Low-cost meals at home
Image adapted from (from left to right): The Spruce, @yakunbali & @live18seventynine
With non-essential businesses closing their shutters this April, it’s inevitable that a large portion of us have been forced to take pay cuts and no pay leaves. We’d have to be extra thrifty this month to ensure we don’t accidentally run out of funds before our next paycheck.
But just because we’re on a tight budget doesn’t mean we have to resort to a diet of cup noodles and bread. You can DIY your own Ya Kun breakfast for less than $2 and make a plate of the creamiest pasta for under $5.
Here are 9 easy, low-cost meals you can make at home for less than $10 per serving:
Check out our other food guides this COVID-19 season:
- Food Apps and Delivery Promos in April 2020
- Instant Supermarket Deliveries
- Bubble Tea Shops Still Open For Delivery
- MasterChef Level Egg Recipes To Make Under 20 Minutes
Breakfast
1. Oatmeal with fruits and/or nuts
Images adapted from: @greekgodsyogurt & @organicmichelle
Whole Instagram accounts are dedicated to aesthetic breakfast bowls like this with follower counts that can go up to the millions. First of all, they’re pretty, and we love to look at pretty things. Secondly, it’s a great addition to your diet because oatmeal is considered healthy. Plus, it’ll keep you full for longer so you won’t be reaching for snacks between breakfast and lunch.
Versatility-wise, it’s a godsend. You can adjust the ratio of milk and water depending on how creamy you like it and even change it up every morning by adding different combinations of fruits, nuts, and seeds. Some people even add Greek yoghurt for a dash of soury sweetness.
Difficulty: 1/5
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cost: ~ $1.04 per serving
Ingredients needed:
- Quaker 100% Wholegrain Oatmeal Refill Instant: $2.95 for 400G | ~ $0.26 for 1 serving of 35G
- FairPrice UHT Milk Low Fat: $1.70 for 1L | ~ $0.14 for 40ML
- Bananas: ~ $3.20 for a bunch | ~ $0.64 for one banana
2. Pancakes with fruits
Image credit: @clarincucina
Getting some McDonald’s breakfast pancakes delivered isn’t the best idea when we’re trying to make every dollar count. Instead of paying that extra $3-5 for delivery, grab a box of pancake premix instead.
In one serving, you’ll be able to feed more than one person depending on how much each person eats. And just like oatmeal, you can make it slightly different every day so it doesn’t get repetitive. Mix up the syrups and fruits, add whipped cream, or even add chocolate chips in the batter for some extra, chocolatey sweetness.
Difficulty: 1.5/5
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Cost: ~ $1.81 per serving
Ingredients needed:
- Dr.Oetker Nona Pancake Mix Original: $3 for 400G | $0.75 for 1 serving of 100G
- Pasar Fresh Eggs: $4.85 for 30 eggs | ~ $0.16 per egg
- Maple syrup: $3.57 for a bottle | ~ $0.26 per serving*
- Bananas: ~ $3.20 for a bunch | ~ $0.64 for one banana
*Assuming one bottle of maple syrup when used every day takes 2 weeks to finish
3. Ya Kun Kaya toast dupe
Image credit: @yakunbali
We all love a traditional Singaporean breakfast. Sipping on a warm kopi or teh while the sweet aroma of kaya toast wafts around us is like a warm hug on a dreary morning. Now that it isn’t the safest or most convenient time to head out for local brekkie, it’s high time we tried making it on our own.
If kaya doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can easily swap it out for peanut butter, sugar, or even Nutella.
Difficulty: 1.5/2
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cost: ~ $1.31 per serving
Ingredients needed:
- FairPrice White Bread Enriched: $1.25 for one loaf | $0.25 for 4 slices*
- Golden Light Kaya Pandan: $2.75 for one jar | ~ $0.20 per serving**
- Buttercup Luxury Spread Block Salted: $2.55 for one stick of 250G | ~ $0.41 for 40G in 4 thin slices
- Pasar Fresh Eggs: $4.85 for 30 eggs | ~ $0.32 for 2 eggs
- Gold Kili Traditional Kopi O: $2.55 for 20 sachets | ~ $0.13 per sachet
* Assuming one loaf has 20 slices
**Assuming one jar of kaya when used every day takes 2 weeks to finish
Get the recipe.
