Eat for £12 a week?

saving-grace

I think what calleyw meant was, people would think it wasn't often enough.

calleyw

saving-grace wrote:

I think what calleyw meant was, people would think it wasn't often enough.

Saving-grace is right.

I am sure most people change them every week. But as I air the bed everyday I think a fortnight is just about the rightr amount of time. And means I plan my washing better during the winter.


Yours


Calley

GardenMillie

I could definitely eat for £12 per week as a singleton. I love making soups, stews and curries. I tend to bulk everything out with loads of veg. Even chilli which I make with 500g lean steak mince (around £1.99) plus a few mushrooms, onion, value kidney beans, value chopped toms and some chilli powder and and tom puree. That makes enough for four meals for me. I can make a pan of veg and barley soup for about £1.20 (including fresh parsley) and this makes three meals/lunch. I also try and buy reduced bakery items such as rolls, bagels etc. Last week I got six organic wholemeal rolls from Mt T for 49p - just over 8p per roll - much cheaper than buying filled rolls.:D

nodwah

I tend to do them fortnightly too and air them daily, I think you're fine!

I also air my duvets on the line regularly which my neigbours seem to think is daft, I don't see anyone else doing it. I crave frosty days to do it as I think it kills the house dust mites off.

calleyw wrote:

Saving-grace is right.

I am sure most people change them every week. But as I air the bed everyday I think a fortnight is just about the rightr amount of time. And means I plan my washing better during the winter.


Yours


Calley

lil_me

Blimey someone dusted the cobwebs off when they brought this thread back didn't they :rotfl:

Interesting reading.

If it was just me, £12, very easy, but with DP being THE meat eater, refuses most 'bulking out' foods like soya etc, and kids having specific foods, doubt I could get as low as some, I spend about £10-15+ a week just on fresh fruit and veg, no chance I could manage on such a tiny budget as some do not without compromise on the fruit and veg, which I won't do unless I truly have no choice to. Looking through the thread I also pay more for basic ingredients than a lot do aswell, so I suppose that will make a difference to spending. Our local markets expensive.

rach

i enjoyed reading it too, lil_me.

in a way i'm not sure cooking for one is the cheapest way (yes i know, freeze a portion...) i spend about £60-70 a month, but i could probably do less - my cupboards are always stocked full (i like to be prepared!!!)

anyway, i've saved a lot since switching to frozen veg (i thought it was gonna be like the diced school dinner stuff but its actually very good). but i know thats not your style lil_me - i might have to find an alternative if i can't get it locally and not in a supermarket!!!
i hid quorn in my OHs chilli last week (as well as some steak mince), he wouldn't eat it if he knew!!!

i buy turkey rather than chicken, its cheaper and i've actually come to prefer it. i also use tinned tomatoes for loads of stuff and never use bought sauces.

lil_me

Quorn I can sometimes get away with, same with a little soya, but not a huge amount, as long as it's a sauce where it changes the colour :rotfl: not shepherds pie, he finds it

Austin_Allegro

I think it's interesting that the figure of £12 per person per week is often quoted. This is how much I spend myself on average (single man, including household products). It would seem the lowest you can go without serious investment of time/energy. I have done it for £8 a week but it took a lot of planning.

My own tips for the £12 weekly shop are as follows:

Buy economy lines where possible, (but not on things like meat or things that have lots of chemicals in them). Fruit, veg, pasta, cereals, tinned beans, etc all seem ok and many of them come from the same factories as the branded goods.

Keep meat consumption to a minimum - treat as a side dish. Use fish, beans, pulses (lentils etc), TVP, cheese and eggs as alternative sources of protein.

Use 'old style' cleaning methods - vinegar, bicarb, soda crystals etc instead of branded cleaners. I stick to economy soaps, toothpaste, bog roll etc and don't notice a great deal of difference.

Avoid wine! It's too easy to get into the habit of wine with every meal and we don't have cheap good quality wine here as they do on the continent. Once opened, wine doesn't keep well anyway. If you like alcohol, try making your own (works out around 20p a bottle). I tend to stick to mixers such as whisky and soda as they keep longer. Other drinks I stick to are tea/coffee, packet juice and iced tea from herbal teabags, and of course tap water.

I get stuff like pasta, rice, lentils, potatoes in bulk, and my weekly veg is usually a big bag of frozen for about 90p. I get fruit from a market though which is better value.

I don't have many puddings - just cheap simple stuff usually greek yoghurt and honey, ice cream, fruit, tinned fruit with cream, rice pudding etc.

angelatgraceland

I'm longing for Black-Saturns menu plan. The lasagne at 65p per serving is 2.60 (for 4)or 3.25(for 5)for one day-one meal which only leaves 8.60(or 7.95) for the rest of the week! Sorry but I just cannot see how it can be done-this is a family-not one person. Please prove me wrong-tell me where I'm going wrong BS. £12 per person per week is no problem whatsoever-I think Im a pretty "average" MSE er reading the previous posts.

Izzy.

angelatgraceland wrote:

I'm longing for Black-Saturns menu plan. The lasagne at 65p per serving is 2.60 (for 4)or 3.25(for 5)for one day-one meal which only leaves 8.60(or 7.95) for the rest of the week! Sorry but I just cannot see how it can be done-this is a family-not one person. Please prove me wrong-tell me where I'm going wrong BS. £12 per person per week is no problem whatsoever-I think Im a pretty "average" MSE er reading the previous posts.

Blacksaturn posted menu plans on here somewhere but I wasn't able to make the figures add up either.