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

BigMummaF

Kimitatsu wrote: »

.... should be fresh fruit and veg included....

I'm probably wrong, but last time I looked tinned & frozen fruit & veg counts as 'healthy' & count toward 5-a-day too.
I have to take umbrage at the disparaging remarks surrounding 'value' products. I do a lot of label reading & have been pleasantly surprised to see a good selection are at least on an equal to the 'better-for-you' ranges & in some cases, exceed them! MrS are doing fruit in juice now which is a big help for us.
While I'm at it, I also go for reduced salt/ sugar/ fat [& combinations thereof!] options wherever possible, but the chances are you get it low in one but not the other/s :doh:& there is a huge amount of evidence to support the humble beans on toast being the most comprehensive meal to tick all good food groups.

mark88man wrote: »

Thanks - unfortunately no morrison's around for 30 miles - but will keep an eye out.

someone mentioned buying dried vege mince from holland&barrett - need to check that out

I am limited for choice around here too & envy those with farm shops, butchers & asian markets close by Like everything else on these boards & this thread in particular, you can only work with what's available & I admire the effort you are putting in to make this work for YOU.
MrS used to do the dried soya--presumably still do as I've not had to get any for a while--& I sometimes sneak some into the mince when I remember. I've got very good with red lentils & pearly barley as they don't need to be pre-soaked & actually like the taste of pintos when I remember to do them :whistle:

poohspals wrote: »

Anyone done porridge with milk in the slow cooker? I've done it with water but its not as nice. I never have time to do porridge on a morning so found the slow cooker recipe great.

As far as I'm aware, I have no scottish heritage but I love my porridge made with just water AND I don't add anything to it It's easy enough to do in the microwave & the 'recipe' is the same; 1 measure of oats to 2 of water, keep stirring till it's as thick as you like. Maybe 5mins on the cooker top--but that's not full power--& 2mins med high in the microwave.

I couldn't find a chicken I liked the look of last week so bought two packs of value chicken legs. We had them roasted on Sunday with one left over, & I put all the bones to bubble for a couple of hours in the pot I'd cooked the veg in. Yesterday in went chunky carrot & potato, some frozen sweetcorn, a couple of rashers of bacon chopped up & the meat from the remaining leg & let it all simmer away. Pup had the majority of the 'gravy' with his share & we had a filling plate of hot food that the Offspring actually enjoyed. They're not big on soups & casseroles so this was a real :jfor me & we got all the goodness from the veggie water & delicious chicken stock.

Gigervamp

You can also buy the dried veggie mince from Tescos. It's in their wholefoods section with all the dried beans and stuff.

poppy-glos

Maxjessdru wrote: »

Hi Mark

Congratulations so far - keep up the good work! One recipe you may like (everyone I have given it to have loved it) was a soup that JO did on his pre-Christmas programme. It is a spicy squash and rice soup. Basic recipe is blitz some chilli, ginger, lemongrass and onion until a paste and fry off. Chop the butternut squash into cubes, put into the pan and add stock. When the squash is getting soft, add a large handful (or so!) of rice and then add a tin of coconut milk. Delicious and very warming and filling. I see you shop at Lidls so six portions will easily come under 50p each (it makes loads). As I did not have all the ingredients fresh, I used a squeeze of chilli puree and a teaspoon of ground ginger powder. I also used coconut powder (cheaper than coconut milk and you just mix with water) which would make it even cheaper.

hi, i made butternut squash curry soup last night, with a tin of coconut milk in, made about 8 portions and cost about £4.50. Where do people get their coconut milk from? also, the coconut powder, where is that from?

baileysbattlebus

BigMummaF wrote: »

I'm probably wrong, but last time I looked tinned & frozen fruit & veg counts as 'healthy' & count toward 5-a-day too.
I have to take umbrage at the disparaging remarks surrounding 'value' products. I do a lot of label reading & have been pleasantly surprised to see a good selection tare at least on an equal to the 'better-for-you' ranges & in some cases, exceed them! MrS are doing fruit in juice now which is a big help for us.

You're right - 5 a day can be fresh, frozen, tinned (try and buy in fruit juice or water - no added salt or sugar) or dried.

150ml of fruit juice - counts as one portion - and no matter how much you have it can only be counted once - that's because fruit juice lacks the fibre of whole fruit.

Smoothies can be 2 portions a day - depends how they are made.

Pulses and beans - counts as 1 a day regardless of consumption - they lack some of the nutrients in other fruit and veg.

Fruit and veg in ready meals, bought pasta sauces and soups all count - but you need to aware of the fat/salt/sugar content.

If I have porridge for breadfast - I make it with water put a drop of milk on the top and and couple of spoons or raisins or currants - it counts as one of the 5 a day.

today our grandson has and will be having:

breakfast - 2 slices toast/butter/jam + medium banana

packed lunch - pitta filled with ham, lettuce and cucumber - 1 carton pure apple juice - 1 cored and sliced pear (won't eat them whole!!) and a biscuit.

After school - childminders - fruit or toast

dinner - 2 sausages in onion and mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots and peas (we will all be having this tonight)

Sometimes after dinner he will have some tinned fruit with a bit of yoghurt poured over the top.

Even beans on toast is one of 5 a day.

