Eat for £12 a week?

black-saturn

I didnt freeze any of the lasagne that time but I have in the past. When I make meals in the slow cooker I always make double what I need and also make the sauce too runny. Then I can freeze another meal and use the sauce as a soup for a lunch one day.

I do have days where I spend more on a meal than others and then have a couple of mega cheap days.

I'm still writing out my weeks menu for you all

whitty999

:embarasse Really would love to do be able to feed my family on the least amount of money as possible,My family consists of myself a small eater,My partner a big meat eater,20 year old son who is choosy doesn't like rice or pasta or any spicy foods,Another son of 16 who eats anything and is forever eating,16 year old girl who lives with us eats anything,14 year old daughter who is a big eater but eats anything,So feeding 5 Adults & 1 child. I have never bought by the bulk before and try my best at cooking but not brilliant.
So please could someone tell me the cheapest supermarket i usually shop at Asda and Icelands,Have most stores nearby like Morrisons,Tesco,Lidls.Usually buy bought sausages,pies,quiches etc etc,I buy half frozen and half fresh vegetables,To many snacks biscuits and crisps so that will be a big saving but the kids are always snacking,Which i buy sausage rolls,scotch eggs etc so i know i can save alot of money but really need someone who is willing to help me out. :embarasse
Could someone give me a hand with a list of things and amounts to buy that i can start from scratch which i have never really done before,I make casseroles,Spaggetti Bolog etc but always use the jars of sauces that you add to the meat.

Also a link with the recipes as will need it,
I now have a slow cooker given to me and a Wok if that is of any use.
I know i am asking alot but i get confused quite quickly so if you can help it will be really appreciated,Never used a slow cooker before so any helpful tips would be great.
Please help me but in the easiest way poss as quite thick!! :embarasse
What would you suggest to buy as a first shopping list and the easiest of meals to start with,Also what to freeze.

Sorry for long post but reading all the other posts has left me a little more confused,So thats why i need the help.

mummysaver

Hi Black Saturn, I'm looking forward to seeing your menu plan, have already copied out Penny Pincher's and Curry Queen's menus, so your one will mean even more meals to choose from!

Though I'm quite pleased that dh really has no interest in this site having seen what you spend on food, else he'd be asking where all our money went, probably convince himself that I was off living the high life whilst he was at work! (Well, Burnham1 and me are booked in for a makeover on Saturday, but it is a freebie from the nice Clinique lady, who suggested it when we collected our free face cream on Tuesday, perhaps I looked worse than usual :eek: )

Anyway, I can't believe how just a little meal planning can make such a difference, we have so much to choose from in the cupboards, and so many different meals that we can make, that I can't believe it. I used to have to keep popping into the supermarket to get odd bits for whatever meal we wanted, and of course would end up spending on other bits too, now I just grab bread and milk before work - brilliant.

Wendrie

I do find meal planning does make a huge difference. I buy in bulk - SUMA wholefood co-op, Costco for some basics and then a top up weekly shop for bread and fresh stuff (fruit/veg) milk is delivered as that is something my dh feels strongly about.

https://www.savingdinner.com is a good site for articles on how to prepare a perpetual pantry and has free meal plans/menus to download, we've been using the various free ones and actually bought the recipe books and now plan a month at a time. I can often feed the four of us plus save one serving for lunch the next day. Her soups are very nice and easy <G>

jobbingmusician

OK, here's how to make a Spag Bol sauce not out of a jar.

VERY CHEAPEST VERSION

Fry onion (and garlic if you like it. I do!)
Add a tin of tomatoes, and mush up well. Simmer/boil until it's reduced as much as you like it.

This is magically improved by putting about a third of a tube of tomato puree in (cost about 25p a tube, therefore 8p). This is the basic mixture in most jars of ready made sauce. To make it yourself is actually not that much cheaper than the very cheapest sauces, but much better for you...

Eat (on top of pasta) sprinkled with cheese.

This is of course a veggie option. If you want meat in it, fry a small pack of mince with the onion and garlic (if using a slow cooker, throw into the SC at this point - when the mince is lightly cooked). This will feed 2-4 depending on how much meat you want. It feeds 2 in our household but we are pigs.

To improve this very basic recipe, add any or all of the following

Whilst the onion is frying....chopped pepper, mushrooms, about half a stick of celery, a very finely chopped chicken liver (just one - if you've had a chicken recently you may have one in the fridge!)

