STRETCHING OUT A MEAL

Meat is often the most expensive ingredient in a meal. Here are some ideas on how you can stretch a meal out to save you money without compromising on the nutrition or taste.

• Get to know your legumes. Canned lentils, chickpeas and beans are super cheap and extremely versatile, making them a great addition to mince-based and casserole dishes. Try adding a can of lentils to your spaghetti bolognese or meatball recipe to stretch the dish a few extra serves. It’s also a great way to bump up your daily fibre intake too. To be even more budget savy, consider using dried beans and chickpeas, these will need to be precooked beforehand by following packet instructions. Dry lentils should be rinsed and can be added directly to the recipe, they need to be cooked until they are soft. If you are a Mexican food lover give our beef nachos and avocado salsa recipe a go aswell as our Nourishing Mexican bowl recipe

• Understand portion size and what a healthy plate looks like. A serving of meat is about the size of your palm or 2 slices of cooked meat (100 g). At dinnertime your meal can be made up of a ¼ of the plate with lean beef or lamb with ½ a plate of non-starchy vegetables (e.g. spinach, broccoli, zucchini) and a ¼  plate of carbohydrates (e.g. rice, pasta or starchy vegetables like potato or kumara). Of course this doesn’t always end up looking like meat with vege on the side as this Vietnamese Beef Salad recipe demonstrates.
  

• Buy meat when it’s on special and freeze what you can. Meat can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months (some types, such as mince, can only be stored for two months). And don’t be afraid to shop around. All Quality Mark retailers sell beef and lamb that is of the highest standard and you may find a special deal outside of your local supermarket. For a list of retailers in your area, click here. 
  

• Have a go at cooking a beef or lamb roast and plan multiple meals from the one cooking session.

  • Example 1: Serve hot roast meat with vegetables the first night then use leftover meat the next day. Try our Slow cooked lamb shoulder recipe.

    • In tacos, pitas or wraps

    • Make sandwiches with added salad, cheese, hummus etc.

    • Fill a baked potato with leftover meat, chopped onion, canned tomatoes and cheese

    • Use in a soup like our Harira recipe

o    Example 2: Cook up Spaghetti Bolognese the first night then use the leftover meat the next day:

• In tacos, pitas or wraps

• In a Lasagne, served with a side salad

• In a Shepherd’s pie, served with cooked seasonal vegetables

• You can also use the bones from your roast by adding them to a large pot of boiling water with vegetables/vegetable scraps to make your own stock. There are plenty of recipes online on making your own stock (also called bone broth). Here’s a great article on how to eat well while spending less.
  
  For further information, check out this page for a more detailed explainer on how to make your meat go further.