Help! £40 to feed family for the month

[Deleted User]

Still only on page 17 and can't wait to find out how it all went. I think you are all amazing - well done. I have never used lentils to fill out mince recipes, but will from now on, I love them and I am sure my OH wouldn't notice.

I have been given lots of pheasant recently and made a lovely pheasant and puy lentil casserole, grated carrots, onions, leeks, stock and a glass of port - delish and a pheasant curry for the freezer. We threw away so much pheasant last year as we just put it straight in the freezer and it got freezer burn on it, so now I cook it first and freeze in batches in tubs, which get eaten.

My OH loves Baked beans in his shepherds pie and I always grate carrot into sauces, meatballs etc which just melt down and bulk meals out. Also when I am doing a big cook up I always bake potatoes in the oven at the same time, scoop out the middle, add cheese, butter, milk, sour cream, bacon bits, spring onion (whatever is to hand) and re-fill them and put them in the freezer so I always have an easy supper (add baked beans and/or sausages if you want to make a more filling meal).

Well done everyone. :beer:

mbaz

Gosh just dropped in for hints and tips and there's my now-not-so-little-thread sitting at the top! I can't belive it! Happy that I've never had such a lean month since but I am sticking to roughly £100 a month thanks in the main to lentils and oats! Still not got that slow cooker mind! Maybe I'll hint to OH for xmas!

mbaz

mommyof4 wrote: »

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

:eek: am i rght in thinking that is almost a 700% increase?!! Is it def the Value one you saw?

miggy

I thought the same (:eek: ) when I saw the value tomatoes are all 33p in Tesco now. Even in Netto they were 29p the other day.
It must be about 4 or 5 years since it was 6p for tinned tomatoes and 9p for chopped tinned tomatoes. (Sigh...)
Mbaz, good to see you again and - wow! £100 a month even when liberally helped out by lentils and oats, is brilliant! I'm glad you aren't in the straits you were when you started this thread, but you seem to be doing really well. what are you eating nowadays (apart from oats, lentils... )

Pitlanepiglet

I think loads of the Value products have gone up (same in Sainsbury and Asda from what I can see also) by quite a lot at the moment. I guess they've got to pay for their discounting of still expensive branded products somehow.

Luckily I've got full cupboards and I'm just going to miss on flour, dried fruit, tomatoes etc. this month and hopefully the Value products will be reduced again in January.

naturally_2

Oh I'm glad its not just me moaning about the price of value products at Tesco. I assume its because they want you to buy the slightly more expensive discounter" brand level?

2 months ago I was buying 500g bags of pasta at 19p. This month they are 41p!!

sb44

mbaz wrote: »

:eek: am i rght in thinking that is almost a 700% increase?!! Is it def the Value one you saw?

I went to get some Sainsburys basics curry sauce last week which is usually 4p, it was 23p!

I must admit I still bought some but just one jar, intended buying about 5.

I know 23p isn't a lot but what a flippin big jump in price.

dixie06

Fab post :j

gillst_2

This thread is helping me so much. Trying to cut down on the food bill, which is not easy with 4 adults to feed. Usually make my mince in the microwave adding just baked beans but yesterday made it in my slow cooker adding a couple of handfuls of lentils, couple of handfuls of oats, baked beans (value), tinned tomatoes (value), a load of grated carrots, chopped onions and a few miexed herbs and some gravy. OH hates lentils and will never eat anything with lentils in, so did not tell him. When I served this up every loved it and OH said it was the best mince I had ever made, asking what I had done different. Didn't dare tell him about the lentils, so just said I did it in the slow cooker instead of the microwave. DS's loved it as well, which is just as well as I made so much we will be eating it for the rest of the week!!!!

clairelouise100

Well I have bought red lentils today - I've read about them so much on this thread. What a fab thread, very good tips. Will let you know how it goes. x