Monthly Meal Planner

EllieA_3

Hmm yeah, jeeze who knew we used that much cereal??? Still trying to with my shopping list so i can go to the shops later.

I poured some cereal into a bowl and weighted t, it's around 50g for what i estimate they eat so 50x 136g = 6,800. - 1000g of what we already have means i need 5800 / 750g = 7.3 boxs.

So I've put 7 large boxes of cereal on my list im going to go for the 750g boxes (unless getting the smaller ones works out cheaper) it seems like an awful lot?

Milk i'll have to buy as and when, i guess we use about 12pts a week so i've worked out thats £18 i need to put aside for milk again that seems very high.

At this rate i will have blown my budget by breakfast!! surely this can't be right?

lainz

Some other ideas for breakfast:
beans on toast
eggs (fried, scrambled, boiled) - depends on day! + toast
banana on toast
pancakes - not just for shrove tuesday - and filling (can also be used for an evening meal - savory version with spag bol or whatever else is around)
fry up/brunch

lunches - homemade soup - or use as a 'starter' before main meal to fill up

If you post what you have in - we can give you some ideas!

heat1900

Remember not to buy anything that you don't need. Don't waste! First write a shopping list for the next month. If you see something at a discount price and can be kept for a long time, you can purchase the products of enough quantity for the whole month.

EllieA_3

Lunch wise im not too bad, the lunch boxes i think i have enough snacks i've got loads of sausage rolls etc in the freeze, i'll bake a couple of cakes and they can have a slice of that, i've got frozen puff pastry so i'll make some cheese straws as well, i'll buy some cheap apples or banana's as i go along so they have a piece of fruit.

But im short 36 sets of sandwiches for kids neither will heat leftovers or pasta etc. they will pretty much only eat sandwiches so i need 18 veggy, 18 meat .. i do have enough ham to go on the meat, and im thinking egg mayo or cheese for the veggy, so i need a box of eggs some cheap cheese and lots and lots of bread.

lunchs for my and OH isn't too bad most days we can eat left overs heated in the micro, and i have soup mix (split pea, lentil etc) for soup if i can find some good recipes but i think we can muddle though with that.

[Deleted User]

I had some storage boxes and put my cereals in there so when ever the children said are these cereals kellogs, nestles ect I would always say but of course ,they wern't ,but they wern't eating the boxes were they;) My late husband always said he only liked shweppes lemonade and for years I filled up a bottle with the sainsburys own brand and he never knew.
what the eye doesn't see the heart won't grieve over.If you are really stuck then just dish up what there is then if they moan or say they don't want it then tough let em go hungry.You can only do what you can I have been in this situation and its amazing how kids come around when they are hungry.If you want a copy of my misers cookbook email me you email address and I will send it to you Its lots of receipes that I have picked up from here and all over the place .

ellas9602

Hi Ellie
Are you doing your shopping online? I find online much better, can really stick to the budget and usually get £10 off. Last week i used the waitrose £15 off when you spend £60 voucher and got a surprising amount for my money. Are you near an Aldi/Lidl for F&V?
For my veggie DD sandwich fillings are usually;
cheese, mixed with onion,carrot,cabbage,mayo,black pepper, makes a huge amount and keeps well.
Mr T does a falafel mix for 99p which is really nice we usually have this for T (makes about 12 so 2 each) one night and there'll be a few leftover to stuff pittas for lunch the next day. These are a fave even with the meat eaters.
peanut butter and jam
houmous & cheese
Sometimes just salad
We've had hard times lately so some of the other things I've been doing are;
Pizza's - everyone loves them, making the dough is easy and its cheap as chips
Flapjacks - once bought the ingredients will go a long way (Mr T do value syrup) and great for brekkie
HM bread is much more filling, could maybe replace some of the cereal with value OJ?
meatballs in tom sauce have been going down well and go a long way (veggie has chopped sausage in same sauce)
lots of soup, can be made with the most basic ingredients (last weeks was tin toms, tin kidney beans, onion, stock cube, squirt ketchup, herbs spices, carrotts). This was Tuscan Red bean soup, just give it a fancy name and it seems more appealing!
Others idea are carrott & coriander, tom & basil, chicken veg (from the carcass)
Also had a byriani made with chicken scarps, few prawns and spiced rice, served with a veg curry which was based on a tin of the 4p curry sauce (with added extras) served with HM onion bhajis (always a fave ) and HM chappattis.
When you've made a list why don't you post it and we'll see if we can tweek any improvements into it for you.
Hope the month goes ok, keep posting, everyone seems to be struggling at the moment
x x

EllieA_3

Lunches are done, im going to get a few packs of the SP Bread rolls for asda, it's 32p for 12 they arn't very big but if i pad out the lunchbox's with sausage rolls, cubes of cheese etc they won't go hungry.

