Giant bag of the cheapest mixed veg you can find and some cheap beef, a small bag of brown rice and some beef stock cubes.

Make yourself a fucking massive pot of beef and vegetable soup. Freeze it off in batches. It has the benefit of being cheap AND nutritious.

Vegemite spaghetti. Stir Vegemite and parmesan cheese (if you have it) though cooked hot pasta. It’s sensational.

Cheap dessert for the kids - Golden Syrup Dumplings

Savoury dumplings can also go in soups, stews or casseroles

Pesto pasta is povo and you can make it a bit fancier if you want

Makes 1 serve

Required

• 100g pasta
• About 50g green pesto
• Cheese and pepper to taste

Optional

• 40g of frozen peas (baby peas are nicest)
• 10 to 15g of sundried tomato slivers

Method

1. Start pasta cooking as per packet instructions
2. Add pesto and optional sundried tomato to your serving bowl
3. 1 minute before the pasta is cooked to your liking, add frozen peas in with the pasta
4. Once pasta and peas are cooked, strain immediately and mix with the bowl of pesto
5. Season with cheese and pepper to taste

Note

• Pesto with added cheese (e.g. Barilla Pesto Genovese) is very salty, use less salt than normal in your pasta water. Or just choose a different pesto.

Eggs and a starch like grits or fried potatoes or toast. Spaghetti Oatmeal If you buy chili powder in bulk or, like I do, make it in bulk, then chili with beans is cheap and fast.