I’m Christopher Luxon and my new column will help you prepare nutritious meals without having to mortgage your house to pay for the ingredients. Of course, if you don’t have a house, you’re very lucky not to have a mortgage, but then rents are a killer aren’t they?
If you own a mortgage-free property, or several as I do, you needn’t worry about where your next meal is coming from, but that doesn’t stop me wanting to help those who aren’t rich and sorted.
Yes, food prices are atrociously high, and while that is not the fault of the government I feel that, as your country’s leader, giving advice on how to make your budget go further is the least I can do – a quantity I specialise in.
Let’s start with school lunches. I’m told they are monotonous, unappealing and, in some cases, actually inedible.
I’ll leave that problem to the appropriate minister to sort out but, in the meantime, why not make your own school lunches, just as the parents of my own school mates did all those years ago?
I never took lunch to school. I’d hop in a taxi and go home for one of Mum’s wonderful home-cooked meals. Her crisp chilli lamb ribs with nuoc cham were just like mother used to make.
For a nutritious but inexpensive school lunch I recommend a Marmite sandwich and an apple.
I specify Marmite rather than Vegemite, as Marmite is a fine Kiwi product, while Vegemite is an Australian effort.
For the sandwich you will need bread (1 loaf), butter (500 grams) or spread (250 grams) and Marmite (1 jar). This should provide a full week of healthy eating for your children.
I suggest you buy an unsliced loaf of bread as the pre-sliced items give you only about 24 slices (12 sandwiches), whereas slicing a whole loaf wafer-thin could give up to 36 slices (18 sandwiches).
As an economy measure you should use butter or spread on only one slice per sandwich. Marmite should also be spread thinly, not only as an economy measure but because many kids hate the taste of the stuff.
Once your sandwich is complete, there are several ways in which you can give some variety to its serving.
On day one a whole sandwich; on day two, a sandwich cut in half as two rectangles; on day three, a diagonal cut giving two triangles; on day four, two cuts giving four small squares; on day five, the sandwich can be served in any form as by then the child will probably chuck it aside uneaten.
There is less work involved in supplying an apple. These can be bought by the bagful at the supermarket or if you are fortunate enough to still have a local greengrocer you could buy an individual apple each day.
Of course, apples can be halved or quartered if a parent wishes to have the supply last longer.
The mention of a lunchbox need not concern you if you find this item to be something of a luxury. A stout paper bag should last a week.
It is important to check that your child is actually eating these nutritious lunches you are taking the trouble to provide. If you child seems lethargic or faints frequently at the end of the school day, it may be a sign that the lunch is being discarded.
For that reason, I recommend that some variety be introduced week by week.
In week two, Marmite could be replaced with grated cheese. Given the price of cheese these days, you will naturally make that a very small portion of cheese. Just enough to give a suggestion of cheese.
Week three might offer a thin slice of meat from the weekend roast. By week four, if your child has diligently ploughed through three weeks of these lunches, a small reward in the form of money to buy a pie at lunchtime is permissible.
Next week I’ll have suggestions for family meals at a reasonable cost.
First up will be the Luxon One-Egg Omelette (serves four). You will need an egg, of course, a dash of milk, some salt and pepper. Power required is minimal, maybe 50 cents’ worth.
Each portion can be brightened up with a sprig of parsley from your neighbour’s garden.
That your prime minister should spend valuable time providing recipes should not come as a surprise. After all, in spite of leading the country into a gloomy future, deep down I care, and if we have a second term I’ll ensure that every household can afford a two-egg omelette.
Worth voting for, eh?
• Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer.
