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

boredofbeingathome

mark88man wrote: »

hi Bob. - yes actually recycled it from another forum - I'm so MSE I even reuse things that are virtual in the first place. amusingly some other guy had rambo squirrel - and we had a bit of a gag wbout whose was [STRIKE]harder[/STRIKE] tougher

I know what you mean about kidney/liver - not my first choice usually - but once in a while - its cheap, earthy, filling and warm

Ooh a hard nut Squirrel:D :rotfl:

Well there has been a lot of press recently regarding older fads and using cheaper cuts of the animal and the offal. So i think it is valid and very nutritional- i just don't. ( i think it was the way my mum used to cook it..barf:o)

rubytuesday

A lovely cheap receipe is spagetti with lentil and red pepper sauce. Fry onion and garlic and red pepper, add handful or two of lentils, tin of tomatoes, dash of tomatoe puree if you have it, pinch of sugar, stock or water bring to boil then simmer until lentils are cooked. Sorry don't have exact quantitys do it by eye. Of course it needs some grated cheese sprinkled over the top! Lol

mark55man

Reporting back for Sunday 24th January

Another day in the garden and garage - found a box of stuff untouched from when we moved (15 years ago) :o. Had a lovely roast today - so didn't make target for supper - everyone was hungry after a busy day, so portion control was relaxed !!

Today's Summary - 11/18 :eek: meals 50p or under
Summary Total - 389/434 = 89.6% = Target 91.3%

Breakfast: 50p or under (6/6) (OJ/AJ's all round)
OP - ASDA SP Fruit & Fibre
OH - Lidl Crunchie Oats
DD1, DD2, DS1, DS2: Toast

Lunch: 50p or under (5/6)
OP : Rest of liver & bacon - coarsely chopped on small slice HM WM Bread
OH : Portion 1/2 Colcannon from yestday = 18p
DD1 : Out
DD2 : 1/2 portion quorn cottage pie 50p
DS1 : 1/2 Portion colcannon and 1/2 quorn cottage pie 50p = 68p
DS2: Sweetcorn Ham and Noodles

Supper: 50p or under (0/6) :eek:

Roast Dinner:
Veg : 1 kilo Lidl BR spuds = 40p 1 bulb lidl garlic (39p for 4) = 10p 450g SP Broccoli 43p, 1/3 bag peas 40p, veggie gravy 20p + 1 sprig rosemary 10p & glug olive oil = 20p = 1.83 for 6 or 31p each

OP, OH, DS2, DS1 Friend = roast chicken (1.8 kilo @ lidl) = 3.70. Of this I estimate we ate 2/3ds (most of 1 breast 1 leg and 1 wing remaining) = 2.48 = 61p each for chicken + 31p for veg stuffed + 1 lidl onion each (5p) = 97p each
DD1, DD2, DS1 = LM Veggie sausage 88p (1/2 price at Sainsbury) = 29p each + 31p for veg = 60p

mark55man

Just posted an update in the first post. Broadly it says

EDIT 24/01/2010 - Still going string - lots of recipes in the thread - and a bit of banter. Main lessons:
* Top Lesson: portion control - if you serve less it costs less
* Next Lesson: shopping - if you buy it cheap you can serve more or do more
* Reminder: Unless its just you - you do need to check if everyone is still happy
* 5 - a - day: Its easier than you think to get extra veg in - carrots are great for this
* Home Made Bread: My kids hated brown bread until they had HM bread - now they hate sliced
* Relax: Once in a while you can go over budget for a family meal but don't blow it and order caviar
* Preciseness: Most stuff gets used in whole packs, that's easy to cost, other stuff is done by look and feel not on the scales
* Support: Everyone on here has been great thanks to all, even those with whom heated debates have been had
* Snacking: Possibly more snacking going on (even before the challenge) than OH and I realised - will be looking at that more closely now we are the swing of things.

mark55man

Reporting back for Monday 25th January

Building work started today - already there is a pile of earth on top of the front lawn that used to be under the back lawn. And what a pile, archeologists have discovered lost cities in smaller mounds. But food presses on

Today's Summary - 17/18 meals 50p or under
Summary Total - 406/452 = 89.8% = Target 91.3%

Breakfast: 50p or under (6/6) (OJ/AJ's all round)
OP - Lidl Muesli
OH - Lidl Crunchie Oats
DD1, DD2, DS1, DS2: Cereal

Lunch: 50p or under (5/6)
OP : Tesco Chicken Salad (leftover from OH craft) - £2
OH : Tesco Brocolli & Stilton 50p
DD1, DS1 : Quorn chicken slices 24p, HM White bread (hint of rosemary) 4p, LIDL tomatoes 5 at 2p=10p, apple 10p = 48p
DD2 : Quorn chicken slices 24p, HM White bread (hint of rosemary) 4p, Carrot = 6p, apple 10p = 44p
DS2 : Ham Thin slices 24p, HM White bread (hint of rosemary) 4p, Carrot = 6p, apple 10p = 44p
Supper: 50p or under (6/6)

