This shopping list and recipes provide healthy, budget-friendly meals for a family of 4, including 2 teenagers, for 1 week. The list meets nutritional requirements and includes mostly whole foods like lentils, beans, rice, vegetables and chicken. Recipes like shepherd's pie made with lentils and vegetarian chili are kid-friendly options that hide vegetables. Meals are planned to use leftovers for multiple meals to reduce waste.

1. Here are my recommendations for healthy, fast, family friendly recipes on a budget. Buying
Cheap processed foods like nuggets, chips, pizza might look like good value but your family
will not be getting essential nutrients, like vitamins, minerals and fibre.
These nutrients are what stop you getting sick and help your immune system fight colds and flu
and also give you energy and heat.
Please don’t say “oh my children would never eat that”. If you tell a
child they probably won’t like something before they eat it, they’re not going to like it.
I find say nothing and serve it up with a smile : )
I know I have served up the Vegetarian Shepherds pie to 3 different families and none of them
noticed the lack of mince. It was still tasty, healthy and filling.
This shopping list meets all the nutritional requirements of a family of 4 with 2 teenagers
Vegans will need to take a vitamin B12 supplement.

2. Shopping List Weekly
Shop Unit
Cost
Total
Cost
Name weight units
Quan
tity € €
Tofu -firm Dunnes 500g 1 2 2
Tinned tomatoes Aldi 400g 3 0.37 1.11
tinned chickpeas Aldi 400g 2 0.59 1.18
tinned tuna in sunflower
oil Aldi 200g 4 1.19 4.76
Tinned sweetcorn Tesco 200g 1 0.69 0.69
cashew nuts Dunnes 100g 2 1.5 3
wholewheat pasta aldi 500g 1 0.99 0.99
wholewheat spaghetti aldi 500g 1 0.99 0.99
Brown Rice aldi 1000g 1 1.49 1.49
Potatoes Aldi 7500g 1 5.99 5.99
Tortillas Aldi 8tortillas 1 0.89 0.89
Wholemeal Pittas Aldi 6pittas 1 0.59 0.59
Brown Bread
Buttercru
st Aldi
sliced
wheaten 10slices 1 0.95 0.95
Bagels Aldi 4bagels 1 1.09 1.09
Noodles
Sharwood
s 375g 1 2.29 2.29
Bag frozen fine green
beans Aldi 1000g 1 1.29 1.29
Bag frozen Roast Veg Aldi 750g 1 1.39 1.39
ginger aldi 3bulbs 1 0.65 0.65
garlic aldi 1piece 1 0.75 0.75
Lettuce aldi 1head 1 0.79 0.79
Head of Broccoli Aldi 1head 1 1.29 1.29
Bag of 3 peppers Aldi 3peppers 1 1.79 1.79
bag of apples Aldi 6apples 2 1.79 3.58
bag of bananas aldi 6bananas 2 1.49 2.98
bag of oranges Aldi 7oranges 1 1.89 1.89
bag of grapefuit aldi 4grapefruit 2 0.69 1.38
Mushrooms aldi 433g 2 1.59 3.18
free range eggs aldi 6eggs 1 1.09 1.09
Cheese aldi 400g 1 2.69 2.69
Rice cakes Aldi 1pack 1 1.29 1.29
Porridge Oats Aldi 1000g 2 0.89 1.78
Country Store mixed
frozen fruits Tesco 500g 1 1.99 1.99
Milk Aldi 1000ml 3 0.75 2.25
1 free range chicken Aldi 1500g 1 5.99 5.99
Coconut Milk Aldi 500ml 1 0.99 0.99
philadelphia light
cheese tesco 200g 1 2.25 2.25
Smoked Salmon Aldi 200g 1 2.99 2.99
Carrots Aldi 1000g 1 1.29 1.29
Celery Aldi bag 1 0.79 0.79
Onions Aldi bag 1 0.69 0.69
Sunflower seeds Tesco 300g 1 0.89 0.89
75.94
plus
storecu
pboard 7.88
TOTAL 84.71

3. soy sauce amoy reduced salt Tesco 150ml 1 1.69
sweet chilli sauce
tesco own
brand 159ml 1 1.59
Chilli Powder
tesco
everyday
value 95g 1 1.49
Curry powder tesco 90g 1 1.09
Cajun Spices schwartz 44g 1 2.29
stock cubes
tesco own
brand 10cubes 1 0.99
tea aldi 80bags 1 1.49
squeezy honey aldi 1 1 1 1.99
Sugar aldi 1000g 1 1.19
bisto gravy tesoc 227g 1 1.45
Mae ploy Green curry paste 500g 1 3.00
Dried Puy Lentils
Dunnes/Te
sco/Super
Valu 500g 1 1.5
Dried Red Split Lentils
Dunnes/Te
sco/Super
Valu 500g 1 1
Linseeds Tesco 250g 1 1.19
frozen spinach Tesco 1000g 1 1.70
3 wks 23.65
1 wk 7.88
Store Cupboard Shop every 3 weeks

6. RECIPES
Roast Chicken Potatoes and Vegetables.
Peel and slice carrots and onions, parboil potatoes and cut in quarters roast in the oven
place on ovenable tray, place chicken on top and roast according to weight. Serve with
Gravy.
After dinner – remove all the pieces of chicken still left and place in a bowl in the fridge
Boil the carcass of the chicken with some carrots, celery and onions in about 2L of water
enough to cover the chicken, simmer for an hour and strain. Keep the vegetables. Leave to
cool to room temperature and place stock in the fridge (use an old milk carton for this)
Chicken Curry
Fry 2 onions in a pan with a little oil, add in 1 tbs of curry powder and 1tbsp of plain flour
and cook for a few minutes then add half of the stock from the fridge stirring all the time.
Then add the chicken pieces from the night before. Add in 4 parboiled potatoes (you can
peel the potatoes and put them in the microwave for 5 mins) and stir. If you feel it is too
thick add in some more stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15mins. Serve with brown
rice
(you can freeze the rest of the stock and the leftover vegetables to use in your soup recipe)

