what do you think my weeks shopping list

earwig

hi i agree with you and iam going to try today i am only going to be 3 six pack instead of 7 and see how i go i will also by a bottle of lemon squase with fizzwater to see if i like this and cut down on my coke i realy dont think you are harping on at all and i can see where you are coming from i really am useless at this sort of thing and at the age of 33 you think i would have got the hang of it

but the truth is i have been spoilt when it comes to food shopping all i ever do is go to the shop buy what i want then hand over a card and come home its now hitting home that our food bill is hugeand thats why i have come on here so you lot can tell me what i am doing wrong so i can save on food bill so extra money can come of my debt and get this famley into some kinda of normal shopping routene

i have got better just ask lynzpower i used to be in the coop evert day spending between ten and twenty pounds attime now i only do one weeky shop but im still spending to much

my freind hit the nail on the head when she loked in my cupboard and said its like you have your christmas food shop in here every week what etra do you by at christmas and i was like everything so i do need help as she was spot on our weekly shop is the same as a christmas shop only its not christmas every week

wigginsmum

Earwig, I was exactly the same. We spent £500/month on food for two of us, mainly ready meals and takeaways and exotic nibbly bits. Now we spend £120 in Lidl and Costco and I cook from scratch, stretching it a long way with fruit and veg. I find it very satisfying and almost nostalgic to be so frugal The key is planning - draw up a weekly meal planner and stick to it. It avoids that 5pm panic trip to the shop to get dinner in.

brokenwings

well with your DESIRE/NEED/WANT to change - youre half way there

good luck! : )

Floss

Slice your cold beef thinly & use for sandwiches with a bit of mustard, horseradish sauce & salad.
or use leftovers in a curry - reheat for about 15-20 mins to be sure it's heated through.
you can make leftovers curry with beef, lamb or chicken, sweet & sour is good with chicken or pork.

raeble

earwig wrote:

i have just been to the butcher and so far i have spent 16.00 i brought one beef joint one large rump steak two pork chops 4 lamb chops 2 chicken breast(instead of the chicken nibbles )will try and get a souther freid coating for them in asda and two pounds of sauges to do the kids and there freinds hotdogs for there tea tomorrow is that good or bad price wise iam off to asda later and will update you on what i spent there thanks

When you get this take a note of the ingredients on the packet - in future you should be able to make your own southern fried coating much cheaper. You could even type southern fried chicken recipe into google and that should bring up some recipes - like these
http://www.foodtv.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_22331,00.html
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=15549

Littlemiss-lotsofdebt

Earwig

I used to be just like you - I couldn't cook mash to save my life and used to buy ready prepared mash, but my god, it is soooooooo expensive!! I've now mastered mash, and I used to pay between 99p and £1.50 depending on where I shopped for pre prepared mash and it wasn't always great. I now buy 2.5kgs of potatoes and use them for mash, roasties, jacket pots and cheese and potatoe pie and it only costs me £1.00 for them.

Definitely worth a go - I was crap at mash, trust me, my OH was practically picking the lumps out of his teeth at one point!!!

Good luck xxx

scholt

raeble wrote:

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!

I have just put my flap jacks in the oven. Can't wait! Thank again

GardenMillie

Hi, meal plan does sound lovely but quite a few ready made things. I'm with PennyPincher how about pasta and sauce one night, or a curry (you can make nice mild ones for the whole family). I always bulk out stews, currys, chilli etc with loads of veg it's healthy, makes the meat go much further and as a singleton saves me cooking veg separately in another pan so saves on the washing up.:T

Happy cooking.

lynzpower

I made some flapjacks with this recipe yesterday and and added some dessicated coconut lurking at the back of the cupbaord, some chopped glace cherries and a handful of dark chocolate chopped into chips.

OH took 4 with his lunch today :rotfl: