WORKERS are ditching shop-bought meal deals in favour of packed lunches as the cost of living bites.
But saving hundreds of pounds a year need not mean and lacklustre leftovers.
The Actually Delicious Batch Cookbook by s offers tasty to make in advance. Natasha Harding selects four that could help keep your wallet as full as your stomach.
- Recipes amended from Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Batch Cookbook by Poppy O’Toole (Bloomsbury Publishing, Hardback, £22). Photographs © Haarala Hamilton.
Burrito
Serves 8, £1.30 per portion
YOU NEED:
- Olive oil
- 450g pork sausage meat
- 2 onions, diced
- 2 green peppers, deseeded and diced
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 4 garlic cloves, minced or grated
- 25g butter
- 8 eggs, beaten
- 150g cheddar, grated
- Salt and pepper
- Eight large flour tortillas
METHOD: In a large frying pan over a high heat, cook the sausage meat in a glug of olive oil for seven to eight minutes, breaking it up until it’s in small nuggets and golden brown.
Remove it from the pan into a bowl, leaving behind as much fat as possible. Add the onions and peppers and season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle in the paprika and oregano, then fry for five to six minutes until the onions are lightly browned. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Scoop the veg mixture into its own bowl.
Melt the butter in the pan, turn heat to low, pour in the eggs and scramble them, cooking for three to four minutes. Season, transfer to a separate bowl.
Leave everything to cool then make the burritos by dividing the meat, egg and veg between the tortillas, topping with the cheese and wrapping them up.
EAT LATER: Wrap individually, first in parchment paper, then in foil, and freeze for up to three months. To cook from frozen, discard foil, leaving parchment paper in place, wrap burrito in damp kitchen paper and microwave.
High-protein spinach and feta bites
Makes 12, 53p each (2 per lunch)
YOU NEED:
- Butter, for greasing
- 8 eggs
- 150ml whole milk
- 2 tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto
- 200g feta, crumbled
- 100g spinach, washed and roughly chopped
- 100g sun-dried tomatoes, drained, chopped
METHOD: Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan. Grease a 12-hole muffin tray well with butter.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and pesto. Add feta, spinach and tomatoes and stir to combine.
Use a ladle to transfer the egg mixture to the muffin tray, filling the hollows equally. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes until just set, then remove from the oven and cool in the tray.
EAT LATER: Refrigerate for up to five days in an airtight container. Eat cold, or reheat in the microwave.
Chicken Fried Rice
Serves 8, £1.39 per portion
YOU NEED:
- 500g long-grain rice
- Sesame oil
- 2 onions, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced or grated
- 30g fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated
- ½ tbsp Chinese 5-spice
- 1 tbsp medium curry powder
- 3 chicken breast fillets, chopped into small pieces
- 300g ham, chopped into small pieces
- 200g frozen peas
- 200g frozen sweetcorn
- 4-5 tbsp dark soy sauce, to taste
- 4-5 tbsp oyster sauce, to taste
- 6 spring onions, sliced
- Salt and white pepper
METHOD: Cook the rice according to the package instructions in well-salted water. Drain in a colander and leave to cool.
Heat a large wok or frying pan over a high heat and add a glug of sesame oil. When the oil is smoking hot, chuck in the onions, carrots, garlic, ginger, 5-spice, curry powder, chicken and ham. Stir-fry for two to three minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables have charred slightly.
Sprinkle in a pinch each of salt and white pepper, and add the peas and sweetcorn. Fry for one minute to defrost the vegetables, then add the cold rice. Stir-fry for two minutes until the rice is piping hot, then pour in the soy sauce and oyster sauce to taste.
Toss everything together and stir in the spring onions. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed, adding more salt, pepper, soy sauce and oyster sauce if necessary.
EAT LATER: To reheat from frozen, place in a microwave-safe dish with two tablespoons of water and heat until piping hot, giving the rice a good stir halfway through.
Smoked salmon and egg tortilla cups
Makes 12, 55p each (2 per lunch)
YOU NEED:
- 4 large flour tortillas
- 100g smoked salmon
- 12 small eggs
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 60g cheddar, grated
- Salt and pepper
METHOD: Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan. Use an 11cm round cutter to cut three discs from each tortilla. Line the 12 holes of a muffin tray with the discs. Bake blind for ten minutes.
Cut salmon into strips or pieces and divide equally between the crisped tortilla cases in the muffin tray. Crack an egg into each, and sprinkle with red onion. Sprinkle over the cheddar, season with salt and pepper.
Return the tray to the oven and bake for 15 minutes until the egg is set.
Carefully remove the tortilla cups from the muffin tray and leave to cool on a wire rack.
EAT LATER: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to five days. Eat cold, or reheat in an air fryer for five minutes.