7. Shepherd’s Pie
This is a vegetarian recipe but nobody ever notices it is not made without mince. I think the
trick with kids is just to call it Shepherd’s pie and just put it in front of them, don’t mention
it’s anything different than normal. This is very healthy and high in fibre and very low fat,
but still is comfort food.
Dice 2 onions, 2 carrots and 2 sticks of celery and fry in a pan at a low heat, add in 200g of
puy lentils and 200g of red lentils. Add double the amount of water, one vegetable stock
cube and 2 tins of tomatoes and a dash of soy sauce and cook until the lentils are cooked
about 20mins. You may need to add in a little bit more water if they lentils are absorbing
too much.
In a separate pot peel and boil 8 potatoes and mash them. Half the base mixture and keep
for tomorrow. Put a layer of the “mince” base into a dish and top with the mash potato
cook in the oven for 20mins about 170
The next day use the “mince” for Spaghetti Bolognaise.
Reheat the “mince” mixture in a saucepan and add in some dried oregano/basil. Serve
with Spaghetti or pasta.

8. Chilli NON Carne
Again this is a vegetarian dish but is so tasty they will not miss the mince.
Fry 2 onions and 3 cloves of garlic in a pan, add some diced carrots, half a red, yellow and
green pepper sliced., then add in 2tsp of chilli powder (to your own taste) and some
paprika and cumin if you have it. Add 2 tins of tomatoes and 2 tins of kidney beans with
about 100ml of water. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to simmer for 30 mins.
Half the mixture and leave to cool at room temperature and place in fridge
Serve the other half with rice and grated cheese on top. Make extra brown rice for
tomorrows dinner.
Burritos and Potato Wedges
Again this is a kid friendly meal all the goodness is hidden.
Wash 4-6 potatoes and cut into wedges, sprinkle with salt and oil and bake in the oven for
20mins
Take 4 large tortillas and, one at a time place a few spoonfuls of the bean mixture from the
day before down the middle, top this with some of yesterdays brown rice and some grated
cheese. Roll up, repeat with the other tortillas. Place in a dish in the oven and top with
grated cheese, bake for 20 mins.
Serve the Burritos and the potato wedges with green salad or lettuce on the side.

9. Tofu
Tofu isn’t anything to be afraid of, and cut into small pieces in a stirfry or green curry you
wouldn’t even notice it as the other flavours take over.
Take the tofu and cut it in half. Cut it into small pieces and squeeze with a teatowel to take
out the moisture. Sprinkle with oil and bake in an oven for 20 mins. Or if in a rush fry off
quickly in the pan and remove.
Take 2 cloves of garlic and an inch of grated ginger and fry in a pan, add in some sliced
mushrooms, the rest of the sliced peppers , 1 grated carrot and 1 sliced celery stick and 2
handfuls of the frozen green beans. Add in a good dash of soy sauce and a little water and
cook for a few mins. Add back in the tofu and serve with brown rice.
Tofu Green Curry
Place 1tsp of oil and 1 tbsp of green curry paste in a pan, add in one tin of coconut milk, then
add in sliced onions, mushrooms and the frozen green beans. Cook the rest of the tofu as
outlined before and add in last minute. Serve with brown rice.

10. • Soup
• Use the leftover chicken stock if you like, fry onions, carrots, celery in a saucepan.
Add in 2 stock cubes and 2L of water (if not using stock) and 1 tin of tomatoes.
Add is the bag of frozen Mediterranean vegetables and cook for 20mins. Season
and liquidize.
• Spicy Falafel.
• Blend 1 tin of chickpeas with some garlic and some Cajun seasoning or chilli
powder and 1 tbsp of flour, form into little balls and bake in the oven. Stuff these
into pitta breads with lettuce for lunch, use sweet chilli as a sauce or a little mayo.
For kids leave out the spices and just make little chickpea cakes for their lunch
boxes
• Tortilla pizzas
• Take 2 Tortilla wraps and “stick” together with some tomato puree. On top spread
more tomato puree with the back of a spoon, add some cheese, thinly sliced
mushrooms, or thinly sliced onion, sprinkle of sweetcorn . Bake in the oven for 7
mins.

11. Over a week the nutritional requirements of 2 adults and 2 children are met
This is taking the average calorie requirement of a woman to be
An average man needs around 2,500 calories a day to maintain his weight. For an average
woman, that figure is around 2,000 calories a day. These values can vary depending on age and
levels of physical activity, among other factors.
What are calories?
Calories are a measure of how much energy food or drink contains. The amount of energy you
need will depend on:
your age: for example, growing children and teenagers may need more energy
your lifestyle: for example, how active you are
your size: your height and weight can affect how quickly you use energy
Other factors can also affect how much energy you burn, for example:
some hormones (chemicals produced by the body): such as thyroid hormones
some medications: such as glucocorticoids (a type of steroid used to treat inflammation)
being unwell
Maintaining a healthy weight
To maintain a healthy weight, you need to balance the amount of calories you consume through
food and drink with the amount of calories you burn through physical activity. To lose weight in
a healthy way you need to use more energy than you consume by:
eating a healthy, balanced diet with fewer calories and increasing your activity

12. For the full week the Nutritional Information is as follows:-
Per day divide % by 7 and for per person divide by 4

13. See www.dees.ie