food/housekeeping allowance on benefits

Fat_Fairy

hanstar wrote: »

im also on the slimming world diet and at first i found i was spending a bit more because i was panicking about what i was doing for meals,
but i find if you go for green days it works out alot cheaper, fill up on pasta, rice and potato. i find im alot happier on green than red because i feel fuller and ive spent less. but if you love meat its not so easy! ive lost 1/2 stone in 2 weeks so im happy

well done! :A

i was going to say, what's all this fuss with the meat?
eat pulses/beans/nuts/brown rice for cheap and filling protein, it can certainly fit in with slimming world.
Meat is just pieces of dead bodies, not good for you, not cheap either! :eek:

dawnylou

OrkneyStar wrote: »

Noone has an attitude, my point was if YOU can afford it, then good luck to you. If you cannot afford it then you do need to cut back, pure and simple. Have you tried bulking out with pulses/oats etc (personally I don't like either but many swear by them!), assessing portion sizes, buyong cheap cuts of meat and slow cooking them etc.
I make all home made meals too and can feed 2 adults and a DS on £35-50 (generally around the £40 mark), but tbh could do it on less if HAD to.

Sorry I thought you were being mean as you used caps giving the impression you were being sarcastic or shouting

I am really trying. I think the problem is that our local Asda hardly has any whoopsies anymore which I relied on a lot and they won't take coupons anymore either Therefore our bill has suddenly jumped up and we are struggling to get it back down again.
A lettuce costs more than £1 now!!!

I want to make sure that we get as much fruit and veg as possible but that we don't go hungry as well.

I did well yesterday though! I split our pack of chicken breasts into 3 portions and made 3 meals out of it!!
I chopped one breast and mixed it with cous cous and apricots and wrapped it in savoy cabbage and then served it with boiled potatoes and carrots and broc.
I then chopped 2 breasts and put in slow cooker with onions, button mushrooms, peppers, chicken stock and chopped tomotoes and that has made a meal which was frozen.
We are also having a curry tonight with the last 2 breasts.

We are trying to learn to stretch things, but it's not something that comes overnight and will take time.

hanstar

Fat_Fairy wrote: »

well done! :A

i was going to say, what's all this fuss with the meat?
eat pulses/beans/nuts/brown rice for cheap and filling protein, it can certainly fit in with slimming world.
Meat is just pieces of dead bodies, not good for you, not cheap either! :eek:

thank you!

i hardly eat meat at all, i like fish, but only mainly trout because we get that free from a friend, and i know its fresh.
i make alot of stew and soups with veg and lentils/pulses.
i didnt eat red meat until i was pregnant and then i had cravings for it, and now i eat a bit but i am a very fussy meat eater, (probably why i really struggle with (meat) red days on slimming world diet)

OrkneyStar

dawnylou wrote: »

Sorry I thought you were being mean as you used caps giving the impression you were being sarcastic or shouting

I am really trying. I think the problem is that our local Asda hardly has any whoopsies anymore which I relied on a lot and they won't take coupons anymore either Therefore our bill has suddenly jumped up and we are struggling to get it back down again.
A lettuce costs more than £1 now!!!

I want to make sure that we get as much fruit and veg as possible but that we don't go hungry as well.

I did well yesterday though! I split our pack of chicken breasts into 3 portions and made 3 meals out of it!!
I chopped one breast and mixed it with cous cous and apricots and wrapped it in savoy cabbage and then served it with boiled potatoes and carrots and broc.
I then chopped 2 breasts and put in slow cooker with onions, button mushrooms, peppers, chicken stock and chopped tomotoes and that has made a meal which was frozen.
We are also having a curry tonight with the last 2 breasts.

We are trying to learn to stretch things, but it's not something that comes overnight and will take time.

I was simply emphasising the 'you' part, thats all.
Well done on the stretching of the chicken. Have you thought about a whole chicken ? Breast roast for one meal, legs for another, wings if decent as a snack, carcass as stock for a soup (can you have certain soups ?).
hth

dawnylou

OrkneyStar wrote: »

I was simply emphasising the 'you' part, thats all.
Well done on the stretching of the chicken. Have you thought about a whole chicken ? Breast roast for one meal, legs for another, wings if decent as a snack, carcass as stock for a soup (can you have certain soups ?).
hth

Yes....and I know it sounds ridiculous...but I am a little bit nervous about full chickens.
I try not to buy them because I can't stand the thought of stripping the carcass down...you know how it's all brown inside and stuff? Well I find it offputting. lol

Also I feel very very guilty buying chicken that is not free range since I saw this programme on how they were kept We simply can't afford free range and so we hardly ever buy any chicken. That tray I bought this week cost £6 and had 5 breasts in it....but it will probably be another month before I buy anymore.

And I am not too sure about making stock....I saw someone mentioned somewhere (but I can't find it again!) that they were saving ends of veg they had chopped for meal until they had plenty to make stock, but how long does everyone think you can keep this chopped bits for before they are not safe to use...and also what do I do when I have plenty to make stock? Is it just boiling them and then removing the bits?

Our shopping last week was £99. I almost cried when I saw the bill. However we got £2.16 refunded because I had bought some muller rice and one was 3 days out of date!!! Only bought them as they were on special offer and I love them so that's the kind of thing we buy as a treat. But they refunded the cost of all 4 pots so hey

Then Mam invited us over one day for tea, so that has saved us some food
And tomorrow I am going shopping with the girls to get my wedding shoes/lingerie and nails so we are eating out (using leisure vouchers) so Fiance will defrost a pasta dish I made earlier in week for himself, but again that's another meal out so more food to carry over.

And I have cut down to one bun a day for my bait so plenty of buns in freezer for me for next week too! So in reality we might be able to make this shopping stretch over 2 weeks!!! Except milk - already running out of that!!

margaretclare

The fact that you buy your chicken in pieces is reflected in the cost i.e. someone has had to cut up the chicken and repackage it as breast pieces, legs, whatever. It is actually cheaper to buy a whole chicken and deal with it yourself. Once all the meat has gone from it the carcass can be simmered to make chicken stock.

A free range chicken in my freezer is 1.5 kg and it cost £7.51. This will make us several meals. I've also seen the conditions under which 'standard' chickens are kept, highlighted by Hugh, Jamie etc, and I personally would rather never eat chicken again if those chickens were the only choice I had. Plus, Hugh highlighted some research that was done on what the meat actually contains and basically, it's nearly all fat because the chickens just do not/cannot move, just sit in their own dirt until they're taken out to be killed. So, you are just not getting good value for money or good nutrition either.

notlongnow_2

I have noticed in asda that the price of a free range chicken is a lot less than a few months ago. I can now buy one for about 5-6 pounds and it will last for approx 3 meals so im happy to pay that price for, as my boys say,...a happy chicken.

mrsmehere

hi, i have just been reading all the posts and have had some great tips. Thanks. I am on income support, i am a single parent with a 10 month old son. I would really love some advice on main food stuffs to buy each week as im struggling to find cheap and healthy receipes for breakkies, lunch and dinners for him. My cupboards at the moment are empty apart from a bag of porridge oats, bag of semolina and some pudding rice.

OrkneyStar

mrsmehere wrote: »

hi, i have just been reading all the posts and have had some great tips. Thanks. I am on income support, i am a single parent with a 10 month old son. I would really love some advice on main food stuffs to buy each week as im struggling to find cheap and healthy receipes for breakkies, lunch and dinners for him. My cupboards at the moment are empty apart from a bag of porridge oats, bag of semolina and some pudding rice.

Try looking at the old style board as there are loads of threads there with cooking, meal planning etc tips on.

mrsmehere

thank you i will look now