If i had a garden still, that would be tomatoes, basil, capsicum, chillos, zucchinis, and maybe a broadbean or three. And marigolds - they go well with tomatoes and basil (IIRC they attract the same pests so protect the food plants)
Sydneysider visited SM marketplace for some discount meat. Prices on the grass fed meat specials were good, though it seemed to me they included the weight of the tray in the weight. Quality looked OK, but I have to wait till I've eaten some. The beef fillet looked very nice, and looking forward to giving that a go 🤤
Check their Facebook page for latest specials. They will put up specials that only run for a day or two there.
With some other purchases from supermarkets, it averages to about $3/meal (meat only).
And that doesn't include any canned fish which is where the real protein/$ is. I don't eat tuna too much because of heavy metals. And for sustainability and omega-3 reasons my personal bang for buck is canned mackerel.
So, looks like I can make it another month without resorting to pet food.
Canned fish is good with potatoes which are also cheap. Over the top of a microwave ‘baked’ potato is a quick meal.
Or if drained and mixed into mashed potatoes you can bake it with a topping of cheese (steamed veg for side dish) or coat the mix in breadcrumbs and fry up some fishcakes.
I used to use tuna in oil which is quite a fatty salty canned fish, no idea how it would taste with mackerel or salmon.