Fed up of spending £80 plus on shopping.

StrawberryYogurt

Thank you Mr Lahey!!! That really helps!! Your menu looks so yum, we love chicken in this house!

Mr_Lahey

StrawberryYogurt wrote: »

Thank you Mr Lahey!!! That really helps!! Your menu looks so yum, we love chicken in this house!

Me too, some of the meals are left overs from the day before and chicken can easily be substituted for turkey.
I used to have loads of beef but it is so fatty i cut much of it out.

jazzyjustlaw

samanthaneww2d wrote: »

I always buy reduced everything so I am lucky theres regularly cheese at my local supermarket which i buy and grate then freeze you would be surprised at how far this goes I also buy reduced milk and freeze as I make a lot of sauces for lasagne and pasta bakes etc.Do you go with a list of what you need after meal planning and buy it or is it flexible as to what is on offer?
I am no expert but we are spending about £160 a month by grit and determination and we are eating well but this is as I buy what is reduced and turn it into something .I batch cook loads and freeze to use later and take advantage of whoopsied fruit and veg I am vegetarian and the others get meat about three to four times a week usually curried or in a stew the rest of the time they eat veg lasagne/ veg chiili/ veg curry veg casserole/ omellettes/ frittata / veg rostis etc.

I am a veggie and we spend (2 adults) about £200 a month, would like to know how many of you there are and whether you have to take a work lunch as I am out of inspiration fed up of Quorn Turkey style sandwiches lol

Gigervamp

merlin68 wrote: »

The cat and dog food is seperate from that i get the big 15kg bags from csj which last 2 to 3 months for £18 each.

Ah right. I wondered because dog food can be very expensive and some people include that in their grocery budget. We also buy our dog food in 15 kilo bags and get the working dog crunch for about £15, although we had to get some at the weekend and noticed that Countrywide were selling another brand on special offer. It was £7.99 for 17 kilos. We picked up two bags and that will feed our lab for 2 months.

Also, our cats eat Felix tinned food and that's on offer at Lidl's at the moment-5 tins for £2.

Penelope_Penguin

merlin68 wrote: »

Please could I see your meal plans and a list of what you buy as I can never get my shopping under £80 a week and it is all homemade and value. I do not believe that anyone can feed their family healthily for less than this.

Why don;t you post your shopping list, with prices, and we can suggest where you can make savings

Penny. x

floss2

StrawberryYogurt wrote: »

.... I can get 3 meals from a whole chicken. I roast it on a Sunday, then strip it and I will use that for a pie and maybe a curry or stirfry later in the week...

Why don't you make stock for soup from the carcass - it'd give an extra meal

Gigervamp

jazzyjustlaw wrote: »

I am a veggie and we spend (2 adults) about £200 a month, would like to know how many of you there are and whether you have to take a work lunch as I am out of inspiration fed up of Quorn Turkey style sandwiches lol

Here's an alternative to quorn turkey style sandwich!

Cheese and bean wraps.

Drain and rinse a can of kidney beans and put in a bowl.
Grate some cheddar (not sure how much, I go by eye/taste!)
and add to the beans.
Finely slice a spring onion (or you can finely chop an ordinary onion, red would be good) and add to the beans and cheese.
Mix in a dollop of mayo. You want enough for the mix to hold together, but not swimming in it.
Add pepper if you like and you could also add a bit of cumin or fajita seasoning.

Get a wrap, warm it slightly so that when it's folded, it doesn't crack. Lay some shredded lettuce on the wrap and add some of the bean mix. Roll up and wrap in foil or clingfilm.
Continue until all the bean mix and wraps are used up.

These are really lovely!

samanthaneww2d

jazzyjustlaw wrote: »

I am a veggie and we spend (2 adults) about £200 a month, would like to know how many of you there are and whether you have to take a work lunch as I am out of inspiration fed up of Quorn Turkey style sandwiches lol

There are 5 of us two adults and a 13 / 15 / 17 year old and my son is back from uni sometimes the £160 does not include cleaning materials or toiletries as we use paraben free products which i buy online in bulk and bio d for cleaning
the others eat meat but get it three or four times a week in various guises but I cook a lot of lentil soup ( in bulk and freeze ) we eat a lot of pasta with different sauces currys /pizza ( i make this sometimes with a potato base) pakoras and onion bhajis a(re cheap and easy )and we sometimes have things like this or falafel with salad or omelettes or frittata or rostis. I work around what I get reduced . I am very lucky as I work in a church that has different events so theres usually leftovers hanging around and if not i reheat lentil soup or similar in the microwave or bring tortilla wraps or pittas( usually bought for 9p a pack on a sunday and popped in freezer) with diff fillings . I am close to a morrisons and go there early eve to bargain hunt or sun afternoon .Over summer I am usually given loads of things as I know loads of people who have allotments and I grow a bit myself in the garden. I buy a sack of potatoes for £2 and make loads of diff things from it I can give you recipes if interested? It is surprising what you can make out of potatoes. I do keep a well stocked spice cupboard I buy from my local indian supermarket and it is so cheap.

samanthaneww2d

Quick recipe that can be adapted cheap cheerful and filling

800g potatoes,
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red chilli, finely chopped or chiili flakes dried if you have not got fresh
1 tsp paprika
100g cheese, grated
2 tbsp flour
bit of coriander, chopped
oil for shallow frying
.

Cook potatoes and for about 12 minutes until tender. Drain.

Add the oil to the pan and fry the chilli and paprika for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and coarsely mash, season to taste. Divide into 8/10 depending how big you want and pat into flat round cakes.

Heat a little oil in a non stick frying pan and fry potato cakes in for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden

These can be made with leftover mash and any dried spices or cumin seeds or finely grated carrot or a bit of leftover veg maybe mashed in / Maybe add curry powder whatever you have in your cupboards tomato puree? garlic paste? bit like bubble and squeak type things so anything goes- serve with things like coleslaw or tomato salsa a salad cous cous whatever you have really and obviously some things will work out better depending on what you put in in the first place

cafelady

pizza ( i make this sometimes with a potato base)

Samanthaneww2d - what's your recipe for your potato based pizza please?