How to Feed Your Family: Your one-stop guide to creating healthy meals everyone will enjoy

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A Slow Cooker is not the first thing that springs to mind when you are going to bake bread, but I seem to have more success when using my SC as opposed to the oven, and find it's a softer bake too.

I really hope this cheap meal plan and budget shopping list has given you some ideas and gets you and your family out from eating the same old meals every day. For me there is nothing like feeding your family with home cooking, and the happy news is that it’s usually better for your budget and for our planet. If you’re a little overwhelmed by the thought of it (understandable!), consider starting with just a few easy recipes and practice them over and over until they’re second nature. I love making scones, flatbreads and pizza dough from scratch, all of which work out so much more affordable than their shop-bought cousins.

Another idea to make tacos cheaper is to substitute ground beef with ground turkey which you can usually get for a few dollars less a pound than the hamburger. Eggs and toast are definitely one of the cheapest breakfast meals you can make, especially if you make your own homemade bread. Remember to plan for every meal. Do the kids need lunches this week? Are you going to be late home and need a slow cooker meal?

A meal plan like this can feed your family when money is tight and you need some ideas to get through. Most recipes you’ll find have ground beef as an ingredient but this can be swapped out for cheaper ground turkey or you can forgo the meat altogether and add an extra can of beans to bulk it up.

4. Learn to make basic sauces

Use our 101 Aldi Recipes That Will Give You Dinner Ideas For Tonight list for some inspiration. Use Your Slow Cooker And this list is really just the tip of the iceberg if you focus on recipes that include some of the cheapest food you can buy. If you are struggling to fill up your meal plan every week then have a look at our 31 meal ideas below. This gives you a month on breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas that you can use. Bake until hot through and cheese is melted. About 15 minutes in the microwave or 30 minutes in the oven.

I've kept it simple by pan frying, then serving with redcurrent gravy, a baked potato and some garlic buttered spinach and garden peas 😋 You can use it to make burgers, bolognese, cottage pie, etc, but I decided to use it to make a creamy curry.These are great for four people and make a great breakfast on the go. You can add anything to these but our favourite is below: Depending on how it is farmed, meat can be one of the least sustainable foods, and also happens to be one of the most expensive. While going vegetarian would be the ideal, if your family does want to continue eating meat (as we do!), consider reserving it for special occasions or a special weekly meal. Grass-fed, local meat tends to be the most sustainable, and can even be carbon neutral. Try buying in bulk from a butcher like Swaledale Butchers to reduce costs, and freeze what you won’t be cooking immediately. 6. Not all zero waste shops are equal! With 70 delicious, balanced recipes, with clear baby and toddler adaptations for each with Charlotte's expert advice, you'll soon find mealtimes can be stress-free and healthy, so you can continue your journey of bringing up adventurous little foodies. If you're about to start budget cooking for the first time, you'll need to do an initial 'big shop' for the basic ingredients that no thrifty cook can live without.