DURBAN - In these times of turmoil, managing your finances and your food supplies is a vital skill to possess, especially when you have a family to look after.
We compiled a list of methods to feed your family on a budget and still keep their taste buds satisfied during the National lockdown using just the following ingredients : Oats, Rice, Chicken, Gravy, Onions and Green pepper.
Here's how you can do it...
Breakfast :
Remember sustenance is the aim of the game, we advise you stock up on
oats
. A healthy carbohydrate with the potential to keep you satisfied for hours. The preparation time is low and you can get creative with it by adding in dry or fresh fruit or simply sugar and margarine will do the trick.
Lunch:
We recommend you boil a few cups of rice (depending on the size of your family).
Depending on the preferred protein choice, you can go with chicken or red meat (chicken is a cheaper option when feeding more than two people). Season and toss it in the oven or give it a pan fry. Remember you have a limited supply, so keep away half of the boiled rice for supper.
Put the kettle to boil and in a bowl, empty out a sachet of easy-to-make gravy, whisk together for a few minutes and you have yourself a wholesome lunch.
Supper:
Remember that half portion of rice you boiled and kept aside for lunch? Well now it's time to whip it out, Asian style.
You can do a 15 minute stir fry, f
inely dice half and onion, a whole green pepper and 2 cloves of garlic.
If you have any chicken or meat left over from lunch, great, you can add it to the stir fry, if not, it won’t hurt the family to go vegetarian for supper (and if protein is really a pressing issue, try scrambled eggs in fried rice for another asian classic).
Wastage is something you are trying to eliminate here, so don’t allow the kids to throw away food. Have a few zip lock bags near by to salvage whatever you can. Your supply is limited and you don’t want to risk leaving the house. It will take some extra work but you do have enough time to practice.
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