Just wondering who has some meat free recipes that are both filling and yummy? Or some recipes that use cheap types of meat? I'm just finding it too expensive to feed the family meat every night.
Just wondering who has some meat free recipes that are both filling and yummy? Or some recipes that use cheap types of meat? I'm just finding it too expensive to feed the family meat every night.
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6 Replies
I use beans instead of meat. Chickpeas, butter beans, red kidney beans...those ones with 4 or 5 different beans in it. It works out much cheaper.
Mince, sausages and chicken legs/wings are the cheapest. I used to buy the offcuts of beef and slow cook it in a casserole then pick all the bones out, refrigerate it then scoop all the fat off the top but a mega pain pulling all the bones out I decided it wasn't worth it. But there's so much you can do with mince, sausages and chicken pieces and they would be cheaper than most alternative types of protein. Also remember to check out the deli section at closing time you can pick up cold meat quite cheaply and use it for pizzas, pasta dishes, fried rice, quiche, lasagna.
I forgot to add woolworths brand plain fish pieces from the frozen section, and woolworths brand 425gm tuna. Tuna Mornay is the cheapest meal out! Less than a dollar a serve.
I am vegan and feed my whole family what I eat 5days a week and the other two they eat fish with hubby.
Beans and lentils are really the best thing you can get as a filler. You can make things like spaghetti bol with lentils instead of mince. I use a tin of four been mix to make taccos just cook as you normally would the mice and add a tin of diced tomatoes.
Slow cooker I make vegetable stew with potatoes carrot sweet potato beans Pumpkin mushrooms and a cup of dry soup mix. Add gravy powder onion garlic and vegetable stock and cook for a few hours. Can also make soup etc in the slow cooker the same way.
The dry soup mixes are great and there is a few different ones at woolworths I just add them to everything to thicken it up and I stock up on tins of beans when they are on sale.
Also good to stock up on herbs and spices if you are cooking without meat so that you can add plenty of flavour. Honestly my kids can't tell the difference when I use beans in sausage rolls etc if you flavour it right. Soy sauce also helps
I avoid dishes that call for one chicken breast each etc.
things like stir fries, pasta etc I can make the meat spread further. I can feed 3 adults on one single chicken breast.
Each person only needs a piece of protein the size of the palm of there hand (don’t include fingers).
Once I realised that my meat bill dropped enormously!
We do have at least 2 meat free nights, usually a stir fry or pasta.
If your family will eat beans etc then that’s fantastic.
Bulk your meaty dishes out with beans and/or veg. For instance I make a massive lasagne with just 500g of turkey mince and a heap of vegies and butter beans. Same goes for burritos, meatballs, savoury mince etc.