what do you think my weeks shopping list

Rachie_B

what about making more mince dishes? instead of "cooked" dinners with the meat? which you seem to have,served with veg / chips

bolognese,lasagne,chilli etc and bulking out the mince with oats / veggies etc??? serve with pasta / rice ,really cheap and wont need to buy bags of each ,each week

other "cheap" ideas are quiche,could have meat in there for the OH bacon with whatever else youve got in

same again for omelette

or like mentioned above you can get a whole chicken cheaply and this will last for a few meals,a curry ,pasta dish,roast dinner ,sarnies etc

Rachie_B

as for the pizzas the 30p value ones arent very nice / nutritous anyway ,to make your own base doesnt cost much and you can add whatever toppings you like

value tuna and sweetcorn is my sons fave !

flapjacks last a week or so in tupperware,or can batch bake and freeze some

Essex-girl_2

Earwig - I too used to drink coke - I loved it and I still do but I gave it up as I knew it would cause me to have Type 2 Diabetes one day (my Dad has it). It was hard work the first week but now Im ok with out it - I still get tempted but I am able to resist it and beleive me I am not known for my will power. I also used to buy the cans as would end up throwing a 1/4 of a bottle away. Perhaps you could try and cut down gradually, as well as saving money just think what it will do to your health also.

I can only confirm what the others have said - get a Potato Ricer - I got mine from Lakeland and they are fab - no more lumpy mash. We have now gone from having mash occasionly to having it prob one a week and often with different variations - such as cheese and bacon mash.

Good Luck

moggins

I must have the only DH who insists on lumpy mash then He says it tastes like wallpaper paste when there is no texture to it

I agree that you are spending a lot of money on chops etc. If you can find a place where you can get them cheaply from then that isn't too bad (my local market does 5lb for a fiver) but if you are buying them at supermarket prices then there's where a lot of the money is going.

If you really don't know how to cook, then start slowly, try a spaghetti bolognese, it's so simple that you can't really go wrong. Try making homemade soups so people don't need so much meat. My DH is a complete carnivore too but I still manage to sneak in one meatless meal every fortnight or so.

You can buy a whole chicken for around £2, you can make one of those last two meals at least, cut the breasts off first and use those to make homemade chicken nuggets and the slow cook the rest and strip the meat off to use for a curry etc.

wigginsmum

How about baking with margarine rather than butter? It comes out much nicer and spreads easily to be creamed into the sugar.

Chell

If you want to make cheap/easy pizzas then use muffins. I got a pack of 6 reduced to 20p in Asda today, Slice them in half and top with tomatoe puree, cheese, dried herbs and whatever veg toppings that you like. BAke them in the oven till the cheese melts/browns.

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi Hun

Your meal plan sounds delish! I do think however that you could cut down on the frozen ready foods and make them yourself quite easily;)

Weekly meals we have are things like:

Roast dinners
Curry & Rice
Sausage & Mash
Meat, spuds and veg
Sausage Cassarole
Spagbol & Garlic Bread
Toad In Hole, Spuds and veg
Egg, Chips and Beans
Shepards Pie and veg/salad
HM Fishpie & Veg
Lasgana, chips/wedges and salad
Stews in SC
Chilli Con Carne
Breaded Fish, Mash and Veg
HM Pie, spuds and veg
Baked Spuds and fillings
Omelette (sp)

Our lunches-things like:

Soup & Bread
Baked Spud and topping
Left Overs
Beans On Toast
Omellette (sp)
Sarnies/rolls (ham, cheese, tuna, etc)
Egg On Toast
DD has a packed lunch daily

Breakfasts things like:

Cereal/Porridge
Toast
Egg On Toast
Bacon/Sausage Sarnie/Roll
Yogurt and fruit

I dont like bread made in the BM but like the pizza base dough:D A roast chicken can easily do 2 meals. If at home a baked spud or beans on toast is ideal.

Spuds are normally served as roasts, mash, boiled, new potatoes or sauteed in butter (yummy). We have veg most nights and are normally seasonal to get best prices or if we can get the posher veg reduced.

My OH goes to a couple of supermarkets a couple of times a month and we buy most of our meat and fish when yellow stickered and is mainly organic/free range and get it at 25% of normal cost price.

There is 3 of us and we spend about £30 a week on food/groceries etc.

HTH

PP
xx

Katgoddess

What about squash instead of fizzy drinks? Buy a bottle of economy fizzy water (20p) to make an occasional change from flat. It's more summery what with wimbledon!

Potato wedges are a nice alternative to chips.

Well done you have made a good start by meal planning. Next step is to follow everyones advise and start cooking from scratch and in bulk.

Good luck!

raeble

earwig wrote:

flapjacks again how do you make it how long do they keep

This is my latest flapjack recipe which I got from a book. Tesco do/did value oats at 45p per kilo which was the cheapest I could get my hand on at the time.
Flapjacks
Makes 8
50g margarine
1 rounded tbsp golden syrup
65g dark brown sugar
115g oats
pinch of salt

For a spicier version add a teaspoon of ground ginger to the melted butter. Personally I always add some allspice.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4. Line and grease a shallow 20cm/8inch round cake tin. Place the marg, golden syrup and sugar in a pan over a low heat. Cook, stiring until melted and combined. Or if you are lazy like me you put it in the microwave in a deep mixing bowl for a minute or so until the marg is melted. (much less washing up).

Remove from the heat and add the oats and salt. Stir the mixture to blend. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Place in the centre of the oven and bake until golden brown - 20 - 25 minutes. Leave in the tin until cool enough to handle, then unmould and cut into wedges while still hot. Store in an airtight container.

Now I think they should last at least a week, possibly longer if you have a good airtight container like lock & lock. Unfortunately I never manage to resist eating them. They barely last a week with me. I think the longest I've managed is five days and that was when I made double the batch!

fizzel81

flannels make fantastic baby wipes and can be washed and reused many times, wilkinsons do them for 25p each of try a cheap fleece blanket and cut your own wipes from that, a couple of quid at the most