After the latest round of media stories, I thought it was time I shared our latest menu plan. Many people on social media thought we didn't eat meat. Others thought we had a high carb diet or didn't eat at all. It was quite hilarious to read so many assumptions.
We eat meat most nights of the week and while there's not a lot of meat in the meals, it's still there, we can taste it and see it.
It's hard to explain everything in our menu plan, the cost of each item, when I bought it and how much I use, but I will explain a few things.
* Legs of lamb were bought earlier this year from Tasman Meats. They were $7.99kg and I think I bought 3 or 4 legs. The butcher was quite happy to cut them in half for me and wrap them up. I cook legs of lamb in the slow cooker and a full leg won't fit in. I used leftover grocery money I'd been saving for a sale like this. It's called my grocery slush fund.
* Chicken drumsticks were also bought from Tasman Meats when they had them for $1.99kg last month. I bought 10 kilos and portioned them up into meal sizes and froze them.
* The chicken dump bags are drumsticks in a snap lock bag with diced veggies, liquid chicken stock, sauces and seasonings. I did these meals in bulk when I bought the drumsticks. I defrost the meal in the fridge then ' dump ' it all into a casserole dish and cook it in the oven.
* The fish we eat is Woolworths Basa fillets. The current price is $8 for 1 kilo. I coat them in seasoned flour then pan fry in a tiny bit of oil. I also cook them in the oven in foil with seasonings.
* Tuna casserole, tuna pasta bake and Massaman beef curry are the only meals that use tinned soup, ready made pasta sauce ( I mix it with a tin of tomatoes to stretch it out ) or a packet of seasoning. I buy these items because that's the recipe, it tastes better or it works out cheaper. Everything else is completely made from scratch.
* Many of the meals are made in bulk, portioned out and frozen for future menu plans. For example, lasagne costs about $20 to make. I get 12 serves from my big dish. Even more if I use TVP and add extra veggies to the sauce. I only need to make lasagne twice a year and I always have the ingredients on hand. I don't go out and buy it all in one hit when it's on the menu and we don't eat it day after day until it's gone.
* We grow many of our veggies and freeze excess. We eat in season too.
* " Get Your Own " on the menu means we can eat whatever is in the house. That might be leftovers, bits and pieces from the freezer or something simple like pancakes, toasted sandwiches, soup, eggs on toast or ' wing wong for a goose's bridle " as my mother in law would say.
* Sometimes we move the meals around if our plans change. If food has been defrosted in the fridge it's safe to keep for another day.
All the recipes for these meals are in the recipe section.
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| Some of our garden produce |
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| Some of the fruit we grow |
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| The latest menu plan |
Some of the meals we eat
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| We eat chunky, hearty soups. |
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| Tuna pasta bake before adding cheese |
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| Chop suey |
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| Slow cooked lamb with silverbeet and mash |
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| The big 12 serve lasagne |
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| How I serve lasagne |
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| Roast beef ( a rare treat now ) with lots of veg |
I had to laugh 'wing Wong for a goose's bridle' my Mum & Nana used to say that. We are not far from Tasman's meats in Melton, will be visiting them for sure. Love all your ideas. We are selling our caravan so hopefully a veggie garden will fill it's place.
ReplyDeleteYes, I menu plan but my hubby is super fussy so we mostly only have boring meals. We don't have very good bulk stores in Northern Tassy, I just wait until WW have specials. I have tried buying meat from various places but find it isn't the best. We eat seasonally and I have a good vegie garden. I spend between $80 and $100 each week for the 2 of us.
ReplyDeleteI have family in Devonport and they shop at The Big Apple. There's another fruit / veg wholesaler in Burnie and Launceston from memory.
DeleteBeautiful nutritious and hearty meals, thank you for you wonderful ideas. Love Bridget
ReplyDeleteNice but I live in a regional SA town- few options for cheap meat. But I do a pumpkin( home grown) and spinach( also home grown) lasagne that family love- use herbs home grown to flavour
ReplyDeleteI live on an outback rural town in SA- meat is very expensive- would love some recipes for filling meals with tinned beans etc. I do make meals with my homegrown and gifted produce that is vegetarian or egg based
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but we don't eat tinned beans. You could use lentils or TVP.
DeleteI love your chop suey, cook it often.
ReplyDeleteI wish more people would meal plan based on what's in their fridge, freezer and pantry.
ReplyDeleteI fill my pantry based on what's missing, and then list meals that can be made from those ingredients. I know what I like, and pretty sure what I am going to make. It's simple to meal plan if I keep the list of ingredients the same.
I also remember my elders saying "a wigwam for a goose's bridle" - a variation on the phrase you heard. Thank you for the wonderful ideas. I'm rather envious of the specials you take advantage of. Even converting them to NZ$, I haven't seen any prices that low for lamb or chicken drumsticks. Mind you, I live in a major metropolitan centre and our local butcher closed, meaning I'm tied to supermarket prices. We recently downsized to a townhouse, so don't have the space to grow our own fruit and vegetables, but I do have 2 planter boxes growing lettuces and spinach, and they're a big help. Your continued encouragement and leading by example is inspirational.
ReplyDeleteYes we also menu plan And I would be lost without it as I would hate to be the 5 o’clock person running around wondering what’s for dinner. I love how you can stretch a dollar until it screams. keep up the great work Wendy.
ReplyDeleteYes I follow a monthly meal plan with meat sourced when it’s on special and filled out with plenty of vegetables. I use some of your recipes Wendy and especially love your recipe for honey mustard chicken.
ReplyDeleteThankyou. It's a favourite in our family.
DeleteYou food sounds delicious and I still make them, I grew up on same as one of 7 children and only one income.
ReplyDeleteToday I want to cook your brownie and Anzac biscuits as I haven’t made them since children all left home. Do you freeze the dough in balls or a log ? I’ve never frozen them before.
Thank you for all your help it is much appreciated
I have tried freezing the dough into balls but it was time consuming. I usually freeze it into log sizes. When it defrosts I slice it then gently form it into balls then flatten.
DeleteThank you for sharing. You have certainly inspired me to stretch things further. We live in a remote area of QLD and I am very envious of your specials! We are farmers and grow our own food and raise our own animals so that’s covered but I loved reading about what else you do in your home too. Meal planning is a must, I also only go shopping once a fortnight and it really helps. Just seeing if you can stretch it one more day before shopping etc. keep up the good work, Alice
ReplyDeleteThank you Wendy, much appreciated
ReplyDeleteHi Wendy,
ReplyDeletethank you for sharing so many useful money-saving ideas. Your menu plan looks great with a lot of variety, the meals are well balanced and contain plenty of vegies & salad.
The garden produce and meals in your photos look delicious. Is there a recipe for your Slow Cooked Lamb in your Recipe Section? I would love to make it this week.
I use a weekly menu plan based on what we have in the fridge, freezer, pantry and garden.
We grow lettuces, silverbeet, spring onions, tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers that saves us money each week.
Our fruit trees save us money all year as there are about twenty seven of them in our garden and we also grow rhubarb and strawberries.
We grow all the fresh herbs we use which is much cheaper than paying $3+ in the shops and less wasteful if only a small amount is needed.
Our lovely hens save us having to buy eggs and they also cover the cost of their feed as I sell the eggs when we have more than we can use.
Do you have any ideas for planning a Christmas Day menu while trying to stay within a tighter budget due to the increased cost of everything? Maybe a future post?
Best wishes,
Maria.