Eating healthily for £25 a week

ceridwen

I think you're being very generous to give your sister any money at all for food - I dont quite understand why you are. I guess you're maybe from a different culture - where its the norm to give money to relatives for things?

Assuming I am correct in thinking this - then, if you wish to still give her money like this, then just carry on giving her the level of money YOU decide you can afford - and its up to her what she then spends it on.

As a "how to cope within the present set-up" idea though - suggest to her/or buy her a good student cookbook. As students have a low income (these days - make that "minus income") then they have traditionally looked for cheap/interesting/easy ways to eat - and a variety of cookbooks specifically for students have been written by various authors. One - from my collection - that comes instantly to mind is "Grub on a Grant" by Cas Clarke. Try looking at student cookbooks on Amazon to see whats available.

EDIT: I've just put "Cas Clarke" into the Amazon.co.uk searchbox and instantly come up with a selection of books by her - several of them for only 1p!!!

Also - suggest to her that she types "student recipes" in the Google Search Box - and lots of entries will come up for useful websites.

jb5

mummysaver wrote: »

you can also make it with barley - has a special name, but can't remember what at the mo!

Pearl Barley ?

lynzpower

Risotto rice isnt expensive, its around the same price as normal ( non value) rice, I usually pay around 85p per bag.

Bearing in mind I mae risotto the otherday and we used 1/4 of a bag, fo a couple, ( incuding a left over portion for the freezer). It is not difficult to make you just need to concentrate.

KNob of butter in pan.#
fry risotto rice in the butter lightly
then start gradually stock ( veggie or chicen stock is fine) we used about a pint for 2 of us.

Add into this a small chopped onion, sliced mushrooms and I had some flat mushrooms that I bought in bulk/ choppped/ froze/ so threw handful in as well.

Added in some lazy garlic,and some rubber chicken, stir consistently addng stock all the time, till the rice is soft.

I think she is taking the !!!! out of you to be honest, she likes scallops well dont we all..

As an aside I used to feed me & OH on 25 per week including everything ( no value eat though) we ate very well, howeve prices have risen adn I think wed struggle to manage that now to be honest.

lynzpower

What we used to eat for 25pw.

Chilli - using tvp & quorn mince, rice,sur cream, tortilla
Stroganoff in yorkshire pud
Roast dinner
Stir fry
noodle soup
curry & naan
lasagne
chicken & mushroom lasagne
risotto
HM burgers
Chicken kieves ( HM) chips
Soup
Stew
Pies

I really dont think this is difficult, but I too am curious why you pay your sisters food and plan her meals for her, It is definately easy to eat for 20 pw as a single person, she should be able to manage this herself??

chika

Ames wrote: »

Where do you get fruit and veg on the market? I've tried most of the indoor stalls but the quality's crap and they go off within a day, sometimes they're mouldy by the time I get them home, when they're from the places that get them from behind.

My aunt says to avoid the ones inside btu the ones on the stalls outside behind the bus station are good - she did mention that some are better than others though.

chika

Just to add an echo - dolmio sauce!!! We all like our luxuries but seriously that stuff is expensive and not even that good - for the same price as a jar (£1.50?) she could get enough stuff to make enough to lst sereval meals and even freeze a couple of portions.

Scallops - I agree that she is taking the !!!! there. I sometimes subsidise my sister - we are both students but I'm a wee bit older but if I found out she was eating scallops on my money I would throw a fit (classic Yorkshire tightness there!)

thriftlady_2

mummysaver wrote: »

And yes you can make mushroom risotto with normal rice, doesn't end up quite so creamy though, you can also make it with barley - has a special name, but can't remember what at the mo!

Orzotto I make this as barley is so much cheaper than risotto rice and it is grown in the UK.

Ames

Thanks for the info on the market! I've just been to the farmers market and got loads of veg, looking forward to that.

It's the packet sauces she likes, she gets them when they're on offer at two for £2, one packet does one portion.

I'm from Yorkshire, don't think that classes as a different culture lol! She's just finished uni and is unemployed, her jobseekers doesn't leave enough for food after her direct debits so I'm giving her food money.

I'm going to give her the link to this thread for the food ideas, so keep them coming please!

greenbee

mummysaver wrote: »

you can also make it with barley - has a special name, but can't remember what at the mo!

Risotto made with barley is orzotto. I sometimes mix grains - so have millet, barley, rice, quinoa etc for a bit of variety. Pearl barley helps keep the cost down, but its not the grains that make it expensive, it's what you put in it!

I use a few dried mushrooms as well as fresh when I make mushroom risotto (porcini are the easiest to get hold of), and use the liquid they've been soaked in to replace some of the stock.

Ames - it sounds as if your sister needs to learn to cook, plan and budget. These are important skills for students, both when at uni and in the real world, so by cutting her down to a realistic budget and giving her a student cookbook and telling her to get on with it you'll be teaching her a valuable lesson in life. When I was at uni, I had my grant, my loan, any earnings from the holidays (all of which were in the bank at the beginning of term and had to last the whole way through). My dad gave me a monthly allowance, and it was up to me to make it last and manage my finances. We weren't allowed to work during term (we had 8 week terms, so it was probably unrealistic to try to fit a job in with studying), so I had no way of supplementing my income until the next holiday. It was hard, but a very useful way of learning to manage things myself and prioritise my spending.

thriftlady_2

greenbee wrote: »

but its not the grains that make it expensive, it's what you put in it!

Not always, grains vary in cost. Last November I costed various starchy staples and found risotto rice to be the most expensive at 22p per 75g serving and barley to be the cheapest at 3p. See here