waste. Batch-cooking is also of way of saving money and using up all of the ingredients you bought the week.

We understand that the cost of living crisis is incredibly worrying, and we can’t solve it, but we’re here to help as much as we can. Read our advice on how you can receive help during this troubling time.