Summarised by Centrist
Stacey from Farmers Wife Homestead shows how to stretch a grocery budget, creating six hearty meals—about 40 servings—for just $50 NZ.
If the government is serious about feeding students affordably, maybe they should give her a call.
Shopping at Pak’nSave, Stacey prioritised affordable proteins like chicken drumsticks, schnitzel, and mince, pairing them with budget staples such as potatoes, carrots, cabbage, rice, lentils, and canned goods.
Her strategy starts with protein, builds meals around versatile ingredients, and wastes nothing.
She made a slow-cooked vegetable coconut curry with split peas, chickpeas, and coconut cream, alongside beef and broccoli noodles with schnitzel and a hoisin-soy sauce.
Her curried mince and cabbage used simple curry powder and caramelised onions for depth. She roasted seasoned chicken breast with vegetables for a one-pan bake, made a hearty tomato and bean soup with kidney beans and split peas, and turned leftover rice, chicken, and vegetables into a quick fried rice.
To stretch her budget, Stacey roasted chicken drumsticks, using the meat across multiple meals while making stock from the bones and vegetable scraps.
Batch-cooking rice and noodles saved time, and when her slow cooker curry turned mushy, she repurposed it as a blended soup.
Her method is all about efficiency—meal planning on the fly, bulk cooking to save time, and prepping ingredients in advance for effortless weeknight meals.
