How many times do you cook the same meal for tea and think 'we really need to try something different'? But for parents often short on time and not wanting to waste money on something the kids might not even eat, it's easy to fall into the trap of serving up the same old dishes. Yet when I catch a bit of Jamie Oliver's Channel 4 show Jamie's £1 Wonders And Money Saving Meals - seeing him throw together the most delicious looking homemade kebabs and flatbreads in no time at all - I'm suddenly inspired to do something about it. Why buy flatbreads when they're so cheap and easy to make? asks Oliver, and for some deluded reason I actually believe him.
The ingredients for Jamie Oliver's homemade kebabs and flatbreads cost me around £35 (Image: Manchester Family / MEN) Inspired by the speed of his creation and the money-saving mantra, I decide to pull the ingredients together and give these a go. While not one of the £1 a head meals, this particular 'fakeaway' is described as a money-saver. Now I'm not quite sure where Jamie is doing his weekly food shop, but to call this a money-saving meal, it seems he must have gone shopping in 1989.
Certainly not in the current cost of living crisis. I buy the ingredients from various stores, but even getting everything from Aldi, the bill comes to £35.41.
Admittedly that's buying everything from scratch and leaving a lot leftover, using just a tablespoon of mustard and a couple of tablespoons of white wine vinegar for example. But they sti.
