‘Kids portions are 50p’ boasts batch cooking mum with 120 home-cooked dinners in the freezer – here’s how
A BATCH cooking mum-of-two with 120 home-cooked dinners in the freezer has revealed how kids portions are just 50p.
Jenna Dupay, 37, is a batch-cooking champion who has shared her expertise on making healthy meals for a family.
She claims kids portions cost as little as 50p and adult portions are just £2.
The Essex hairdresser does her shopping affordably at Aldi or Lidl, then batch cooks up to 20 portions at once.
She stays super organised, writing a detailed shopping list and then stashing her freezer with up to 120 meals at a time.
Jenna told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk of her incredibly busy household where she not only feeds her two kids but also friends and tradesmen.
She added how she had a busy work schedule and will work until 9pm three times a week.
Jenna said: “Batch cooking is a way to be prepared but have good sized and healthier portions at a good price.
“All the adult dinner meals I make are £2 to £3 a meal, and the kids portions are 50p to £1 a meal. I love cooking also so this makes all the difference.”
She added: “Freezing the food is the only way to make it last for me as I tend to cook 10 to 20 portions at one time.”
Jenna shares her cookings skills on her instagram account @mrsdupay_aka_mrsbatch.
Her favourite recipes include those by Joe Wicks, Hairy Bikers and Jamie Oliver.
The mum believes batch cooking saves “so much money” and “there’s no food waste at all” due to it being frozen.
She said each batch will take her between one and three hours to finish depending on what it is she’s making.
Some of her weekly go-to meals include a pasta dish, overnight oats, chilli con carne, sweet potato cottage pie, spaghetti bolognese and chicken curry.
Jenna said all her family meals are “full of veg and goodness.”
It comes as Martin Lewis fans have shared their tips for saving cash amid a cost of living crisis.
And one of them revealed how you can cook family meals for as little as 23p.
How to save cash on your food shop
Money saving experts at HSBC UK have revealed their top tips to saving cash on your food shop.
1. Set a budget
Creating a budget will help to stretch your budget. Start by working out how much you spent on food over the last three months, then each month you get paid, set aside a certain amount for food.
2. Plan your meals
Make a list of your main meals for the coming week, including the ingredients you need, and stick to it. Don’t get drawn into offers for things that you don’t need. If you already have some food leftover from the week before, try to see what you can do with that first.
3. Think about when and where you shop
It’s best to shop on a full stomach so you don’t get tempted. Shopping less often can help you to think about what you buy and it may help you to stick to your budget.
4. Go online
Shopping online is a good and easy way to manage your budget. It can also help to track expenses, whilst also preventing impulse buys.
The money saving expert has created a huge guide to help people get by as energy bills and other essentials shoot up in price.
The cost of living survival guide, from the latest Money Saving Expert newsletter, featured a whopping 90 ways to save.
Martin said some of the tips and tricks on cutting back and how to be thrifty came from fans suggestions after asking on social media and the MSE Forum.
He said: “The response was overwhelming and uplifting – 1,000s replied. We’ve added both suggestions and testimonials to what we had – and hope to keep building it.