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

k.o.d

mark88man wrote: »

I know bit of a dilemma isn't it.

My only difficulty with 12/12 (which is otherwise the best solution) is that it doesn't help me get to my 6000 total meals 50p or under!!. the challenge "91.3% 50p or under in a year" just don't have the same ring to it!!

You are doing well Mark, but as someone else stated, you have to factor in some treats otherwise the whole thing could go A over T, which would be a shame as you have more willpower than I do.
What you do actually have to work out is whether the 6000 meals was a bit over-optimisitic and factor in treats to keep you happy but on-track.

phizzimum

JCS1 wrote: »

How about crediting £3 from grocery budget to your entertainment budget? You could then put 6/6 @ 50p on your grocery.

genius! :j

weezl74

boredofbeingathome wrote: »

If i remember rightly Mark- Weezl used to have a treat budget, and i think you should to. That way you can justly budget and have a few treats.

It must be difficult with extension going on at the moment as well.

indeedy Bob we do have a 'fun' budget which is for entertainment, drinks out, treats. The odd steak night out at the harvester sure made us more able to face those nettles and lentils

At the moment we each have £50 a month for the odd film, me to go to mum's groups, a magazine...day trip somewhere.... the odd fish and chip supper....

DH gave all of his this month to Haiti :A. So now I am buying his treats out of mine :rotfl:

misscousinitt

mummyroysof3 wrote: »

would i beable to make this without the orange zest(have orange juice in) and without the pumpkin seeds?

many thanks x

The juice is important as there isn't much liquid, but you can do without the zest.

As far as the pumpkin seeds are concerned - I forgot to put them in once and its wasn't detremental to the recipe.

Hope this helps...hope you enjoy it.

A

x

boredofbeingathome

weezl74 wrote: »

indeedy Bob we do have a 'fun' budget which is for entertainment, drinks out, treats. The odd steak night out at the harvester sure made us more able to face those nettles and lentils

At the moment we each have £50 a month for the odd film, me to go to mum's groups, a magazine...day trip somewhere.... the odd fish and chip supper....

DH gave all of his this month to Haiti :A. So now I am buying his treats out of mine :rotfl:

I think that is a really good idea.:D I don't have a treats budget myself- but i am always invited to quizz nights and the like. I turned them down as i didn't want to spend out on drinks or round buying. Plus last time we won and they didn't split the prize:mad: It was a meat hamper too:o The person picked it up and said there wasn't enough for everyone ( 5 in the team) but most of the answers were mine- so i haven't also gone in a fit of pique as well:o And they have lost every week since.:rotfl:

mummyroysof3

misscousinitt wrote: »

The juice is important as there isn't much liquid, but you can do without the zest.

As far as the pumpkin seeds are concerned - I forgot to put them in once and its wasn't detremental to the recipe.

Hope this helps...hope you enjoy it.

A

x

thanks, ill give it a try tomorrow x

mark55man

well no dilemma today - just come back from a lovely Haggis Meal out with some friends who went to Scotland once. so that's a treat and a 6/6 <50p :rotfl:

breakfast good as normal - lunch boxes were boiled eggs and salad - with my 6p eggs meeting budget was a doddle - when they were 16p it was a bit tight with 2, and I ended debated if I could give a half boiled egg - sad

no buried treasure inthe garden - or if there was its now under concrete!! got my first bill due end of next week as they will back at ground level - not sure if 50p for lunch will be as motivating a target when I just had to spend £6000

will try some more recipes - promise : but Saturday is mainly for sleeping I think as had two big deadlines this week from separate customers who both expect 100% of my effort - mmmm, nice. Made it though, but was bit tough 4-5 hours kip is OK once in a while, but 4 nights on the bounce - ughhh.

BigMummaF

mark88man wrote: »

thanks for the support team. need some advice - today was a birthday in the house, and there was a huge demand for a take out - to which I succumbed.

so I don't know whether to count that as 6 under 50p (because I use a different budget for that) or 0 out of 6 (because the takeout cost way more than £3 !!)

so I'll take your advice on that !! - broadly means I will either be 12/18 or 18/18, as lunch and breakfast were on track

Perhaps take everyone's birthdays out of the equation or allow the 50p per person as usual & 'ignore' the extra? Becoming a single parent to three when the eldest was not quite 10 & the bubb just six, I decided to let the birthday-er choose what we had for our main meal that day, & we all had to eat it without fuss SIZE=1]some hope![/SIZE because I couldn't justify hosting a party Sometimes it was soup & hot dogs & others a roast, but not that often was a take-away asked for. Even then I scoured freezer sections for 'ready kebabs' & '30 second ranch-sauce burgers' first & suggested we hire a video or something with the 'saved' money...

Anyhooz, not sure that I can claim total credit for inventing this particular nugget but it feels like I did Hope you like it...
Cube potato into dice-sized pieces & par-boil till just going soft; drain well.
Chop bacon, slice onion & stir thru potato in a roasting tin.
Spray with oil; into hot oven for approx 15min then stir & spray again.
Cook for further 5min or so.

We had this with the very tail end of the cooked chicken & peas n sweetcorn & it was yum-yum-mm A definite repeater & I'll put the unmentionable yellow stuff on top next time, probably just before serving, but I didn't tell you that, right!:rotfl:

mark55man

Reporting back for Thursday 28th, Friday 29th and Saturday 30th January - Will try and go back to daily after this...

Summary - 47/48 meals 50p or under
Summary Total - 489/534 = 91.6% = Target 91.3%

Breakfast: 50p or under (18/18)

Lunch: 50p or under (17/18)
(Exception was me today - needed to use up pork fillets, (2.20 for 4 from Lidl) and had a whole one while DS2 had a half with Noodles and the other half with carbonara later)

Supper: 50p or under (12/12)
28th - Pizza @ Dominos - Using Other Budget so claiming 0/0)
29th - Burn's supper @ Friends - 6/6
30th - Spaghetti Carbonara (Egg & Cheese sauce) (6/6)

mark55man

Just about to start going through my Grocery spends for the month - my GC challenge was £550, and I will be well within that, however it is looking like there is more snacking going on - leftovers getting eaten, and a few cookies and chocolates over the odds, so I will be quite away over the £270 50p a meal would cost .

I will give a full breakdown here, coz its only once a month a I think it will give a better feeling for what the house eats on a 24x7 basis

report back soon