Last night I did my monthly shop.......

LydiaSophia · 22 November 2006 at 11:11AM

Right, I went to Tesco last night and did my monthly shop. I am planning to go to the fruit and beg market on Saturday to get the rest of the salad and veg stuff. I live alone so am just feeding one - WHAT DO YOU THINK?

4 x tins of baked beans
3 x tins of kidney beans
2 x tins of chopped toms
3 x tins of green lentils
1 tub of marg
1 botle of sunflower oil
tomato ketchup
24 oxo cubes
large chunk cheddar cheese
1 french stick
vinegar
3 x packs of sesame ryvitas
satsumas
creme bath (large one that I am going to make last a month instead of shower gel)
small piece of stewing steak
huge bag of carrots
frozen peas
toilet tissue
4 x packs of pitta bread
1 x tin of stuffed vine leaves
1 x bag of dried butter beans
1 x bag of dried black eyed beans
1 x bag of dried mung beans
6 x tins of sardines
bag of potatoes
2 packs of bacon
white onions
red onions
2 x pack of soft cheese
2 pints of long life milk

Total - £33.29

What do you reckon - will this last me a month?

angchris · 22 November 2006 at 11:19AM

hiya lydia, there doesnt seem to be much meat there to make meals from and what about bread/milk? theres lots of beans that can pad meals out but i wouldnt of thought they would be too appetising by themselves. what meals do you normally have? id be tempted to buy a chicken to make a few meals from. im sure you wouldnt starve but it does look very bean orientated

LydiaSophia · 22 November 2006 at 11:28AM

Well - I have loads of herbs and spices and I have a really nice veggie cook book at home that I will look at. I am going to go to the market and buy lots of veg on Saturday like I said. I will be opk with the milk cos I only have 1 cup of tea at home each day. I don't eat bread really - just the odd bit as a treat!

**purplemoon** · 22 November 2006 at 1:37PM

If that was me feeding just myself then I'd add a couple of packs of mince, a chicken, some sausages and a couple of bags pasta and that would probably last a month easily

liney · 22 November 2006 at 2:19PM

You eat bread as a treat...?

LydiaSophia · 22 November 2006 at 2:27PM

You eat bread as a treat...?

Yes - I went through a phase when I was eating it for every meal as I couldn't be bothered to cook anything. So now I don't have it in the house and it forces me to cook - also I was eating so much it was making me fat!

Pandora123_2 · 22 November 2006 at 7:01PM

I think you've got plenty of protein-rich foods there. Beans and lentils are very nutritious, low-fat and cheap (but it looks like you already know that

)

The only obvious thing I would have added if it were me is pasta and rice to bulk out your meals and add carbs, a few jars of passata, a package of red lentils (very fast to cook), as well as a tin of coconut milk and a jar of curry paste (for making quick and delicious curries). Also a bottle of oyster sauce (I use a vegetarian equivalent) for stir fries. For your weekend shop (if I were you, which of course I'm not, hehe) I would include garlic, fresh ginger, red peppers, sweet potatoes (lovely in a curry), mushrooms, courgette, cauliflower, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, lemons, avocadeo, fresh coriander, fresh basil (if you get pots of herbs, they will last longer than cut... or you could buy a pack of seeds and try growing your own) plus whatever fruit you like. Though I wouldn't buy it all in one go as it's better to shop for fruit and veg once or even twice a week so it stays fresh.

It would be easiest to make a meal plan before you do your fruit/veg shop.

From your list, you could make bean and veggie chili, an assortment of soups (my fave is with lentils, tomatoes and LOTS of garlic), pasta sauce, bean burgers, roast potatoes, oven chips... those are the ones that come immediately to mind. Someone recently posted a recipe for baked beans Greek-style which could be made with the butter beans. If you get the curry paste and coconut milk you can make some really nice quick veggie curries like this one.

Spread the ryvita with the soft cheese or avocado to have with HM soup.

You can sprout the mung beans to use in stir fries.

As for the stuffed vine leaves, :drool: I love those, if you're feeling ambitious sometime you can make your own (with a packet of vine leaves from the supermarket). Much cheaper that way though a bit fiddly. A nice quick meal is vine leaves, hummous spread on pita bread and topped with tomatoes.

HTH

LydiaSophia · 23 November 2006 at 10:56AM

From your list, you could make bean and veggie chili, an assortment of soups (my fave is with lentils, tomatoes and LOTS of garlic), pasta sauce, bean burgers, roast potatoes, oven chips... those are the ones that come immediately to mind. Someone recently posted a recipe for baked beans Greek-style which could be made with the butter beans. If you get the curry paste and coconut milk you can make some really nice quick veggie curries like this one.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh I didn't think about bean burgers - how would I make them?

bluemoon_3 · 23 November 2006 at 8:17PM

Pandora123 wrote:

Also a bottle of oyster sauce (I use a vegetarian equivalent) for stir fries.

Hi Pandora, I'd love to know which oyster sauce you use. I've heard of veggie versions but I've never come across one when I've taken the time to look. Thanks

Pandora123_2 · 24 November 2006 at 1:01PM

LydiaSophia wrote:

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh I didn't think about bean burgers - how would I make them?

Well, to be honest, I've tried a few bean burger recipes and still have not found the "ultimate one"... the thing is, I prefer a veggie burger with more texture, like this one made with oats, almonds and mushrooms, and the bean burgers I've made tend to be on the soft side.

Here is a bean burger recipe which looks good (I would use a vegan replacement for the egg, personally).

And here's one which I've been meaning to try for awhile. It's from Entertaining with Friends by Simon Hope. It should have a nice texture from the rice and walnuts.

Friendly Burgers

30g vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
225g mushrooms, finely diced
1 tsp each of thyme, marjoram and sage
100g cooked rice
100g cooked brown lentils
50g walnuts, roasted and chopped
100g wheatgerm or breadcrumbs
salt, pepper and soya sauce
vegetable oil for frying

Heat oil in a deep pan. Saute the onion, garlic, mushroom and herbs until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Partially blend together the rice and lentils. Fold the rice and lentils into the onion mix and stir in well. Add the chopped walnuts.

If the mixture is still a bit runny, firm it up with wheatgerm or breadcrumbs.

Season with salt, pepper and soya sauce. Form into burgers and dust with wheatgerm. Chill for 1 hour before use. If you are not using them immediately, simply wrap and freeze.

Either fry on each side for 8 minutes in a little vegetable oil and serve with vegetables or in a bun, or bake in a hot oven.

flossyblog · 24 November 2006 at 1:21PM

this receipe is for a lentil loaf, I have made it myself and it turned out fine.

http://www.eighth-day.co.uk/recipes/bnutrost.htm

A receipe for beans

http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes/soup-spmixbean.html

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Last night I did my monthly shop.......

Comments

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free