Shannon Purdy started cooking when she was 11 years old, by 12 she was helping mum out in the kitchen with family meals but it was only a couple of months ago that the family noticed the effect it had on the bills, too.

Because it turns out the teenager from Darlington, County Durham, isn't just good at putting together a tasty dish – she does it for very little money.

"It started as a bit of fun a couple of months ago but I love cooking and preparing nutritious meals and as soon as I realised how much money we were saving I wanted to carry on," Shannon said.

Ant it was a lot of money saved too – with Shannon's meals costing as little as 68p each her mum's monthly supermarket bills was slashed in half.

“When I started meal prepping, I was only doing three days at a time and quickly we noticed our shopping bill was getting smaller. I upped it to five days a week and that’s when me and mum realised we were saving £300 a month. We put the money towards treats for the family," Shannon said.

How Shannon manages it

The secret to Shannon's success is planning ahead.

“Mid-week I plan out what I’m going to make by checking the fresh items we have in the fridge, the meat we have and the dry ingredients," she explained.

"I make a list of those to make sure I’m not doubling up on what I buy. That helps me keep the cost down."

As well as planning ahead, Shannon puts in mammoth sessions in the kitchen – cooking meals and preparing food in bulk all at once, then separating it off into individual portions that can be heated up later.

Fortunately for Shannon it's a labour of love.

“I love cooking and look forward to my eight hours in the kitchen every Sunday cooking up meals for me and my mum," she said.

It also lets her save money – by using online services like musclefood.com for expensive ingredients like meat and then cooking it all at once so it doesn't go off.

These days an average five-day menu costs Shannon around £22.77 a person, or £1.13 a day.

What Shannon cooks

Shannon looks online for inspiration, as well as coming up with her own recipes, not wanting to have dinner get boring for her three younger siblings Liam (14), Isla (6) and Cassidy (4).

“When I started my meals were boring – a lot of chicken, rice and veg. Now I make a huge variety of meals," she explained.

Dinner is made from scratch every evening – with chillis, shredded chicken and bacon wraps and sausages and sweet potato mash among the family's favourites.

But as well as taste, nutrition matters to the teen who's planning to study food hygiene at college.

“Eating well and having a healthy diet is really important to me and mum. We both feel so much better when we’re eating clean, nutritious food and have both lost some weight since eating the prepped meals. 

“I always make sure we have lots of fresh vegetables and fruit in all our meals – we’re definitely eating our recommended daily amount.”

Some of Shannon's menus

Tandoori masala chicken curry, pilau brown rice  – 4 portions (68p per portion each)

• 2 x chicken breast – £2.18
• Rice – 45p
• Spices – 5p
• Tomato puree – 4p

Greek chicken kebabs, courgette, peppers, onions with cucumber and tomatoes – 4 portions (£1.20 each)

• 2 x chicken breast – £2.18
• Feta cheese – 99p
• Courgette – 38p
• Peppers – 62p
• Onion – 22p
• Salad – 43p

Chinese steak rice noodle stir fry with baby corn, peppers and courgette – 4 portions (£1.75 each)

• 2 x steak – £4.82
• Noodles – 30p
• Baby Corn – 89p
• Peppers – 62p
• Courgette – 38p

KFC fakeaway chicken fillet burger with lettuce, tomato and low-fat cheese – 4 portions (86p each)

• 2 x chicken breast – £2.18
• Burger buns – 50p
• Lettuce – 15p
• Tomato – 25p
• Cheese – 37p

Salmon, asparagus, crispy sweet potato cubes – 4 portions, £1.19 each

• 2 x salmon fillet – £3.10
• Asparagus – £1.27
• Sweet potato – 40p

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