A mum has shared her shockingly simple methods for cooking up delicious, healthy meals for less than the cost of your average meal deal.
Gemma Loveden's passion for dishing up heart-warming meals for her six children led her to develop her skills as an amateur chef while resorting to clever hacks to save money, as the cost of living crisis causes food prices to soar.
The 36-year-old, who lives in St Helens, turned to social media to share her recipes, amassing more than 71,000 followers on her Facebook page, Foodie Family Meals, where parents are invited to share their own tasty creations.
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Gemma said: "Feeding my family, it's always a joy when you see them eating healthy, nutritious meals. I find it relaxing as well. I enjoy putting my own unique twist on things. Spag bol week after week can get a bit repetitive, and I just love making a meal a bit different, and sitting around with the family at the end of the day over the table, having a good chin-wag and a nice meal."
Gemma uses her page to share her twists on family favourites, such as bolognese with Mexican spices topped with hashbrowns, peanut butter and jam pancakes, chicken kiev pasta, and cheesy fish fingers served with macarino cheese. She also uses her platform to share her simple money-saving ideas, such as swapping Heinz ketchup for ALDI's own brand, choosing discounted "wonky" fruit and veg, adding lentils or pulses to meals to keep you full for longer, bulk-buying pasta and rice, shopping in-season and adding mustard to cheese sauce to bring out flavour and cut down the amount of cheese needed.
She said: "No matter how much money we have, we all want to save a little bit. Getting feedback from people has brought home to light how much it's helping people. The overwhelming response has been really emotional and lovely.
"I always say if I can only help one person, that's brilliant because I'm going my little bit in the world. If we're all kind to each other and help each other along, we're all playing our part."
Here are just a few of Gemma's tried and trusted recipes, all measured to suit a family of four. Remember, several of these ingredients - pasta, butter, flour, spices, frozen peas - come in quantities big enough to make several meals, meaning these recipes will usually turn out cheaper than the listed cost!
Chicken Kiev pasta
- 300g spaghetti - 28p, ALDI
- 500g thinly sliced chicken - £2.89, Lidl
- Frozen peas - 55p, Tesco
- 1 onion - 79p per 1kg, ALDI
- 6-8 cloves garlic - 95p per 4-pack, ALDI and Lidl
- Knob of butter - £1.99 per 250g pack, various
- Handful chopped parsley - 60p, ALDI
- 200ml chicken stock - 52p per 12 cubes, ALDI
- 100ml double cream - £1.19 per 300ml pot, various
- Paprika - 59p per 40g pot, ALDI
- Salt - 49p per 750g pot, ALDI
Coat the chicken with salt and paprika, then brown in a pan with butter and onion. While this is cooking, cook the pasta in salted water. Once chicken is almost cooked, add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes, then add peas and chicken stock and allow the mixture to reduce. Once thickened, add the parsley and stir in cream. Drain the pasta, then add it to the sauce and serve with a garnish of more parsley on top.
TOTAL: £10.05, £2.50 or less per portion
Hunter's sausage, mash and peas
- Cumberland sausages - £1.75 per 8-pack, ALDI
- Streaky bacon - £1.40 per 14-pack, ALDI, Tesco
- Barbecue sauce - £1, Tesco, Asda
- Red onions - 65p per 1kg, ALDI, Tesco
- Cheese - £2.65, Lidl
- Frozen peas - 55p, Tesco
- Potatoes - 62p, various
- Butter - £1.99 per 250g pack, various
- Mixed herbs - 55p, ALDI
Cook the sausage, then wrap in streaky bacon and cook under the grill. Pan fry onions, then layer on top of the sausages with barbecue sauce, cheese and mixed herbs, then grill for a further 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with buttery mashed potatoes and peas.
TOTAL: £11.16, £2.79 or less per portion
Sausage stroganoff
300g spaghetti - 28p, ALDI
- Cumberland sausages - £1.75 per 8-pack, ALDI
- Red onions - 65p per 1kg, ALDI, Tesco
Frozen peas - 55p, Tesco
- Plain flour - 58p per 1.5kg, various
Butter - £1.99 per 250g pack, various
300ml beef stock - 52p per 12 cubes, ALDI
Dijon mustard - 55p, ALDI
Crème fraîche - £1.05 per 300g pot, various
Steak seasoning - 99p, Morrisons
TOTAL: £8.91, £2.22 or less per portion
In a pan, make a roux with 50g butter and 50g plain flour, then add beef stock. Add 2tsp of steak seasoning and 1tsp of dijon mustard. Remove sausage meat from sausage casings and cook in a separate frying pan with diced onions. Boil pasta in salted water with some peas, then add to sauce with cooked sausage, onions and a few spoonfuls of creme fraiche and stir together.
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