some advice please

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Some great ideas on here and a very supportive thread. I tend to resort to pulses when money is tight. I can buy a bag of chick peas from the Asian supermarket and make a curry that lasts 4 of us 2-3 days with rice. Also felafels are good
Falafel
for 2
2 x 400g tins chickpeas
6 plump cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsps ground coriander
2 tsps ground cumin
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsps plain flour
1 tbsp chopped parsley
groundnut oil for deep-frying
These fluffy chickpea fritters from Israel are, to my mind, the finest street food of all. They are easy enough to make at home, either in the traditional manner, as deep-fried, slightly flattened balls, or as little flat patties cooked in shallow fat.
Drain, rinse and dry the chickpeas. Blend in a food processor with the garlic, spices and onion till smooth. Scoop into a bowl and stir in the flour and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir the mixture thoroughly - it should be thick enough to roll into balls. With floured hands, roll the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of golf balls, maybe a little smaller. Deep-fry the balls in 10cm inches hot fat. Alternatively, flatten them into patties and shallow-fry them for 2 minutes on each side, till crisp.
Serve them hot, stuffed into warm pitta bread. Traditionally, a cucumber and tomato salad would be stuffed in there too. Although tahine is one of the traditional lubricants for these crisp fritters, I much prefer yoghurt. Particularly when it has had a little cayenne pepper and some chopped mint stirred into it and is spooned over the falafel as you eat.

Sainsburys basics are well priced and I have switched from Asda to them now but shop at Aldi for veg, every week they sell 'super 6' 6 types of fruit & veg for 49p or 59p, I build meals around what on offer.

Serve meals with water and bread to fill them up, someone surely must have mentioned porridge for breakfast too! (make with water)

Leave out meat and go for lentils instead, there are loads of different types of beans and dried foodstuffs you can buy.

Good luck and let us know how you get on

squeaky

mamabear09 wrote: »

my partner nd kids hated the cheapy sausages. they like fig rolls, choc digestivesand rich teas

Hmmm.... fussy lot!

If you can't buy cheaper versions of things for them then you'll have to just find ways to serve less of them and pad the meals out.

So for sausages you could do toad in the hole. Or a sausage casserole with the sausages pre chopped. And extra taters and veg... always supposing they eat taters and veg.

As for their favourite biscuits you could try some of these ones in the link below from the be-ro web site. You never know - you might find a new favourite...

[FONT=VERDANA, ARIAL, HELVETICA][FONT=VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA]Biscuits and Cookies[/FONT][/FONT]

mamabear09

they all like potatoes

angelpye

Hi thought I would add my thoughts. It sounds like a tuff situation but one we all recognise as our own at one time or another!

I would buy large bag of spuds (making sure some bakers were in there) and the veg your husband and son will eat (no point getting something that won't satisfy) and some extra veg that you girls like. Hopefully things like bags of value carrots, onions and other basics will be in there. Then add for meals - so mince and veg stock (value) for cottage pie, tomatoes mince carrots onion for bolognaise with pasta, sausages mushrooms tomatoes veg stock for sausage casserole and mash, whole chicken for a roast (feels like a treat) and use rest for chicken casserole or stew with mash or bread, flour milk egg for toad in the hole and gravy with veg. egg with chips and baked beans. jp and baked beans.

(So list being something like: pots, mushrooms, carrots, onions, frozen peas, veg stock, tinned tomatoes (4), pack of sausages, 2x mince, whole chicken, eggs, baked beans (4), bread, cheese, milk, cereal, fruit - reckon a squeeze but do - able and probably with bulking with veg will stretch)

I don't know what the local posters think but maybe making a meal plan for the two weeks and having the same thing twice (but not the next day as can become tedious) means you can just cook in bulk which may make it stretch further? Which would be especially useful for the fresh veg that can get past its best before money is available again.

Things like mushrooms etc I don't buy in packs as I buy exactly what I need for the meals I am making - usually cheaper too!

If you don't like the idea of comparing in store go to my supermarket.com or each supermarket website and at least then you can make your shopping list in privacy of your own home and to meet your needs - no nasty shock at the till!

As for the moral dilemma of sausages - I hear that brand alone is an incorrect judgement of quality and quantity of meat. I don't actually eat them at all but saw some programme and some of the lower brands compared well! (Just wanted to stick my oar in!) Also someone mentioned making meat stretch - I agree meat and veg a luxury and so usually a chicken breast between two in curry, stews, risotto etc is plenty for us. Since being more old style and MSE committed my appetite has changed!

