hiya everyone, i am after a few tips :)

rach!_3

hi there,
well im sick of my family having to eat rubbish because thats all we can afford.
I would like to make my own sauces etc and do it healthy too.
However if i go tot he supermarkets it seems like its more expensive to eat healthier, however i am told that even the fruit and veg are full of chemicals etc from the supermarket.
I know of a lady who goes and buys in bulk from places like farmers markets(i think thats what they are) and makes all her own sauces and jams etc.
we spend roughly £240 p/m on shopping for 5 of us but its mostly junk like chip pan stuff for tea, the kids have cereal or toast for brekky me and my partner usually have nothing and for dinner (kids) a sandwich, yogurt,biscuit,bag of crisps and a piece of fruit, (us) a sandwich and a bag of crisps.
i want to live healthier and be able to make my own biscuits, sauces jams etc etc
is it possible?
thaks in advance

GrillMonkey

Of course it's possible. Not sure about the chemicals in fruit and veg. I buy supermarket fruit and veg when I don't have time to get to the saturday market in town and it seems fine to me.

There are plenty of ways to save money and eat healthily. You mention a chip pan so let start with chips. According to mysupermarket.com a bag of chips will set you back £1.50 for 1.8kg. In my local morrisons I buy 2.5kg of potatos for £1.50. I chop these into wedges (leaving the skin on) and coat with some oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Place into a hot oven for 25 minutes. You can equally put them in your chip pan but I think the oven would be healthier. There are plenty of other recipes on this forum so cheap healthy meals.

GrillMonkey

i want to live healthier and be able to make my own biscuits

Here's Twink's famous hobnob recipe to get you started...

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=471992&highlight=hobnobs

TrixieB

I can vouch for the Twinks! I've never made a successful biscuit until I made these, although now I push it into a tray so I can have nice square bars

What kind of meals do you like? Have you looked at the threads at the top of this forum:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1157745

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=783151

Good place to start

mummysaver

Hello! There are lots of threads on here that can help and inspire you, but it can be a little daunting to try and wade through everything, I'm sure someone who is good at links will be along soon though!

Mbaz's feed a family of 4 for £20 was a great thread, lots of family meal ideas that were both simple and tasty, as well as being cheap and very practical!

What sort of things do you like to eat before we recommend stuff? Have you tried rubber mince and rubber chicken at all? What shops do you have locally and do you have a freezer?

debtmuncher

pop up to the top for the september grocery challenge...the first few posts are very informative and have the handy recipe guide.

debtmuncher

rach! wrote: »

hi there,
well im sick of my family having to eat rubbish because thats all we can afford.
I would like to make my own sauces etc and do it healthy too.
However if i go tot he supermarkets it seems like its more expensive to eat healthier, however i am told that even the fruit and veg are full of chemicals etc from the supermarket.
I know of a lady who goes and buys in bulk from places like farmers markets(i think thats what they are) and makes all her own sauces and jams etc.
we spend roughly £240 p/m on shopping for 5 of us but its mostly junk like chip pan stuff for tea, the kids have cereal or toast for brekky me and my partner usually have nothing and for dinner (kids) a sandwich, yogurt,biscuit,bag of crisps and a piece of fruit, (us) a sandwich and a bag of crisps.
i want to live healthier and be able to make my own biscuits, sauces jams etc etc
is it possible?
thaks in advance

more often than not buying "rubbish" tends to be expensive. what kind of stuff were you buying?

heres a few changeovers
chicken nuggets - get a couple of chicken breasts- cut them up into nugget size pieces or strips then into flour/egg/breadcrumbs. gently pan fry till sealed then finish off in the oven. do an adult version by halfing a chicken breast, flatten it slightly by banging with a rolling pin/pan, then the same method again. choices of different crumb coatings avail , probably mentioned in the grocery challenge recipe index

fish fingers - portion up a fillet into finger size pieces and the same method again for chicken nuggets.

pizza- made your own dough , sauce then get the kiddies to put their own toppings on. tescos (and prob other places) do value baking tins, just handy for a kiddie to have one to their selves with their own individual topping. any grated mozzerella cheese can be put into the freezer for the next session

lasange/bolgnese - follow eco gast braised mince recipe

chilli- its a follow on from the eco gast braised mince recipe.

chicken- can easily get a few meals out of roast chicken, its called rubber chicken for that reason (and a name i absolutely detest lol)

do browse around, start off by posting up what you have in stock and what your weekly shopping budget is and then we can help you get on the path.

Butterfly_Brain

I agree with debtmuncher
Lots of good basic meals can be made from chicken and mince. Check out Aldi for fruit and veg offers or go to the local market (if you go just as they are closing you can pick up lots of bargains)
Make your own bread it really is easy and as debtmuncher says you have a good base for pizza or even sweet buns.
Make your own soup - again it is easy and filling with a good chunk of home made bread.
Go to your local library and pick up a copy of Jamie Oliver's Ministry of food or Economy Gastronomy cook book. But if you are really short of cash see if you can get a copy of Eating for Victory by Jill Norman or We'll Eat again by Margurite Patten both books give good healthy meal ideas from wartime and have been of use to me many times.
Good luck and remember that even though you feel uneasy about cooking from scratch, once you get into it you will enjoy it and your family will benefit too.

rach!_3

thank you all,
to answer a few questions
we have a chest freezer
we usually have rubbish such as chips & fish fingers/sausage/burgers/pizza
beans or spagetti on toast
im kinda sick of the same old same old
i make now and again sheperds pie, spagetti bolognase, pasta and sauce with chicken, "sunday" roast, but such as the pasta sauce and bolognase sauce id like to do these kinds of things myself. id also like to sneak veggies in so the kids (and my fella,lol) dont know its there

rach!_3

few more answers i remembered
we have a tesco, morrisons and somerfield
a greengrocers nearby
bakers
butchers
(last 3 all within 10 mins walk)
also would lie to know does anyone else go to these farmers markets?
i heard of someone picking up 25kg of potatoes for less thant £3 :O

WASHER

Driffield showground has a Farmer market each month, in my opinion only the farm shop at Kellythorpe industrial estate is very expensive, I have used it several times but find the local butchers cheaper and as good quality.

http://www.christchurchbridlington.com/Farmers%20Market%20Brid/farmers.html

A link to a farmer market near Bridlington, I have never been so can't comment.

Gosh is it windy where you are today?, its freezing here (20 miles down the road from you:D).

I have got to say Morrisons at the shopping centre (near Mcdonalds/pets at home), they have lovely produce there, the fruit/veg and meat are better quality in my opinion than Tesco. (although my favourite shop is Sainsburys, its a shame the nearest one I think is Scarborough/york).