Lunch
4. Healthy ramen salad
Image adapted from: @live18seventynine & Alex Lau
If you have a stash of ramen or cup noodles you can’t seem to clear, here’s how you can upgrade it in the health department. This recipe skips adding the given powdered seasoning and instead adds an assortment of veggies, fruits which you can swap out for ones you like.
For base flavour, the recipe uses rice vinegar and soy sauce which are definitely on the healthier side compared to the pre-packed sachets.
Difficulty: 1/5
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cost: ~ $1.34 per serving
Ingredients needed:
- Ottogi Korean Instant Noodle – Kimchi Ramen: $4.50 for a pack of 5 | $0.90 for one packet
- Pasar Prepacked Carrots: ~ $0.95 for a pack | $0.19 for a stick of carrot
- Gold Beijing Cabbage: $1 for a whole cabbage | $0.25 for a quarter of the cabbage
*Basic ingredients listed, season as you wish and add desired vegetables
Get the recipe.
5. Saba Shioyaki
Image credit: @JustAsDelish
Fish is packed with lots of good stuff like Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and protein. In fact, it’s so good for you that the Health Promotion Board recommends us to include it in our diet at least twice a week.
Cooking a whole fish may seem like a daunting task for amateur cooks but it can be pretty easy. This recipe simplifies it enough that even a complete beginner can manage. Plus, you don’t have to head out to get a $7 saba fish meal, you can just do it at home!
Difficulty: 2/5
Prep time: 25-30 minutes
Cost: ~ $4.97 per serving
Ingredients needed:
- Catch Seafood Saba Mackeral Fillet Raw (Frozen): $3.80
- Hakushika Glass Cup Sake: $6.90 for 200ML | ~ $1 for 30MLl
- FairPrice Salt – Fine: $0.25 for 250G | ~ $0.004 for 4G
- Hupco Fresh Lemon: $3.95 for 500G | ~ $0.05 for a wedge of 7G
- Budget White Rice – Long Grain: $5.80 for 5KG | ~ $0.07 for 60G
Get the recipe.
Snack
6. Mango sticky rice
Image credit: The Spruce
One of the first things most of us do when we land in any part of Thailand is devour some mango sticky rice. With the lockdown and travel bans in place, it’s unlikely any of us will be doing that anytime soon.
Thankfully, it’s actually easy to make in our own kitchen and above all, affordable. It costs about $5 for 2-4 servings, depending on how much each person eats.
Difficulty: 2.5/5
Prep time: 35 minutes
Cost: ~ $5.12 for 2-4 servings
Ingredients needed:
- FairPrice Thailand Rice – Glutinous: $5.95 for 2.5KG | ~ $0.01 for 185G
- Pagoda Unrefined Soft Dark Brown Sugar: $2.30 for 500G | ~ $0.26 for 56.7G
- FairPrice Salt – Fine: $0.25 for 250G | ~ $0.001 for 1.19G
- Ayam Brand Coconut Milk – Trim: $0.90
- Mango Cambodia: $3.95
Get the recipe here.
7. Satay
Image credit: @jiakpahbuay
Here’s something a bit more local to satiate your appetite until dinner time – good ol’ satay. This takes a little longer to make but it’ll all be worth it when you take that first mouthwatering bite. It’s perfect to snack on in the afternoon and keep you going those last few hours of WFH.
A fun fact about satay: Lau Pa Sat made it into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2007 by making the world’s longest satay. It was a whopping 140.02M long and had 150KG of chicken.