Evening meals im abit more stuck on.

So far i have.

1. Salmon/Burger or Veggy buger x 2 meals (OH won't eat fish)
2. Salmon/Burger or Veggy buger x 2 meals (OH won't eat fish)
3. Spag bol (i have veggy mince for veggy)
4. Chilli out of left over spag bol + tin of beans
5. Stew (frozen in the freezer)
6. Roast dinner (Chicken)
7. Creamy Pasta Bake (leftover Chicken)

Thats where i run out of idea's the fod i have left is..

Prawns (noneone likes them but me, so i might use them in prawn fried rice for lunches)
Chicken filets (6 frozen quite small)
Frozen Aubergine
Frozen Spinach
Soup mix (split peas etc)
Frozen Blueberry's
Couscous
rice noodles
Porridge oats
Crispy Roasted onions (dried kids for salads etc)
Sweetcorn
Leftover chicken from last night (thinking soup with noodles??)

Various oils / herbs etc

So as you can see not alot, will need to buy stuff for the rest of the month.

EllieA_3

Ok heres what i have so far.

1. Salmon/Burger or Veggy buger x 2 meals (OH won't eat fish)
2. Salmon/Burger or Veggy buger x 2 meals (OH won't eat fish)
3. Spag bol (i have veggy mince for veggy)
4. Chilli out of left over spag bol + tin of beans
5. Stew (frozen in the freezer)

6. Roast dinner (Chicken) (have half chicken in fridge)
7. Creamy Pasta Bake (leftover Chicken)

8. Chicken Dinner (veg/potato's gravy etc)
9. Chicken Dinner
10.Chicken Cassarole (leftovers)

11. Chicken Breast with spread and bake (found in cuboards) with potatos and veg
12. Chicken Breast with spread and bake

13. Beef sag aloo with Rice (One box of mince 2 portions)
14. Beef sag aloo with Rice

15. Beef Gobhi with Rice (One box of mince 2 portions)
16. Beef Gobhi with Rice

17. Spag Bol
18. Chilli (Leftover Spag bol, add beans to pad out)
19. Mincebeef and Cream cheese pasta bake (save some bol to make)

20. Beef Mousakka (1 box of mince - 2 portions)
21. Beef Mousakka
22. Chicken Cassarole
23. Chicken and Leek pasta bake (using leftover sauce from mousakka and leftover chicken from cassarole)

24. Spanish Cassarole (chicken and Chorizo)
25. Spanish Cassarole

26. Pork/bean and Chorizo casarole
27. Pork/bean and Chorizo cassarole

28. Quesidllas (using up leftover bol/chicken whatever is available)
29. Quesidllas (using up leftover bol/chicken whatever is available)
30. Burrito / Fajitas (using up leftover bol/chicken whatever is available)
31. Burrito / Fajitas (using up leftover bol/chicken whatever is available)

28-31 are very much use whatever is leftover type meals i find you can stick almost anything in a wrap and call it dinner

32. Sausage Cassarole
33. Sausage Cassarole
34. toad in the hole

EllieA_3

I've calculated what i need for all of that + Breakfast cereal, Bread for lunches etc As well as adding some snacks and some bits for lunches for making soup etc.

i've put it into Asda's site and it comes out at £133.

I think that should give me everything i need for the month, baring a few perishables.

How does it look? suggestions welcome.

JenniO

well blueberry muffins springs to mind! If you've got enough flour, maybe make pancakes, muffins and scones which would be cheaper than cereal every morning and less milk as well?

If you run with morrisons and aldi's cheap vegetables as a base maybe you'd be better off doing a weekly meal plan and base next week's meals on the cheap fruit / veg available?

Set out a budget of x amount per week of what you can afford for food.

The muffins can also go in the lunches. HTH