A savvy mother has revealed how she cooked up 74 meals for less than $100 in just three hours – and revealed how you can do it too.
Kaitie Purssell, 28, from Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, regularly shares snaps of her incredible meal prepping sessions as well as tips and tricks for shaving hundreds off your grocery bill.
Kaitie’s latest giant meal prep saw her make 74 meals for only $1.27 per serve.
A savvy mother (pictured) has revealed how she cooked up 74 meals for less than $100 in just three hours – and revealed how you can do it too
Kaitie Purssell (pictured), 28, from Lake Macquarie, regularly shares snaps of her incredible meal prepping sessions as well as tips and tricks for shaving hundreds off your grocery bill
Cooking from The Busy Mums’ Guide to Weight Loss on a Budget , the mother said she made all sorts of meals to freeze for a later date (pictured: some of her meal prep)
Cooking from The Busy Mums’ Guide to Weight Loss on a Budget, the mother said she made all sorts of meals to freeze for a later date.
‘It’s full of amazing easy to make, delicious recipes that has saved me so much money,’ Kaitie told The Healthy Mummy.
Included in her meals were 15 portions of slow-cooked vegetable & tortellini soup, 14 portions of spicy chicken & corn soup and 12 baked cheese & tomato risottos.
Kaitie also made 12 tuna & pumpkin mac & cheese meals, 12 sausage & vegetable pasta bakes and nine beef chow meins.
Included in Kaitie’s (pictured) meals were 15 portions of slow-cooked vegetable & tortellini soups, 14 portions of spicy chicken & corn Soup and 12 baked cheese & tomato risottos
Since learning to cook healthy meals and snacks in bulk, the 28-year-old mum has lost an impressive 21.6 kilograms (pictured before and after)
Since learning to cook healthy meals and snacks in bulk, the 28-year-old mum has lost an impressive 21.6 kilograms.
‘Being prepared and getting organised doesn’t only save time and money it also makes your life so so much easier,’ Kaitie said.
So how can you do similar?
If you want to cook healthily on a budget, Kaitie said the first thing you need to do is meal plan each week:
‘If Sunday doesn’t work for you find a time that does! I often spend less than an hour in the kitchen preparing a whole week of food for my family. It doesn’t have to be hard or take all day,’ she said.
To keep costs down, Kaitie said she often buys her meat in bulk and then builds out her mince with lentils or carrots to stretch her costs further.
‘Use cheaper cuts of meat where possible,’ she said.
You should also plan at least one meat-free meal per week to save cash.
If you want to cook healthily on a budget, Kaitie said the first thing you need to do is meal plan each week (pictured before and after)
Elsewhere in her meal prepping tips, Kaitie said you can freeze leftover curry pastes, herbs and passata in ice cube trays so you can use them on a later date (pictured)
Elsewhere in her meal prepping tips, Kaitie said you can freeze leftover curry pastes, herbs and passata in ice cube trays so you can use them on a later date.
‘Freeze all unfinished pastes such as curry pastes, tomato pasta, and passata. Pour into an icecube tray and once frozen transfer to a ziplock bag,’ she said.
You can do the same with herbs to use in cooking.
Eking out the life of fruit and vegetables is key to a tight grocery bill – Kaitie (pictured) does this by using Vent smart containers or fruit bags to prolong the life of her fruit and veg
Catalogue Specials are often worth checking out as well, she advised, and you can also use apps like Trolley Saver to compare prices (pictured: one of Kaitie’s meals)
Eking out the life of fruit and vegetables is key to a tight grocery bill.
‘Try Vent smart containers or fruit bags to help extend the life of your fresh fruit and vegetables,’ Kaitie said.
The bags are said to keep your fruit and veg fresh for ‘up to three weeks’.
Place the fruit and vegetables in the bag and put them in the drawers of your fridge.
Finally, free loyalty programs like Flybuys and Everyday rewards cards are great for deals (pictured: one of Kaitie’s meals)
Catalogue Specials are often worth checking out as well, she advised, and you can also use apps like Trolley Saver to compare prices.
Finally, free loyalty programs like Flybuys and Everyday rewards cards are great for deals.
She also said you should entertain at home rather than heading out in order to save some money.
‘Have friends over for a BBQ instead of going out for dinner, where everyone could bring a plate,’ Kaitie said.