Help! £40 to feed family for the month

paigexstewart

Hi guys,

So all I have left today for our weekly food shop is £20. Obviously OH isn't aware! He was working away for a week and during this time I smashed the back of the car and had to pay £800 to get it fixed :eek: I really don't want to tell him, not because he will be mad, but because of my pride!

Normally we spend around £150 a week, which I know is ridiculous, but without sounding arrogant we dont really have to budget.

So any ideas on what I can buy to feed us for a week on £20 without him noticing too much ?

I want to buy a whole chicken, any tips on how to make it last.

We also need to buy packed lucnh stuff for him.

Thanks!

rachbc

firstly raid your cupboards and freezer and work out what you already have - if you are spending £150 for 2 for a week I imagine there is a whole lot of unused food in there! Use what you have as the basis for your meal plan for the week and only add in what you really need. I got 2 weeks meals for virtually nothing doing this last month. A chicken will prob do 2 of you 3/4 meals - roasted then the leftovers in a risotto, a pie filling and with pasta and then you can make soup with the stock to take for lunches

pink_numbers

you can also use the chicken for sandwich filling or a chicken pasta salad for the packed lunches.

We only spend £20 a week for the two of us, and we eat everything organic (health reasons), so it is totally doable without being noticeable. Good luck!

daska

tell him it's a post christmas de-tox so you're only cooking veg soup all week... no wine or pudding allowed either, just water :-)

*Maya*

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mummysaver

Or tell him you're running down the cupboards or want to play ready steady cook!

Seriously have a look at what you've already got and try to think up some meals from that, then just buy the extra bits and pieces.

Cheap meals include egg and chips, soup, baked potatoes, pasta - have a look on the meal plan thread for this week.

For stretching your chicken search for the rubber chicken thread. You should be able to get a roast, curry, pie and possible a pasta/risotto dish, plus you can boil the carcass for stock for a soup.

Mince is also another easy one to stretch over a few meals, with the addition of a handful of oats/lentils/soya mince/veggies. You could make a bolognese sauce and have spag bol, leftovers could be divided in half and a lasagne made with one and a chilli with the other, just add chilli and kidney beans.

Another good thread to have a read of would be Mbaz's feed a family of 4 for £20 for a month - she listed meals and her cupboard and freezer contents plus her shopping list.

Good luck, and if you're really stuck list what you already have in stock and we'll all try and come up with some meals for you so that you don't starve!

Penelope_Penguin

paigexstewart wrote: »

So any ideas on what I can buy to feed us for a week on £20 without him noticing too much ?

Lentils :rotfl: I'll add this to the £20 for a month thread - there are lots of ideas there

Have you seen the Rubber Chicken thread We make a whole chicken last 2 meals for 4, then I make stock and soup from the carcase.

Penny. x

Hardup_Hester

Hi Paige
This reminded me of the time my friend locked her self out, smashed a pane in her back door to get back in, got the pane reglazed & re painted by the time her OH got home from work, she too didn't want to admit what she'd done. We solved her financial dilemma, by her raiding my cupboards for a month.
I'm sure you will manage, there are loads of great ideas on here, good luck.
Hester

natc

pink_numbers wrote: »

you can also use the chicken for sandwich filling or a chicken pasta salad for the packed lunches.

We only spend £20 a week for the two of us, and we eat everything organic (health reasons), so it is totally doable without being noticeable. Good luck!

Could you tell me how you do that, £20 for a week? Me and my oh spend about £60 a week, with nothing to show for it!! Its ridiculous. We have decided to start going to butchers and market for fruit/veg/meat, hope this helps a lil.

paigexstewart

*Maya* wrote: »

Some people get more meals from a chicken than others. I usually manage a roast for 4 plus sandwiches plus soup.

I would roast the chicken, strip it of all the meat and with the meat make something cheap and filling like chicken fried rice. Then I'd make a curry with the rest and have it with baked potatoes. With the carcass make a stock and make an inexpensive soup like carrot and potato.

That would be 3 meals from the following shopping list.

Chicken
Onion
Mushrooms
rice
curry sauce
Baking potatoes
salad
Carrots.

Why don't you do a little inventory or what you have already got in and we can offer more suggestions.;)

Hi, we have loads of pasta, rice, lentils, tins of veg, bread making ingredients and a few frozen sausages. Any ideas? Thanks