Caldicot mum shares secret to making meals for 70p a portion

Nutrition coach Becky Alexander, 35, has shared how she is able to give her two children healthy meals and how others can cut their weekly costs in just three steps.

She used a 90-piece family feeder hamper from online healthy retailer MuscleFood to cut back on the most expensive parts of her food shop.

The meaty hamper includes two heritage beef rump steaks and pork sausages.

Among the meals, Becky made a beef stir fry for 70p per person.

Nutrition coach and mum of two Becky Alexander has shared her secret for cheap and tasty homemade meals (Image: Becky Alexander/MuscleFood)The busy mum is keen to provide nutritious yet budget-friendly meals for her two children, Alexis, 13 and Tobias, five, while acknowledging it is difficult for families to provide cheap and healthy meals in the current financial climate.

Becky, who shares budget meals on her Instagram, thatwellnessmum, puts her love for cooking down to travelling she did in her 20s, discovering various cuisines, which inspired her to start her own nutrition coaching course.

She says she has always been careful about what she spends on food but the rising cost of living and hike in energy bills has resulted in her being even savvier when it comes to the food shop.

She added: “What’s important for me is for my family to eat healthy, home-cooked meals which don’t cost too much to make.

“Luckily I now know what to look out for when it comes to the food shop, but many are unaware and simply don’t have the time to compare prices or look elsewhere.”

Becky is keen to help share with other people how they can reduce their weekly spending to cope with the rising cost of living.

Her tips include not buying meat from the supermarket, and buying bulk staples, such as potatoes and bananas.

Becky has been able to make a whole range of meals (Image: Becky Alexander/MuscleFood)Becky used a money-saving hamper from MuscleFood to further reduce the costs of her food shop without compromising on taste or nutritious value.

She said: “We found it’s so much cheaper to buy our meat in bulk which we can then freeze for future meals.

“There’s also the convenience aspect of having it all delivered at once, so you’re not having to make a last-minute trip to the supermarket and spend unnecessarily.

“We used the MuscleFood hamper to make a delicious chicken curry, bacon lentil stew and sausage tray bake which the whole family enjoyed. It’s brilliant how little it cost us to make!”

She says it is important for households to make the most of their freezer to help cut back on costs, particularly when it comes to making meals in bulk, when portions can simply be defrosted when necessary.

Becky said: “The beef stir fry which I made from the hamper is a great example of this. I bagged up the meat and flattened the bags to allow for more room in the freezer.

“This way you can fit more into your freezer and have plenty of future meals stored whilst saving money on various ingredients.”

Becky’s top tips for saving money are: plan, use the same ingredients for multiple meals and shop seasonally.