15 Budget tips from a busy mum of four

Here is what Brooke made this week for just $167:

By choosing meals with similar ingredients, like beef mince and chicken breast, Brooke can save even more $$ by utilising the same items for a few different recipes. 

For example, with the chicken breast meat, Brooke made 3 different recipes:

• Cauliflower Chicken Parmigiana steak 
  
• Avocado Corn Chicken Salad 
  
• Italian chicken tray bake  

With the beef mince, Brooke made 4 different recipes:

• Taco Lasagne  
  
• Cheesy Beef Lasagne Rolls  
  
• One pot high protein Mexican rice 
  
• Cheese burger Tacos

• Stick to meal-sized portions.
• Keep a food inventory.
• Buy only what you need.
• Less is more when meal prepping, you don't need 7 different teas, 7 different lunches etc .
• Spread the servings out from around 5 to 7 recipes, and you can then rotate the serves if you have a large family.
• If it's just for yourself, maybe focus on 3 recipes and spread the meal serves out for the week.
• Use similar ingredients.
• Use mince-based recipes for cheaper budget meals.
• Volumise your meals with added vegetables and beans.
• Use every ingredient in your fridge as much as possible and focus on less food waste.
• Keep it simple for your meal plan.
• Substitute ingreds like cheese if needed, if it says mozzarella and you have tasty use that up as an example.
• Stick to budget-friendly brands or shop the sales, if it's a good sale for half price maybe buy 2 of that item to put away for a future shop.
• Learn how to keep food fresh for longer in your fridge.
• Buy fruit and vegetables in season, it's ok to substitute a vegetable for what is in this season.