Store cupboard challenge

Jue'sDD

Hi,

Yes I think it can be done, especially with what you already have. Start by making a meal plan for each day, for breakfast, lunch and tea using the stuff you already have. Then figure out what you need extra to go with what you have in the cupboard already.

Potatoes are really cheap and make a filling meal. They will also go with a lot that you already have. Also, if you don't already then stick to Aldi or Lidl for your food shopping this week.

Sorry no more advice, hope this helps!

chika

I'm no expert but I assume that baby milk and nappies are your priority so get these first. Can you shop around and maybe get cheaper nappies as they are just for a week? Again i don't have a clue how much these things cost but I imagine about £15? So you have a fiver left over.

Aslo it might be worth calling your school up and explaining what has happened to the secretary and asking if your son could have lunches at school for a week. No school will see a child starve, my school often gets requests like this, its nothing to be ashamed of.

You seem to have a few things in which is lucky. Use the lentils to make a Dhal and serve with brown rice - this meal costs pennies and is really healthy and nutritious, its one of the meals I got from this site and has saved my skin over the years.

I would buy some bread, pop to the supermarket last on and get reduced bread, Our tesco often have Warburtons for 20p a loaf and the Coop is normally half price. You can use this to make sandwiches for lunches, maybe use the corned beef? Also pasta salad with the crab meat and some chopped cucumber, etc?

The supermarkets are all selling massive bags of potatoes for £2 and you could get some frozen veg a big bag is about £1. Make the potatoes into chips, wedges, mash, roasties etc and serve with meat from the freezer.

Good luck.

Shereen

Checkout mbaz's infamous "Feeding a family for a month on £20" thread: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1129333 I spent ages reading it a week or two ago. There are some good meal ideas in there.

Good luck with the budgeting!

juliav50

Hi Loulou, it can be done if your family will eat what's put in front of them!! Get your milk and nappies first, then with what's left I would buy potatoes,onions, tinned tomatoes or tomato soup (whichever is cheapest) and bread (try to get it reduced). If you have money over, milk and cheese would be good, otherwise you will have to get some powdered milk for tea/coffee or drink it without! I would also try and stretch to flour, marge and eggs, if you have these you can make sponge puddings which are comforting and fun - use the tinned fruit in them to make them different. You can make cheese sauce with flour, water and cheese if you don't have butter and milk. If you have the nerve, and you have the time and a market near you you could go to fruit & veg stalls and ask if they have any spoiled/bruised fruit and veg (for the rabbits/guinea pigs!) either free or cheap - cut off the bruised/soggy bits you will be surprised what you can salvage, and when it's chopped up and cooked it's fine, all trimmings which aren't actually rotten can be washed and chucked into a pan with some lentils and a stock cube or seasonings to make home-made soup.

Meal suggestions:

Pork loin - seal it in a hot pan then cook with chopped onions or any veg you can scrounge with the mushroom soup in the oven, serve with brown rice.

Bolognese, mince with onions and tinned toms/tom soup plus any garlic/herbs you have kicking round, serve on pasta, you can put baked beans in your bol sauce if you want to stretch it and if you don't need beans for other meals.

Kipper kedgeree - cook and flake kippers, mix with cooked brown rice and whatever other veg you can lay your hands on all chopped fine and fried. If you have them, you can add chopped hard-boiled eggs to this. Serve hot.

Smoked mackerel salad, flaked up mackerel, mixed with cold cooked pasta and chopped pineapple - some of this could go in a pot to take for school lunch.

Corned beef and lentil patties - cook lentils in water to make a thick stodge. Mix with chopped up corned beef, finely chopped onions if you have them, make into burgers and fry or oven-bake, serve with baked beans.

Assuming you got some potatoes, almost anything can be chopped up and shoved into a baked potato, almost any meat/fish/sauce combination can be topped with mashed potato and baked in the oven as a pie.

If you managed cheese in the budget, then mashed potatoes mixed with grated cheese (and again finely chopped fried onions if you have them) and made into patties and fried or grilled are good.

Steak and chips!!

School lunches, I agree a quiet word with the School Secretary might help, if you don't want to do this then assuming you got bread, you can do sandwiches of corned beef or smoked mackerel, if you have suitable containers you can put some tinned fruit in for him each day.

