How this mum-of-two cut her weekly food bill in half and still ate fish and chips
Super-savvy Kayleigh Hughes has dropped takeaways in favour of making her own healthier versions
IMAGINE saving cash and eating some of your favourite food at the same time, well this super-savvy mum can show you how.
Kayleigh Hughes, who lives in Grantham, Lincolnshire has worked out that she can cut her food bill in half by cooking from scratch and planning ahead.
The 28-year-old, who regularly writes blogs about documenting money-saving skills for PromotionalCodes.org.uk, cut out takeaways and makes her own healthier alternatives instead.
Families can pay in excess of £85 a week on their weekly shop, according to official government figures.
But not Kayleigh. The mum-of-two has put together a week’s plan of evening meals for her family of four and cut her food bill to £42.16.
The cheapest meal on the week’s plan was the sticky sausage and potato salad recipe, coming in at £1.01 per person and totalling at £4.24.
Other recipes included versions of popular takeaways, known as ‘fakeaways’, including fried chicken and homemade chips, beef and noodle stir-fry and homemade beer battered fish and chips with a side of minty mushy peas.
A standard takeout from KFC for a family of four would cost over £20 but by making her own Kayleigh paid just £9.58 for the ingredients and the supermarket.
This is similar to a regular fish and chip supper for two adults and two children – with Kayleigh only paying £5.80 in total, cutting it down to just £1.45 per person.
While some of the recipes take around 20 minutes other may take longer and making the means requires planning too.
Recipe for Homemade beer battered fish and chips with minty mushy peas (serves 4)
Ingredients
· 4 large white potatoes
· 400g frozen peas
· 6 fresh mint leaves
· 4tbsp reduced fat creme fraiche
· 275g self raising flour
· 325ml chilled lager
· Sunflower oil for frying
· 4 pieces of Pollock fillets
· Salt and pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat oven. Peel and cut potatoes into thick chips and place in a bowl, drizzle with a little bit of oil, add salt and pepper and toss. Place on two baking trays and place into the oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
2. While your chips are cooking, bring the peas and fresh mint to the boil for approximately 5 minutes. Drain and place into a bowl, add the creme fraiche and blitz with a hand held blender until you have a rough texture. Add salt and pepper and place them on a warm side, keeping them warm until ready to serve.
3. Sift the flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and gradually whisk in the lager. Your batter should have the consistency of double cream.
4. Pour your sunflower oil into a large pan. You need enough that it will cover the fish (I used a large pan and one bottle of oil). Heat until a small drop of batter sizzles and turns brown when dropped in.
5. Sprinkle both sides of your fish with flour. This helps the batter to stick to the fish. Shake off any excess flour and dip into the batter, coating thickly.
6. Carefully drop the piece of fish into the hot oil and fry for 8 to 10 minutes. I turned mine over half way to ensure both sides had browned. Once cooked remove from the oil and place on a plate to rest while you repeat this process for the rest of the fish fillets.
7. Once everything is cooked it's time to serve and enjoy.
Kayleigh said: “I noticed that one of my biggest outgoings was my weekly food bill – I was spending lots at the supermarket on items that we didn’t necessarily need.
“I worked out that by planning ahead and cooking recipes from scratch, I could actually cut down on the foods I bought and only buy what I needed. This not only saves you cash, but cuts down on food wastage too.”
How Kayleigh fed her family of four
Monday
Sticky sausage and potato salad - total meal cost: £4.24
Tuesday
Club sandwich pasta - total meal cost: £6.26
Wednesday
Beef and noodle stir-fry - total meal cost: £6.09
Thursday
Fried chicken - total meal cost £9.58
Friday
Beer battered fish and chips with minty mushy peas - total meal cost: £5.80
Saturday
Corned beef and chorizo hash with fried egg - total meal cost: £4.60
Sunday
Honey and Cajun sticky belly pork with homemade chips and salad - total meal cost: £5.59
Total: £42.16
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