£300 -6 months shopping list help needed

mum_of_4

demented wrote: »

Hi Mum of 4. Yes i know what you mean about the waste of money on buying both Caster and icing sugar, when all you really need is either a blender or if you haven't got a blender, a good old fashioned rolling pin plus either a plastic or paper bag, with the rolling pin method, you just put the sugar into the bag and roll it heavily with the rolling pin until you get the consistency that you want. When your making Icing sugar in the blender, just keep your eye on the consistency and try not to get too carried away with "Blending" Although saying that you haven't lost anything, just gained more icing sugar, also it does work just the same as the bought stuff.
Got to say well done on your shopping list.

Well my OH thinks i've flipped, it flipping works:j :j :j :j Less money to going to Mr T.
Gosh i'm easily pleased. Agree that you have to keep an eye on the blender.

Also noticed pasta is back up to £2.99 so buying on Tuesday saved me £2.45

mum_of_4

Well i got through the first week just another 177 days to go :eek: - and too my amazement spent just a few £'s
I stuck to to meal plan like glue. The family loved all the HM meals and DD2 has never eaten so much. In fact i noticed that she drank less milk so the too might be linked.

had to buy milk and fruit but only picked up one item at a time so i could use more coupons. I got value - apples, bananas, oranges and two reduced bags of pears for 16p each :j and punnet of plums 25p:j (plums were in date and are ok so strange that they were reduced.

Ages ago we booked a 1 week away in north devon well it's crepped up on us and is the 18th so does any one know of a good cool bag as i wanted to take 99% of our own food away with us. How long would frozen food last. The journey is 2hrs. They do have an onsite shop but it will really eat into my budget.

Does any have some tips on making hm pasties as never done it before

Meal plan for this week -

Monday - L - eggs sandwiches, D - Honey and mustard chicken pasta + fruit
Tuesday - L - cold pasta/ leek & potato soup D - chicken & bacon risotto + pear crumble
Wednesday -L - ham sadwiches D - Toad in hole + poached pears
Thursday - L - egg sandwiches D -meat loaf + rice pudding
Friday - L cold meat loaf rolls D- fish and hm chips + pear spondge
Saturday - L - HM pasties D - omelette

snacks - choc chip muffins, cherry & marzipan cake, banana &walnut cake

sandraroffey

hi maz, still doing great i see. tell me, have you ever made your own fish CAKES?? cheap as chips and really tasty; here goes in case you havent: there are two types that i make and both are good. first one is get a large tin of pilchards in tomato sauce. put the contents into a large bowl and mash it all up, bones and all. add mashed potato until it starts to taste 'right' add lots of parsley and some salt. you may need more potatoes than you may think but take it slowly. perhaps a little lemon if you like it. make into little cakes, roll in flour and fry gently. if you have used warm mash, then let them get cold before you fry them, they hold together better then.

second one is using fresh/frozen fish. cook the fish in a little milk, with bay leaf, black peppercorns and some onion and garlic. flake the fish when its done, add some mash, LOTS of parsley grated lemon rind and juice and salt and black pepper.. keep tasting it as you go and you will know what it needs more of. i find it tastes better with a bit of smoked haddock in it as well. make into small cakes and roll in fresh breadcrumbs. fry in a little oil and butter and serve with a wedge of lemon or whatever the kids like. mine (grown up as they are) like them with mustard mayo and saute potatoes and salad. the grandchildren of course have the ketchup!! both cheap meals and the fish cakes are wonderful cold the next day if you make to many!!!!xxxx

mum_of_4

sandraroffey wrote: »

hi maz, still doing great i see. tell me, have you ever made your own fish CAKES?? ...... if you have used warm mash, then let them get cold before you fry them, they hold together better then.

Well i have tried several times and then gave up as they always seemed to break up - guess what?

Always used warm mash:rolleyes:

lollyfin

Wow Maz your meals for the week sound yummy not like budget food at all. That is what I love about here sooooo many good meal ideas that are cheap but don't make you feel like you are doing without, as soon as i feel like i am missing out that is when i spend like there is no tomorrow (hasn't happened in a while thankfully). Sandra those fish cakes sound really nice I have never made them with pilchards before will have to give them a try.

mum_of_4

lollyfin wrote: »

Wow Maz your meals for the week sound yummy not like budget food at all. That is what I love about here sooooo many good meal ideas that are cheap but don't make you feel like you are doing without, as soon as i feel like i am missing out that is when i spend like there is no tomorrow (hasn't happened in a while thankfully). Sandra those fish cakes sound really nice I have never made them with pilchards before will have to give them a try.

Just that first week has amazed me too - i thought i would have spent more of the £200 budget than i did. We ate really well and the children, OH and me were always full i didn't feel like we missed out on anything. I wonder if I will find it harder as the weeks go buy.

That was truely the first time where 100% of all the food was home cooked. Normally i maybe would have cheated and bought pizza or had a jar of standby pasta sauce or a backup pudding.

sandraroffey

OMG. proper home made puddings!!! bread and butter pudding.steamed pudding topped with lovely homemade jam or marmalade. home made lemon meringue pie. rice pudding with lovely jam dropped in the middle. home made flap jacks. treacle tart with home made custard. what a way to go!!!!!

katie2407

just spend the last hour reading through your diary it was really inspiring. we have small patch that we used to grow our own veggies but never got round to doing anything with it this year but OH last night said he was going to start again.I will PM you for your spreadsheet if that is Ok

sooz

wow you are super organised!

about the milk, is there any room on that allotment for a small cow? Perhaps a goat?

Or failing that, how old is the youngest milk monster? I'm still buying whole milk for mine, but watering it down to make semi skimmed. I am too tired to lug heavy bottles of milk home every day (even on the buggy..it's still hard work now I'm so pregnant), & so I like to think of it as milk concentrate

Lyndsay_21

just to say we went away on holiday to centreparcs and took frozen stuff with us in a huge coolbag, we packed it tight with the freezer stuff then added a few blocks of those frozen thingys (mind has gone blank) then put the in the middle of the boot of the car and covered with a blanket and it stayed frozen the whole 3.5hrs.....