After free school meals supplier’s stingy food parcels slammed, THIS is what we call £30 of food
HOW can you feed your kids ten lunches for less than £30? The Government’s food parcel providers may have no idea — but luckily The Sun does.
Yesterday, we revealed how footballer and child poverty campaigner Marcus Rashford slammed the meagre food package sent to one mum.
The parcel — partly replacing the £30 vouchers previously given to families on free school meals to cover ten days of lunches — contained just a small amount of fruit and veg along with some beans, bread, pasta and cheese.
So we asked Sun nutritionist Amanda Ursell to shop for two weeks of school day lunches and come up with five healthy and tasty meals for two kids.
You can make each meal twice.
She said: “Aim for a starchy carbohydrate for energy, protein for growth, calcium for strong bones and vegetables and fruit, which will give you fibre, vital minerals and vitamins.”
To make the five lunches twice costs just £24.19. So we threw in extras – cooking apples, custard, bread, salad cream, pears, cherry toms and scones – to show just how much you can get for under £30, shown right.
Lunch 1 – baked potato with beans and cucumber, fruit loaf, milk and an apple
RICH IN: Vitamins C, B1, B2, B6, B12 and folate, plus phosphorus, magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese and iodine.
SOURCE OF: 3 of your 5 a day
METHOD: Prick two potatoes all over with a sharp knife or fork and rub skin with oil.
Bake potatoes at 220C/200C fan/gas 7 for 20 minutes then at 190C/170C fan/gas 5 for 45 minutes more. If using a microwave, place on high for 7 minutes, turning halfway through.
Once cooked, cut in half, scoop out the flesh and mix in a bowl with some lemon juice and black pepper.
Place the potato mix back in the skins.
Heat one can of baked beans and use to top the potatoes. Serve with cucumber sticks on the side.
Enjoy with a 170ml glass of milk, plus an apple and slice of fruit loaf each for pudding.
Lunch 2 – Tomato omelette with warmed pitta/yoghurt and tangerine/malt loaf
RICH IN: Vitamins D, C, B1, B2, folate and B12, plus potassium, calcium, phosphorus and selenium.
SOURCE OF: Iron, zinc and copper, 1½ of your 5 a day
METHOD: Chop one tomato and peel and finely chop half an onion. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan and gently cook the onion and tomatoes until softened (about 10 minutes). Add a clove of peeled, chopped garlic 2 minutes from the end (optional).
Make the omelette by lightly whisking three eggs, adding a little salt and pepper, and pouring into the frying pan. Allow to gently cook through.
Heat 1 pitta in a toaster or under the grill. Divide the omelette into two and serve with half a pitta each.
For dessert, make one bowl per person each containing 200ml of yoghurt mixed with a tangerine split into segments. Finish with a slice each of malt loaf.
Lunch 3 – Cheese and tomato pizza with carrot sticks/banana milk smoothie/hot cross bun
RICH IN: Vitamins A, E, C, B1, B2, B6, folate and B12, plus potassium, calcium, phosphorus, copper, manganese and iodine
SOURCE OF: Magnesium, iron, zinc, plus 3 of your 5 a day.
METHOD: Spread quarter of a can of tomatoes over one plain pizza base.
Slice one fresh tomato and lay slices on top.
Grate 80g of cheddar and sprinkle over the pizzas.
Cook in oven at 210C/190C fan/gas 6 for 10 minutes.
Peel a carrot each, cut into sticks and serve with the pizza.
Make a banana smoothie by blending two bananas with 340ml milk (or just serve a 200ml glass of milk each with a banana).
Follow with a hot cross bun.
Lunch 4 – Beany veg soup/fruit salad/milk/malt loaf
RICH IN: Vitamins A, B1, B2, niacin, B6, B12 plus potassium, calcium, iron, copper, manganese, iodine
SOURCE OF: Vitamin C and folate, plus zinc, 3½ of your 5 a day
METHOD: Peel and chop half an onion and two carrots.
Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium-size pan and gently cook both together for 10 minutes.
Add a clove of peeled, chopped garlic 2 minutes from the end of cooking (optional).
Add half a carton of fresh vegetable soup along with 300ml of stock, made up with one stock cube.
Open the baked beans and pour half in a sieve.
Put under a running tap to wash off the tomato sauce, then add them to the soup. Heat gently and serve.
Follow with a fruit salad made using one apple, one pear, half a banana and half the can of drained peaches, cut into pieces.
Have with a 170ml glass of milk and slice of malt loaf each.
Most read in Fabulous
Lunch 5 – Fish finger pitta pockets with salad/yoghurt and tangerines/fruit loaf/hot cross bun
RICH IN: Vitamins A, C, B1, B2 and folate, plus potassium, calcium, phosphorus and iodine.
SOURCE OF: Magnesium, iron, zinc and selenium, 2 of your 5 a day.
METHOD: To make the salad, cut some of the cucumber into small pieces and grate a carrot and slice a tomato. Mix in some lemon juice and a little olive oil. Put to one side.
Grill 4 fish fingers according to pack instructions. Heat two pittas in the toaster or under the grill. Cut in half across the middle to make four pockets and fill with the fish fingers, which you can cut up if you like.
Serve with the cucumber, carrot and tomato salad.
To follow, give each person a 200g bowl of yoghurt topped with one tangerine split into segments.
Share half the remaining slices of fruit loaf and one of the remaining hot cross buns.
GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk