Energy saving family recipes

There is a wide range of family fun recipes you can make that will not only taste delicious but can also reduce your energy consumption. One of the best places for you to start your energy saving mission is in the kitchen; you will see the most significant difference in how much energy you consume to make your meals. Here we tell you a few family recipes that could help you save a few pennies on your energy bills.

Family recipes to save you money

There are a few things you need to take into consideration when wanting to save money in the kitchen. First of all, you need to look at how much food you consume and the amount of food you waste. In the UK we waste a significant amount of food because homes have waste disposals or food bins which make it easier for people to dispose of unwanted food. It also makes you feel less guilty as your usually unaware of how much waste there is.

uSwitch stated that around 4% of your home energy bills are spent on cooking, which may not seem like a lot, in real terms it is, reducing your energy while cooking and going for an energy efficient recipe will reduce your energy consumption along with your home gas supply.

Meal planning

One of the best ways for you to look at your food spending habits is to meal plan each week, you also need to take into account the snacks you would like to eat. Be specific with the ingredients you need and don’t purchase anything you feel isn’t necessary, this one small change in your kitchen could be saving you hundreds yearly on your food bills.

A great thing about meal planning means your in control of spending; you don’t have to take any trips to the shops midweek which will be costing you in petrol. You might also have a pleasant little surprise when you go to pay for your food, with meal planning you’re more likely to pick up things you think you’ll eat instead you will pick up the items you know you need.

Energy saving tips in the kitchen

Once you have meals planned, there are a number of recipes you can make using a slow cooker, which not only saves you time cooking, you can pop the food in the slow cooker before work and come to a delicious home cooked meal with minimal effort. You may be thinking a slow cooker uses a lot of energy, when compared to the power your oven needs to cook your food slow cookers use much less.

Alternatively, you can batch cook; this means preparing and making your meals at the beginning of the week and reheating when you want them. The best meals to batch cook are bolognese, chilli, casseroles, sauces and other meat dishes. It saves you time in the kitchen but also uses less energy to heat up. If you haven’t already got a slow cooker we recommend taking a look at Lakeland who have a wide range to meet your specific needs and requirements.

Energy saving recipes

Beef sliders

Ingredients you will need:

• 500g beef mince
• 12 burger buns (toasted)
• 2 plum tomatoes (sliced)
• 1 box cherry tomatoes
• 2 red onion (sliced)
• 2 large pickles (sliced)
• 1 jar relish
• 2 gem lettuce

To make the perfect beef sliders we recommend following these few steps:

• First you are going to want to mix the meat with some salt and pepper and make into small balls.
• Make your burger balls into round discs, one of the best ways to do this is by covering the meat in cling film and pushing down with the palm of your hand to the desired size.
• To cook the meat remove any of the cling films, heat the frying pan, add a touch of oil, make sure before touching or flipping the burger the meat has brown nicely. The burger should only take around 5 minutes to fully cook.

Bramble and honey sorbet

The ingredients you will need to make this delicious sweet treat are as follows:

• 500g brambles (frozen)
• 250ml natural yoghurt
• 1 lime (juiced and zested)
• 75g honey

The great thing about our bramble and honey sorbet is it doesn’t take much of your personal energy to make nor does it use too much of your household energy. Follow these steps to make:

• We always recommend the day before you want to make this pudding place the fruit in the freezer
• Once the fruit has been frozen for a prolonged period, pop it into a food processor and add the lime juice, honey and yoghurt.
• Once smooth serve into glasses or pudding jars if you want to keep and you can place back in the freezer for another evening.

Vegetarian chilli using sweet potatoes

Ingredients you will need:

• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Salt and black pepper
• 800g can diced tomatoes
• 400g can black beans, rinsed
• 400g can kidney beans, rinsed
• 1 medium sweet potato peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
• Sour cream, sliced spring onions, sliced radishes, and tortilla chips

To cook the dish follow these steps:

• In a slow cooker, combine the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chilli powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon,1 tsp salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Add the tomatoes, beans, sweet potato, and 1 cup of water.
• Cover and cook until the sweet potatoes are tender and the chilli has thickened, on low for 7 to 8 hours
• Serve the chilli with the sour cream, scallions, radishes, and tortilla chips.

Summary

We hope you enjoy your energy saving meals, feel free to tag us in any of your pictures over on Twitter or Facebook both @AmpowerUK.

Energy saving in the kitchen is not only good for your energy bills but also makes you think about the way you are eating and what you are spending your money on. Look out for more energy saving recipes from the team here at Ampower.