Cut down your waist and your waistline with some common sense cooking
ACCORDING TO research by stopfoodwaste.ie, one-third of the food we buy is wasted, which means every year we throw up to €1,000 worth of groceries in the bin. Let this be the year you start saving money by becoming cleverer in the kitchen.
We all know people that seem to have this budget meal thing sussed. They can whip up restaurant quality meals with a few spices, a couple of tired courgettes and some mystery ingredients languishing at the back of the cupboard. Never mind a fiver, some of them can work wonders with 50 cent.
But while not all of us are culinary creatives we can still save money simply by sticking to a few common sense rules: take stock of the food you already have, plan meals for the week ahead, stick to the shopping list, and compare prices.
Most of all, on those evenings when you look in the fridge or cupboards and think “there’s nothing for dinner”, think again. I’ve got a canny friend who regularly writes the oddest combination of ingredients into Google and is rewarded by links to websites featuring recipes for perfectly tasty meals she would never have dreamed of.Indian courgette surprise, anyone?
THE EXPERT
One woman who nows her onions and everything else when it comes to budget meals is Marie McGuirk from the Irish Country Woman’s Association. McGuirk is now a celebrity chef, having appeared on RTÉ reality TV programme ICA Bootcamp. She is passionate about saving money on meals and has plenty of tips for being clever in the kitchen.
“I find these days that people, younger people especially who might have been more reliant on takeaways and processed foods when they had more money, are much more interested in finding out about cooking and healthier options, so that’s really positive,” she says. A cookery course she held recently for 50 people ended up with 65 people crammed into the room. “They just wanted to know the basics, there were lots of young people there.”
McGuirk thinks it’s useful to look back to how our parents and grandparents prepared meals. “They were really inventive when it came to making interesting meals out of a few ingredients. They used every part of the animal and wasted nothing. Women in particular are often found to have iron deficiencies today because eating offal has become unfashionable, yet the liver and heart and all the rest are very high in iron and keenly priced.”
She suggests developing a relationship with suppliers in butchers or fish shops who will tell you about cheaper cuts and special offers. “They are also great at telling you how to cook what you buy. Ask them how they prepare stews or casseroles. Take the leaflets they have with recipes. In my experience, butchers and fishmongers are really interested in helping people get the best from the produce.”
And when you get your groceries home she says to make sure to keep an eye on portion sizes. “One reason we throw so much in the bin is that we cook too much in the first place,” she says. Her top tips are to “think ahead. For example, if you are making a bolognese sauce, cook double the amount, use one half for lasagna and freeze the other half for use in another meal.” Another of her suggestions is to chop, blanche, cool and freeze vegetables if you find you are not going to use all that you have bought. They can be added to soups, stews or casseroles when needed. She views throwing out leftovers as a cardinal culinary sin because you should always find a way to incorporate them in the next day’s meals. McGuirk is a big fan of Love Food Champions in the UK, an initiative run by two organisations, Love Food Hate Waste and Women’s Institute, which help families cut the food they throw away by half and make huge savings on their food bills. “Perhaps we could do an Irish version and make those savings at home,” she says.
Turkey meatballs with pasta
Serves four and costs less than €5
450g/1lb minced turkey
50g/2oz fresh breadcrumbs
1 onion, very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
Salt and pepper
1 tin of tomatoes with herbs
Pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
150ml/ ¼ pt water or stock
1 red pepper sliced
1 grated carrot
1 tbsp oil
375g/12 oz pasta of your choice
Place the turkey, half the onion and half the garlic into a bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, mix well and season. With damp hands, form the mixture into balls about the size of walnuts and leave aside in a cool place while you prepare the sauce.
Heat the oil and cook the remaining onion, garlic and red pepper together for five minutes. Add the tin of tomatoes, the stock, the grated carrot and a pinch of chilli (if using).
Pop the turkey into the sauce and cover with a lid. Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Add more water if the sauce becomes very thick. Season.
Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions and drain. Divide the pasta between four bowls and serve the meatballs on top.
RI
