Asmall - Tiny budget cooking: mealplans, shopping lists, ingredient swaps

Contents

Introduction

Hey guys,

Ive spent the last 10 years eating my way to budget-food happiness and now I want to share my knowledge with you. Im on a mission to show you that good, fresh home-cooked food is easy and fun to make, and most importantly can be personalized to your taste buds and lifestyle. All you need is a simple kitchen, this cookbook and the confidence to give things a go, and youll be feasting on delicious meals each week, all made on a tiny budget.

If theres one thing I can tell you, its that a smaller shopping bill does not have to mean loss of quality or flavour. The recipes in this cookbook use a variety of meat, fresh veg and tantalizing flavours all available at good supermarkets.

Nutrition is so important for body and mind, and this book loosely follows an 80:20 rule: 80% of the time youll be feasting on balanced nutritious food and, well, for the other 20%, lets just say we all need the occasional heap of fluffy pancakes or a hot chicken and cheddar melt!

From my research, Ive found there are four main obstacles to cooking delicious meals every day. These are: money, time, confidence and knowledge. You may find one or more of these are stopping you from eating well. This cookbook tackles each of these issues, setting you up for a lifetime of good food.

Whether youre looking to save money, waste less or stop playing the dreaded Whats for dinner? game, these flexible mealplans, dedicated shopping lists and step-by-step recipes can simplify your life.

See you in the kitchen,

Limahl xX

Lets Get

STARTED

THE MEALPLANS

As you may know, the best way to simplify your food life is to plan ahead, so Ive started you off with four weekly plans to use in any order. Ive tried to keep the Monday to Friday meals fast and easy, and the weekend meals are a little more elaborate. To save you time and money well use my Cook Once Eat Twice approach, meaning you can make more at dinner to transform into a new meal for lunch. Youll never eat the same thing two days running, and I think youll be surprised at how useful this tool is.

If youre busy and your plans often change, I suggest choosing recipes from three or more days of a weekly mealplan to fit around your schedule. Chances are that youll be at home for a few days each week, and following a flexible mealplan will save you time and effort after a long day.

Thats not to say you cant dip in and out, choosing recipes as you would with a traditional cookbook. However, if you are looking to feast within a tiny budget, give the mealplans a go.

SHOPPING LISTS

Inside this cookbook youll find weekly shopping lists which you can use to follow the mealplans. The idea is to shop once a week and use the fresh ingredients over the seven days rather than purchasing daily, or for each meal. This way youll use up all the fresh ingredients and build up a decent cupboard of long-life spices and dry goods.

In case you didnt want to carry your book around the supermarket, Ive put the lists online and you can print them off from www.tinybudgetcooking.com/lists.

Its a big ask to cook breakfast each morning, so Ive split die shopping lists into two. The first list is for lunch and dinners only and you might like to buy some cereal, toast, oats or fruit and yoghurt for very quick breakfasts. The second list is the additional ingredients you would need to follow the complete Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner plan. Its achievable if youve got around 2030 minutes to cook and eat breakfast each morning. Easy for some, impossible for others! Either way, youll find plenty of simple breakfast inspiration throughout the cookbook.

If youre wondering how to save money while doing the weekly shop, check out Top 10 Tiny Budget Tips (see ).

SWAPSHOP

The good news is that these recipes arent set in stone. Theyre adaptable, flexible and can be personalized to suit your taste buds. When using the cookbook, youll notice there are two ingredients columns: the first is for my original recipe, which you can follow as is, and the second is a column of swappable ingredients. If you dont have an ingredient or just dont like one, you can swap it for one of my suggestions and itll still taste delicious.

SIMPLICITY

All of the recipes in this cookbook have been tested for ease of use, with clear step-by-step instructions and short simple processes. Ive kept the kitchen equipment to the bare essentials, but if youre unsure what you need, head to my website where Ive prepared a quick list. Its good to note you dont have to buy the best, just go for the highest quality you can comfortably afford. A little quality could last a lifetime.

Out of 100 delicious recipes, 85 take only 530 minutes to prepare and cook. Ive also included 15 lip-smacking longer recipes for when you have a little more time think big hearty beef stews, North African tagines, chicken tray bakes and succulent Thai green curries. These are definitely worth the extra effort.

If I can pass on one bit of advice, it is to enjoy yourself and take a light-hearted approach to cooking. Remember to smile and forgive yourself when things dont go to plan, its completely normal to make mistakes and youll soon get into the swing of things effortlessly planning, shopping and eating your way to budget-food happiness.

SOCIAL GIVING CAMPAIGNS

There were over one million three-day emergency food parcels given out in the UK last year, and an estimated 13 million people in the UK, 43 million in the us, and 1 in 10 Europeans living near the poverty line. I believe it is 100% necessary for businesses to make a positive impact and help people to live more fulfilling lives.

Im committed along with my publisher to getting this cookbook in front of the people who need it most. Were running a fantastic One For One model for the first print run, where for each print edition sold, we are donating a digital cookbook to someone facing food poverty.

Top 10

TINY BUDGET TIPS

WHERE TO SHOP

Many of us dont live near a supermarket and will make frequent trips to the local corner shop throughout the week. I agree we should all support our local shops, but if you are on a tight budget, making that one weekly trip to a large supermarket will bring down the cost of your food bill and give you a better choice of own-brand ingredients. You can always shop locally if you missed something in cities, head to your local fruit and veg market as youll often pick up fresh produce cheaper than at the supermarkets.