Sophie Gray's Tips for Great Value Meals

We have teamed up with Sophie Gray from Destitute Gourmet to put together some great tips and tricks for eating better for less.

Meal Planning

When you're shopping and planning your meals, it's a good idea to think about dishes that are really good at making a little bit of something go a long way. For example, a stir fry or risotto will make a little bit of good quality meat go further. It's packed with seasonal vegetables, so it's also filling, quick and easy to make.

Pulses and Legumes

One of the easiest ways to make meat go further is to add pulses or legumes such as beans, lentils and chickpeas. These are a great way of extending a meat dish without compromising the nutritional profile. You can use the canned variety which you can add straight into the dish but if I’m making mince dishes, I like to use uncooked red lentils as they break down in the recipe and the kids can’t pick them out!

Chopped Veg

Adding some chopped seasonal veg is a really easy and obvious way to make a meat mixture go further. We want to make sure that our veg is in season so that it's affordable. Ideally chop it finely or grate it so the kids can't pick it out. Some veg are actually going to contribute flavour to the dish as well. Celery and mushrooms have got natural umami characteristics that will make the dish more savoury and tastier, as well as making it go further.

Buying Seasonally

Buying your vegetables in season not only means it will be cheaper, it also ensures you have variety in your meals year-round. Depending on what’s on special at the supermarket, you can often swap out broccoli for cauliflower or maybe swap the summertime salad for a slaw in winter.

Use frozen or canned veggies

Don’t look past frozen or canned veggies either – sometimes it’s just as tasty and so much easier to have these on hand, especially broccoli, cauliflower, beans, peas and corn – all just as delicious when frozen.

Get creative with your mince

Rather than eating your little bowl of leftover mince straight from the fridge, why not use it as a pizza topping?

BONUS: Leftovers Tip

If freezing leftovers, put it in a little ziplock bag so you can flatten it right out in the freezer meaning it will take up less space and defrost much quicker.