The budgeting expert has also shared her top 10 hacks to lower the cost of the weekly shop during the holidays
The post has boasted plenty of praise, with one follower declaring: “this will really help reduce the cost of my food shop!”
Social media budgeting guru @budgetingmum has revealed her five go-to recipes for keeping the whole family fed during the school summer holidays and they all come in at under £1 per meal.
Beth Turbutt-Rogers, known by her 185k loyal social media following for her innovative budgeting hacks and handy parenting tips, has unveiled she uses less than £20 worth of Aldi ingredients to create five tasty dinner recipes that the whole family enjoy whilst the little ones are off school.
The video shows Beth whizzing together five dinners including an uber-healthy three bean chilli and a mouth-watering Wagamama inspired katsu curry, complete with hidden veggies for fussy little ones, all for under £20 at Aldi.
The handy recipe guide has already proved popular with her followers, gaining likes and comments in their thousands. One follower stated “this will really help reduce the cost of my food shop!” and another said, “get me to Aldi – now!”
Beth, who lives with her husband and two youngsters, commended her Aldi shopping experience saying: “Aldi is the best place to get everything you need without breaking your bank.”
Beth also went on to say: “As the summer holidays arrive, lots of families will feel the pinch when it comes to food shopping. Having the children at home might mean routines are completely different and for this reason you might start to see a rise in the weekly cost. But don’t fret! With a little planning and opting for low-cost ingredients, you can get through the summer holidays on a budget and still enjoy tasty, nutritious meals.”
As well as putting together this helpful school holiday dinner guide, Beth's also shared her top 10 hacks when budgeting for the weekly shop during the school summer holidays:
Overlap: Plan meals with overlapping ingredients. EG, if you’re buying potatoes, buy a larger pack which you can use to make jacket potatoes one night and a potato pie the next. Or if you’re buying bacon lardons, buy a two pack which you can use for two meals!
Meal plan: This is a guaranteed way to save you money as you’ll have well thought out meal ideas for the week. This is especially relevant during the holidays when the food shop needs to feed the whole family all day, every day!
Go frozen or tinned: Consider buying frozen or tinned vegetables for a great way to inject nutrients to food on a budget.
Go plant based: Swapping to plant-based alternatives can often be cheaper than meat products, and more sustainable too.
Buy in bulk: Bulk buying certain items, EG, buying a larger pack of toilet roll, will work out cheaper in the long run. This is especially vital during the school holidays when we seem to go through household items far more quickly than usual.
Cook from scratch: Cooking from scratch – learning how to make things like sauces from basic ingredients such as milk, butter and flour can save you money. This is a great one to pick up during the holidays when we’re not so time poor!
Divide and conquer: Try buying a whole chicken and dividing the meat into several meals throughout the week to make it go further.
Batch cook: Batch cooking can not only save you time, but it can also save money if planned properly. This means more time to spend playing with little ones during the holidays!
Freeze it: Using your freezer to ensure food doesn’t go off before you have time to eat it can reduce food waste and save you money, too.
Enjoy family time: Eat together as a family! Doing separate meals for children can be costly, so make meals that are suitable for all the family will help cut your costs, too. Particularly during the holidays, this is a great time to make the best of having everyone at home and enjoy eating together.
Beth’s innovative dinner recipes have been created to please fussy children while ensuring parents get something delicious and nutritious for dinner, too. The full shopping list for these dinners comes in at less than £20 – so that’s £1 per meal for a family of four:
Recipe 1: Cheeseburger pasta bake with vegetarian mince
Recipe 2: Cheese and bacon potato pie with beans
Recipe 3: Three bean chilli with rice
Recipe 4: Katsu chicken curry and rice
Recipe 5: Bacon potato bake with egg and beans
Full step-by-step guides on how to create these tasty recipes can be found via Beth’s blog.
Aldi shopping list:
Nature’s Pick Brown Onions (£0.95, 3 pack)
Oakhurst Smoked Bacon Lardons (£1.99, 200g)
Nature’s Pick Spring Onions (£0.50, 100g)
Nature’s Pick Salad Tomatoes (£0.85, 6 pack)
Ashfields Breaded Chicken Steaks (£2.99, 505g)
Everyday Essentials Penne Pasta (£0.41, 500g)
Four Seasons Taco Mixed Beans (£0.72, 395g)
Everyday Essentials Chopped Tomatoes x2 (£0.35, 400g)
Everyday Essentials Baked Beans x2 (£0.56, 420g)
Asia Specialities Chinese Style Curry Sauce (£0.99, 500g)
Emporium Mature Grated Cheddar Cheese (£1.99, 250g)
Ready, Set…Cook! Chilli Powder (£0.59, 40g)
Plant Menu Meat Free Mince (£1.35, 400g)
Everyday Essentials Long Grain Rice (£0.52,1kg)
Merevale British Medium Free-Range Eggs (£1.29, 6 pack)
Nature’s Pick Marris Piper Potatoes (£1.59, 2.5kg)
Four Seasons Mixed Vegetables (£0.99, 1kg)
Four Seasons Black Beans in Water (£0.59, 390g)
Total: £19.57 (approx. 97p per meal, based on five meals for a family of four).
To shop Aldi’s full range of affordable groceries, shoppers can head to stores now or browse the Aldi website for Click & Collect options. https://groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/
Check out Budgetmum here https://www.budgetingmum.co.uk/