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

magicbunn2106

this is a great post and have just read all 18 pages....... first dozen pages were a bit sketchy but once someone had dissapeared it was back to being brilliant. I thought i was good at 'value' meals but I feel such a novice compared to all of you. keep up the good teaching. I bought the quorn from morrisons last night. the best time i find is to visit morrisons around 1/2 hour before they due to close. we got packs of bacon and ready meals all reduced to 9p. WOW !!!! i took the lot. 9p ....... i cant argue with that at 9p. always try and sneak a visit in at the end of the day now.

MileySmiley_2

I make toasted sandwiches in my george foreman grilling machine thingy, just the same as using a sandwich maker but i can cook 4 at one time, saves on space just having one gadget that does a variety of things.

jennyjelly

MileySmiley wrote: »

I make toasted sandwiches in my george foreman grilling machine thingy, just the same as using a sandwich maker but i can cook 4 at one time, saves on space just having one gadget that does a variety of things.

I was going to buy a panini press some time ago but then discovered the GF will do exactly the same and saved myself £30. Result! We eat then all the time, they are so quick and easy.

I love the GF, it's so versatile, but I hate the way it squashes sausages.

mark55man

So reporting back for Sunday 10th January

Lazyday today, NSD & just pottering. DD1 made cookies and crispy cake for everyone. Difficult decision today around what to do with stuff in the freezer that I bought before the challenge - namely Aunt Bessie Sunday roast stuff. Decided to take it on the chin as it cost what it cost and that was more than 50p for a meal

Today's Summary - 13/18 meals 50p or under
Summary Total - 165/180 = 91.7%

Breakfast: 50p or under (6/6)
OP - Fruit & Fibre (Lidl) + 25p
OH - Lidl Crunchy Oat Cereal - 30p
Kids - Assorted Cereal judging by plates left over
Lunch: 50p or under (1/6) :mad::mad:
DS1 Out
OP, OH, DS2 + DD2's friend- Chicken Roast (2 partboned chicken breasts - 2.99 for 7 (1.3 KG) from Lidl - 84p split 4 ways 21p each),
DD1, DD2 1.20 quorn chicken fillets
Aunt Bessies carrot swede Mash 1.60
Aunt Bessies Potatoes 1.66
Aunt Bessies yorkshires free (cheapest byy 2 get 3 free)
Gravy = 10p
Total = £5.40 for my 5 + 1 = 6 = 90p each
Note: With doing my own roasties, carrots and peas I think I can get this down to £2.90 for 6 - (1kg potatoes 50p, 1/2kg carrots 30p, 1/3 pack peas 40p - chicken £0.84 Quorn 90p (was generous today as pack needed used up) !!) = £2.94. Will have to miss on the yorkies :-(, will try next Sunday

Supper: 50p or under (6/6)
OP+OH: Red Lentil Soup with bacon - Thank you all for recipes - 1 pack lidl lardons 40p, 1/2 pack lentils 44p, 1 lidl leek 20p, = £1.04 for 4 portions = 26p each + bread 5p = 31p each
DD1, DD2, DS1, - 3x Egg (10p Medium Lidl) = 30p , 60% bag of Chips (750g Oven Chips from Lidl 60p ) 36p + 2xtins beans 58p = £1.24 for 3 = 31p
DS1 Friend, DS2 = 2x Egg (10p Medium Lidl) = 20p , 40% bag of Chips (750g Oven Chips from Lidl 60p ) 24p + 2x thin Sliced Ham 20p each = £.84 for 2 = 42p

mark55man

Just a heads up - I updated the first post in thread with the following. thought you might be interested in the lessons I am learning

EDIT: UPDATE especially for new readers. This thread was merged with another by nikki, at about the same time there was a heated debate around nutrition and cheapness and 5-a-day. Thus it gets a bit confusing around post #50 and a bit heated until about page 6. After that its fine - and please feel free to comment critically if you think I need it. Main lessons:

* It is doable, and it is focussing my mind on shopping and meal
* It is really helping focus on portion control
* Some start up issues with more expensive things bought before the challenge
* If any of us is absent I claim the meal (0p is less than 50p)
* If friends come round I count the cost of feeding them as well and average over 6 people
* After 10 days I am running at 91.6% or a bit ahead of target namely 165 meals from 180
* Excluding fruit/other things taken as snacks does confuse the issue, but its not any more than pre challenge so I am leaving it out
* In first 10 days we have eaten 100 pieces of fruit 10litres fruit juice 2kg of peas and 1Kg sweetcorn

MushyPeas

Hi Mark, well done you're doing really well! Just wondering, could you make your own yorkshire's, would that be cheaper?

I made a yummy chick pea and potato curry today which worked out at £0.25 per portion, not much more if you add rice to that I would have thought

Good luck with your challenge, I'm finding it an interesting read.

SunnyGirl

Just to say that I have been reading this thread with interest and I'm enjoying it very much, thanks.

We always have a roast lunch on Sundays and I always do yorkshire puds (mainly as a way of filling the boys up a bit more) so I'll think about what it costs and see if I can see where you could make any savings if you like? I probably won't be able to better your £3 per meal (I have a family of 6 too) but I like to do the maths on these things lol!

financially_gaga

Hi guys,

Firstly, Well done to OP, you are an inspiration :j

My thoughts really are around the ingredients we use for home cooked meals. I usually only use any type of supermarket for bread, milk etc and we buy the bulk of our ingredients from the indian supermarket type stores.

We're veggies so that obviously seems to help but by buying all dried lentils/beans/other pulses in bulk and from these stores means i do one big shop every 4 ish months then just buy fresh fruit and veg. I get these from the local market at the end of the day and usually get enough veg for £1 to last for 4 portions +, depending on who is eating!

For example, a 25kg bag of potatos is £3 and a 10 kg bag of onions is £1.50 in the indian shops and seem to last far longer than supermarket stuff. Flour is £5 for a 10kg bag (for making chapattis/naan bread etc) but i also use this flour for tortillas/flat breads etc.

I'm assuming you tried buying in bulk from diferent stores, but thought this might help the budget a bit!


Just a thought to

MushyPeas

financially_gaga wrote: »

For example, a 25kg bag of potatos is £3 and a 10 kg bag of onions is £1.50 in the indian shops and seem to last far longer than supermarket stuff. Flour is £5 for a 10kg bag (for making chapattis/naan bread etc) but i also use this flour for tortillas/flat breads etc.

Hiya financially_gaga, wow what good deals on food. Can I ask, do you freeze any onions or potatoes and if so, how? Also do you have any fab quick recipes for chapattis, naans etc.? I'm going to have to find myself a local Indian shop I think, thanks for the tips :T

nodwah

MileySmiley wrote: »

I make toasted sandwiches in my george foreman grilling machine thingy, just the same as using a sandwich maker but i can cook 4 at one time, saves on space just having one gadget that does a variety of things.

don't you find the melted cheese all runs out?:mad::rotfl:

I have to prop up the front of mine!