Good luck, and a big hug, you are doing really well, sometimes you discover strange meals made out of storecupboard ingredients are fantastic and they become family favourites!!!!

Juliav50

juliav50

When your finances do allow, try to stock up on seasonings, herbs etc, (if you have friends with rosemary or bay bushes you can scrounge bits and dry them off in paper bags in the airing cupboard for free!) as you can get away with lots if you have plenty of seasoning! Worth buying up dried herbs past their sell-bay dates, still work for me, plus places like pound shops are worth a look.

Julia

loulou1612

thanku everyone;)
really appriciated...
anymore ideas gratefully accepted!!

MrsBartolozzi

just had a thought re nappies, assuming you have not bought any yet... if you keep the "good" ones that you have left for night time you could get away with cheapie ones for during the day saving you a bit of money. That way if you find the cheaper ones are not so absorbant you will still be getting a good night's sleep.
HTH MrsB.

rachbc

buy your baby milk and anpiies first - but swithc you whatever nappeis are cheapest fro the week - I find smart price nappies fine for overnight for my 2 year old.

Go to the supermarket later and get reduced bread - 0 Ioften pick up packets of rolls for 5p for 6 - this can be the basis of ds packed lunch -along with the corned beef, tinned crab or smoked makerel as fillings. Add a small tupperware of the tinned fruit, some carrot sticks and water to drink. Maybe buy a bag of popping corn and pop this and add a small bag of pop corn as a treat instead of crisps.

oats fpr porridge (make with water or half milk and water if you can afford it) and reduced price bread for toast for breakfasts

Buy tinned toms and fesh veg with whats left - you have the expensive protien part of at least 5/6 meals probably more with a bit of planning

spag bol (add lentils to stretch to 2/3 meals)
kedgeree with the fish/rice
pork stir fry served with rice or pasta
steak with saute potatoes/ chips
smoked makeral and potato bake is yum, or fish cakes

Snowy_Owl

Hello,

As well as above, you could buy veg and tin tomatos and cook a big batch of bolognaise, bulking it out with the lentils and beans. You could then save half of it or at least 1or 2 portions for another night/lunch for husband.

Cook in bulk when you can and save the extra - handy for the hard-up times and also when you can't be bothered cooking!!:money:

Snowy

mummytoash

I have no money for food for the next 4 weeks for me dh and 2 yo ds.:eek:
i have completely ran out of ideas. i have the basic gadgets, (slow cooker, steamer, microwave etc). I need ideas for breakfast dinner an tea

Fruit n veg
Carrots
Swede
Onions (brown and red)
10kg sack spuds
Cabbage (green an red)
Cauliflowers
Leeks
Purple sprouting
Parsnips
Bananas

Fridge
Cheese
Salsa
Tonic Water
Tomato paste
Mint sauce
Apple sauce
Eggs
Mayonnaise
Garlic puree
Small carton orange juice

Freezer
Stir fry veg
Gammon steaks
Peas
20 Fish fingers
20 Pork sausages
Streaky bacon
Bacon bits
Sliced potato
Beef gravy (from a stew)
Naan bread
Whole chicken
Slices of braising steak
Lamb knuckle
Pork chops
Sprouts
Crispy potatoes
2 veggie sausages

Cupboard
Chicken stock
Beef stock
Vege stock
Chilli powder
Curry powder
Oil
Mixed dried fruit
Horseradish sauce
Custard power
Stuffing mix
Dried yeast
Turkey gravy
Sachet cheese sauce
Sachet bread sauce
Sachet suet dumpling mix
Bisto gravy thickening powder
Sachet bbq sauce
Vinegar
Soy sauce
Dried milk
Dried sage, rosemary, parsley and mixed herbs
Lime juice
Teriyaki sauce
Pasta
Tinned mixed veg
Corned beef
Red wine sauce (tin)
Chasseur sauce (tin)
Minced beef and peas (tin)
Baked beans
Porridge oats
Corflakes
Wheat biscuits
Breadcrumbs
Spaghetti
Vermicelli noodles
Egg noodles
Lasagne sheets
Tinned sweetcorn
Soup mix
Paprika
Dried cranberries
Dried apricots,

Please help. thank you.