Store cupboard challenge

life_in_termoil

Thank you for all your replies.
Busy trying to do a meal plan before I go to work.

BitterAndTwisted

Angel, with all of that food in the store-cupboard, fridge and freezer plus a hundred quid in cash you have it made, you really do.

For recipe ideas and inspiration about how to feed a family of four for a hundred quid A MONTH (not the mere fortnight you have) check out this site:

http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

It may not fill your kids' hearts with joy but with a bit of forward-planning it can be done, and easily at that, especially if you can rope your kids in to help with some of it. Get them making some Twinks HobNobs for starters. A half-kilo bag of oats is less that 40 pence in Lidl and that would make dozens and dozens of biccys if you've got some Stork or cheap marge to hand.

life_in_termoil

29th spicy chicken with salad
30th chicken pie mash and veg
31 chicken stir fry served in tortillas (pepper, onion, afew mushrooms) and hm salsa
1 toad in the hole (leftover sausages to make sausage rolls) carrots peas n gravy
2 spag bol (freeze left overs for chilli next week)
3 egg and chips
4 chicken curry and rice(freeze half)
5 pasta carbonara made with chicken
6 meat and pot pie (left overs used to make pasties) caul, broc, carrots
7 something on toast
8 chicken rice and peas
9 HM pizza and pot wedges
10 chilli made with left over spag bol
11 sweet n sour chicken
12 last of chicken breast filled with soft cheese, potato wedges, pease and sweetcorn
13 something on toast

Lunches will be :- ham sandwiches, chicken wraps, cheese and onion pasty, meat and pot pasty, hot dogs wrapped in puff pastry, cheese spread sarnies, sausage rolls

Snacks - Twinks hob nobs, chelsea buns, banana bread, fairy cakes, iced buns, fruit, hm tortillas brushed with oil and grilled till crispy (in place of crisps) and great with a dip

Think ive got is sussed!!! Thanks for all your replies now lets see how it pans out.

life_in_termoil

Bitterandtwisted ... It wasnt until I wrote down everything I have in the cupboards ect that I realised I do have alot of stuff. I panicked when I worked out I had £56 left over in my account once everything had been paid as I usually spend at least £120 a week on food shopping. This really has been an eye opener and I think I have now had my LBM in regards to how much carp I actually buy each week and how much gets wasted!).

I now plan to only purchase what I need instead of frittering money away on rubbish.

apple_mint

Brilliant :T I love your meal plan.

LauraM65

Hi

Just been reading the threads on here about saving money. I am desperate to save money as I have a lot of debt about £12,000 and would like to take some action to pay it off. A lot of my money goes on shopping roughly spending £100+ a week on food for a family of four. I would also like to be able to raise some cash for my 25 anniversary next year as we would like a cruise (but think this is probablly going to be out of the question now).

I am currently off work at the moment with a chest infection and providing I feel ok tomorrow plan to do a whole inventory of cupboard and freezer writing everything down I have, I am probablly going to be surprised.

After I have done this I will post my inventory on here and would welcome any recipe ideas for the food I have. Would also welcome any money saving ideas.

I have to say I am always so inspired by what I read on this site and admire everyone who is taking on their personal challenges to pay off their debts and have more money in their pockets, hoping I can become one of them too.

LauraM65

OMG! get a load of this, I have just spent the last 3 hours cleaning and sorting out my store cupboard and have actually written down everything I have. I was amazed to find what I had and ashamed to know that I would probablly go shopping again on the weekend and buy more of the same.

Are you ready to read my storecupboard inventory, sorry for such a long thread.

11 tins baked beans
4 tins tomatoes
2 tins black eyed beans
1 tin mixed bean salad
1 tin chickpeas
1 tin adzuki beans
1 tin sweetcorn
1 tin chilli bean
1 tin vegetable balti
1 tub vegetable granuels
1 tub parsley sauce granuels
1 tub chicken granuels
2 jars classic pesto sauce
2 jars red pesto sauce
1 jar walnut and ricotta pesto sauce
2 jars of curry sauce
1 jar korman paste
6 tins tuna
1 jar wholegrain mustard
2 1/2 jars ordinary mustard
1/2 jar apple sauce
2 jars of green tai curry paste
2 jars cranberry sauce
1/4 jar honey
2 bottles of stir fry mango sauce
1 tin pilchards
2 jars mango chutney
1 1/2 jars strawberry jam
1 jar pickled onions
2 packets taglietelli
1 pak lasagna sheets
3 packets dried pasta plus a large storage jar of pasta made up from opened bags of pasta
2 packets spagetti plus a large storage jar of sphagetti made up from opened sphagetti packs
1 1/4 packs of dried wok noodles
1 box canneloni tubes
2 jars green olives
Salt, pepper, vingegar
Soy sauce
Tomato sauce
Brown sauce
1 jar fish sauce
1 packet carrot, parsnipt and potato stuffing mix
2 packets panacotta mix
Various jars herbs and spices
1 tin custard
4 packets microwaveable pilau rice
2 packets Uncle Bens express rice (Chicken and Pilau)
3 Batchelors pasta pots
1 pot noodle
1 enchalada kit
Various Schwarts packet mixes (about 12)
Packets of savour rice (about 6)
2 packets of pasta and sauce
2 packets of dream topping
1 packet pancake mix
Plain and Self Raising flour
Golden Castor Sugar
Icing sugar
Numerous bags of dried mixed fruit
Ordinary Sugar
Salad Cream
Jar of Marmite
4 Stir fry sauces
Unlimited supply of fresh eggs as I have my own hens

My daughter says I could feed a houseful of students on this lot for a whole year.

I would appreciate any recipes that may spring to mind with these iingredients. I feel good that I have decluttered and organised my storecupboard even though its take me a long time to do.

Tomorrow I plan to do a Frezer and Fridge inventory and hopfully this wont take me as long. One things for sure I wont be shopping this weekend only for fresh milk, bread, vegetables, fruit and probablly some sandwich fillers.

Look forward to hearing from you with some recipe ideas and maybe some more money saving ideas.

Cheers:beer:

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

The_Dragon

Hmm first thing that springs to mind is pasta with various sauces AND a cake/pudding of some description that has the dried fruit in it.

Oh and have the Enchiladas over the weekend

LauraM65

Thanks The Dragon for this advice, have to say I am already using up some of the fruit tonight by making some tea loves (4), this also uses up the tea you have left over in the pot, they are also cheap to make and taste delicious with some butter spread on with a nice cuppa in the afternoon. I will certainly do quite a lot of pasta meals over the next few weeks as I have so much stuff to use up, think my son is going to have pasta later for tea with a pesto sauce.

I cant stop today trying to be frugal today and am planning a frugal living challenge from tomorrow onwards when I am going to write down all my spend throughout the month, will keep everyone updated on this. I have also had a quick rummage through my freezer and am also making up a batch of freezer veg soup made with the stock from an old chicken carcus that I had in the fridge from a couple of days ago, have to say its smell lovely at the moment. Will probablly freeze this for a later date as a quick meal idea, although will be having some for my lunch tomorrow. Hubby also having left over chilli from tonights tea for his lunch tomorrow.

One again many thanks for the reply keep the ideas coming if you have any more and any other money saving tips you may have as every idea is greatly welcomed and received especially when I have to find so much money to pay off my debts.

Thanks :T

The_Dragon

Hmm will you/your DD or you hubby have the pasta pots for lunches? that would clear them out quickly.

Also if you eat mince (or Quorn mince) you could try this http://tempewytchcrafts.typepad.com/tempewytchrecipesdone/2010/01/cold-weather-hot-pot.html

to start using the beans up!