Our meals are, in my opinion, tastier than most other peoples. We do like chillis and spices, so that helps. No, we don't meal plan
We.do have a few basics at all times in the fridge. Capsicum, carrots, onions, garlic are regularly used.
Here is one of our recipes.
teriyaki chicken stir fry. Make the teriyaki from scratch with ginger, chilli, soy, garlic, lime juice and brown sugar to taste. Add a thinly sliced onion, about 150 grams of thinly sliced (across the grain) strips of blade roast, then when just browned, add brocolli, julienned carrots, capsicum, and if they are cheap this week, snow or sugar snap peas. Thicken sauce with cornflour if desired. Eat with white rice, my preference is basmati.
Some ideas here. The majority of this meal is vegetables. Meat is expensive, so buy a cheaper cut like blade roast. You can normally get it from coles for about $11 per kg. Buy a kilo of meat and slice it into stir fry slips. Pack bags of about 150 grams flat for easy defrosting into ziplok bags and freeze for later use.
This meakes enough for 4 so we have it for dinner, and then freeze it fir later when feeling lazy. Rice cooker for 15 minutes, 5 mins in microwave and another great meal.
Sauces in jars cost a lot more than making them from scratch. They contain excess.salt and sugar and cannot be changed easily to meet your tastes. We use 5 birds eye chillis in this recipe, which makes it hot, hot enough that some won't like it.
Buy rice in bulk, a minimum of 5 kgs at a time. It doesn't go off. Look for it on sale when you arr half way through the last bag. I normally get a 5kg bag of basmati for under $10. Normal retail would be about $18. Planning ahead helps here.
Some big hints:
Reduce your meat intake. It is normally the most expensive single component of a meal.
Make.your own sauces.
Buy in bulk and cut up and freeze.
Choose cheaper.cuts and learn to cut them well.
Enjoy the flavours, they are usually cheap if making from scratch
