A money-saving student has explained how families can treat mum to a special lunch this Mother's Day - for just a few pence per person.
Chelsie Angeles says it's not the money but the thought that counts - and now she's revealed exactly how to spoil mum without breaking the bank on Mothering Sunday.
"Making a Sunday roast is a British staple, cooked for an end of week treat or for a special occasion like Mother's Day," Chelsie, 22 explained.
But she admits a Sunday roast can easily cost a small fortune – especially if money is tight.
"It can be costly to cook – especially if you are catering for a large family," the student told money-saving website BeansforTea.
Chelsie, who admits she rarely buys fresh produce, said an entire family roast would set consumers back just 87p per person if they shopped frozen-only.
"Plus, you can buy things in greater quantities whilst the use-by dates are much longer," she added.
"For my shopping list, I swapped the classic farmhouse vegetables used in a roast for a multi-purpose bag of mixed vegetables, which halved the price per portion," she said.
On meat, she opted for chicken – which she says is £7 cheaper than red meat.
"White meat such as chicken is widely stocked and generally the cheapest option (£3-5 per kg) whilst red meat options can be limited and more expensive (£7-10 per kg).
"I opted for chicken thighs as they were on offer at my local Tesco. It’s a large portion so I can use the remaining amount for other meals."
In total, she said cooking a Sunday roast using only frozen ingredients calculates as 87p per serving - with meat making up 72%.
But she discovered shoppers could save even more by combining fresh with frozen.
"The fresh aisles of the supermarket are something I normally bypass in favour of the ease and familiarity of my frozen buys," Chelsie admits.
"For my roast dinner, I matched the frozen ingredients in my shopping list with their fresh counterparts so I could make a price comparison.
"I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the fresh meat options could be bought cheaper than frozen, with chicken thighs coming in at £1 cheaper per kg.
"I previously bought into the common misconception that fresh food is more expensive. There are some cases when this is true, but fresh meat isn’t always one of them."
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A Sunday roast cooked using just fresh ingredients costs £0.86-£1.50 per person, she said.
"However, combining the best of both fresh and frozen, I made a Sunday roast dinner with frozen vegetables, roast potatoes, boxed stuffing and fresh chicken.
"This version of my Sunday roast amounted to a delightfully cheerful £0.64 per serving."
Chelsie said you can also adapt this approach to a Sunday roast using beef and adding Yorkshire puddings.
Using fresh ingredients, the roast would total around £1.99 per person - £1.49 for beef steak and 26p per pudding.
"But cooking your own Yorkshire puddings are quick, easy and cost approximately 3p per portion.
"This could save you 23p per Yorkshire pudding and bring the total cost down to £1.76 per serving," she concluded.
Frozen ingredients only - prices per person
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Frozen vegetables – 6p (69p/kg) – Tesco
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Frozen roast potatoes – 8p (81p/kg) – Asda
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Frozen chicken thighs – 63p (£3.15/kg) – Tesco
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Gravy granules – 2p (£5.88/kg) – Tesco
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Optional extra: stuffing ball dry mix – 8p (£2.36/kg) – Tesco
Fresh ingredients only - prices per person
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Vegetables – 20p (if bought singularly or 38p for pre-done) – Tesco
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Roast potatoes – 4p (39p/kg for roasting your own or 50p for pre-done) – Tesco
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Chicken thighs – 40p (£2/kg) – Tesco
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Gravy granules – 2p (£5.88/kg) – Tesco
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Optional extra: stuffing balls – 20p (£6/kg) – Tesco
Combine the two - prices per person
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Vegetables – 6p (69p/kg) – Tesco
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Roast potatoes – 8p (81p/kg) – Asda
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Chicken thighs – 40p (£2/kg) – Tesco
-
Gravy granules – 2p (£5.88/kg) – Tesco
-
Optional extra: stuffing ball dry mix – 8p (£2.36/kg) – Tesco
