Super cook and friend of Quids in! Lorna Cooper has launched a new book, helping us to make more from less in the kitchen.
In the past Lorna’s shared recipes and tips on how she feeds her family for £20 a week. Now she’s focussing on getting four meals out of the meat we buy by bulking it out and not wasting a scrap.
“People say they can’t afford a beef joint or a pork joint,” she says. “So it’s about how to make it last so you can have a nice roast dinner then use the rest to make three other meals.
“When I first spoke out about buying a chicken and using it for four meals, people were like, no way! But they were eating the whole thing in one sitting or just eating the breast and throwing the rest away.”
Shopping and cooking well
Lorna says her new book will make people sit up and think about how they approach shopping and cooking.
The leftovers section has tips for making the most of anything from a lone slice of gammon to a single spoonful of mash.
Food and energy prices are rocketing, but Lorna promises that doesn’t mean our diets have to suffer. It is possible to eat healthily on a small budget – but we have to put a bit of legwork in.
“It’s not easy to feed your family for £20 a week,” she says. “But you can definitely eat well for the same amount as it would cost to buy junk food. Every week the supermarkets have got five or six offers on vegetables.
“Cook seasonally, what’s grown locally just now? That’s what’s going to be cheapest. If you can go to an allotment, these people grow more than they can eat and tend to give it away or put it in a basket with an honesty box. They just want people to eat it.”
Get growing
Lorna’s other tip for free food is to have a bash at growing our own.
“You can grow carrots and potatoes really easily in this country,” she says. “And you don’t have to have a lot of ground, just flexi baskets or a hessian bag with some holes in the bottom.
“You don’t even have to buy special seeds, just chuck some old potatoes that have started shooting into some compost and see how it goes.”
We have five copies of Lorna’s book Feed Your Family: More From Less to give away – see here for details.
And check out the Quids in! Food Guide for budget-busting recipes and tips.
