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Feed a family of four for £20 a week challenge

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  • We bought another 2 packs of 500g mince from Aldi £2.98 and I split the kg of mince into three. I also bought two medium chickens for £2.99
    So I have made another lasagne, a Mince cobbler plus a mince hotpot for dinner tonight. One chicken has been jointed and frozen the other will be for Sunday roast plus a Chicken and Veg crumble for Monday

    This week's SS are all 45p:

    500g brussel sprouts
    Swede
    Cooked Beetroot
    Parsnips
    Onions
    Leeks

    1kg Carrots 41p

    I bought eight packs of parsnips, so a huge pot of parsnip and apple soup (Free apples) has been made and is now in six ice cream tubs (Large Walls ones saved over the summer) Now happily in the freezer. Plus some have been peeled and sliced ready to be roasted and a couple of bags of them have been put away for Christmas plus two packs of Brussel sprouts.
    Six bags of Brussels sprouts prepared and frozen (two for Christmas), two swedes cooked and mashed and one diced , 2 packs leeks made into Leek and potato soup and a Leek and potato pie

    I will post my meal plan and shopping list in a seperate reply
    Blessed are the cracked for they are the ones that let in the light
    C.R.A.P R.O.L.L.Z. Member #35 Butterfly Brain + OH - Foraging Fixers
    Not Buying it 2015!
  • thanks for this BB! I went to a1dis today and got 2x parsnips, leeks & brussel sprouts & 1 massive swede. Currently a batch of curried lentil, parsnip & apple soup on the hob & am going to try my hand at blanching the sprouts & parsnips, and will cook, mash & portion up the swede tomorrow as well as make leek & potato soup with the leeks
    DF as at 30/12/16
    Womblng 2020:
    NSD Jan 2/18 YTD: 2
  • just made a 2 x lasagna's - one for tomorrow when I'm working so we can just bung it in the oven when we get in & one for the freezer for next week. Have just priced it out & it has cost £1.42 per lasagna and there will be lo's for work the next day.

    I used:
    1 tblspn olive oil - 3p
    1 onion - 3p
    garlic - free (I grew it)
    BNS - free (given to me by an allotmenteer)
    2 carrots - 3p
    1/4 courgette & pepper - free (I grew it)
    tin toms - 25p
    squirt of tom puree 4p
    100 grms red lentil - 33p
    glug wine - 50p (obviously not strictly necessary but does taste better with)
    celery stick - 3p
    beef stock cube - 3p
    thyme & basil - free (hg)
    2 slices of smoked bacon - 26p
    12 lasagna sheets - 30p
    3/4pt milk - 16p
    100grms butter - 18p
    50 grms cheese - 33p
    flour - 3p

    £1.44 per meal
    DF as at 30/12/16
    Womblng 2020:
    NSD Jan 2/18 YTD: 2
  • Caterina
    Caterina Posts: 5,919
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    I hope this does not go against the grain, it might belong to an altogether different post, but I wonder how to set a budget for 2 adults, both 90% vegetarians (with occasional fish thrown in), eating mostly with the seasons, as in organic vege box, plus mostly organic grains and pulses.

    We make our own very inexpensive seed or nut milk, yogurt, cream cheese, fermented veg. Not baking our own bread because only one of us (DH) eats it. We are mostly gluten free apart from DH's bread intake, and we buy his bread from a local baker, at £6.50 per humongous loaf, which lasts a week.

    I know that we probably would spend more than the £20-25 that people are discussing here, but I wonder if any of you clever and experienced budgeteers have tried to eat this way.

    I acknowledge that this might sound like a total luxury for some and totally understand that it is not possible for many to make these choices, but we live very modestly in other aspects of our lives and put a very high value in eating well and sustainably. In addition we both have some health conditions to contend with, especially DH who has a life-limiting neurological illness and needs to keep his health at an optimum state and his weight up.

    I look forward to your suggestions and ideas. Of course if this is considered off topic I would be happy to move it, but I thought this is the thread that is used by the most experienced in these matters. Thank you!
    Finally I'm an OAP and can travel free (in London at least!).
  • moneyistooshorttomention
    moneyistooshorttomention Posts: 17,940 Forumite
    edited 9 October 2016 at 2:39PM
    I eat very much the same way as you do Caterina by the sound of it.

