Food ideas & tools

Favourite family soups

You can make soup for dinner or in the weekends for lunch. Serve soup with fresh bread or toasted sandwiches and your family will be asking for soup to be on the menu!

Fun ways with food for kids

Try some of these fun ways to encourage kids to eat more vegetables:

5 easy ways with pasta

Pasta is popular because it is fast and easy to cook and is affordable and versatile. It is the perfect ingredient for a fast week night dinner.

5 easy ways with potatoes

Potatoes can be mashed, boiled, baked, steamed or microwaved, and are tasty in salads, added to a curry or soup, or as the topping of a pie.

Try these recipes for inspiration:

Double your recipe

For your next casserole or stew, try doubling the recipe and freezing extra. You'll save time and have a meal on hand for when things get busy.

Crock-pot dinners

Come home to ready made dinners by using a crock-pot. You can use cheaper cuts of meat due to the slow cooking method and load up on vegetables.

It's easy to make porridge extra delicious

Porridge made from rolled oats is one of the best breakfasts for your family. Oats are packed full of energy and goodness. And they are much cheaper to buy than fancy flavoured breakfast cereals.

Frozen and canned as good as fresh

Frozen and canned fruit and vegetables are packaged soon after picking and are high in vitamins.

Children's snacks

Fresh fruit, small packets of homemade popcorn or a small sandwich make great snacks for kids.

How to get breakfast on the table quick smart

Breakfast doesn’t have to be expensive or take ages to prepare. Keep these items on your shopping list so your family can enjoy a quick smart breakfast:

Make meals whānau time

Eating together as a family helps to make meal times a special whānau time.

Food ideas for children

Here are a few ideas to help you raise happy children:

Eat leftovers for lunch

Leftovers from dinner are the perfect, easy lunch - saving you money and time. Dinner leftovers often taste better the next day too!

Keep celery crunchy

By cutting the ends off celery and putting the stalks in a jug of water in the fridge, the celery will last for a week and it will still be firm and crunchy.