6000 meals under 50p in 2010; feeding your family on a low budget

pipkin71

debtmess wrote: »

i think what you are doing is great Nikki as with anything there will always be different opinions as to what another is eating, the budget they work with etc

The last time I remember a meal for xxx amount thread having various posters disagreeing on how it was done, was a thread by a poster called Black Saturn, who gave shopping lists for how she spent very little.

Naturally other posters pointed out where there was a lack of fruit, veg ect and I think that may have been locked as posters fell out.

I do think these types of thread will draw comments that aren't necessarily supportive, as posters won't do the same things, eat the same things ect ect.

Has made for interesting reading so far though

Edited to add the link for Black Saturn's meal planner:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1648750#post1648750

flourgirl

Pipkin71 I remember Black Saturns thread and I still have a link to it.

Mark88 I admire you totally, and will be following this thread with interest. Good Luck.

catznine

zcrat41 wrote: »

Hello there Mark, enjoyed reading your thread so far. Good luck with your challenge.

Someone a couple of pages ago asked for a spicy lentil soup recipe, I've just had the following for my tea;

250g lentils
1 onion
1 clove garlic
1.75 pints veg stock
1inch grated root ginger
2 teaspoons cumin
dash of paprika.

Its my favourite "I need a winter warming dish because I've been out in the cold all day and I need cheering up". Its not spicy as such but very warming and leaves a definite tingle in the mouth.

Made this today in the slowcooker, makes loads and is yummy and filling! thank you for the recipe!

kazzys51

wow! what a thread i got to page 9 and had to chuck it! fried brain....... is it just me or is some people frustrated!:eek: haaaaa ANY WAY HAPEEE NU YEAR EVERYONE :rotfl:bring on the recipes!!! and no more o your nonsense!:rotfl: good luck to you mark and nikki if your still here kx

Smiley_Mum

catznine wrote: »

Hi Mark!

I am enjoying following your thread and now I have put a certain person on ignore it's much better!;)

zcrat41 - Thanks for the spicy lentil soup recipe, I am going to try that out tomorrow!

Our favourite soup is hm cream of vegetable soup. 1 - 1+ 1/2 lbs of veg mainly root (parsnips, carrots, sweet potato, and onions) but often we throw in runner beans/leeks etc., if we have any leftover. Just chop and cook in a good veg stock until soft, then process until smooth. I then add some skim or soya milk and season, (we like to sprinkle on some paprika just before serving with some lovely hm granary bread. All the goodness of the vegetables is kept in the soup rather than washed away down the sink (unless you save it) when veg is drained. It is very filling, suits vegetarians and must count towards some of your five a day requirements.

What a good idea...:T

What about this website to get portion sizes. I often find I cook too much and we end up freezing it for the same for a few meals. Started to follow the portion sizes on here and as long you aren't exercising excessively etc the portions should be sufficient and there will be not waste.

http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions


I came across this website too which has got a lot of recipes on it.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/category/recipes/beanrecipeshtm

MushyPeas

Smiley_Mum wrote: »

What about this website to get portion sizes. I often find I cook too much and we end up freezing it for the same for a few meals. Started to follow the portion sizes on here and as long you aren't exercising excessively etc the portions should be sufficient and there will be not waste.

http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/perfect_portions

Great, thanks Smiley_Mum, perfect for me! Last night I cooked far too much pasta which I then ate .... was thinking I need to monitor portion sizes so thank you ,

MileySmiley_2

Good morning to all you snowed in ppl, at least today will be a NSD for a lot of us, I just wanted to post that this subject has made me try and cut down on the amount of money I spend on food and last night I made a Cottage Pie and put an extra carrot and onion in with half a tin of beans and hey presto I made 1 for dinner and 1 for the freezer.
I've read some very good ideas and tips and thank you for opening my eyes to saving some money and time with my cooking.
As you can tell I'm a newbie.

xxxxxxxx

mark55man

MushyPeas wrote: »

Great, thanks Smiley_Mum, perfect for me! Last night I cooked far too much pasta which I then ate .... was thinking I need to monitor portion sizes so thank you ,

Mushypeas (mmmmmm) - you have put your finger on one of the benfits this challenge is bringing home. In the bad old days I suffered two sins:

* using too expensive stuff as the basis for the meals
* serving too much of it

This thread has also made me up the amount of fruit & veg in meals and available for snacks so its win win win

Scottishmummy

Have just found this thread through the link from Bob's diary so haven't had time to read it all but what I have read is brilliant. Really looking forward to seeing what you come up with for packed lunches for kids as mine got so bored with having sandwiches every day they are now on school lunches at £1.60 each:eek:. Problem is neither of them are much in to salad.

irishwexford

Good for you Mark. Even if you do overspend a little at least you are having a go. I had decided my meals are too boring as we have an allotment and all my meals work around the veggies in season but am looking through cookery books to find different meals to cook using the same veggies also hope to get ideas from this site. I don't know how to do links but if I do succeed I will post it on here although the information will come from a book. I have no imagination when it comes to cooking but set myself a challenge to try harder. I have had great success with other challenges, cut my food food bill by a third, saved all my change for Christmas in sealed tin and do not waste food. You will do this your way and what suits your family so best of luck.;)