While it's cooking in the SC (or saucepan) some red wine (half a glass), stock cube or boullion, some grated carrot (yes, really!), 2 or 3 teaspoons of pesto. Some pre-soaked lentils if you want to stretch the meat. Personally I NEVER use stock cubes as they are full of MSG and I am allergic.

Is that simple enough?

Curry_Queen

whitty999 wrote:

...To many snacks biscuits and crisps so that will be a big saving but the kids are always snacking,Which i buy sausage rolls,scotch eggs etc so i know i can save alot of money but really need someone who is willing to help me out. :embarasse

You could always do what I do here, and that is refuse point blank to buy any crisps/sweets/biscuits/cakes etc and if they want to snack on "junk" food they can use their own money to buy it

I always do some sort of baking every week, which is much cheaper and also healthier to an extent ... either muffins, cakes, biscuits, flapjacks etc ... and I also make flat breads, bread sticks and dips such as hummus etc, so there's always something relatively healthy to snack on, as well as two humungous bowls with a selection of fresh fruit.

My youngest (13) is well-trained and rarely buys sweets and junk food, but my eldest (20) is still in the 'conversion process' and can often be found returning from the Co-op with a carrier bag full of "junk", but at least it's his money he's spending and not mine

rubytuesday

[QUOTE=Curry Queen
My youngest (13) is well-trained and rarely buys sweets and junk food, but my eldest (20) is still in the 'conversion process' and can often be found returning from the Co-op with a carrier bag full of "junk", but at least it's his money he's spending and not mine [/QUOTE]

Just the same in my family kids same ages too.

arkonite_babe

jobbingmusician wrote:

OK, here's how to make a Spag Bol sauce not out of a jar.

VERY CHEAPEST VERSION

Fry onion (and garlic if you like it. I do!)
Add a tin of tomatoes, and mush up well. Simmer/boil until it's reduced as much as you like it.

This is magically improved by putting about a third of a tube of tomato puree in (cost about 25p a tube, therefore 8p). This is the basic mixture in most jars of ready made sauce. To make it yourself is actually not that much cheaper than the very cheapest sauces, but much better for you...

Eat (on top of pasta) sprinkled with cheese.

This is of course a veggie option. If you want meat in it, fry a small pack of mince with the onion and garlic (if using a slow cooker, throw into the SC at this point - when the mince is lightly cooked). This will feed 2-4 depending on how much meat you want. It feeds 2 in our household but we are pigs.

To improve this very basic recipe, add any or all of the following

Whilst the onion is frying....chopped pepper, mushrooms, about half a stick of celery, a very finely chopped chicken liver (just one - if you've had a chicken recently you may have one in the fridge!)

While it's cooking in the SC (or saucepan) some red wine (half a glass), stock cube or boullion, some grated carrot (yes, really!), 2 or 3 teaspoons of pesto. Some pre-soaked lentils if you want to stretch the meat. Personally I NEVER use stock cubes as they are full of MSG and I am allergic.

Is that simple enough?

Also to improve flavour, I throw in a bay leaf or two a splash of worcester sauce and have been know to add a dash of Maggi seasoning as well

arkonite_babe

Another tip if the kids need filling up after tea. Give them a pudding. I have made Curry Queen's Microwave sponge pudding

It is really yummy and fills you up

Quackers

seraphina wrote:

http://www.bigbarn.net/food/articles/?articleid=195

I'm loving the 'breakfast of Champions' I've even been inspired to write it down. You never know I might buy the ingredients tomorrow!

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

Breakfast of champions is loosely classified as any cereal based breakfast that has no added sugar or salt. Whole grain porridge or some types of muesli for example.

My breakfast of champions is made by buying all of the following and mixing in a big bowl. For a bit of variety I sometimes make 2 batches and put different amounts of fruit and seeds to each. One batch high fruit low seed & nut the other batch low fruit and high seed & nut.

Rice Crispy 907g £1
Wheatflakes 1.36Kg £1.20
Oat Crispy 454g 50p
Pumpkin Seed 227g £1.10
Dried Apricots 454g £1
Flaked Almonds 227g £1.40
Flaked Brazils 227g £1.85
Diced Orange 227g 50p
Sunflower Seeds 454g 80p
Diced Apple 227g £1.04
Banana Chips 227g 35p
Linseed 227g 45p
Peanuts 227g 55p
Diced Dates 454g 50p
Nibbed Hazelnuts 227g £2.08
Sesame Seeds 227g 32p
TOTAL £14.64



As this is enough for about 70 - 80 breakfasts this cereal costs about 20p per day