Three recipes to help you eat well and spend less

Hi, I'm Rida and I'm currently studying MA Peace, Resilience and Social Justice. I have some delicious treats in store to help you eat well and spend less. Let's learn how to cook mouthwatering meals without going over budget.

Getting the most from your budget

Weekly meal planning

First and foremost, my biggest tip is to prepare a weekly meal plan with all the meals you want to eat. If you like to try different cuisines, you can create a list each week with key ingredients.

Once you've worked out your ingredients list, go out for groceries. Use some of your budget to purchase staple ingredients such as rice, pasta, and frozen veggies. These items last a long time and you can incorporate them into a variety of dishes.

I'd also recommend purchasing in-season fruits and vegetables when you can. They taste better when they're in season and cost less. Right now, you can get lovely ripe blackberries, cherries, plums and strawberries - they are all fresh, delicious, and rich in flavour.

Coupons and batch cooking

Always use coupons when you can. Many supermarket chains offer coupons and discounts for their regular customers.

You can sometimes also find sales on special items after Eid, Christmas, and Diwali.

My last tip: if you don’t have enough time to cook every day, you can cook 2 or 3 meals at the weekend and then store them in the freezer. Batch cooking will help you during busy days and it saves you time.

Now, let me share some of my favourite budget-friendly recipes with you:

Recipe 1

Pizza

If you love pizza but don't want to spend money on expensive takeaways, here's a simple recipe so you can make it at home:

Ingredients:

• Store-bought pizza dough
• Pizza sauce or tomato passata
• Mozzarella cheese
• Your choice of toppings: pepperoni, mushrooms, bell peppers, and so on. 

Now it's time to make it: 

Step 1: Preheat your oven (follow the instructions on the pizza dough). Then, on a baking sheet, unroll the pizza dough.

Step 2: Thinly spread out the tomato sauce and add a layer of mozzarella cheese.

Step 3: Add your toppings - now is the time to get creative!

Step 4: Bake at 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes (this can be different depending on your oven).

Step 5: Serve with your preferred cold beverage and enjoy!

Recipe 2

Chicken Karahi

This is one of my favourite recipes of all time.

Ingredients:

• 1kg chicken breast or thigh
• 1 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 10-12 green chillies, chopped
• 1/2 cup of natural yoghurt
• 1/2 fresh coriander, chopped
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder (you can alter this depending on how hot you would like it)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Turmeric powder to taste
• Oil for frying

Let’s cook:

Step 1: On a low flame, add your oil to a large pan and fry your chicken and onions until brown. Add in your garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant.

Step 2: Add in your tomatoes, green chillies, spices and roast all these things well.

Step 3: Add the yoghurt and roast it on a low flame until the chicken is fully cooked. 

Step 4: Garnish with your fresh coriander leaves and then your delicious chicken karahi is ready.

Step 5: Serve it with salad, roti, your favourite drink and enjoy!

Recipe 3

Protein powder cake

This easy cake is cheap to make and great for those of you following the keto diet.  

Ingredients:

• 250g almond flour
• 50g protein powder
• 30g sugar-free cocoa powder
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar-free almond milk
• Sweetener (add according to your taste)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 

Let's bake

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 180°C and grease a small cake tin.

Step 2: To a large mixing bowl, add your flour, protein powder, cocoa powder, sweetener, and baking powder.

Step 3: To another bowl, add your eggs, almond milk and vanilla extract. Incorporate your wet ingredients into your dry and stir to combine.

Step 4: Pour your batter into a cake tin and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until your cake is fully cooked.

Step 5: Let your cake cool before cutting.

If you're struggling to budget or have any money concerns, you can speak to our dedicated Student Life Team and access impartial money advice and guidance.