Where to look low-cost family cooking inspiration

You can feel the chill in the air and the crunch of frost on the floor, it’s officially Autumn and the time of year for warming and fulfilling family meals. 

We know that for many of us, perhaps more now than ever before, it’s a struggle financially. But at City Catering Southampton, we strongly believe in access to good food for all. Getting a filling and warming meal is one of the most important things to stay healthy, happy and less stressed - particularly in Winter and during a stressful time. 

We’ve got quite an impressive collection of low-cost every family recipes, which you can find here. From hidden veg pasta to Biryani. But there’s also loads of great resources out there for low-cost everyday family meals. Take a look at our favourites… 

Jack Monroe 

Jack Monroe is an award winning food writer and bestselling author. Monroe works with a whole host of charities and has an amazing website, filled with mouth-watering budget recipes. Each recipe is shot beautifully and shows the cost of each dish (most of which are under a pound!). We’re so excited to try the Cheesy Tuna, Courgette and Mushroom Gratin for only 65p. 

https://cookingonabootstrap.com/

BBC Good Food 

BBC Good Food is a great resource, filled with recipes for literally every occasion. They have few specific lists, such as ‘Cheap Eats’ and ‘Cheap & Healthy’ which is where you’ll find recipes to feed the whole family. 

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/

NHS, Change 4 Life 

The NHS Change For Life website features over 30 delicious and flexible dinner ideas specifically for families. They’ve even got family meal plans which you can find here: https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes/dinner

Supermarkets 

Many of the supermarkets have their own collection of recipes. While they often include ingredients from their own brand or supermarket, you can swap that for any brand or whatever you find the cheapest. 

Tesco have a specific section for budget recipes, which you find here: https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/collections/on-a-budget.html

Sainsbury’s has a budget friendly recipe section, which you can find here: https://recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/scrapbooks/budget-friendly-recipes

There’s also a really good collection of 30 recipes all under a £1, from ASDA, which you can access here: https://www.asdagoodliving.co.uk/food/features/one-pound-meals

Skint Dad 

Skint Dad is a blog created in 2013 by husband and wife, Ricky & Naomi Willis, who were struggling to make ends meet. They launched Skint Dad to help other families in the same boat. The blog is stuffed with super cheap and easy recipes - some seasonal too, like their Christmas Mince Pies at 9p each! https://skintdad.co.uk/food/recipes/

Cookbooks 

Cookbooks are great, full of recipes, tips and beautiful imagery. There’s lots on amazon that are reduced in price, or you can borrow them from your local library for free. Check out the online library here: http://www.southampton.gov.uk/libraries/

Some of our favourites that you can purchase on Amazon are: 

Good Food, Cheap Eats 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Food-Triple-tested-Tried-tested/dp/0563488417/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3SHD05MTW4600&dchild=1&keywords=cheap+recipe+book&qid=1604658393&s=books&sprefix=cheap+recip%2Cstripbooks%2C146&sr=1-1

Feed Your Family for £20 per week

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feed-Your-Family-%C2%A320-Week/dp/1409195678/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=budget+recipe+book&qid=1604658428&s=books&sr=1-3

Jack Monroe, Bootstrap Simple Budget Recipes 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooking-Bootstrap-simple-budget-recipes-ebook/dp/B07B31NQBS/ref=sr_1_38_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=budget+recipe+book&qid=1604658448&s=books&sr=1-38-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExRFU1VFFUV0FMWEhUJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwOTMxMjQ1TzE5OVpYQlNEN0lKJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA2NDA1MDExVjREN0xYTjFCT1VQJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfbXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Written by Lana Mepham

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