Lastly, remember this won't be forever. I read an article in the Observer recently that said don't see it as frugal cooking - see it as good cooking. Taking it back to basics often means healthier and in the long run frees up cash for more fun!


NB The article was by the woman who consulted with Ministry of Food in the War - excelllent read guys!

I realise I have written a really long post but your issue touched me as many a time I was left with £10 to feed me and my little one when her dad first left! Chin up chick!:D

angelpye

Thanks desperate housewife - I love falafel!

Butterfly_Brain

My kids were fussy eaters once but now they know that they have to eat what is put in front of them or go hungry - it is a hard lesson but one that will stand them in good stead for the future. I have always been old school in believing that if you pander to kids it does them no good it just makes them self obsessed.
Try sitting them down if they are old enough and try to come up with meals that all will enjoy - make it into a game if you wish and I think they will come up trumps

calleyw

Are you able to get to your local supermarket while they are doing mark downs.

I was in Mr T's the other night and picked up reduced to clear items. Such as bread muffins 19p for a pkt of 6 type stuff. Have those instead of toast with scrambled egg or beans etc.

Often bread is really cheap and they also had sandwich meat that use by date a couple of days away. But the display date was that day.

All the best.

Yours

Calley

eselt

I do love a challenge, even if its a challenge we would rather have avoided. I've had weeks like this too- heres what I would probably mealplan:

1. Jacket potatoes with beans and cheese
2. Egg, chips and peas
3. Sausage casserole and instant mash
4. Bacon and cheese omelette, HM potato wedges, carrots.
5. Beefburgers, savoury rice with some veg chucked in.
6. HM Cheese and onion quiche, carrots, jacket potato
7. Toad in the hole and veg
8. HM french bread pizza (tin of tomatoes, cheese and bacon for topping- one large french stick should be enough for 4- try and get at the end of the day as it won't matter if its a little bit stale), fried potaoes, veg.
9. Bacon, sausage, beans and eggs
10. Shephards pie and peas
11. Spag bol- with red lentils for bulk
12. Bernard Matthews turkey roast, roast potatoes, veg and gravy.
13. Fishfingers, chips and peas
14. HM mince and onion pie, with boiled potatoes and carrots, peas.

Pretty boring stuff I know, but I reckon this would be under budget;

Shopping list.
Pkt short crust pastry mix (for quiche and pie topping) 78p
Big block of value cheese £2.40
15 value egges £1.15
3 pkts ASDA 50p mince £1.50
3 onions 22p
Bag value carrots 59p
Big bag of value potatoes £1.79
Bag frozen value peas 59p
Pkt fishfingers 99p
Value bacon mishapes £1.29
Pkt burgers £1.00
Batter mix 9p
Turkey roast £2.79
4 tins value beans 99p
4 tins value tomatoes £1.20
Gravy granules-own brand, not value cause they are yuk! 69p
French stick 69p (about 10-20p late evening)
Pkt lentils (to bulk out sausage casserole, shep pie and mince and onion pie) 85p
So you should be able to do main meals for around: £20

Other stuff could be:
Lunches- egg mayonaise or cheese sandwiches, or beans on toast, HM veg soup.
Breakfasts- Toast, value cornflakes
Treats: I pkt value variety biscuits.


Doesn't sound very exciting I know and there will probably be lots of moaning, but at least everyones fed!

I also save lunchbox size empty water bottles and fill them from the tap and put them in the fridge.

I try and get some economy bananas and any reduced fruit, although this depends on whats been whoopsied when I go to the supermarket.

Requests for crisps and/or sweets get a withering stare.

Sorry for such a long post- good luck.

cuddlymarm

Hi

When mine were kids we would fill up on bread and jam (and they still eat jam butties now they are adults) Also I would make a batch of scones and freeze uncooked (freeze flat on a tray and then put them in a bag and then just throw a few in the oven when there was space with cooking other things . ) when I was baking and freeze most of what I baked in small portions and then remove a couple of hours before needed. You can still have the occasional treat on a tight budget (and of course if you bake them yourself you know whats in them)

I also found that when I explained to OH how tight our food budget was he was more likely to try new things (It is definately more expensive to do meat and veg meals than casseroles etc)

Mind you after a while it becomes second nature and you can live on a lot less.
Have a lovely day
Cuddles:rotfl: