$10 Meals for UNDER $10 – It CAN be done

I was just reading this article - The Age - Shonkys, the award that no company wants where it says that Coles have falsely advertised meals for under $10 for a family (I assume 4 people)

I look at the ads and see fancy food, I see Curtis Stone (who from a publics’ point of view is the people’s chef) I see food that does take some time and effort to cook, purchase the ingredients, and would be JUST on the border of costing $10 to purchase even IF you had ingredients handy.

So, you can’t just walk into the supermarket with $10, pick up one of the cards and walk out with a meal ready to serve 4 for $10 because of the condiments (which add the flavor). Here is a list of ingredients (and costs) notice the ** Coles, Feed your Family - Chicken and Madras with Steamed Basmati Rice

So you have all of this in the cupboard, including coconut milk and 8 fresh curry leaves? I’d doubt it and that is where and why people get so upset.

Yet there are meals out there that can feed a family of 4 or even 6 for under $10, with basic ingredients, with taste, flavor, texture and it’s food that the kids will eat, without any fancy preparation, AND BONUS it’s healthy!

It’s not unrealistic to expect a meal for under to feed a family of 4. I do it constantly, sometimes has meat and sometimes doesn’t. I do predominantly buy all my meat on special, so even if I didn’t need it that week I’d still buy it and either cook with it and freeze the dish OR freeze the raw product for later use.

I’m all in support of Coles, even if Choice, the consumers watchdog aren’t. The biggest problem with the $10meal promotion is that Coles expect you have coconut milk and fresh curry leaves in the cupboard, the general public is not a supermarket and often working parents don’t have the time to go to the supermarket every day, especially with it taking 5 minutes to choose the ingredients and the 15min to get through the registers.

Hint:- Don’t forget also, freeze it once, raw, freeze it once cooked. Never reheat the whole dish unless you plan on eating on the whole dish, as once it’s been cooked and then re-heated to eat once, it’s not advisable to re-heat again.

Here are some recipes that are under $10 per meal
Perfect Fettuccine
Butternut Pumpkin Soup
Pasta with Bacon

There are many more recipes like this in the Marysville Cookbook - why not have a look Marysville Cookbook Don't forget that if you do decide to buy (not compulsory) that $10 from each sale goes back to Marysville, the township devastated by the Victorian Bushfires in February 2009