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

Intergalactic_Floozie

Hello there, you have a new subscriber also trying to bring down grocery costs! Some good ideas on here (after the bun fight at the beginning)

boredofbeingathome

thriftlady wrote: »

Wow, that's cheap! I get 20kg bags for about £4 aand consider that cheap. Are you sure that's 54kg and not 54lb (which is the same as 25kg)?

Sacks of spuds are always good value provided you have somewhere cool and dry to store them.

It is 54kg it needs two to lift them then it is a kind of shuffle *curse* shuffle *curse* scenario to get it in. I am thankful though, and rarely buy potatoes from the shops at all. The veg is really cheap apart from things which are imported like red and green peppers. They grow their own butternut squashes and they are humungus- i bought two for a £1 just before Christmas and they were about the same size as, two bags of 1kg flour-. Better than the weedy efforts i see in ALDI at this time of year they are very tasty too.:D

I have altered the previous post as i realised i hadn't made myself clear- was very tired. I get smaller potatoes at £2 for a 25kg bag so i buy two- which should have read 50kg. You were absolutely right as it is 54lb- but the price is right. I can also get the same weight of different potatoes at a slightly higher price of £2.25 per 25kg bag- they go quickly as you can imagine. The potatoes are roughly the same size as a decent scone, so not that small. Sorry for the mistake. The farm shop is in Burscough if anyone is in the area.

Smiley_Mum

I've come across this, eat for £12 a week thread, might be more like £15 now though as it was started in 2006.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=152900&highlight=low+cost+meal+planner&page=2

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=4564009&highlight=cheap+meal+planner#post4564009

queenpig

vivaladiva wrote: »

A couple of years ago someone posted a link to a site where someone was trying something similar. IIRC he was a stay-at-home dad and was building a moneysaving, menu planning website. Someone had seen it in their local paper and posted the link. I had the link bookmarked on my now defunct PC. Does anyone else remember it?
When I saw the title of this thread I thought this was it. If anyone can remember it I'm sure it might be of use here.
Sorry to be so vague. I tried the indexes and the search but I can't find it.

If memory serves me right and it's the same thread and site I'm thinking of, is this the one? http://www.ckmhome.co.uk/

vivaladiva

queenpig wrote: »

If memory serves me right and it's the same thread and site I'm thinking of, is this the one? http://www.ckmhome.co.uk/

That's the one. Well done and thank you queenpig:T.

mark55man

So reporting back for Thursday 7th January

Still all snowed in - quieter today as everyone was calling on their friends instead of vice versa.

Today's Summary - 18/18 :A meals 50p or under (I am counting no shows as a success - not sure how I am going to cope when we return the favour & hosts other kids):
Summary Total - 118/126 = 93.6%

Breakfast: 50p or under (6/6)
OP - Cereal (Muesli with chopped apple)
OH - Toast and Banana
Kids - Cereals (Lidl Wellness flaKes) - why is that K in upper case - coz its special + glass OJ
Lunch: 50p or under (6/6)
OH & OP - Smoked mackeral Pate on toast + salad - Smoked Mackeral £2.20 Mayo = 10p - Made 8 portions @ 29p each = 30p on toast + 15p each for half bag woopsied mixed salad. In bad old days would have had double portion and sneaked an extra fillet :o
DS2 - Bacon Sandwich + Apple = 39p (28 + 1 + 10)
Supper: 50p or under (6/6)
All: Salmon Fish Cakes with peas and sweetcorn. (ty misscousinitt). using up freezer rather than storecupboard so used some Young's Salmon fillets 2 from Mr T 4.99 for 6 = 1.66 + 1 pack 230g Mr T value mash (45p), half bag peas 50p - tin sweetcorn 33p = £2.94 = 49p each

EDIT: Making clear the smoked mackeral was mde into a pate

phizzimum

wow, you're doing really well mark! and you got a mention on the weekly email - respect!

I know what you mean about the snow though, we've all been ravenous here too.

with regard to using oats or lentils to pad out bolognaise, yes you will need to add more water. it shouldn't go gloopy but will have a thicker, smoother texture. a little will go a long way - if I'm making a big pot of bolognaise that will provide 12 portions, I would probably only put in 2 handfuls of oats. better to add less initially (especially if the family are suspicious!) you can always add more next time.

AudreyHepburn_2

Hello Mark and fellow Readers :-)

I found this recipe on BBC Good Food site - it looks cheap and tasty. Says it serves 4 but I would double it to serve a family of 6, or serve with beans and some of your tinned tuna.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5588/healthy-egg-and-chips

Have a great weekend.

Kazipoo

Thought of you the other night, for tea (there are 6 of us too) we had corned beef hash. Spuds 30p, carrots 10p, onions 10p, stock cube 4p, corned beef (2/3 of a tin) 80p, grand total=£1.34 for the 6 of us!!! And it was delish!!

grastgirl

Mark88man

I always use a tin of tomatoes (and some chopped sundried tomatoes) as a bottom layer to my macaroni cheese before baking it, it adds a little to the price, but adds an extra portion of veg to the mix. I guess you'd need two tins for 6 people.

General comments on fruit/veg potions: I've heard the fruit/veg portions thing debated ad infinitum by people who were involved in setting the targets. The upshot as I saw it was that any fruit/veg is good, there should be more veg than fruit in the mix, that the 5 a day should be closer to 9 (but they thought people would think it was unobtainable), and that variety is a good thing (though I think they would group them by specific nutrients available rather than colour). I would say that the rules do not make any difference to our bodies, the rules are there to help us give our bodies what they need (fibre, protein, nutrients, carbohydrates, fats etc) and that the old adage of a little bit of everything seems to work for most people. I suspect there's a report on the whole thing (none of these recommendations happen without a report or three) somewhere on the government website, but finding it could be difficult.

Personally even knowing all this, I struggle to get to 5 a day, particularly fruit, so managing it with children, who may not want to eat what you give them is amazing.