Meal planning tips for Young Adult Carers

Planning meals can be hard, especially on a budget or if you have a lot of people to consider. A lot of young adult carers tell us they struggle with cooking, how to cook healthy meals for the person they look after and what to buy at the supermarket. So we've gathered up some tips on meal planning and more:

1. Follow a meal plan - like 'Asda's - 1 Basket, 5 meals!'

1 basket (£25/ £30) x 5 meals; using limited ingredients and creating a wealth of recipes for 4 people per meal (one main meal a day), Asda has a great selection of recipes, along with the shopping list you need to make it even easier to purchase your food.

A tip from our volunteer: replace meat in the recipies with other types to make the meals even cheaper. Find the links here.

2. Go meat free - swap meat for pulses, legumes or meat alternatives

Meat can be expensive, so why not swap the meat for a vegetarian alternative? You could use chickpeas in fajita wraps instead of chicken, or crunchy tofu in noodles instead of pork. And even some of the meat alternatives are cheaper than meat, but just as easy to cook and prepare. See some other great meat swaps here. 3. Use your freezer!

There is a myth that frozen fruit or vegetables aren't as good as fresh, but actually frozen vegetables are picked at the peak of freshness and then frozen to seal in their nutrients. They even come pre-chopped! The NHS Live Well Eat Well has a great guide on what you can and can't freeze, how to defrost certain meats and more. Do you have any tips on cooking on a budget? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!