    Now I've got my garden more "up and running" and producing a noticeable amount of food one way or another and have recently started keeping a record of where my money is going - then I have found that the last 2 weeks have cost me an average of £20 per week (that is food only - not including the non-food items many seem to include in their budget). With my not liking tea or instant coffee - so I have to have real coffee and the fact that everything is organic, apart from eggs (which are just free range) then I think that should just about cover me. I doubt it will cost me more than £25 per week at the most.

    Personally - I don't think that's bad at all - considering the average British person spends £35 per week each on food. So for me to spend between £20 and £25 when I am single/eat organically/drink real coffee is pretty good.

    I try not to be wasteful - so, for instance, today's lunch has just been frittata that included some leftover bread I'd made into breadcrumbs and kept in the freezer. The veggies with it were sauted leek (home-grown), nasturtium leaves (home-grown) and carrot (not home-grown yet - but I've got some growing at the moment). A pudding I've got lined-up for dinner this evening will be blackberries and home-grown apples with some yogurt (fallen behind a bit at the moment, so it's bought, but I often make my own) to give an example of how I'm eating.

    I'm with you on eating healthily. I'm in my 60s now and I don't think I can think of a single healthy person in my agegroup or older and I'm quite shocked at the very high percentage of ill people in Britain.
  • Caterina
    Caterina Posts: 5,919
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
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    Thank you mitstm, I have wondered if I could do it with a max of £40 per week, all in, for the two of us now that DH is a pensioner and my income from babysitting is tiny and irregular.

    I find it difficult to budget as such because of buying in bulk, using stock I already have in cupboards, homegrown stuff (irregular), also odd dinners out - DH insists to live it up while he can, and frankly I can't blame him!

    It's all up in the air for us because things could change for the worse healthwise, any time (God forbid) or could go on well for years and years. I find the idea of living it up very scary because we might need funds desperately for care etc if TSHTF with his illness. At the same time, with this Damocles sword on his head, how can I deny him the treats he wants?

    So, a modicum of budgeting has to be put into action, by me, quietly.
    Finally I'm an OAP and can travel free (in London at least!).
  • moneyistooshorttomention
    moneyistooshorttomention Posts: 17,940 Forumite
    edited 9 October 2016 at 6:58PM
    Caterina

    1. What have you got in the way of a garden? Large, reasonable, pocket handkerchief, patio and grow things in pots as best you can? I'm experimenting my way through what I can get for free from my garden - as well as plants I mean to grow. So I'm letting fat hen and nettles grow for instance and eating them. I've done a bit of experimenting with the dandelions that keep popping up in my garden - I have to tone the taste down imo (as it's on the bitter side for me). However, I've found I could do dandelion "crisps" (as per kale crisps) and could have dandelion leaves sauted a minute or so each side in oil - but my experiment with dandelion leaf pesto was a failure (too bitter for me personally). I've started harvesting my leeks - and cut off the bottom inch or so and re-planted it/the roots back into the soil to grow on again and provide me with some more leek to eat in some weeks.

    2. What kitchen equipment have you got? Dehydrator? Heavy duty blender (eg Vitamix)?

    3. I'm working my way gradually towards making what I can from scratch for this way of eating. I'm guessing you already make pasta from scratch for instance? Do you use dried beans, rather than canned ones (it's possible to soak and cook up a whole packet of dried beans and store them in bags in the freezer to take out the equivalent of a cans worth when required).

    4. There is a book recently out on the market that you've probably not come across yet - it's a basic pantry staples book based on healthy eating. I've got several "pantry" recipe books - written from a more conventional eating pov and I can't say I get a lot of use from them personally. However - I have recently bought "The homemade vegan pantry - the art of making your own staples" written by Miyoko Schinner and I think this one would be useful for you to have a look at. I shall have to take this step by step trying things out in it myself. It includes, for instance, recipes for making own tofu, cashew cream, "meat" equivalents, pesto, vegan "fish" sauce, healthy jam, etc.
  • Caterina
    Caterina Posts: 5,919
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
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    edited 9 October 2016 at 8:16PM
    Hi, thank you for the extensive reply, here's mine:

    1. We have a small allotment, we share it with an OS friend. We also have front and back garden, where I grow some herbs and veg. Really could do better on the allotment front. I cannot dig due to arthritis but DH and our friend are very good at that. I can plan and plant and we have some potential winter crops in the shape of brassicas, winter lettuces, cultivated dandelions and hopefully leeks and some Jerusalem artichokes. If we plan carefully I reckon we can have at least 30% of our diet from the allotment.
    Really interested in fat hen, does it taste good? It is a common weed in our allotment. Got a fair amount of nettles but cut them down regularly as they're in the way. Maybe I should pay more notice when they are young. Don't eat wild dandelions without boiling them first, otherwise they are inedible. Once boiled, they are delicious saut!ed in garlic and chilli oil (cicoria ripassata). In Rome you would pay good money for this dish as not many people left to go pick up the wild leaves in the field, it's becoming a delicacy!

