30 inexpensive recipes to make in September to resist going back to school

Between the holidays that have left a gaping hole in your account; the essential back-to-school purchases; the sporting, cultural and artistic activities that are starting up again; and above all the inflation that continues to climb, controlling your food budget is more essential than ever.

What does “mastering your budget” mean?

What exactly does it mean to “control your food budget”? Obviously, there are some data that you don’t have control over: for example, the price of food. If they increase, as a consumer, unfortunately, there is nothing you can do, you have to deal with this increase.

The first thing to do before shopping is to inspect your cupboards so as not to buy things that you already have. Often, we have spices, rice, legumes, or pasta that can be suitable for the planned recipes. Also, if a recipe calls for a certain type of pasta or a certain spice and we have a similar product, we transpose it. Obviously, if the main product is missing, it can be annoying but we can easily exchange an expensive piece of meat for a less noble piece.

Planning your weekly menus before going shopping is also a reflex to adopt to avoid buying too many things; getting distracted by attractive but unnecessary purchases at the head of the aisle; or forgetting ingredients! This also allows you to anticipate the quantities to buy, therefore their cost.

In terms of product selection, we favour September fruits and vegetables, which are available in greater quantities and therefore less expensive; distributor brands; and we avoid prepared meals which often weigh heavily on the final bill. Finally, we take a look at products with a “short expiry date” or the “anti-waste” sections.

And above all, once at home, we try to cook the products as much as possible to avoid throwing them away. Are you buying organic carrots? Wash them and brush them well, but keep the skin, especially if you cook them, you will no longer taste it when tasting them. Time and money saved!

Finally, the best key to saving money is to cook. Compare the price of ready-made grated carrots (or other) or three carrots, and you will see the difference. This way, you will taste a truly fresh product, but also you will control the seasoning, the amount of salt, sugar, or other. Last but not least, we rarely add preservatives at home… A word to the wise.

The right recipe and the right quantity

The choice of recipe is obviously essential, but also the way to cook it! Indeed, cooking larger quantities of family and economical recipes such as quiches, vegetable tarts, stews, or mixed salads is a good idea. This way, it can be suitable for several meals, and can be kept cool without any problem.

In September, the pivotal month between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, seasonal products are available in large quantities. It is even the month when you find the most fruits and vegetables on the stalls! You can even anticipate the colder months by preparing jams, jellies, tomato sauce, other jars or frozen foods. Our mothers and grandmothers prepared jars in the summer in anticipation of winter when the products were present and especially tasty. So we imitate them, because grandmothers are always right!

Tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, peppers, green beans, cucumber, to name just a few vegetables; melon, peaches, nectarines, mirabelles, figs, plums for fruits, accompany us all month long.

Inspiration in 30 recipes.