Black-Saturn's Menu Planner

Quackers

ambergold wrote:

.....so that I can work out where I'm going wrong. I feel like a complete failure because the cheapest I can do your shopping list is for £16. Please will someone help me to find the shopping list cheaper. I feel so !!!!!! right now. I thought I was doing well and becomeing an old styler. But truthfully I have such a long way to go.

Please will somebody help me find Black saturns shopping list for cheaper than £16.00.

I'm sorry I cant help but I wanted to say please dont feel [email="cr@p"]!!!!!![/email].

If you are trying and saving money on your 'old ways' then you are being successful.

I couldn't do a shop for that much. To be honest I wouldn't want to.

I think I eat far too much fruit and veg and nuts and pulses to be able to spend so little on my shopping. I actually spend a lot more than most people say they spend on food. We enjoy our food and dont mind paying for it.

We cut back on other things.

Do what works for you - and dont put yourself down

ambergold

Thankyou Skintmama and Quackers. I have been feeling so bad that black saturn can feed her family so well on such a small amount and I cant even manage to shop for that amount let alone turn it into a meal. Your kind words mean a lot to me. I'm going to try to see tomorrow as a new week and try again. Its either that or give up and I really dont want to give up.

ti1980

Don't feel so bad Ambergold. Where do you shop?
I'm sure someone can give you some pointers to get your grocery bill lower.
Part of it does depend on what shops etc are available to you.
Also if you do most/all your shopping in a supermarket it is worth checking out some of the offers as there may be something that you might not normally buy because of the price but on offer can be a real bargain.
Look at where the big expenses are and see if you can cut it down just by shopping somewhere different.
For example, I used to pretty much do all my shopping in Sainsburys just because it is the closest supermarket to me but having done quite a bit of shopping elsewhere in the last 6 months(ish) I think it is the most expensive supermarket.

If you have the space in cupboards/freezer then it can be good to stock up when something is on offer especially if it is something you use lots of.
For example, I always have some Vimto cordial in as I love it. In Sainsburys it is £1.99 for 1.5 litres. In my local Quality Save it is 89p for one 725ml bottle or on offer at £1.50 for 2 725ml bottles. When I visited my nearest Kwik Save (after not having been for about 4 years), I found that a 725ml bottle was 52p, so of course I stocked up!
Looking at prices I saw that courgettes were £2.79/kg in Sainsburys, 99p/kg at Lidl (though they never seem to have any), that is half price, normally £1.99/kg there and in Kwik Save it was £1.46/kg.

recovering_spendaholic

black-saturn wrote:

Its not as thick as a normal chocolate mousse but it's OK.

I made this mousse earlier but I only had double cream and it went really thick - I think it was the double cream! It was really really nice though!!!

SueRob_2

Hi Dee
To qualify for free school meals, you need to be on low income/benefits, I can find out all the details if you want them, I'm not sure if it varies from place to place

mummysaver

ambergold wrote:

Hello black saturn. Thanks a lot for posting your meal plan, I thought I'd try to copy it for this week, but my total for shopping is nowhere near £7.00 and there are only two of us (step kids only on Saturday). Where do you shop? I know I'm asking a lot but could you price up your shopping list so that I can work out where I'm going wrong. I feel like a complete failure because the cheapest I can do your shopping list is for £16. Please will someone help me to find the shopping list cheaper. I feel so !!!!!! right now. I thought I was doing well and becomeing an old styler. But truthfully I have such a long way to go.

Please will somebody help me find Black saturns shopping list for cheaper than £16.00.

Hi there, don't feel bad about not being able to shop as cheaply - I'm pretty rubbish at it too - but I am trying, and I'm getting better.

Yesterday I bulk bought deodorant as it's BOGOF at Tesco at the mo, we always use it, so eventually it will be money saved (or that's what I told dh when he asked why we had 10 cans of the stuff!)

I'm sure someone will be able to price things for you and tell you where they shopped - have a look at Penny Pincher's costing on the eat for £12.50 thread, and remember that supermarkets charge different prices for the same products in different parts of the country.

Just remember that it takes practice, and keep trying - well done for trying so hard anyway, I think that you've done better than me if it's any consolation! :T

squeaky

suziewuzie wrote:

Ta - off to try that right now!!

Even easier is to click on the number in the top right hand corner of the post you want to print, as in:- #58

Just the number, not the # and that will give you a single post in a window which you can print off.

Spendless

ambergold wrote:

Hello black saturn. Thanks a lot for posting your meal plan, I thought I'd try to copy it for this week, but my total for shopping is nowhere near £7.00 and there are only two of us (step kids only on Saturday). Where do you shop? I know I'm asking a lot but could you price up your shopping list so that I can work out where I'm going wrong. I feel like a complete failure because the cheapest I can do your shopping list is for £16. Please will someone help me to find the shopping list cheaper. I feel so !!!!!! right now. I thought I was doing well and becomeing an old styler. But truthfully I have such a long way to go.

Please will somebody help me find Black saturns shopping list for cheaper than £16.00.

Is that your cost for the whole shopping list? Bear in mind that some of these things are stock cupboard items (eg flour) and many people will already have them in.

The poster that asked about free school meals. You need to have an income below around £13,000 p.a but you do not get it if you get working tax credit (even if your income is still less than £13,000). There are several threads on the subject on the benefits board.

HTH

black-saturn

Wow, this thread grew since last night.

I qualify for free school meals because I am on an income of £9k for 3 people per year. If you are on a benefit or on a low income you will qualify for free school meals.

With regards to managing to buy the ingredients in my recipes for so little it's because I look for bargains in the shops such as BOGOF or things that are reduced. When I do my shopping I don't have any meals in mind but instead plan meals around what the bargains are in the supermarkets. I visit 3 supermarkets which are Asda, Iceland and Tesco. We dont have a Morrison's round here. So for instance all the meals I made with mince beef last week were the result of me finding some reduced mince beef in Asda for 30p per portion. Next week I probably won't find anymore so I won't be doing anything involving minced beef.

Me and my children find it very difficult to eat fruit as it gives us the raging runs (sorry) and stomach aches so I tend not to buy much. Vegetables have a similar effect so I try to mix them in with meals rather than eat them separately.

barbie_babe

black-saturn wrote:

Malt Loaf Recipe

Preheat oven to gas mark 4. Put 3 weetabix, 4oz sugar and 40z of raisins or sultanas in a mixing bowl and add 1 mug of hot black tea. Leave to soak until the mixture has gone cold. Stir and add in 2 eggs. Stir again and add in 4oz self raising flour and 2oz porridge oats (optional but if not using oats substitute for 2 more ounces of flour). Mix thoroughly and add to a loaf tin and bake in the oven.

this thread is great thanks black saturn .
just wondering how long do you bake malt loaf for .thanks