BULKING out your meals with cheaper ingredients helps cash go further.
The price of food has shot up, but making little budget additions is one way of feeding more people for less.
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Try one of these tricks next time you are in the kitchen.
PEARL BARLEY: This grain is perfect for adding to almost any stew to make it extra hearty and filling.
Pearl barley also comes with a range of nutrition benefits and, at 65p a bag in Sainsbury’s, it’s an affordable extra to shopping baskets.
PASTA: Consider mixing in some fusilli the next time you make a salad.
Cheap and filling, cooled pasta works well as a colder dish. Simply toss with tomatoes, cucumber and some pesto for an easy lunch.
EGGS: Ashleigh Tosh, from online store MuscleFood, recommends using more eggs to bulk out meals.
“Mixing scrambled egg into rice, adding boiled egg to salads and sandwiches or popping a fried egg on top of food will make your meal more filling without overpowering the taste,” she says.
SPUDS: Try chopping up a few potatoes and mixing them in to curries or other sauce-based dishes containing more expensive ingredients.
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Not only are they a cheap way to bulk up your dinners, potatoes are also a great source of fibre and vitamin C, making them a winner on all fronts.
OATS: Everyone knows porridge is a tasty and cheap breakfast, but oats also go well in meat-based sauces, such as bolognese and chilli.
Ashleigh says: “This is a low-cost product which won’t compromise the taste or texture of meals they are added to.”
SAUSAGES: Meat is often the most expensive ingredient in a meal, but sausages tend to be cheaper, and add stacks of flavour.
They work as an addition to tomato sauce dishes, such as a pasta bake, and you can use veggie sausages as a meat alternative.
- All prices on page correct at time of going to press. Deals and offers subject to availability.
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