How to Feed Your Family for £5 a Day. Bernadine Lawrence

pinch of salt. Cook until just tender but not soggy.

      Spinach should not be shredded but covered and cooked with a drop of water and a knob of butter and seasoned to taste with salt and pepper. Cook on a low heat for 3–5 minutes.

      Once the vegetables are cooked, drain them and save the liquid for stocks and soups.

On fan ovens

      If the recipe you are following involves oven cooking and you have a fan oven, reduce the oven temperature by 20°C (68°F).

       A NOTE ABOUT SHOPPING

      An important tip to remember is to keep a ‘shopping purse’, that is, a purse used strictly for your weekly groceries. Say you want to allow yourself £33 for the week, put that amount in your purse at the beginning of the week. That way you can easily tell if you are keeping within budget.

      Should you overshoot your weekly target in the beginning, this need not mean a failure to budget successfully; your weekly budget will gradually balance out.

      A good way to keep within budget is to use up any ingredients you may already have in. This method is particularly useful towards the end of the week when you can use up ingredients in soups and stews.

       TIPS FOR BUYING FOR OR

      Obviously single people and couples can make great use of this book.

      Most of the ingredients in the recipes can be divided more or less by two, and surpluses can be chilled or frozen for future use.

      It is not advisable to buy large quantities of highly perishable foods. These should be bought daily or every other day.

       A TYPICAL WEEKLY SHOPPING LIST

       1 small roasting chicken

       2 × 1.5kg plain wholemeal flour

       1.5kg plain white flour

       2 large tins of baked beans

       2 × 400g tins of tomatoes

       1kg porridge oats

       500g raisins

       500g red split lentils

       500g wholewheat spaghetti

       500g black-eyed beans

       2 × 500g sunflower margarine

       1 litre sunflower oil

       2 tins of tuna

       1 jar Marmite or Vegemite

       115g houmous

       700g Cheddar cheese

       2 mackerel

       900g frozen peas

       5 litres milk

       12 eggs

       500g lean minced beef

       5kg potatoes

       1 small red cabbage

       900g onions

       450g carrots

       1 head of broccoli

       1 green pepper

       garlic

       120g mushrooms

       1 cucumber

       4 lemons

       3 lettuces

       600g tomatoes

       1 bunch of bananas

       900g apples

       450g pears

       12 oranges

       BREAKFASTS

       Perfect Creamy Porridge

       Feeds 4

      115g porridge oats

      850ml milk (whole, skimmed or soy)

      4 tsp soft light brown sugar, for sprinkling

      1 tsp ground cinnamon, for sprinkling

       Method

      1 Bring the oats and milk to the boil in a large saucepan, stirring with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3–5 minutes, stirring continually, until creamy.

      2 Serve sprinkled with the sugar and ground cinnamon.

      – ALTERNATIVELY –

       Be indulgent and cook with a knob of butter or add cream.

       Simmer with chopped banana and raisins.

       Top with stewed fruit – try apples, pears, plums or rhubarb.

       Top with fresh berries, grated apple, sliced strawberries or prunes.

       For a crunchy topping, add roasted sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts.

       Chocolate Porridge

       Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder or 100g of Fairtrade chocolate to the milk and sweeten to taste.

Toasted Oats with Raisins, Bananas and Strawberries

       Feeds 4. Serve with milk or yoghurt

      200g rolled oats

      100g raisins

      2 bananas, sliced

      50g strawberries, sliced

      caster sugar, for sprinkling, or runny honey, for drizzling

       Method

      1 Toast the oats in a large frying pan over a high heat for 3–5 minutes until browned.

      2 Mix the toasted oats, raisins, bananas and strawberries in a large bowl then divide into 4 bowls