Help! £40 to feed family for the month

wogglemaker

CoD wrote: »

i'd also recommend stripping it quickly after the meal, or hiding it while you eat as i find family disappearing into the kitchen and picking at the leftovers:rotfl: not good when they're destined for other things.

erm flour for baking? (not bread)

The 'not me fairy' does that in my house too

:rotfl:

locutus2003

Don't know best place to put this, but this is our absolute favourite meal - an old recipe of my Grandmother's!

Boil up pasta (we always use Mr T's cheapest pasta as we can't tell the difference between that and Waitrose!)
When it's cooked, drain in a colander - add a knob of butter to the pan and melt. Add the pasta back to the pan and coat in the butter. Add a generous squirt of tomato puree and mix. Serve with grated cheese.

Always a favourite in our house - and dead cheap!

This thread is an inspiration - we spend about £540 a month on food (me, DH, a 4yo and a 1yo ... yes, I know!!) ... off to see if I can spend a bit less!!

mommyof4

I love this thread.
Found the curry sauce in our Tescos, however it was 27p!!! gutted lol

natc

Hello all,

This thread is brilliant! Really makes you think about what you buy at the supermarket and how much you spend. Does anyone have a link to the thread all about meal planning/recipes etc? Seen it somewhere before and cant remember where i saw it!

suejane50_2

Somehow I find it very hard to believe I can feed my family for £20 a month. I have two teenage kids with extremely healthy appetites, but I will have a go. Does anyone know a recipe for easy bread. I spend over £4 a week on bread alone. I've tried making bread in the past, but it was nowhere near as good as bought.

Has anyone else got fussy teenage eaters. One of mine doesn't like all meat and the other doesn't like veges (only carrot, sweetcorn and other expensive veggies ie: mangetout) - help!!

I don't think there's any hope of me getting reduced food. I try to only do one shop a week (for my main shop). Tesco don't reduce their stuff very much unless you go near to closing time. Sorry it all sounds so negative. I would love to only spend £20 a week on my shopping bill. It's nearer £70 nowadays and I don't buy expensive brands by any means.

Any advice please.

miggy

Hi Suejane,
It's a shame you can't get to Tesco near closing time as the bread is significantly reduced - if you have a friend who would pick up some for you it would be worth asking for their help.
Have you explored the Old style board for recipes?
If you have a local greengrocer, it's worth bulk-buying potatoes as long as you can keep them dark so they don't go green. They are much cheaper this way and of course are very versatile.
My teens are similar to yours - one vegetarian and one who won't touch veg - so I do sympathise. I do bulk out casseroles with potatoes and beans, which is healthy and better for the planet, but of yours aren't used to beans, do introduce them slowly!
I think the OP's children were younger than ours so wouldn't have the same calorie requirements, so it would be reasonable to expect to spend more for teens. I couldn't suggest a figure, though, as so much depends on your circumstances.
One thread I would particularly recommend is Weezle's 50p a day till Christmas, healthily which will take a long time to read but have a good look a the firsdt post where there are links to her other threads too. There are some superb, but cheap, recipes.
HTH

oystercatcher

I must admit that going to Tesco's at closing time can be an extremely variable experience. I've been looking for bargains and found that the shelves are almost bare of even full price stuff. I certainly couldn't rely on getting a full weeks shop at that time.
Other times I've got some good reductions but it's very hit and miss. Also closing time is very inconvenient as that's the time when people are at home needing to be fed. I wouldn't dare ask a friend to go shopping for me at that time as I know they are busy with their families as well.

I have three teenagers and know it's hard to feed them cheaply, they eat loads and then go back for more later ......

The person who fed a family for £20 for a month did brilliantly but she had a good store cupboard to start with and was only feeding two adults and two small children so not comparable to feeding teenagers!

We don't eat much meat, I don't pander to whims with vegetables and let them fill up on things like bread and value peanut butter, sardines on toast or cheese when it's on offer.
I should bake more I know that would save money but there are time and energy constraints for me.

I feel for the people who are on really tight budgets it must be so hard and such a worry.

Oystercatcher

HockeyDuo8083

I LOVE THIS THREAD! :T

It has been teaching me to be not so wasteful and try and use things up before doing the 'big shop'. I LOVE LIDL too, been my saviour through many a poor week.

Money saving recipes have been invented along the way because somtimes the only way you can eat is to inventive!
One of my faves was cook up enough pasta to fill a baking/ovenproof dish. Drain it off leaving in a little of the cooking water then add into the pan 1 tin of value chicken soup plus any veg (frozen or fresh) you may have. Give it good stir and pour into you oven dish. sprinkle with herbs/salt & pepper then cover with grated cheese. Bake until golden brown and bubbling.
I once cooked this on a Sunday and had a portion every day for the rest of the week as a 'reheat'. Was a bit boring but as I had no money it was a godsend. To liven it up I got creative by adding tomato sauce or grainy mustard.

Everyone on here deserve s a big pat on the back. I wish the PM or those fat cats at the banks could spend a week with someone who has £20 a month to spend on food. Would really open their eyes!:mad:

Chin up everyone though, it's nearly Christmas!Goodwill to all:beer:

EagerLearner

Hi all, I am reading this thread with enthusiasm, as apart from saving money it definately makes me more creative and think about less waste too.

My latest proud moments were making my own lemon curd and rice pudding for much less than store bought - if anyone's interested there recipes are on my blog here:
http://savingsnow.blogspot.com/
I have also included costings on there too.
Was amazed that my slow cooker could make delicious rice pudding so easily! It could make the lemon curd too but I quite liked doing it on the stove as only took 20 mins for a full lovely jar. Lasted one week as I was rationing myself every day! Had it on toast, mixed into porridge, the odd sneaky spoonful and MrEL suggested next time we could add the lemon curd to the homemade rice pudding too - yummy!

carrie.brookes

This is brilliany I never thought it could be done.

My OH has just taken a paycut at work so we have had to cancle christmas this year. No pressies for any one . My OH wages noramlly cover all the bills while my wages are used for food ect... Howeve it looks like my wages will have to go towards some of the bills now leaving us with about £20 a week for food, nappies ect... Im fortunate enough to have a lidl and aldi nearby but im absolutly usless at meal planning and bugeting (even cooking :embarasse ).
Can any of you brainy people help me with this or has anyone got any tips and hints they would be willing to share. xxx