OP, OH: Coq-a-leekie Of remaining 1.22 worth of chicken I used 1/2 (carcass and breast meat, and left 1 full leg and 1 wing)= 61p for chicken + 30p leek and onions + 400g tesco basmati rice (64p) + vegetable stock (10p) = £1.65 + 1/2 lidl sweet potato 65p = 33p = £1.98 for 4 portions = 49p each

DD1, DD2, DS1, DS2 = Baked potato (1.25kilo at 40p kilo) 50p - cheese (120g) 75p and beans 29p = 1.54 = 39p each

shanks77

Popped back in for a look and am very impressed with how well you are doing with this challange. Thanks to others for some yummy sounding recipes looking forward to trying some of them not sure if ex will enjoy the pate but might not tell him its veggie till its too late:rotfl:
Sorry i dont seem to be able to come up with any recipes that are more interesting or cheaper than the ones posted but am quite happy to steal other peoples hard work and claim it as my own (to sooooooooo many people who have never heard of Martin:eek:) how can that be!!!!!!!!
Anyway will try and find a meal i can post and maybe someone can steal that lol

VenusFlytrap_2

Hey Mark

Have read all of this thread over the past week looking for inspiration as I try to cut down my own budget a bit, you're doing great with so many mouths to feed, look forward to following your challenge and picking up more tips!

I'm new to all this stuff, but one recipe I can knock up pretty cheaply that you might find useful for your brood is spag bol, you can use quorn/sofa mince instead of beef so the veggies could eat it too - I'm a big meat eater but prefer it made with quorn mince! Anyway here's the recipe, I've doubled the quantities so you should get 8 portions (and I'm guessing if you got the soya mince for a good price, you could do it for 50p a head (£4 total) as it's all veg):

Chop 2 onions and a few cloves of garlic
Fry gently til soft in a pan with a little oil
Add 500g quorn mince and Italian seasoning/dried herbs to taste (I also use chilli powder)
Grate 2 large carrots and add to the pot (bulks out the mince and makes it go further:))
Add 1 or 2 tins plum tomatoes, chopped.
Finally a squirt of tomato puree, a dash of red wine if you have some open, give it all a good stir and simmer for about 20-25 minutes, then serve with pasta.

I make this all the time and it's lovely - also use the bolognaise sauce in my lasagne - maybe that could be on the menu at yours too for under 50p a head if you made the white sauce yourself - I always buy the stuff in jars but I think it's pretty simple, just milk, flour, butter and a bit of cheese.

Anyway HTH and good luck with your challenge!

maltesers_2

M&S have frozen kipper fillets on BOGOF at the moment at 1.19 per 200g pack. This is 60p per pack which will serve 2 at 30p each. Can be served for breakfast or made into pate (mash with a bit of soft butter and squeze of lemon) to go on toast for lunch, or chopped and mixed in salad. Very nutritious and cheap. Hope this helps.

ellas9602

Hi Mark
I've been following since the start - well done!
Just a couple of sandwich filling suggestions for you.
My fussy teenagers, at varying stages of thier vegetarianism like 'cheese savoury'.
Its a sandwich filling in greggs apparently its basically grated veg and cheese mixed with mayo.
I make a big pot of it and keep it in the fridge.
I use carrot, cabbage, onion, courgette, and CHEESE probably a little fattening but not bad served in HM bread with some salad leaves.
They also really like Houmous (easy and cheap for Hm version too) served with grated cheese and cucumber in wraps (wraps are also easy and cheap HM)
Can I ask how old your lot are? My girls are 13,15 & 18 and somedays I'm just glad they've eaten something!

NJW69

One meal I make cheaply but that is a favourite is corned beef hash (the corned beef goes in at the end so you could serve it to the veggies before you add). 5lb bag of potatoes chopped into chunks and boiled with two onions and two chopped carrots. Boil all until soft and then at the end add the corned beef diced. Season well and add a squirt of brown sauce and gravy ganules. Really tasty. I serve with green cabbage and beetroot and HM crusty bread. Feeds four with enough left for another 1-2 lunches etc. Could be fried up for breakfast. We don't eat much fish but I reckon you could make it with flaked fish as well.

Cost wise potatoes 99p (cheaper if you buy in bulk), onions 10p, carrots 10p, corned beef 80p, seasonings minimal, bread 20p, cabbage 10p (29p each in Lidl), beetroot 50p. Just about under the 50p if you count the leftovers.