Mum shares secrets of 81p a head meals
A mum for whom every penny is a prisoner has come up with some yummy Friday night ‘ fakeaway’ recipes.
Paisley’s Lorna Cooper, who has a hungry brood of four, cooked up seven dishes for family and friends for as little at 81 pence a head.
On her menu board is everything from kebabs, Chinese food, Indian, fried chicken and good old fish and chips.
Amazingly, the seven tasty treats cost her just £65 to make — that’s a saving of £285 if she’d ordered them from a takeaway.
Lorna, 41, said: “It’s astonishing how much a Friday night takeaway can actually end up costing, especially if you’re feeding a large family.
“But if you enjoy cooking and want to save a bit of cash, try making your own takeaway dishes every Friday night and you could end up saving thousands throughout the year.
“Buying in bulk is always the best way to save cash.
“Meat can be frozen and nonperishables like rice and stock cupboard essentials can be easily stored.
“This really helps bring the cost of meals, and these fakeaways, down.
“I knew making my own takeaways would lead to a huge cost saving, but didn’t realise how much until I started to tot it up.
“I must admit, even I was surprised.”
A takeaway pizza could easily set you back £18 for one large one, she added.
“The ones I made cost 81p per person and all I was using was ingredients I already had in the cupboard,” she said.
“The pizza dough was simply flour, yeast, water, salt and olive oil. The sauce was tomatoes, garlic
If you would like to try Lorna’s‘fakeaways’for yourself, then here are the ingredients and costs.
Chinese – £10.28 – Served seven — £1.69 a head
Meat used – 2 thin cut steaks and 7 chicken breasts
Food cooked – Salt n chilli chicken, chicken curry, chicken satay and beef curry. Served with boiled rice and fried rice.
Cost at a takeaway for seven – £67.40
Kebabs – £11.87 – Served 10 — £1.19 a head and olive oil blended together and then I topped with whatever was in the fridge.
“They take no time at all to make and taste just as good — perfect for a Friday night in front of the telly.
“Many people think that cooking a takeaway yourself will be hard work.
“But if you and your family get together it can be simple, good fun and you’re saving a fortune.”
Lorna set up her website Feed Your Family for £ 20 — www. fyf20quid.co.uk — two years ago after she started to gain more confidence in the kitchen.
The 41-year-old was able to keep the cost of her fakeaways low by bulk buying the meat from online healthy food retailer MuscleFood. com and using store cupboard essentials and fresh vegetables.
Her list of ingredients for the fakeaways included chicken breasts, steaks, lamb and beef mince, lean steak burgers, cod loins, sausages and pepperoni.
Among the meals cooked was a money-saving Indian banquet that cost Lorna £1.23 a head and a kebab shop feast for just £1.19 per person.
Another favourite was a chippy tea at £1.92 each and a fakeaway pizza which worked out at 81p a person.
Lorna said: “There are lots of really small changes you can make if you want to cut the cost of your food shop.
“Buying good quality meat is a big one for me.
“Bulking up with other ingredients is another great tip. Vegetable and pulses are good for this and certainly helps food stretch further.
“Planning ahead and sticking to your meal plan is important and making sure you keep all leftovers.
“You can freeze for work day lunches, have as an emergency meal if friends drop in, or it’s something you can pull out of the freezer if you fancy a break from cooking.”
Meat used – Lamb mince, three chicken breasts and 1 beef mince
Food cooked – Doner meat, koftas, chicken kebabs, kebab shop style red cabbage, garlic mayo, salad and chips
Cost at a takeaway for 10 – £70.94
nuggets, fries and strawberry milkshakes
Cost at a takeaway for 6 – £34.92
Indian – £6.16 – Served five — £1.23 a head
Meat used – two chicken breasts for each curry dish Burgers and chips – Food cooked – Chicken £9.52 – Served six – £1.59 tikka masala, chicken a head korma, Bombay potatoes,
Meat used – six burger veg pakora, chapattis and steaks (flattened andricere —rolled to give 12 patties) Cost at a takeaway for 3 chicken breasts five – £57.75
Food cooked – six double patty burgers with burger sauce, 24 chicken Fish & Chips – £5.75 – Served three — £1.92 a head
Meat used – three cod loins (half a pack of six) and three sausages (half a pack of six)
Food cooked – Battered fish, battered sausage, chips, fritters, mushy peas, curry sauce and gravy
Cost at a takeaway for three – £41.86
Pizza – £2.44 – Served three – 81p a head
Meat used – one chicken breast and half a pack of pepperoni
Food cooked – Chicken and sweetcorn pizza, pepperoni pizza and wedges
Cost at a takeaway for three – £43.94
Fried chicken – £12.31 – Served three — £4.10 a head
Meat used – 12 chicken drumsticks and three chicken breasts
Food cooked – 12 chicken drumsticks and 12 crispy strips, coleslaw, fries and gravy
Cost at a takeaway – £32.22
Extra costs – £6.73 This included vegetables, tinned goods, rice