March was a whirlwind crazy month where I was swamped with lots of work. I am most happy that I have set in motion something I had planned for years – getting rid of unused and unwanted things from our house on an ongoing basis, key words being ‘ongoing’. Which means I don’t wait to spring clean and do not feed my habit of procrastinating. As both my husband and I, are working together to get into a healthier lifestyle one of the aspects involves yoga,meditation and learning to create and maintain a harmonious home – a zen-like space that is not cluttered and filled with things we will never use. It is almost like a soul-cleansing exercise, that we plan to continue to – clutter you see has a way of building up. It makes managing our space and keeping it clean, easier and we feel so good about donating things that we will never use but will surely help someone in need.

With that motto in mind, spring cleaning was actually an enjoyable experience and not the annual nightmare that we dread. This also meant taking a stock of my kitchen and what followed is a series of activities involving labelling, rearranging and donating things to our local food bank too. I was also able to create some really great meals using ingredients that I had forgotten I possess and ensuring that even the most dreary looking vegetable or fruit is not wasted. That is the reason I find all the recipes shared with #creditcrunchmunch this month, hugely inspiring.

I do hope that you, in turn, are inspired to create delicious meals and inspire others too to eliminate food wastage and work together in creating a more balanced and conscientious society where we respect and value what we have.

Chicken, prawn and mango recipe by Sarah who blogs at From plate to pen, is such a warm and inviting dish. Her post screams nostalgia! Frankly, I would never have thought of adding prawns and mango to a chicken curry but now am willing to try.

Reggae potatoes by Kate who blogs at The gluten-free alchemist are infused with coconut milk. Tropical tasting, delicious crispy potato skins seem so irresistible and a very entertaining post by Kate where she shares how she came about to creating this recipe – a must-read!

5 a day cake – yes you heard that right cake it is by Michelle who blogs at Utterly scrummy and is mum to two teenagers, a tween and an adorable toddler – Michelle how do you do it?! If you are looking to make a sweet treat and use up overripe bananas and even carrots and courgettes than look no further – try her recipe now!

Cheeseless vegan pizza? Yes, please! Kate from the Veg space has an easy-peasy recipe idea which results in a pizza with crunchy toppings that guarantee you won’t miss cheese – great for all those who are watching calories and want to eat light but don’t want to miss out on flavour or for when you want a pizza night in.

Green vegetable galette with flaky pastry using ready prepped frozen vegetables from Iceland made by Choclette of Tin and Thyme is a perfect example of a speedy healthy meal idea when you are running low on fresh veggies.

I am trying to lose weight and eat healthily, so I do end up stocking up on many ingredients, so that I can easily rustle up a healthy salad, often that means a lot of lovely ingredients left in small quantities that need using up and fast, this Healthy superfood and smoked salmon salad recipe by me is an attempt to do just that.

I absolutely love this thrifty and fabulous soup recipe by Hanna who blogs at Arctic Cloudberry, easy to make when you are pressed for time and when faced with an almost empty fridge. Try her chickpea, potato and coconut soup recipe if you are in a similar situation – or not – for a healthy and light weekday meal.

Stunning GF quiche recipe with roast dinner leftovers by Kate of The gluten-free alchemist – a very innovative idea and sure to please even the fussiest diner.

Caramelised Sesame Peanuts by Pro kitchenware looks so moreish and is for everyone who stores nuts for topping salads and making several jars of nut butter – like I do!

I always have some frozen veggie sausages lurking in my freezer and one lazy weekend afternoon when I was faced with an almost empty fridge tray I had a few minutes of utter panic. Not in a mood to eat anything elaborate my frozen veggie sausages and frozen organic GF pizza bases came to the rescue. I loved making the sauce and I hope you enjoy trying my recipe for Gluten-free pizza with vegetarian sausages

As an Indian born and bought up in Mumbai in a Maharashtrian family, I grew up eating dals with chapatis for most of my main meals. It is for me the ultimate healthy meal and very easy to make. That’s why this frugal version by The Veg hog is a recipe that I fell in love with the second I saw it. A different way to cook dhal!

Cooking with lamb is great fun and I have wanted a slow cooker for myself for the longest time now. Both reasons why I love this next recipe so much. Hopefully, I shall be able to get a slow cooker soon for my experiments. Sarah over Tales from the kitchen shed shares an interesting recipe for slow-cooked citrus lamb shanks.

Homemade Doritos? Oh yes! Any homemade versions with low or no sugar and less oil are always a fabulous idea and Shaheens green chilli Doritos are just the thing when you are feeling peckish. Check out her easy recipe on her blog Allotment2kitchen

And another great recipe by Shaheen of Allotment2kitchen – this time, it’s jacket potatoes but she has used sweet potatoes in her vegan version called Super loaded sweet potato jackets

I am very excited about the next recipe and not just because it has koftas but because it has been blogged a very dear friend Nisa on her blog Flavour Diary. We were neighbours and I dearly miss all the time we spent together over cups of chai discussing food!

Next up is a spicy beef and chickpea stew with ras el hanout, orange and dates by Emma of De tout cour limousin blog. What a great way to spice up some leftover beef!

A very refreshing and colourful spring kale salad by Jane of The taste space perfect way to use up any vegetables that are just asking to be used in an innovative dish.

Gorgeous and moreish, these frugal Polish cheese buns by Margot of Coffee and Vanilla blog are such a delicious way to make a tasty snack perfect with a big hot cuppa tea.

Thank you to everyone for linking up this month and happy cooking to all of you. Hope these recipes inspire everyone to cook more frugal meals and do their bit to stop food wastage.