    2. I have a dehydrator that I haven't used for ages and a vitamix that I use for everything. Need to revisit the dehydrator, thank you for reminder.

    3. I don't make pasta, life's too short, but have been known to make potato gnocchi, however I prefer grains in their natural state so that's not an issue. I buy grains and pulses in bulk and do cook and freeze. This winter there will be stews of all sorts on our table as I need to run down the various beans and split peas stocks!

    4. Thank you for the book suggestion, going to check it out now and will let you know how it goes. EDITED: had a look, it seems just the perfect companion to. Y kitchen ae ethers. Ordered! Very excited, it will be there waiting for me when I get back from my hols! :-) thank you!

    All the best x
    Finally I'm an OAP and can travel free (in London at least!).
  • moneyistooshorttomention
    moneyistooshorttomention Posts: 17,940 Forumite
    edited 10 October 2016 at 7:05AM
    Fat hen is very "neutral" in taste - so basically I regard it as a spinach substitute. So yep..I eat the leaves at points where I would eat spinach and the recipe has a bit of "flavouring" of some description in. You might as well give it a go and try it. Apparently the seeds are edible too - though I've not tried them yet.

    I knew Italians eat dandelions - hence mentioning. I'll try out blanching some leaves and then cooking them and see what I think. We're unfamiliar with eating them - as you'll know.

    Nettles could also be used as a vegetable - as another spinach equivalent (same thing as fat hen - ie used with suitable flavourings). I do make a nice nettle pesto for instance.

    I've just got a standard size garden (might be considered large by city standards? - isnt by mine:rotfl:). Still waiting for the money to rip up a lot of "concrete garden" put down by previous owners - but have got a reasonable amount that is "plantable" now (courtesy of ripping up a lot of "previous owner stuff" already). I major in fruit trees and bushes personally - as I figure that fruit is dearer than vegetables and easier to care for. Hence the dehydrator use - as I dry some of the surplus.

    I'm currently waiting for a friend to find a suitable log for me and I shall have a go at injecting it with suitable mushroom spore and see what happens. I gather it should be possible to grow some types of mushrooms straight on the ground - eg on wood chippings - by inoculating it with suitable mushroom spore on a suitable piece of ground one doesnt walk on regularly. Bit of experimenting coming up - as mushrooms are one of the dearer foods...

    EDIT; Another book you might like to check out is "The Homemade Flour Cookbook - the home cook's guide to milling nutritious flours and creating delicious recipes with every grain, legume, nut and seed from A - Z" by Erin Alderson (she's the Naturally Ella woman). That might give you ideas to save on buying that expensive bread for your husband. With a Vitamix it's possible to make your own flour. More experiments coming up - I do make rice flour and chickpea flour already (I think probably much cheaper than buying them readymade).
  • Slowly57
    Slowly57 Posts: 353
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    edited 10 October 2016 at 7:53AM
    Caterina, i read your posts with great interest as we have similar circumstances. We don't go down the organic route - but do buy locally and seasonally. We don't have a garden - but do have a yard to grow things in pots,I don't think this saves us a lot of money - but it does mean we 'know' our foods and definitely appreciate food more for the bits we do grow.

    We are super-lucky in having a good Northern market on the doorstep and a local farm that delivers seasonal and local food. We also have a milkman who delivers local milk in glass bottles :))

    If it all sounds a bit spendy it isn't - but I'm fussy about where my budget gets spent (and lucky enough to be able to afford to be that way). Having said that, it has become plain to me that I am both a cupboard and freezer food hoarder - this needs to stop.

    Do you have locals for your veg box? I looked at what a national box service charges and it seemed a bit much. You can check on what's in your area on (oops assuming you're in UK):
    Big Barn https://www.bigbarn.co.uk/
    and you probably know about Eat the Seasons http://www.eattheseasons.co.uk/

    Best wishes to you and your OH xx
    2022 | Back to the fold - need a Money Saving mojo reboot!

    Grocery Challenge JAN 2022 £200/£185.00 left!
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