Sometimes we have 5 a day, sometimes we have more and sometimes we have less - I think it's all about balance. If you have a fairly balanced diet does it really matter if you have more one day than the next?

kafkathecat

This lunchtime I made the pumpkin and rice soup with sweet potato instead of pumpkin and that worked well.
I use blocks of creamed coconut to make coconut milk, I'm sure that must work out cheaper as it is about 40p a block in Mr A.s. I just add some chopped coconut cream to the pan until it looks/tastes how I want it to.
K.

Queen_of_NO_MATTER_WHAT

pipkin71 wrote: »

That sounds really nice, Maxjessdru.

I would definitely give this a try as I love finding new things to do with butternut squash [one of my favourite veg ]

Mine too, I love it

Maxjessdru

Hi poppy-glos

The coconut powder is actually a Blue Dragon brand that I bought in my local farm shop (2 for £1!!). You mix the powder with warm water and just stir - you can make it really thick like a cream or more water for a milk (50g to 200ml water). As they come in 160g packs they are really great value as I found I was frequently chucking away half the can of coconut milk - with this you can just make up as much as you need. Hope this helps.

Kimitatsu

BigMummaF wrote: »

I'm probably wrong, but last time I looked tinned & frozen fruit & veg counts as 'healthy' & count toward 5-a-day too.
I have to take umbrage at the disparaging remarks surrounding 'value' products. I do a lot of label reading & have been pleasantly surprised to see a good selection are at least on an equal to the 'better-for-you' ranges & in some cases, exceed them! MrS are doing fruit in juice now which is a big help for us.
While I'm at it, I also go for reduced salt/ sugar/ fat [& combinations thereof!] options wherever possible, but the chances are you get it low in one but not the other/s :doh:& there is a huge amount of evidence to support the humble beans on toast being the most comprehensive meal to tick all good food groups.

.

Nope you are quite right as baileysbattlebus post points out. In MY experience though I deal with a lot of vulnerable groups and my point was that fruit and veg should be 5 portions a day (and if it is averaged out over the week then there is no issue with that), many of my clients think that fruit shoot counts!

I have to say I dont think that I ever disparaged value brands but if I did then I apologise - as you have said it depends very much as to what you buy, and if you are a smart and savvy shopper then you can do quite well. My initial point which seems to have been lost in the melee was that as long as you are having a balanced diet that includes protein, fruit and veg and carbs without an overload of fat, sugar or salt then the cost up to a point should be irrelevant - when you are trying to cut back and using a lot of processed junk in order to eat cheaply then thats where IMO it falls down. As someone who manages teams of money advisors my original point was the no-one should HAVE to live on this amount of money a day because there are checks and balances in place to ensure that there is enough money to provide a balanced diet.

Its not my place to comment on Mark's diet, I think some of his ideas are great, my comments were directed to the wider population who may read this thread and have differing dietary needs.

I hope that finally puts my comments to bed :rolleyes: Mark I wish you all the best in your challenge, and I am really pleased to see how Nicci's thread is progressing with her good life bartering I certainly have had no wish to derail the thread I just wanted to make others aware that they did not have to budget this amount when there is help available.

mark55man

Hi there - catching up with correspondence before I do the numbers.

pipkin - I definitely have heeded advice and recipes already posted and look forward to many more over the next 353 days or so - not that I am counting. everyone is equal on a forum (but some may be more equal than others)

BigMumma - yes the part boned breasts looked great on the plate - like a real roast - just did not quite have the big silver tray with the sunday roast feeling to it

Gigervamp - Thanks will check out next time I do online order. Love your kitty avatar

baileysbattlebus - yep - we do try and balance, and there is a fair bit of fruit for snacking that seems to disappear with alarming frequency. that may be my next target - but just while we're getting the hang I am only worrying about cost of main meals (as snacking will happen whatever the cost of the main meal)

maxjessdru - love coconut - did 6 week backpacking in the far east when (much) younger

kimitatsu - I wouldn't go so far as to say that I have carefully investigated all my labels, but I don't buy anything that's too obviously rubbish - eg value Tuna just equals more "recovered" type feel, value noodles = noodles without advertising - value porridge = likewise. I do appreciate your comments :T and would welcome anyone's contribution if it helps me do nicer cheaper healthier

Squash & Rice soup - yum yum - will be trying that out soon - have a squash and load of rice - may not chilli it up too much, but other oriental flavours sound nice

mark55man

So reporting back for Tuesday 12th January

School and lunchboxes for all

Today's Summary - 16/18 meals 50p or under
Summary Total - 198/216 = 91.6%

Breakfast: 50p or under (6/6)
OP - Fruit and fibre
OH - Lidl Crunchy Oat Cereal
DD1, DD2, DS1 - Cereal
DS2 - Breakfast club - 50p

Lunch: 50p or under (6/6)
OP, DS1, DS2 - Tuna & Sweetcorn on HM Wholemeal = (50p + 33p + 10p bread + 10p Mayonnaise) = 34p each + apple 10p = 44p each
OH - Nairn Oatcakes £1 for 24 - Oatcakes (12p)+ 1/4 pot Houmous (99p) lidl = 30p
DD1 - 2 boiled eggs (20), lettuce (10) bread (5) apple (10) 45p
DD2 - Egg Mayonnaise 1 boiled egg (10), bread (5) 2 apple (20) 35p

Supper: 50p or under (4/6)
OH OP DS2 - Lidl Paella (Pre challenge Purchase) £2, split large/large/small = 80p, 80p 40p
DD1, DD2, DS1 - Lidl Pizza 1/2 each (1/2 left over) 49.7p