Difficulty: 3.5/5
Prep time: 80 minutes
Cost: ~ $3.95 per serving
Ingredients needed:
- Kee Song Fresh Chicken – Boneless Breast: $3.25 for 300G | ~ $1.86 for 166.67G
- Pasar Blue Ginger: $1.05 for 200G | ~ $0.037 for ~7G
- Pasar Lemongrass: $1 for 100G | $0.25 for 1 stalk*
- Baba’s Packet Powder – Turmeric: $1.35 for 125G | ~ $0.026 for 2.38G
- Chef Red Onion – Small: $2.10 for 500G | ~ $0.059 for 14G
- Malika Fennel Seeds: $3.50 for 500G | $0.035 for 5G
- Tesco Ground Spice – Cumin: $2.95 for 43G | ~ $0.34 for 5G
- FairPrice Salt – Fine: $0.25 for 250G | ~ $0.0025 for 2.5G
- Mitr Phol Pure Refined Cane Sugar: $1.35 for 1KG | ~ $0.02 for 14.7G
*Assuming 100g is worth 4 stalks
Get the recipe here.
Dinner
8. Mac and cheese
Image credit: Divergent B
Mac and Cheese sounds like a simple dish to make but it can be hard to achieve the right amount of cheesiness. Here’s a recipe that has hundreds of good reviews for creaminess.
Depending on your preference, you can add less or more cheese since this recipe is easily customisable. Overall, it’s a great dinner time dish especially if you want a change from the usual rice.
Difficulty: 2.5/5
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cost: ~ $11.10 for 4 servings | ~ $2.75 per serving
Ingredients needed:
- Maicar Pasta – Macaroni Elbow: $1.50 for 400G | ~ $0.85 for 227G
- Buttercup Luxury Spread Block – Salted: $1.50 for 400G | ~ $0.21 for 56.7G
- Bake King Flours – Plain (All Purpose): $2.65 for 1KG | ~ $0.23 for 85G
- FairPrice Salt – Fine: $0.25 for 250G | ~ $0.0025 for 2.5G
- FairPrice UHT Milk – Full Cream: $1.70 for 1L | ~ $0.80 for 473ML
- Tradition Shredded Cheese – Cheddar: $9.90 for 500G | ~ $9 for 453G
Get the recipe here.
9. Chicken mushroom pasta
Image credit: Julia Foerster
Pasta is a staple dish for every student who has ever lived alone in a dorm. It’s straightforward to make – some pasta and a bottled pasta sauce can do the trick.
But for those who want to upgrade their pasta-making skills to making a sauce from scratch, here’s a great recipe for a creamy chicken mushroom pasta. The cook even adds ways you can customise it based on what you like and don’t.
Difficulty: 3/5
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cost: ~ $19.90 for 4 servings | ~ $4.97 per serving
Ingredients needed:
- Kee Song Fresh Chicken – Boneless Breast: $3.25 for 300G
- Pasar Yellow Onion: $5.90 for 3KG | ~ $0.22 for 113G
- Champ Fungi Mushrooms – Sliced White Button: $2.15 for 125G | $6.45 for 375G
- Buttercup Luxury Spread Block – Salted: $1.50 for 400G | ~ $0.053 for 14.2G
- Bertolli Olive Oil – Classico: $5.95 for 250ML | ~ $0.71 for 30G
- Yellow Tail Mini Chardonnay: $9.90 for 187ML | ~ $6.23 for 118ML
- Swanson Clear Chicken Broth: $1.30 for 250ML | $0.61 for 118ML
- Emborg European Whipping Cream: $4 for 200ML | $2.36 for 118ML
- Windmill Corn Starch: $1.45 for 350G | ~$0.021 for 5G
Get the recipe here.
Easy, low-cost meals at home
With a lot of us not working during this Circuit Breaker, we need ways to stretch every dollar without compromising too much on enjoying food. Try out some of these easy, low-cost meals at home that you would typically get outside to spice up your meals.
Check out our other Circuit Breaker articles here: