by Thrifty Lesley | Dec 3, 2025 | All Recipes, Less than 500 calories, Lunches
I invented this soup one day when I had barely anything in the larder, and it was so good, I’ve made it lots of times since! It only has three ingredients! First of all, and most importantly, it’s delicious. There is not a lot of point making frugal food...
by Thrifty Lesley | Aug 27, 2025 | All Meal Plans, Meal Plan 4, Meal Plans For 2
Meal Plan 4 As at the time of writing, August 2025 you will need £23.73 in your purse at the checkout, but the amount of food actually consumed (if you follow the plan fully) comes to £18.74, so £1.34 a day per person, and you still have some supplies to start you off...
by Thrifty Lesley | May 11, 2025 | All Recipes, Cakes and Bakes, Less than 500 calories
This banana bread comes together very quickly and isn’t complicated to make. It’s super delicious still warm from the oven so the chocolate pieces are still melted, ooh, yum!. Add pecans to it too if you like! It will keep for 7-10 days, so is great for...
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 | Dec 8, 2024 | Lunches, Vegetarian Christmas Meal Plan
This sandwich is for tea on Christmas Day on a Vegetarian Meal Plan for the entire Christmas week It is lentils spiced with curry powder, moistened with mayonnaise and with a hint of sweetness from a jar of mincemeat, together with the fresh crunch of raw vegetables...
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 18, 2024 | All Meal Plans, Celebration Meal Plans, Christmas, Vegetarian Christmas Meal Plan
If you are on a tight budget, Christmas food can be very difficult, causing stress, and maybe even debt too. No need to get into debt, when with a bit of extra planning, you can enjoy a delicious vegetarian Christmas festive meal, without spending a fortune. Re-Priced...
by Thrifty Lesley | Nov 9, 2024 | All Recipes, Dinners, Less than 500 calories
I tried these several years ago as my brother is coeliac and these, if you use the gram flour option, are gluten free. They are easy to make, freeze well and taste delicious. This recipe serves 4 adults. Great for kids as it’s easy to portion, they can just have...
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 | Nov 4, 2024 | All Recipes, Less than 500 calories, Lunches
Lunch today was a sandwich I discovered on one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s programmes and in one of his books, Veg Every Day What do I need to make this lentil sandwich for each curry sandwich, you will need an egg green, brown or puy lentils curry powder,...
by Thrifty Lesley | Oct 30, 2024 | All Recipes, Dinners, Less than 500 calories
I recently made a really good lentil ragu which I thought would work well as a lasagna. It did and it was very good indeed. This led me to think of other vegetable based mixes that I could substitute for the lentil ragu layer. I’ve come up with a long list of...
by Thrifty Lesley | Oct 29, 2024 | All Recipes, Less than 500 calories, Other
This vegan BBQ sauce recipe is pretty simple, taking just a couple of minutes to make. Just bung everything in a saucepan and reduce it down a bit! All the ingredients are pantry staples that you are likely to already have in the cupboard. What do I need to make this...
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...
