Adulthood is one of the greatest scams of all time, and very effective in the sense that it’s something we cannot escape. The only remedy to growing up is not existing and while that’s not an entirely terrible option, we’re here, we have to do this adulthood thing. One of my least favourite things to do as an adult (after cooking) is thinking about money, budgeting and saving. Unfortunately, it is quite important especially in this endeavour of trying to live like a baby girl. 

Most people would agree with me that what most people spend a lot of their money on is food. Restaurants, dates, that quick stop at The Place all amount to quite a bit at the end of the month. So in the spirit of saving money, here are a few sort-of fancy meals you can whip up at home that don’t cost quite as much as eating out.

• Sautéed potatoes and grilled fish

Potatoes are so versatile and can be used for many great things. Best part? They’re not expensive. Now, to sauté your potatoes and do it right, you’ll need fresh herbs, like rosemary, thyme and parsley, spices like ginger and other ingredients such as salt and butter. If you want to go extra fancy, use sea salt. It’s best to boil the potatoes (with spices of course- salt, pepper and maybe a bit of garlic) for about three minutes before lightly frying them in the pan already smeared with butter or greased lightly with oil- you can use olive oil. Add the herbs right before the end of cooking under low heat, with a bit of butter so that it melts right into the potatoes and infuses the herbs into the potatoes. The same herbs can also be used to garnish the grilled fish. Fish is easy to cook and absolutely tasty, when well marinated. Be careful with the temperature of the grill- or oven and turn it over after about three-four minutes to avoid too much char.  

• Olive oil stir-fry pasta

This might not sound very fancy but trust me if you go to an Italian restaurant and order pasta, it’ll most likely be more expensive than cooking it at home. It’s also really easy to prepare; all you need are the relevant vegetables, spices and herbs, pre-cooked pasta (spaghetti is a good option, but you could go fancier with tagliatelle or penne), some chicken or meat, or not - whichever you prefer and olive oil. I can’t share the recipe to this one, because my best friend will kill me, but there are countless recipes on Beyoncé’s internet, and you can always create yours if that’s your kind of thing. Also, it doesn’t have to be olive oil, that was just to make it sound fancier.

• Chicken curry

An absolute favourite, and also very easy to make. All you need is chicken (obviously), all the vegetables and bell peppers you can find and corn starch (for thickness). And also for a fuller, more bodied flavour. I feel so pretentious saying that, but it's true lol. Chicken curry can be eaten with rice or pasta.

• Red wine-marinated grilled steak

Steak is fancy, anyone would agree. Marinating steak in red wine is easy and gives your steak a distinct flavour, all you need is a pepper, onions and garlic for spice. Then leave it for a few hours, grill on the stove top in a grill pan and serve with sauteed potatoes or vegetables. I think we can all agree that cooking steak at home with the wine left at home from last night is way cheaper than buying it in Lagos restaurants. 

• Cheesy seafood pasta with garlic bread

This was suggested by our beloved Managing Editor, Maryam, and honestly, it sounds amazing. It also costs less than 10k to make and will feed 3-5 people. Can’t find garlic bread? Maryam also has a quick fix for that: blend some garlic, mix with oil and spices. Slice up the bread roll (baguettes maybe?) into not-too-thin slices, heat up these up in a microwave for a few minutes. Add the garlic spread and you're ready to eat! Or…you can prepare it the French toast way, add the slices of bread to a pan with the garlic sauce on low heat and turn them over after a few minutes.

Cooking is an extreme sport, but it helps when you have all your ingredients at home and you know what you’re doing, unlike some of us (read, me).  The beauty of cooking at home is that you can do it to your exact taste and know you have no one else to blame if the food turns out terrible. So, please dear, so that it doesn’t end in tears for you and your bank account, sometimes stay at home and cook. To make sure that it doesn’t end in tears, Piggyvest is here to help you along in that journey of saving your money.

Join the Piggyvest Challenge to save towards EatDrinkFestival. You know I’m always ready to tell you the truth, not every day, fancy restaurant.