I got a message from a close friend this week suggesting I write a cookbook for these economic times, you know, cheap cuts like mince and chicken thighs. And it got me thinking, how is that any different to the seven books I already have? Cooking your food with real ingredients, meat and veg, is the most economical way to eat. I already have the books. Just use them. Pretty much my answer.

I suppose it’s a bit like “family food” or “kids food” or even “snack food.” What even is that? It’s just food. Yes, my books have loads of recipes for special occasions, but plenty for economical weeknight meals too, especially in Packed and The Real Food for Kids Cookbook.

Cooking from real ingredients is not at all hard or time consuming, you just need to organise yourself. Yes, making butter chicken from scratch with homemade naan bread is work and washing up, but the results are delicious. We make a meal for only a few dollars a serve, it tastes good, and you know exactly what’s in it. I just won’t eat chicken from a cheap takeaway. It’s my one food snobbery. I’m not a fan of food poisoning, and you end up with a tiny bit of protein and heaps of carbs, that’s why its cheaper.

I made the butter chicken from the Tasmania Pantry Cookbook three weeks ago and the kids honestly raved about it. Not just a polite “this is nice, thanks, Mum,” they actually raved. I hadn’t made it for a few years. It’s been on the menu ever since, and now Oscar rolls and cooks the naan bread himself.

The lasagne from The Real Food for Kids Cookbook, I used two kilos of mince because I was making it ahead and had the family over after the kids’ footy on Sunday. I just needed to pop it in the oven with the garlic bread I’d made. So nice after a few hours in the cold. We served it with salad and garlic bread, and the leftovers stretched to four lunches. Oscar takes his heated in a thermos, my eldest takes hers cold and heats it at school.

Dishes can also be altered to suit your budget. A good example is fish chowder or laksa. Try salmon mince or offcuts if you can get them from the salmon shop and sometimes at No frills.

Making your own stocks is not only economical, you are getting extra nutrition and flavour into your dishes. The info is in Packed. You’ll never throw your roast lamb bone out again. Make a beautiful soup.

I will be stocking up on the Nichols chicken drumsticks from No Frills, and keeping an eye out for chicken livers, but I am going to resist the temptation to purchase the dagwood dogs they also have on special. I’m not going to lie, I love a good dagwood dog. And they’ve got the three little chickens for $15. Learn how to bone them out, use the bones for stock or roast them for sandwiches.

Marion Bay chicken wings are on special at Hill Street, great for soups or a paella.

I’m a fan of the offcuts from the salmon shop. Love a good salmon pasta and you don’t need the fancy stuff for a pizza or pasta. And if you can get your hands on the super economical salmon mince, that’s great for fish lasagne, pies, fish burgers, and I’ve had people say it is great in chowder.

A1 in Glenorchy is always a good shop for fruit and veg, and the fruit and veg at Hill Street and Salamanca Fresh is always better and more economical than the duopoly.

I don’t know, but it’s going to be frustrating to watch Hungry Jack’s and the other shiteatries boom over the next few months as people opt for that because they believe it’s ‘cheap food’. Even in comparison to our bistro prices you could get a delicious octopus soup for around the price of a meal at one of them. Just like in covid record profits, how did that happen? Is that just part of their marketing, they’ve just made that up and it’s a lie. I really do not get it. It would be close to $100 for a family meal these days. Fuck that. I would choose to eat a meal of quail, prawns, venison or a big T-bone with delicious veggies cooked at home for the same family expense. Thoughts, do you think nutritious food is expensive? Are you using my recipes if you are let me know and your friends. We use the recipes in the books all the time, why I produced the books so others could use them too.

The Real Food for Kids Plus Packed cookbook are on special together for $39 a great place to start if you want to cook more to save money or eat less processed.