Cooking to a budget

Menu planning in early childhood services is important as it ensures that the meals provided support the health, growth and development of young children. Thoughtfully planned menus help offer a balanced variety of foods, ensuring children meet their nutrition requirements to support growth and development.

A well-planned menu also streamlines multiple aspects of food preparation. It can simplify the shopping process, improve time management in the kitchen and make it easier to stay within budget.

Additionally, it can also assist centres with meeting the Menu planning guidelines for long day care and in turn, nutrition standards.

2. Take a ‘shelfie’

If you shop in person rather than online, when you go shopping, take a quick photo of your pantry or cupboard – a ‘shelfie.’ It helps you remember what you already have so you don’t buy the same things again. Try to only buy what you know you’ll use before it goes out of date. This helps you cut down on food waste and saves money.

3. Buy from wholesalers, butchers and greengrocers

Shopping at places like wholesalers, greengrocers and local butchers can save you money compared to buying everything from the supermarket. Wholesalers often have good deals and may even offer delivery, which can save you time as well.

4. Buy in bulk

Buying in bulk can save money, especially for things that don’t go off quickly. Look for big packs of items like rice, pasta, oats, flour, dried and canned beans, canned fruits and vegetables and cooking oils. These are great to keep in the pantry and use over time.

6. Buy ‘Ugly’ fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables don’t have to look perfect to taste good! Stores like Woolworths have ‘The Odd Bunch,’ and Coles has the ‘I’m Perfect’ range which are odd-shaped fruit and vegetable sold at cheaper prices. They’re just as healthy and tasty, and buying them can help you save money.

8. Shop and compare by unit price

Looking at the unit price (e.g. cost per 100g or 100ml) helps you find the best value, not just the cheapest sticker price. It is easy when shopping online as you can sort items by unit price to see the best deal. In stores, the unit price is often printed on the shelf label so you can compare different sizes and brands. Taking a moment to check the unit price can help save money in the long run.

10. Grow your own herbs and vegetables

Herbs add beautiful flavours to food, and planting and maintaining a herb garden is a fun, health promoting activity for children. If you have the space, you can also plant a vegetable garden and involve the children in growing, maintaining and harvesting vegetables.

Some simple ingredient swaps can have a big impact on budget.

Here are some examples that you can try in your centre:

• Frozen fruit and vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh, often at a lower cost. Particularly for fruits and vegetables that aren’t in season. You can use leftover fruit and veg for other meals and snacks too!
• Using canned fish/tuna can be a cheaper alternative to fresh fish on your menu.
• Add an extra vegetarian meal to the menu. Plant sources of protein (e.g. lentils, chickpeas or beans) are often cheaper.
• Include more legumes. Legumes are cheap, tasty and nutritious! Try halving the amount of mince used in slow cooked recipes and adding in chickpeas, lentils or split peas to bulk up the meal.

Here is a list of HEAS approved recipes that each has its own benefits when trying to stick to a budget. You will find some recipes that include legumes, some you can add different vegetables to (based on what you have on hand or is in season) and some use leftovers or can be reinvented to make another delicious meal for your centre!

• Falafel
• Hummus with Falafel, tomato salad, coriander and sumac
• Carrot and lentil soup
• Vegetarian fried rice
• Vegetarian chilli con carne
• Baked chicken risotto
• Hearty veggie soup
• Vegetarian lentil bolognese
• Pasta bolognese
• Tzatziki dip
• Fruity crumble