by Thrifty Lesley | Apr 19, 2025 | All Recipes, Cakes and Bakes, Christmas, Less than 500 calories
Adding oats to muffins These muffins are tender and delicious, especially still warm, straight from the oven. They are not overly sweet as I have reduced the sugar right down, mincemeat is very sweet, so we don’t need to add much more. This recipe was originally...
by Thrifty Lesley | Nov 23, 2024 | All Recipes, Less than 500 calories, Lunches, Meal Plan 1, Meal Plan 4
Pea soup, a lovely quick and simple soup made using frozen green peas and not a lot else. Very quick to make, about 15 minutes start to finish. Enjoy with a slice of lovely bread and butter, a vegetable muffin, cheese scone, cheese on toast or anything else you fancy,...
by Thrifty Lesley | Nov 5, 2024 | Dinners, Less than 500 calories, Lunches
Having recently been on holiday, and enjoying the local food, I was keen to explore some traditional Greek food recipes when I got back. A reader, Vera George, who is Greek, offered some of her recipes, and this is one of hers. Kounoupithi Yiahni by the way is...
by Thrifty Lesley | Nov 5, 2024 | All Recipes, Less than 500 calories, Lunches, Meal Plan 1, Meal Plan 2
This post was first written in June 2013 and updated in June 2021. I love this soup, it is my go to for a soup for lunch. I usually add a tsp of ginger paste from a jar, a tsp of garlic paste, and a tsp of turmeric to give it a lovely spicy kick, and at it’s...
by Thrifty Lesley | Oct 28, 2024 | All Recipes, Breakfast, Dinners, Less than 500 calories, Lunches, Meal Plan 1
This recipe came about when I was challenged to create an 8th day on Meal Plan 1 using remaining groceries. It was indeed quite a challenge trying to come up with a days eating from this and that. I’m really quite pleased with these! What do I need to make vegan...
by Thrifty Lesley | Oct 18, 2024 | All Recipes, Dinners, Less than 500 calories
I made this salad with chicken and mango in one of the Cooking Up A Storm groups that I do with my local u3a. It was very simple, quick to make too, and very delicious! This is one of the more expensive recipes on Thrifty Lesley, so if funds are short, maybe something...
by Thrifty Lesley | Oct 12, 2024 | All Recipes, Dinners, Meal Plan 1, Meal Plan 10, Meal Plan 4
This recipe for sweet corn fritters is made with very basic ingredients, is very quick and easy, and a very cheap meal. The sweetcorn can be swapped out for many other vegetables and changed around in many different ways. This particular sweet corn fritter recipe is...
by Thrifty Lesley | Sep 22, 2024 | All Recipes, Other
Brazil nut butter is incredibly easy to make, very delicious, and ones like this Brazil nut butter are a third of the price of those in the shops. Many things can be added – pumpkin seeds, raisins, hot or sweet paprika What do I need to make Smoking Hot Brazil...
by Thrifty Lesley | Aug 23, 2024 | All Recipes, Dinners, Lunches, Meal Plan 12, Meal Plan 14, Stretch A Chicken
What do I need to make a chicken and onion pie For a 20cm pie, serving 4, you will need Pastry 200g flour, I always use self raising, but it doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference 100ml vegetable oil about 100ml water Filling 100g cooked chicken 3 stuffing...
by Thrifty Lesley | Jun 25, 2024 | All Meal Plans, All Recipes, Less than 500 calories, Meal Plan 3, Meal Plan 7, Puddings / Desserts
Sunday Lunch DP and I often have a Sunday lunch at, erm, lunchtime, then in the evening we have a pudding, often a fruit crumble with custard or evaporated milk. I always used to make custard using dried powder and UHT milk. Then one day, having spotted value custard,...
by Thrifty Lesley | May 20, 2023 | All Recipes, Dinners, Lunches, Other
Wild garlic pesto This recipe is for pesto made from wild garlic, or ransoms, which is in season in the early Spring in the UK. The pesto is pungent, delicious and made from wild garlic foraged from the woods, or Allium triquetrum which is what I have growing in my...
by Thrifty Lesley | Mar 24, 2023 | All Recipes, Dinners, Lunches
A mixed vegetable quiche is a classic British dish that comes out very cheap with a bit of frugalisation. If you think quiche or flan sounds like something your granny makes, you could always call it a tart and feel all contemporary. If you decide to use the oil...
by Thrifty Lesley | Aug 6, 2022 | All Recipes, Lunches, Round Up Post
Ideas for school packed lunches – many people with school aged children need them. Packing up a lunch box for children or an adult packed lunch is bad enough. It can be boring, tiresome and a real chore to do. You might be lucky and not mind it too much, but...
by Thrifty Lesley | Jul 20, 2022 | All Recipes, Dinners, Stretch A Chicken
Got a little bit of chicken to use up? Try it in this spicy pasta bake- make it as hot and spicy as you like! What do I need to make Spicy Chicken Pasta To make 4 servings Pasta Bake ▢ 120 g cooked chicken around 150g if using raw chicken ▢ 150 g onion ▢ 2 tsp oil ▢ 1...
