It’s 2024 and I swear that the grocery prices rise very time I go to the shop 💸
One of the ways we try to manage our food budget is by packing lunches not just for the kids at school, but for my husband and myself too.
We both work in busy jobs so the food needs to be quick and uncomplicated, but it also needs to be filling, tasty and cost effective.
So, as we come into winter we move into soups. I LOVE that I can prepare big batches in advance and have meals ready for the week. And I am excited to have 2 new soups to share with you over the coming weeks.
The first is my delicious Poached Chicken French Lentil Soup. I crunched the numbers for you – this DELICIOUS batch, even including the oil and the seasonings, cost me a total of $15 to make. That is 6 lunches, each with 25g of protein and a great serve of gut loving fibre, for $2.50each. Winner!
- 2 large chicken breasts (about 500g)
- 80g dried french lentils
- 70g pearl barley
- 2 large carrots
- 5 sticks celery
- 160g frozen corn kernels
- 1 medium brown onion
- 3 cloves garlic (or just measure if with your heart!)
- 2 tsp chicken stocks powder (we use Massel brand)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 8 cups boiling water
- 1 tbsp dried Italian herb mix
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan.
Dice the onion and add to the oil. Cook in medium heat, stirring occasionally until the onion is golden.
Add in the finely chopped garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
Finely slice the carrot and celery, add to the onion mixture and cook down for 4-5 minutes.
Add in the barley and lentils, then stir in the herbs and mix well.
Now add the boiling water and chicken stock powder as well as the corn. Bring back to a gentle simmer.
Add the chicken breasts into the liquid and return the lid to the pan to allow the breasts to poach.
After about 10 minutes, turn the chicken breasts over and return the lid for another 8-10 minutes.
Check that the chicken is cooked (juices should run clear or be at 75C), and remove the breasts to a bowl. Slice the chicken.
Stir the soup and check that the lentils and barley are cooked – takes about 20 minutes from the start. Allow to simmer for a little longer if they are not yet soft.
Return the chicken to the pot and stir well.
Serve warm or divide in to shallow containers and freeze.
Serves 6
Gluten free? Switch the barley for brown rice.
Need a bigger meal?
-Double the barley and lentils for very little addition cost, but a good serve more of fibre and protein.
-Add a hand full of grated cheese at serving time to the hot soup to boost the fats and protein to help with satiety, or
-Divide the meal into 4. You’ll get almost 38g of protein and it will still cost you less than $4 for lunch.
Enjoy 🙂