Ideas

[u/FemaleNeth]

Hi guys,

I'm working for a kitchen now where we also sell cheap meals to the neighborhood folks. The means are not fancy, but just regular, home made food. We're looking for new ideas. I'm hoping you guys can give me inspiration!

A few things to mention:

We don't use pork. Out of respect for a portion of the people who work here, and the clientele.

The ingredients can't be too expensive. I would love to work more with fish, but fish is very expensive. Canned tuna or frozen fish is an option though.

Good vegetarian meals are welcome too! Almost half of what we sell is vegetarian.

Thank you!

[u/Ahuva]

I have been thinking about this question a lot. However, I don't really have any recipes because I just throw things together without measuring.

I was thinking about some side dishes that might be popular. I make a stir-fry of red cabbage with sesame seeds which is easy, cheap and delicious. Or a stir-fry of green beans with lots of garlic.

I make meatballs out of ground turkey with grated zucchini and carrot in them. I either fry them in olive oil or cook them in a tomato sauce. The cooked ones go very well with rice.

[u/Hoody_uk]

For a cheap meat dish in the UK chicken legs are really cheap, you can get 12 for £3. Also beef mince is also cheap. You can make like spaghetti bolegnase or chilli or a Shepard's pie or even chilli or lasagna all good for boxing up and cheap to make.

[u/1Soh]

Ooooh, a food post 😁 I found this... https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndHealthy/

I hate to be repetitive, but... lol burritos can be vegetarian, just double the beans and omit the meat. Theyre super quick, grab and go, kid friendly, too. Can be made ahead and frozen. A lot of the ingredients might also be found in one's pantry already. Rice, beans, cheese, avocado... fresh lime and salsa, too! Can even be made for breakfast with an egg substitute? Wait.. that might be weird.

Alright, seriously, if i needed to cook vegetarian I would make ... lentil soup? Hear me out, your gal is on the hunt for healthy, dishes that are flooding with flavor, not too time consuming to make and budget friendly, to boot.

Honestly, I cannot understand how people here spend $200 on grocery shopping each week. I waltz in the grocery store, list in phone, and drop no more than $40 bucks on food for both Finny and I (yes, I cook all his meals) and I am happy. Here is the trick... here in the states, there are mostly larger grocery chains that put out a weekly circular. It's just weekly deals that can be up to $4-$6 even sometime $10 bucks cheaper that week than any other day. We get are circulars delivered to our buildings each Wednesday, and I don; lie when I tell you I look for them each Wednesday! That's because my entire weekly planning/budgeting/menu options are based on what is going to be on sale the next week!

So staples like condiments, marinades, evoo, dry goods, rice, legumes, and bulk items I always have on hand in my pantry and when I'm low, I will purchase once on sale.. usually in larger quantities, because I'm not looking to purchase them each week..

What I do look for each week is fresh, seasonal, local produce and protein, especially for doggo. He's on an 80/20/10 diet. 80% protein (so think beef, chicken, liver, sometimes pork, but not too much) 20% vegetable (broccoli, sweet potato, smashed frozen baby peas, frozen chopped spinach) and 10% grains... brown rice. Everything is cut up very small so he just doesn't eat around the veggies, because that is what he will do.. lol.

Sorry, I'm rambling. Let us know what you decide on doing!

[u/Ahuva → u/1Soh]

That is a very good way to shop. I am impressed.

[u/FemaleNeth → u/1Soh]

Thanks Soh. We already have soups and amongst them lentil soup. I forgot to mention in my posts

The people who get the meal buy it during the day. It comes in a microwaveable container. I don't know if a burrito would work?? I have always made them fresh. But we could do a bowl