Family cooking

Good food made easy

Eating healthily does not have to be complicated, expensive, or mean missing out on the foods you enjoy.

Using a few fresh ingredients or adding some frozen fruit and vegetables can be a great way to make family meals more nutritious and cooking them more rewarding.

We asked families across Medway to share their favourite tips and recipes. Below, you’ll find some of their ideas along with easy and affordable ways to make healthier meals that are still family friendly.

Keep it healthy

You can make your dishes healthier by:

• adding fruit or vegetables
• swapping white pasta, rice or bread for wholemeal
• swapping some of the meat for pulses, beans or lentils
• adding white or oily fish
• reducing your salt (for example, reducing the salt you add during cooking, removing it altogether or swapping a stock cube for a low-salt alternative)
• using an oil spray to reduce fat.

Keep it affordable

You can keep your meals affordable by:

• using frozen fruits and vegetables which are also a great way to reduce waste because they last much longer than fresh
• using cheaper ingredients, for example swapping saffron for half a teaspoon of turmeric
• avoiding expensive shop bought items like ready-made breadcrumbs. Save the bread crusts and grate or chop them up in a food processor
• meal planning to stop impulse buying and wasting food
• cooking in batches, freezing and using them up for an easy midweek meal
• using up leftovers for a quick packed lunch.

Keep it seasonal

Eating seasonal fruit or vegetables is generally cheaper, fresher and tastier.

Look out for these fruits and vegetables in the shop at the following times of year:

• Spring - rhubarb, cabbage, carrots, spring greens, spinach, leeks
• Summer - strawberries, cherries, raspberries, broad beans, lettuce, courgettes, cucumber, sweetcorn, tomatoes
• Autumn - apples, pears, plums, squash, swede, carrots, kale, parsnips
• Winter - apples, pears, brussels sprouts, onions, potatoes, mushrooms.

Kitchen essentials for easy family meals

Keeping a few essentials in your kitchen means you can make a wide variety of tasty meals packed with goodness, without the need to shop.

With the essentials listed below, families can make many quick dinners and filling lunches.

Store cupboard essentials

Flavour boosters include:

• stock cubes
• curry powder
• mixed herbs.

Reliable base ingredients that can be used in lots of dishes include:

• pasta
• rice
• noodles
• couscous.

Long‑lasting, tinned protein for quick meals include:

• tinned tuna
• tinned chickpeas
• tinned lentils or beans (for example cannellini beans).

Fridge essentials

Fresh items that add creaminess, protein, or substance to meals include:

• cooked meats
• cream cheese or plain yoghurt.

Freezer staples

Freezer staples include:

• frozen peas
• frozen broccoli
• mixed frozen vegetables.

Useful extras

Great for adding flavour, texture, or forming the base of a meal, use:

• spring onions or onions
• tinned tomatoes
• garlic.

Find out more about about how you can use some of the ingredients in the recipes below.

Good Food Made Easy recipe collection

Our Good Food Made Easy recipes offer some easy and affordable ways to make healthier meals that are still family friendly.

See our Good Food Made Easy recipes. 

Medway Cooks recipe collection

Try out one of our Medway Cooks recipes at home. We know if one family has a great recipe that works well for them, other families might find it useful too.

All of the recipes in Medway Cooks have been sent to us by families living in Medway. They are healthy, tasty, affordable and can be prepared in an hour.

If you have a recipe that you would like to share with Medway email Change4life@medway.gov.uk.

Cookery classes

We offer lots of cookery classes for both children and adults to help you try new ingredients and learn new skills.

Find out more about our cookery courses.