Cookbook Corner: How to prepare a week of meals on a tight budget

In 2011, after being made redundant Jody Allen, was left with $50 per week to feed a family of four.

She started her website, Stay at Home Mum, to share her money saving tips and published two books called Once a Month Cooking and Live Well on Less. Jody states that

Jody states that The $50 Weekly Shop is only for food, not cleaning products. I personally, would have enjoyed an expansion into making your own household cleaning and personal products.  However, since there are over 300 pages one cannot be greedy.

This book, while aimed at young families, can easily be an inspiration for those of us on a pension. After all it can be equally as hard for those on a pension as it is for a single income family with a mortgage.

In some of the book’s chapters, such as setting your goal and shopping for ingredients, I found nothing new. However, others may find helpful hints.

There are interesting chapters on:

• avoiding waste, which includes sections on
  • storage of items, which lists items in alphabetical order
  • creative uses for leftovers
  • ‘making do’ a section dedicated to if you run out of something
  • tips on how to add flavour to boring food and
  • how to stretch your meals
• creating your own garden, including regrowing your own vegetables from vegetable scraps.
• meal planning

I loved the chapter on how to make your own staples. I had no idea I could make my own condensed milk, cottage cheese, stock, butter, naan bread, crumpets, English muffins, oat flour, hummus, sauces, dressings and more from general pantry stock.

The last two-thirds of the book are dedicated to recipes. These are set out well in thirteen different categories. The recipes are simple to do and don’t have items that a person would buy once and never use again.

The book’s target audience is families, although I do think it would suit many in our age group who are struggling to make ends meet.

It was an interesting, well set out, easy to read book with a well thought out index at the end. I look forward to more from this author on other ways to save.

The $50 Weekly Shop by Jody Allen is available now from Dymocks. Click here to learn more.