Super savers

22 budget meal ideas

Feel-good fishcakes

■ Serves 4 ■ Prep 15 mins ■ Cook 35 mins

600g potatoes, cut into chunks
2 x 120g cans sardines in spring
water, drained
4 tbsp chopped parsley
1 small lemon, zested and juiced
3 tbsp mayonnaise
4 tbsp Greek yogurt
1 tbsp seasoned plain flour
4 tsp sunflower oil
green salad and lemon wedges,
to serve

1 Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 15-20 mins, until tender. Meanwhile, coarsely mash the sardines in a bowl (there’s no need to remove the bones as they're soft enough to eat). Mix in 3 tbsp of the parsley and half the lemon zest and juice. In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise and yogurt with the remaining parsley, lemon zest and juice, then season to taste.

2 Drain the potatoes, then mash until smooth. Mix into the sardine mixture and season. Shape into 8 fishcakes using floured hands, then dust lightly with the seasoned flour.

3 Heat half the oil in a nonstick frying pan and fry half the fishcakes for 3-4 mins on each side, until golden and crisp. Keep warm; repeat with remaining oil and fishcakes. Serve with the lemony mayonnaise dressing, salad and lemon wedges.

PER SERVING 287 kcals, fat 13g, saturates 2g, carbs 29g, sugars 2g, fibre 2g, protein 16g, salt 0.7g

Canny cooking

Canned fish is often seen as inferior to its fresh counterpart, but canned sardines are especially nutritious because the canning process makes the bones easier to eat and digest, increasing the calcium content of your meal. Choose fish in spring water or in a healthier oil such as olive, rather than in salty brine, as canned fish can already have a high sodium content.

Moroccan-inspired mushrooms with couscous

■ Serves 4 ■ Prep 15 mins ■ Cook 15 mins

1 red onion, sliced 2 tsp olive oil ½ tsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp ground cumin 300g mushrooms, quartered 400g can chopped tomatoes 410g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 tsp clear honey 175g couscous 50g soft dried apricots, diced handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

1 Fry the sliced red onion in the olive oil for 6 mins, until softened. Add the cinnamon and cumin and cook for 1 min, stirring. Add the mushrooms, cook for 2 mins, then stir in the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas and honey. Season and simmer for 7-8 mins.

2 Meanwhile, mix the couscous with the dried apricots and some seasoning in a bowl. Pour over 250ml boiling water, mix well, then cover the bow