Feed a family of six for under $20

Budget-friendly recipes from Facebook sensation

Jas McPhee

South Auckland mum, Jas McPhee launched her Facebook page How To Feed A Family Of 6 For Under $20 last February to immediate success. It started with one simple recipe and photo post – she’d made a lamb curry with home-made roti for $16 for her family of six – cheaper than the average price of a takeaway for one. Since then Jas has continued to share daily Facebook instalments of delicious and wholesome recipes costing less than $20, becoming an online sensation with now close to 66,000 followers in less than a year!

Jas’s new book Feed a Family of Six for Under $20 is a handy compilation of more than 80 of her most popular recipes covering family-oriented main meals and sweet treats. Jas wants to inspire everyone to create their own home-cooked meals – whatever the size of their family – and so has included lots of ideas on how to stock the pantry and freezer with ingredients that ensure a delicious cost effective meal is within easy reach.

The McPhee family know firsthand the challenge of feeding a family during tough financial times – Jas has had to learn the importance of menu planning and the tricks of hunting for grocery bargains on a tight budget. She now has a ‘pay-it-forward’ attitude and her new book is designed to help others feed their families during tough financial times, or simply reduce the size of their grocery bill.

With a copy of Feed a Family of Six for Under $20 in the kitchen, anyone can learn how to create low-cost, great-tasting meals the whole family will love. Jas will show you how to save money, pick up new ideas, eat better and have fun in the process!

About the author

South Aucklander Jas McPhee wants to encourage and inspire other families to not only eat together but cook together – avoiding a future generation of young people who can’t cook and who choose to eat alone. Jas continues to share her cost effective recipe ideas and smart shopping tips with an engaged online community of families and individuals. Jas and her husband Vance have recently been awarded an AMP scholarship to develop a Food Box Service to help provide low cost meals to families on a budget. They have five children

Jas’s Chicken Laksa

This laksa, full of interesting flavours, is a favourite in our house. You can also add chopped nuts and bean sprouts to the garnish for extra crunch.

Serves 6

2 tbsp oil

4 cloves garlic, chopped

5cm piece ginger, chopped

1 stalk lemongrass, chopped

1 tbsp lime or lemon juice

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp cumin

1 cup chicken stock

1kg boneless chicken breast, diced

400ml can coconut cream

1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped

1 chilli, finely chopped (optional)

2 x 250g packets vermicelli noodles

1 carrot, grated

1 spring onion, chopped

1. Heat pan to a medium heat and add oil.

2. Add garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lime or lemon juice, turmeric, cumin and stock. Cook for 2 minutes to

    release the flavours.

3. Add chicken to pan. Bring to boil and simmer until chicken is cooked through.

4. Add coconut cream and simmer for 3–4 minutes until sauce has reduced slightly and thickened.

5. Add coriander (reserving some for garnish) and chilli (if using).

6. Pour boiling water to cover noodles and leave for 3 minutes or until tender.

7. Divide vermicelli among bowls. Spoon a generous amount of Laksa sauce on top.

8. Place a small handful of carrot, spring onion and coriander on top for a bit of extra freshness.

What I spent

oil................................ $0.40

garlic...........................$0.20

herbs and spices........$2.29

lime or lemon juice....$0.20

stock...........................$0.20

chicken.......................$9.99

coconut cream...........$2.80

coriander....................$0.99

chilli............................ $0.40

noodles.......................$0.99

carrot..........................$0.20

spring onion............... $1.00

TOTAL..................$19.66

Reproduced with permission from Feed a Family of Six for under $20 by Jas McPhee. Published by Penguin Group NZ. RRP $19.99. Copyright © text  Jasmine McPhee, 2014 Copyright © food images Vance McPhee, 2014. Available nationwide from 28 February.

Mongolian Barbecue Stir-fry

I cook my stir-fries individually per diner, as they do at our local Mongolian restaurant, and it makes it fun for the kids to fill their own bowls with the ingredients they want. You can just make one big stir-fry if you prefer. If you can’t get beef you can use ham, which is always affordably priced; my kids would love ham over beef any day! It’s a great thing to do when you have guests. Most of all it’s fun – everyone plays a part in cooking dinner and they can eat with chopsticks. My kids eat more veges this way too.

Serves 8

½ cup light soy sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

4 cloves garlic, crushed

500g beef strips

1 cup oil (you can keep leftover for later use)

1kg bag fresh Chinese egg noodles

250g bag bean sprouts

3 carrots, sliced

150g mushrooms

1 spring onion, chopped

½ cabbage, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 cup oyster sauce

1 chilli, finely sliced (optional)

1. Mix together soy sauce, sugar and one of the garlic cloves. Marinate half the beef in this, reserving the

    other half for those who prefer their meat plainer.

2. Have everything set out on the bench and let people choose their own ingredients and sauces, placing

    their choices in a bowl.

3. For each serve, simply heat a little of the oil at a time in a wok and stir-fry everything together, adding a

    little warm water if needed as you go.

What I spent

soy sauce............. $1.00

sugar....................$0.50

garlic....................$0.50

beef.....................$6.99

oil......................... $1.00

noodles................$2.50

bean sprouts.......$1.29

carrots.................$0.30

mushrooms..........$2.00

spring onion........$0.50

cabbage...............$1.29

onion....................$0.20

oyster sauce........ $1.00

chilli.....................$0.20

TOTAL............$19.27

Reproduced with permission from Feed a Family of Six for under $20 by Jas McPhee. Published by Penguin Group NZ. RRP $19.99. Copyright © text Jas McPhee 2014 Copyright © food images Vance McPhee, 2014. Available nationwide from 28 February.