Store cupboard challenge

caitybabes

Mmm rice pudding is yummy! And can be made successfully with powdered milk or long life if this works out cheaper than fresh? Great with a bit of jam sorry I can't think of anything more inventive... apart from the fact that my sis uses semolina as a coating for AMAZING roast potatoes, think it's a Nigella recipe. Nice and crunchy!

[Deleted User]

You can also make a pretty nice semolina pud with it or use it in shortbread

Taye

Ok so i set myself abit of a budget this month because my cuboards where over flowing in a hope to save some cash towards my impending car insurance. I can myself £150 but 2 weeks into the month i've already spent £100!!! the month just seems to be disappearing and to be fair i really don't think i have been wasting it but it's dissappearing none the less.

To be fair i think it should be possible to survive, it seems to be fruit/veg im missing atm, also my youngest son decided to go vegaterian last week so i need to accomidate that. I also have a dog and 2 cats but i think i have enough food for them just about.

Can anyone help me sort out a meal plan?? by my calulations i need to last 18 days.


Cupboards

• Tins of tuna – 6
• Lasagna sheets
• John west tuna fillet
• Mushroom couscous
• Whole-wheat couscous (enough for 1 meal)
• Egg noodles X3
• Spaghetti X 2
• Sweet potato X 2
• Kids pasta sauce X 2 (not vegaterian)
• Pasta spirals x 3 pks
• Chilli noodles X 2 (single person portions)
• Rice noodles X 4
• Chopped tomatoes X 4
• Beans X 1
• New Potatoes – enough for 1 meal
• Rice – BIG bag
• Large spag bol sauce jar.
• ½ loaf bread
• Lentils
• Soup Mix
• Barley
• Chickpeas
• Coconut milk
• Various herbs and spices
• Various marinades
• Various stir-fry sauces
• Various baking ingredients
• Jelly mix’s, angel delight , trifle mix etc etc
• 1/8th bag of oatmeal
• 1/2 box of wetabix
• 1/4 cornflakes.
• 8 packets of crisp's

Fresh Veg/fruit

• Sweet peppers - 1/2
• Onions – loads
• 1/2 iceberg lettuce
• 1/2 courgette
• 1/4 cucumber.
• Apples X 6

Fridge

• tub of Quark
• Cheese – 1/2 bag grated
• Sliced ham (enough for maybe 4 butty's)
• Sliced Beef (enough for about 6 butty's)
• Gammon joint - about 400g
• 2 peppered chicken breasts
• Milk - less than 1 pint
• 1 packet of shortcrust pastry

Freezer

• Wraps for kids packed lunches – 12 (all meat)
• 1 tub icecream
• 18 frozen frubes
• Ham bits
• Mushrooms
• Rhubarb crumble
• Bean sprouts - small amount
• 2 small portion liver
• 2 flap jacks
• 6 portions of cake (single person)
• Bag of frozen cod (about 4 fillets)
• 7.5 pita bread
• 1 bag of chicken breast
• 8 Burgers
• 8 sausages
• 1 large bag butchers sausages
• 2 hm fishcakes
• 3 bags chicken (1 person portions)
• 4 chunks of cake (big bits enough for all 3)
• Beef steaks
• Chicken nuggets
• 4 portions of salmon
• 4 pts milk
• 2 baguettes
• 2 pizza
• Box savory eggs
• Pork joint
• 8 lunch’s for me
• 8 family meals (not veggy)
• 2 small portions of veggy bolognaise
• Various Frozen Veg. (not much left tbh)
• 12 bread rolls

+ 1 VERY TINY chicken in the slowcooker as we speak.

little_miss_moneysaver_3

Should be able to easily come up with things for 18 days.
Does your son eat fish or is totally veggie?
Quick thoughts as i'm on the way out (the house).

I'm thinking tuna lasagne, a recipe here on grocery challenge (I think)
Pitta pizzas - for lunches after the meat has finished (also recipe here somewhere).
Maybe a pie pie with ham bits.
Some kind of stewy/soupy thing with some stock from the chicken in the slow cooker? Add some lentils and veg.
Some kind of stir fry with beansprouts, veg and noodles - add meat or maybe salmon in a glaze, bit of honey and soy sauce?
Sausage casserole, again add the trusty lentils and veg either fresh or frozen.
Some kind of chick pea curry? Dahl? Seen a few things, Gingham (sp? sorry!) has a veggie meal planner on here somewhere, prob get better veggies ideas.

Have to dash, will have a think.

LMMS

SunnyGirl

This thread on feeding a family of 4 on £20 for a month has a mine of useful information on it.HTH

Taye

opp's double post

Taye

Ok my first EVER meal plan, please be kind, how does it look any glaring error's??


Ok lunches (school/work = 14 days)

• Me
  • Day 1 – Freezer
  • Day 2 – Freezer
  • Day 3 – Freezer
  • Day 4 – Freezer
  • Day 5 – Freezer
  • Day 6 – Freezer
  • Day 7 – Freezer
  • Day 8 – Freezer
  • Day 9 – Wrap (ham)
  • Day 10 – Chicken soup made from stock, leftover chicken, rice noodles and veg
  • Day 11 – Chicken soup made from stock, leftover chicken, Rice noodles and veg
  • Day 12 – Wrap (beef)
  • Day 13 – Peppered Chicken, couscous, salad
  • Day 14 – Peppered Chicken, couscous, salad
• Kids Lunchboxs – Crisps, Frubes, Apples, banana's, Cake from freezer then will make a chocolate one, pretzils or ritz, savory eggs for meat eating son.
  • None veggy son - 12 wraps from freezer, pita from freezer with ham/beef for 2 days.
  • Veggy son – Will use 12 bread rolls/2 pita from freezer with cheese or egg’s (need to buy eggs)
• Weekend Lunch’s – X 4
  • Me
    • Pesto Pasta
    • Tuna Pasta
    • Butternut squash soup
    • Butternut squash soup (in fridge made yesterday forgot i had it, will freeze tonight)
  • Veggy Son
    • Pesto Pasta
    • Pesto Pasta
    • Beans on Toast
    • Egg on Toast
  • Meat Eating Son
    • Pesto Pasta
    • Tuna Pasta
    • Beans on Toast
    • Egg on Toast

