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

maryb

Smiley Mum

I looked on the lovefoodhate to waste website but some of the portions seemed huge to me. What do others think?

It said 360g of pasta for 3 adults and a child - that's more than 12 oz. I normally do 2 oz per adult and 1.5 for my DD2 who has a bird like appetite (and then we have to sit over her to make sure she eats it. She's not anorexic she'd just rather chat than eat!!)

On the other hand it suggested 75ml of rice per person which is roughly 2oz when you weigh it out. I have a set of measuring cups and I find 1/3 cup size (80ml) is just about right for an adult.

Just for a laugh I looked at how many bruseels sprouts it recommended for a serving. It said 8 per serving. There's no way I'd get my lot to eat more than 4 per serving and then only at Christmas (though they happily eat broccoli and cabbage so they get plenty of cruciferous veg). However I do serve carrots as well

Then again it suggested 2 tablespoons per serving of mashed potatoes which seemed on the low side. If you were doing a shepherd's pie for 4 people example, I doubt you'd cover the top with 8 tablespoons

Don't want to hijack the thread but cost control is often as much about portion size as type of food and I'd be interested to know how much other people dish up

flossyblog

the following dishes can be made very cheaply. I do them in a roasting tin.

vegetable lasagne
ratatouille
lentil shepherds pie
vegetable pie
vegetable rissoto

mark55man

Scottishmummy wrote: »

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.

boredom is an issue - DS2 will eat Ham Sandwich or Tuna sandwich until the cows come home. The others are a bit different and get bored - you could look at this thread for inspiration: "Exciting sandwich fillings on a budget" http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=327342

Occasionally - (and PBS better not read) I have resorted to finding something they like rather than is good for them (they always have a piece of fruit)
* Omelette sandwich
* Fish finger sandwich
* Tomato sauce sandwich
* bread and butter sandwich
* Jam sandwich

Good luck

EDIT: Sometimes the same filling in a different type of bread is often welcomed - eg tortilla wraps or roll

stressed.mum

Hi Mark - I'm following your thread with a lot of interest - as we are in a similar situation. 6 mouths to feed on a limited budget.
There is me, OH, DS (16) DD2 (13) DD3 (9) and a vege DD1 (14).
Are all your children vegetarian? I find DD1 the most expensive to feed.

I wanted to share last nights dinner costings with you.

I made a mince base in the slow cooker.
800g mince Y/S £1.00
tin V baked beans 0.29
tin V sweetcorn 0.34
2 tin V tomatoes 0.62
2 oxo cubes 0.12
L/O hn veg soup
2 parsnips 0.01 grated s kids don't like! These were YS3p bag
4 onions 0.20
8 carrots 0.20
2 handsful red lentils 0.10
pasta 0.30

total £3.23

This feed 5 people and left enough for at least 5 more servings. So approx 32p/serving.
Even with full price meat this would cost £6.42

Vegetables on offer this week in our house are
Parsnips YS 3p
Beansprouts YS 1p
Sprouts YS 2p

Fruit
Blueberries YS 6p bought 8 punnets as DS,DD1 & DD3 love these
Nectarines YS 3p
Plums YS 2p
Clementines YS 5p

I managed to arrive at Tesco at just the right time on Sunday!!

Stressed xxx

Penelope_Penguin

maryb wrote: »

IIt said 360g of pasta for 3 adults and a child - that's more than 12 oz. I normally do 2 oz per adult and 1.5 for my DD2 who has a bird like appetite (and then we have to sit over her to make sure she eats it. She's not anorexic she'd just rather chat than eat!!)

On the other hand it suggested 75ml of rice per person which is roughly 2oz when you weigh it out. I have a set of measuring cups and I find 1/3 cup size (80ml) is just about right for an adult.

Just for a laugh I looked at how many bruseels sprouts it recommended for a serving. It said 8 per serving.

I'd say those are about right DH and DS (14yo) have about 100g pasta each, and DD (16yo) and I about 75 g each.

8 sprouts is about a handful, which is a handy measure to estimate a "portion" of F&V

You're not hijacking the thread btw; anyone's welcome to join and give their two-pennorth I think it's important for threads where frugality is key, to keep an eye on a healthy and nutritious diet.

Penny. x

Penelope_Penguin

mark88man wrote: »

boredom is an issue - DS2 will eat Ham Sandwich or Tuna sandwich until the cows come home. The others are a bit different and get bored - you could look at this thread for inspiration: "Exciting sandwich fillings on a budget"

Am i right that you have 4 children How old are they, please

mark55man

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Am i right that you have 4 children How old are they, please

Hi they are 14, 13, 12 :eek::eek::eek: and 9 (Girl Boy Girl Boy)

Cazzdevil

Hi Mark,
Great going so far, I applaud your efforts and can clearly see you have your family's health in mind.

Just another suggestion here but a fond favourite in our household is corned beef hotpot, we just chuck whatever bits and pieces of veg we have lying in the fridge (usually carrots, onions, parsnip, mushrooms and anything else which is looking a bit past its best) in an oven dish along with garlic, enough stock to cover the veg and salt & pepper, then layer up sliced corned beef then sliced potatoes on top and stick in the oven for an hour (sometimes grate some cheese onto the spuds after about 40 mins too)

We usually find that one tin of corned beef stretches to enough hotpot for 4 very generous servings and this one should satisfy the food police too since it has plenty of vegetables in.

Easily works out within the 50p pppm.

Good luck with your endeavour

elektra-2007

I noticed people are bulking out mince with oats...how do i do this, do i put them in raw or cook them first. do i need to add water?
I just made fish pie...
1 fresh rainbow trout =£2
mash spuds = 30p
sweetcorn frozen about =5p
white sauce made from milk and flour approx =10p
1 small onion = 3p
total £2.48 =49p each for 5 people.
Will easily feed 4-5 people just add veg on the side.
I could have used cheaper fish like tuna or tinned salmon, but i had trout frozen needing to be used!

kippers

elektra-2007 wrote: »

I noticed people are bulking out mince with oats...how do i do this, do i put them in raw or cook them first. do i need to add water?

I add it after i have browned the mince when i put other ingrediants in ie passatta, mushrooms, onions etc I do find i have to stir it more often when i use oats as it seems to burn if i don't