Don't overdo it...more meals from nothing...

Why do we sometimes make more work for ourselves than is necessary?

Take the humble pumpkin for example.

They're usually inexpensive for the volume of food they can create, but avoided as too difficult to prepare. All that tough skin to remove, all that cutting up...sigh...

And then turning 'into' something...like pumpkin soup or pumpkin scones or mash or whatever...it's just too much work....nah...really?

All I do with my pumpkin is attack it with a sharp knife and roast the darned thing. I don't even peel it. The skin is luscious roasted and adds fibre and nutrition. Why waste a good veg on blinkin' scones or cake or muffins or pasta recipes.

Okay, going gluten free has some bearing on this. DD12 was diagnosed Coeliac a while back, and DH and I have gone gluten free in sympathy. So frankly, in the early stages, we just eliminated cakes and scones and pasta from our diet until I got the hang of the whole baking gluten free thing. Thankfully I've got a handle on it now and merrily bake with all kinds of alternative flours, but we learned an important lesson in the process.

Sometimes food, close to it's natural state is just as pleasurable as the most complex goodies.

This wedge of roasted pumpkin with my batch of Onion Confit I cooked up yesterday in my Slow Cooker is my lunch today...a pleasure I am anticipating with relish...sorry...bad pun!

My pumpkin cost me a princely $3, so my wedge is valued at about 15c, and the Onion Confit no more than one or two cents surely.

Talk about meals for under a dollar!

I guess for the family, you might add some bread, or polenta squares or curled crisp bacon or even..if you must...some meat or chicken.

But for me, as a guilt free, frugal and super delish lunch, this'll do just fine.

Go on...take the easy way out...you won't regret it :)