FOODWORLD
Healthy family meals on a budget!
New Zealand's Easiest Family Recipes
Serving healthy food to your family is challenging, especially when you are on a low budget. We have low cost meals for people on a budget with cost saving ideas and budget recipes. They are all healthy eating ideas and are cheap to prepare. Change the recipes to suit your family's tastes and the ingredients you have. Cutting costs on food doesn't mean you have to cut on quality. It's still possible to prepare meals that not only taste great, but are also good for you.
Vegitarian Recipes NZ - easy vegetarian recipes!

There's no mystery to creating deliciously satisfying vegetarian meals. Tasty alternatives to the animal ingredients that you may be cooking with are easier to find than ever—many are as close as your corner supermarket. If you're just getting started, you may want to try simply "vegging up" your favorite recipes. Try tofu or seitan instead of chicken, ground vegetable burger crumbles instead of hamburger, marinated portobello mushrooms instead of steak, and soy milk instead of cow's milk or cream.

BEAN PASTA
1 packet of pasta
1 440g can of cooked dried beans (not baked beans)
1 440g jar of pasta sauce
1 finely chopped onion
1 carrot chopped into cubes
Drain the beans. Add all ingredients except pasta. Heat gently in a saucepan until the vegetables are cooked. Meanwhile cook the pasta. Drain. Serve pasta with sauce on top
CORN FRITTERS
1 X 410 g can cream-style sweetcorn
1 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup milk
3 eggs, separated
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
5 tablespoons oil, to cook
In a large bowl, mix the cream style sweetcorn, flour, milk, egg yolks, salt and freshly ground black pepper and parsley together. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff and fluffy. Fold these gently into the corn mixture. Heat the oil in a large non stick frypan over medium to high heat. Cook spoonfuls of mixture for approximately 3 minutes each side until puffed up and golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm in the oven while you cook the remainder of the batch.
Serve with chilli sauce, tomato sauce or salsa.
KUMARA BAKE
1kg kumara, peeled
50g butter, melted
rind of 1 lemon and 1 orange
1/2c orange juice
1/4c brown sugar
1/2tsp grated nutmeg
Steam the kumara (in the microwave or on the stove, covered, with a small amount of water in the bottom) until soft.
Slice into 1cm-thick pieces and arrange in a greased ovenproof dish. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over the kumara.
Bake at 180^C for 30 mins or until golden brown.
MEXICAN BEAN TORTILLAS
1 tin Mexican-spiced tomatoes (400 gram tin)
1 tin red kidney beans (420g tin)
1 tin whole kernel corn, drained
1 bag pre-prepared coleslaw
8 tortillas, wholemeal wraps or burritos
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Wrap tortilla in tin foil and place in oven to heat. Put tomatoes, kidney beans and corn in saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Place two spoonfuls of the bean mixture into each warmed tortilla along with about 1/2 cup coleslaw. Wrap, serve and enjoy.
OVEN BAKED FRIES
4 medium/large potatoes, I used Agria.
Half cup flour.
Scant teaspoon salt.
Freshly ground pepper.
Dried herbs of choice.
Olive or Grapeseed oil to cook.
Peel potatoes, slice lengthwise into two or three, then slice again into chips. Place flour and seasonings into a medium bowl, stir well. Add chips and make sure well covered with flour mix. Oven set to 200Celsius. Approximately 3 tablespoons oil in a roasting dish. Spread potatoes out in a single layer. Bake for 1 hour or until crispy golden.
RATATOUILLE
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 eggplant, sliced and chopped
3 courgettes, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 jar tomato-based pasta sauce
5 tomatoes, quartered  
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Cook onion, eggplant, courgettes and pepper for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the pasta sauce and tomatoes. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until the eggplant is soft and tender. Season with freshly ground pepper.
SCALLOPED POTATOES
4 medium sized potatoes - peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion finely sliced
1 cup milk or cream
1 cup grated cheese
Salt and pepper
Using a medium sized casserole dish put a layer of potatoes then sprinkle with some of the onion, cheese, salt and pepper. Repeat the layers until you've used all the ingredients - finish with a layer of cheese. Pour the cream or milk over it evenly. I think it tastes best with cream, but it all depends if your on a diet or not. Bake at 180 C for 40 or 50 min or until the potatoes are soft. For the fist 30 min of baking have the casserole dish covered with a lid, for the rest of the time bake uncovered
SPAGHETTI
455 g uncooked spaghetti
90 g broccoli florets
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
70 g fresh sliced mushrooms
120 g sliced carrots
2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add spaghetti and return water to a boil. Cook until spaghetti is al dente; drain well. 2. Combine broccoli, corn, mushrooms, carrots and tomato sauce in large sauce pot. Cook on medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir occasionally to keep sauce from sticking. Serve sauce over spaghetti.
VEGETABLE FRITTERS
2 eggs
½ cup self-raising flour
¼ cup to ½ cup low-fat milk
1 425g can of whole kernel corn
oil for frying 
Beat the eggs and half of the milk. Stir in the flour and zucchini. Add more milk if you need to make a soft batter. If the mixture is too runny, add a little flour. Heat some oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan. Place a spoonful of mixture in the frying pan for each fritter. When the mixture bubbles on top, turn over with a fish slice or tongs. Cook on the other side until golden brown.
VEGETABLE SLICE
3 cups mixed vegetables
1 cup cheese, grated
4 eggs
3/4 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup self-raising flour
1 tomato, sliced
1 pinch ground black pepper
Use any combination of any fresh, frozen or tinned vegetables - onion, capsicum, grated carrot or courgette, mushrooms, beans, asparagus, cooked spinach or silverbeet, broccoli, corn. Chop, slice, dice or grate. Place the vegetables and cheese in a greased baking dish. Lightly beat the eggs and milk together in a bowl. Sprinkle over the self-raising flour and mix well, ensuring there are no lumps. Pour egg mixture over the vegetables. Top with tomato slices and ground black pepper.
Bake at 200°C for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and set. Serve either hot or cold.
Healthy family meals on a budget!