Evening Meals - (18 days, not in order)

• Me
  • day 1 – today – Chicken, new potatos, veg
  • day 2 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 3 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 4 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 5 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 6 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 7 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 8 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 9 – Gammon / Potato / Veg
  • day 10 – Quiche (made from gammon in freezer ) / Potatos / Veg
  • day 11 sausage cassarole (potatos, carrots, Leeks, onions + what ever else is lurking in Freezer )
  • day 12- left over sausage cassarole
  • day 13 – Chicken Stir Fry (chicken, frozen veg and Noodles)
  • day 14 – Chicken Stir Fry (chicken, frozen veg and Noodles)
  • day 15 – Chicken Curry and rice
  • day 16 – Chicken Curry and rice
  • day 17 – Pea and ham soup (made with soup mix, gammon stock and leftover scraps)
  • day 18 - leftover pea and ham soup
• Meat eating son
  • day 1 – today – Chicken, new potatos, veg
  • day 2 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 3 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 4 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 5 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 6 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 7 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 8 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 9 – Meal from Freezer (will need, pasta, rice or potatos with it)
  • day 10 – Pizza
  • day 11 – Pizza
  • day 12 – Gammon / Potato / Veg (will make pea soup from stock, and quiche from scraps)
  • day 13 – Quiche (made from leftover gammon in freezer) / Potatos / Veg
  • day 14 – sausage cassarole
  • day 15 - left over sausage cassarole
  • day 16 – Chicken Stir Fry (chicken, frozen veg and Noodles)
  • day 17 – Chicken Stir Fry (chicken, frozen veg and Noodles)
  • day 18 – Chicken Curry and rice
• Veggy Son (forgot i also have soy mince + haricot beans)
  • day 1 – today – soy mince, new potatos, veg (need veggy gravy)
  • day 2 – veggy bolognaise - (frozen)
  • day 3 – veggy bolognaise - (frozen)
  • day 4 – Pizza
  • day 5 – Pizza
  • day 6 – Veg Chill made with Beans or Soy Mince + veg
  • day 7 – Veg Chill made with Beans or Soy Mince + veg
  • day 8 – Veggy sausage cassarole (veggy sausages, beans, veg etc)
  • day 9 – Leftover Veggy sausage cassarole
  • day 10 – Veggy Quorn chicken stir fry using leftover veg and noodles
  • day 11 – Veggy Quorn chicken stir fry using leftover veg and noodles
  • day 12 – chickpea curry and rice
  • day 13 – chickpea curry and rice
  • day 14- pasta in tom/lentil/veg sauce
  • day 15 – pasta in tom/lentil/veg sauce
  • day 16 – Jacket Potato, Cheese/bean and Salad
  • day 17 – Keema and rice (made with veggy mince)
  • day 18 – Keema and rice (made with veggy mince)

Shopping List - (Asda online quotes at £30 for the stuff i need now and another £10 for the extra's later in the month)

• Eggs
• Porridge
• cheap cereal for kids.
• vegaterian gravy
• Potato’s to go with frozen dinners
• Veggy Sausages
• Veggy chicken pieces
• Pesto Sauce
• Carrots (fresh)
• Sweetcorn (frozen)
• Green Beans (frozen)
• Mayonaise
• Tortilla Wraps (will freeze some)
• Granary Loaf (will freeze in 2 slice portions)
• White Bread (will freeze in 2 slice portions)
• Milk (will buy some now as i have none and will use frozen stuff later in month, once gone will see how money is may buy some, may resort to powdered milk *shudder*)
• Banana’s
• Yogurt (starter for yogurt maker)
• Peanuts
• Pretzel Sticks (for kids lunch boxes) or ritz crackers depending on price
• Baked Beans

Later in the month

• Salad bits (when current salad is gone)
• Apples and Banana’s (later in the month)
• Bread (maybe)
• Milk (maybe)

mama67

Those meals sound good; you seem to pretty much have it covered with what you have on hand and the few extras on your list.

Good Luck!!

Sublime_2

Wow, I wish I could be that organised. I've been there. Well done! :T

leelee24

Hi everyone

I have unfortunately just discovered in my fridge/cupboards several items that urgently need using up or they'll end up in the bin. I'm not the best cook in the world and wondered if any of you wonderful money savers had some ideas for using up the following:

bag of shallots 400 gr
bag of mixed yellow and red peppers 750 gr
Anya potatoes 1 kg

These are all slightly past their best before date but look okay. however, my OH is very fussy about this sort of thing and refuses to eat them! So I would be cooking all this for myself and would ideally like to get today's lunch/dinner and maybe tomorrow's lunch out of this lot. (not much to ask I know!)

My only idea so far is to make some kind of omelette or fritata (s?) with these, however, this would not use up everything. I have some other bits and pieces in the cupboards that might also be useful - loads of herbs and seasonings, some crusty bread in the freezer could be used for breadcrumbs, eggs and tinned tomatoes among other things. Have ben scouring my cookbooks and the love food hate waste website but nothing jumps out at me so far...

Any ideas or suggestions would be very much appreciated.