Make it go further

Many of us need to Make It Go Further as we are on a pretty tight budget these days. Everything is getting more and more expensive by the day. Re-purposing leftovers is a great way to make your meat go further but it’s not the only way.

Here are a few tips & some examples of what I do at home:

Buy in bulk. You’re guaranteed to save. In our shop, it’s always cheaper to buy 2kgs+ of something. If we buy bulk from our supplier he gives us a discount and we then pass that on to you.
Get involved with our rewards program. Who doesn’t love being rewarded just for doing the weekly grocery shopping? Free meat never goes astray. All you need to do is create an account on our website and place your order. You’ll automatically accrue points which translate to a discount on your next order.
After you’ve done your meat shop, portion your meals. Do it as soon as you get home otherwise you get side tracked and never get around to it. Freezing your meat without portioning is never a good idea. We all have the same idea of just using it two nights in a row but how often does that actually happen?
Control your portion sizes. Allow approximately 250g of meat per person when serving steak or chops. When using mince you can bulk it out and use as little as 100g – 150g per person. Add a can or refried beans to your spaghetti to bulk it out, the kids will never even know!
Chicken pricing is on an upward spiral due to a national shortage. Who can honestly say they don’t like chicken? I love it! What would you say if I told you that you can get 4 meals for 2 people out of 2 medium breasts? How? Do you ask?

I’ll show you.

Remove the tenderloin and put aside.
Split the breast in half lengthways. You now have two tenderloins and 4 pieces of fillet breast.
Trim the side of 4 fillets taking approximately 2 cms off each side So that the fillet is just smaller than your palm.
2 of the fillets I make into schnitzels and freeze flat in a ziplock bag. The other two I marinate for chicken steaks or use for burger night. With the tenderloins and the strips you trimmed off the sides, dice them and these can be used for stroganoff, curry, stir fry etc. I get two meals out of the diced breast.

Do the same with your rump steak. A healthy portion of meat is the size of your palm. Each time your trim your steak you might not get enough for a meal. Save it up in the freezer over a couple of weeks. That’s a free dinner using steak that you may not have eaten and put in the bin or fed to the dog.
Remember when making curry or stir fry you only need about 2/3 of the quantity of meat you would normally serve. The rest is made up of vegetables and rice or pasta.
Potato is a great way to make your meals go further, I use potato in absolutely everything! Cubed potato in curry, stew, casserole, stir-fry, Samosas. You can add it to almost anything!
Smaller dinner plates! Most of us tend to suffer from a condition called ‘eyes bigger than belly’. Serving a small meal on a huge plate will make you feel like you’ve missed out and left you wanting more. Most of us don’t need to eat a huge dinner plate full to the brim but if it’s there we will overeat and just fit it in. This is common for kids!

Follow some of these tips and you might find that you’re treating yourself to lamb cutlets or something super yummy that you might not otherwise be able to afford.