The Stay At Home Mum who is famous for economising on everything from special occasions to everyday meals has revealed how she feeds her family of four for less than $50 per week.
Jody Allen, who has just published her first book ‘The $50 Weekly Shop’, says that it’s not necessarily easy, but ‘everyone can do it’.
She shared some of her secrets with Channel 9, including the fact that she always makes a week’s worth of school lunches in advance.
Jody Allen, of Stay At Home Mum fame, shares her secrets for feeding a family on $50 a week
One of Ms Allen’s cheapest creations is pumpkin scones with baked beans and melted cheese
She recommends doing all the work in the kitchen on Sunday so you can enjoy free time later
Ms Allen strongly recommends that you put in all the work needed for the coming week on a Sunday, so that you can use extra weekday free time to do things that you enjoy.
One of Ms Allen’s cheap creations is pumpkin scones with baked beans and melted cheese, which she serves with a side salad: ‘It’s a cheap, easy, nutritious meal that’s under $1 a serve.’
Another of her top tips is using the same key ingredient for two nights in a row, but still change the overall dish so your kids don’t get bored.
For instance, if you are using beef, add noodles and curry powder for beef chow mien one night, and then the following night, add gravy powder and veggies before cooking it pastry crust to make a pie.
One of Ms Allen’s top tips is to use the same key ingredient, like beef, for two nights in a row
She recommends using the same base item but changing the overall dish to avoid repetition
The Allen family’s favourite dish is roast chicken and potatoes with lemon and rosemary, which ‘takes two minutes to put together’ and is also less than a dollar a serve.
To help keep the grocery bill low, Ms Allen recommends always buying the cheapest version of key products like flour, tinned tomatoes, olive oil and baked beans.
She also always has fruit like apples, bananas and oranges at home, because they are usually the cheapest fruit.
Frozen vegetables can always be relied on to bulk up meals, while meat should be bought in bulk and then frozen to keep costs down.
Jody Allen’s golden rule at the supermarket is to avoid the middle aisles where the ‘junk’ is kept
Buying meat in bulk and then freezing it is a go way to save on your grocery bill, Ms Allen said
The Allen family favourite dish is roast chicken and potatoes with lemon and rosemary garnish
She also relies heavily on her ‘Golden Rule’ of shopping: ‘You avoid all the centre aisles the shopping hopping centre, because that’s where the biscuits and soft drink and all the good stuff is,’ she said.
For people wanting to start ecnomising, Ms Allen recommends looking through your fridge, freezer and pantry and then using those items first.
Featuring recipes, meal plans, sample grocery lists and advice on how to grow and make your own food, ‘The $50 Weekly Shop’ on sale from Penguin now.