Help! £40 to feed family for the month

patentgirl

well thanks to you mbaz made my pack of 500grams of mince last loads of meals hate to say it but a pack used to feed us for one meal!! gross I know lol made a big pot of spag bol in slo cooker yesterday wth those added ingredients we all know well no prizes for guessing lentils and oats!! with some grated carrot which I hadnt added before either making a couple of lasagnes when I get home with leftovers already served 4 adults/teens
even added the cocoa powder
phizzimum loved the exclamation about lentils will copy that next time

keep going mbaz

mummysaver

mbaz wrote: »

Gosh yes!! I will stop watering down milk and obviously buy more fruit and veg but I've already done my Oct budget and my food budget is £100 (used to be £200) and we will eat like kings!!!

You could still water down some of the milk, the stuff you use yourself or use in cooking, and just keep full fat milk for your children to drink? Depends how much storage space you have in your fridge really.

Perhaps we could have a new thread with your October menu plan? Please! I would love to see the differences, I'm guessing that the main difference is that you won't be using so much stuff that is already in the cupboards and freezer but that you will have to buy them?

On second thoughts if it was just posted here then everyone would know where to find it!

Well done though, I am so impressed at how you have managed this, what a change from your first post when you were so worried. The power of os is amazing, and the people who are prepared to help out are so lovely! :T

mummysaver

Just a quickie, has anyone else noticed that the price of lentils seems to have increased recently? Have the lentil producers/sellers been reading this thread do you think!

mummysaver

patentgirl wrote: »

well thanks to you mbaz made my pack of 500grams of mince last loads of meals hate to say it but a pack used to feed us for one meal!! gross I know lol made a big pot of spag bol in slo cooker yesterday wth those added ingredients we all know well no prizes for guessing lentils and oats!! with some grated carrot which I hadnt added before either making a couple of lasagnes when I get home with leftovers already served 4 adults/teens
even added the cocoa powder
phizzimum loved the exclamation about lentils will copy that next time

keep going mbaz

Hiya, think it was me who said about the cocoa powder, but I add it to chilli, gives it more depth of flavour. Never added it to bol, what was it like?

You can stretch it all even further if you add peas and sweetcorn, or just half a pack of frozen mixed veg! I currently have a remoska absolutely full of cottage pie, could only just fit the mash on the top! I used a 400g pack of mince, 2 handfuls of oats, 2 handfuls of red lentils, half a pack of frozen mixed veg, sprinkle of garlic powder, pepper, mixed herbs, water and some gravy granules for taste and to thicken it up. Must have cost about the same as a single ready meal as the mince was reduced!

janb5

Does it matter if you use red or orange lentils - is there any difference in the cooking time?

Thanks

mbaz

I think I need a drumroll for this.....










I have...................














finally.................















MADE MY CRUMBLE!!!!!!!

Yippeeeee!!!

:T :T :T :T :T :T :T

- wish there was a fireworks icon!!!!

mummysaver

janb5 wrote: »

Does it matter if you use red or orange lentils - is there any difference in the cooking time?

Thanks

I might have this totally wrong, but what we call red lentils are actually orange in colour. Cooking time varies depending on whether you are doing them on their own, throwing them in another dish, and whether you are using a pan, remoska, oven or slow cooker.

Boiling them on their own takes about 15 mins tops, if they are in another dish it depends on the temp they are being cooked at, obviously a slow cooker will take longer, just make sure there is enough liquid for them to absorb however you are cooking them.

Green/brown/puy lentils take slightly longer to cook, I think, don't cook them that often, and they keep their shape, so are not so good for bulking out meals as they don't "disappear"!


Edit: Mbaz - hooray, I hope it tastes good after all the anticipation!

lola321

Just wanted to say that i've been reading this thread from the beginning and it is so inspiring. Made me realise how much I waste on food each month.
Have got my work colleagues reading it too, now we're all trying to out do each other with our shopping bills and recipe ideas!!
keep up the good work.

RAS

hi

Wish I could send you some fireworks>>>>>>>>>>>>


But instead a couple of ideas.

if you have old white sliced bread - summer pudding with free blackberries (now, but other fruit earlier in the summer)

if you have good butcher nearby, ask if they will let you have a few chicken carcases. They only have to pay to get rid of them as waste otherwise. Say you want to make stock.

You will get enough for a chicken stirfry, curry or fricasse (white sauce), and enough for stock and bits of meat for chicken and veg soup.

Pitlanepiglet

mbaz wrote: »

24th - Go to take away in middle of night when OH's salary goes in!!

Well done on what you've achieved, I was going to say this earlier but thought it was better to wait....how does the idea of blowing a chunk of money on a takeaway now feel? I've got to the point where I think "that's a week's food budget" and I make pizza instead :rotfl: