How to survive on what’s in the store cupboard (plus a little money)

Jo_King

I thoroughly recommend getting 'More With Less', produced by Mennonite Central Committee (you can pick up fairly cheap second hand copies too). I've learned from it how to produce meals out of what sometimes feel like thin air! They have a 'baking mix' recipe that you make up with flour, sugar, baking powder and something else I can't remember. You then use it as a base for pancakes, cakes, muffins, bread and all kinds of other things. It's really quite inspired!

flippy178

thriftlady wrote: »

I absolutely agree that the way to avoid having nothing to eat is to keep a well-stocked storecupboard.

But, if people are asking how to make the limited contents of their cupboards last until payday then it's a bit pointless telling them they need a well-stocked storecupboard isn't it?

How true.

Is the point of this thread to offer advice on the most useful and versatile things to have in your storecupboard, and perhaps suggest the cheapest ways to build it up? So if you find yourself unable to buy eggs, cheese, meat, milk etc you can still feed yourself and your family?

I've found it really difficult to keep my storecupboard stocked during difficult times. Once it is empty it needs to be filled up again and that is money that I am not spending on day to day food. This past month I have crawled towards child benefit day and used up half of what I have as I had only pennies in my purse. No fruit, no tuna left, no tinned tomatoes, no tom puree, no bread flour - I made bread with plain flour which was OK if a bit dense. Ran out of baking powder so used bicarb. No eggs left so had to make biscuits without - shortbread, actually quite nice. Once you've used some of the basics, the problem becomes how do you cook with the miscellaneous things left.

So what basics do I need to buy to refill my storecupboard to last me the longest time for the least amount of money?

Rice - one type only, whatever is on offer.
Pasta - any.
Tinned toms and tom puree - usually Lidl. I mix tom puree with water to make a base for pizza.
Crackers - any supermarket own brand - DS likes them for packed lunches and I can have them for lunch at work. Good value as the last longer than bread.
Marmite - pricey but lasts for ages - DS loves Marmite on crackers for school - cheaper in the long term than ham sandwiches for him. I don't buy jam, honey, choc spread - too pricey and unnecessary.
Bread flour and yeast - though I often debate whether this is money saving compared to reduced cheap white loaf when baking costs are added.
Plain flour - can be used for bread and pizza base and converted into self-raising with baking powder.
Sugar - cheapest available, usually granulated - Poundland sometimes have sugar though check whether cheaper than supermarkets.
Oil - when I'm flush I love olive oil if I see it on sale but otherwise sunflower or similar. Can be used in bread or pizza dough.
Potatoes, carrots, onions - my staple veg as they tend to last a long time and I make veg soup for myself and DS likes carrot sticks.
Milk powder - for bread making and also I use to save on fresh milk.
Baked beans - I stocked up on Morrisons 79p for 4 Branston beans offer, also Asda did the same for £1. Either use for beans on toast or can be added to soups, stew etc. Also other tinned or dried beans, red lentils to add filling to soup or make a veggie cottage pie. Cheaper and healthier than meat.
Tinned sardines – cheaper than tuna. DS likes mashed sardines with rice and peas and I have sardines on toast.
Cheap stock cubes.
Yeast, bicarb and baking powder.
Porridge and cereal - I hate porridge but it is cheap and versatile - very filling for breakfast, also for biscuits, flapjacks etc.

That's it. Of course, if I can I will fill up with other things but those are the basics and other things are the luxuries for the storecupboard – tinned tuna and mackerel, anchovies, Balsamic vinegar, dried fruit, bouillon powder, icing sugar, different types of sugar, treacle, self-raising flour, more than one type of pasta or rice, ketchup, Branston pickle.

ceridwen

Yep - some good thinking there Flippy - at a very basic level if absolutely desperate.

The one thing I would stress here is that its worth googling for the Chorleywood process re commercially-made bread. After that - then it certainly becomes clear that its a MUCH MUCH better idea to make one's own bread if at all possible - WAY healthier. Also - I find that homemade bread is actually much more filling than shop-bought bread anyway.

In fact - if pushed to say THE basic factors necessary to take into account to get the most "bang for your buck" on the food front - then I would say "Make your own bread" for sure.

I am just in the process of experimenting with my basic bread recipe - adding in whatever bits and pieces I have to hand to vary it - and actually I think the phrase "staff of life" used about bread is very accurate. Having some decent bread as a basis around which other aspects of ones diet revolve seems very sensible to me.:)

ceridwen

Thinking on - as to what I would feel are THE absolute basics if right "up against it" for me personally (obviously other people will vary....):

- Home-made wholemeal bread
- Eggs (free-range even if desperate...)
- Porridge oats
- Some sort of fruit/vegetables - in "hard times" - I've majored heavily on potatoes/carrots/cabbage/onions
- Oil (if desperate - its been sunflower oil - rather than my normal extra virgin olive oil)
- Milk (full-fat - watered-down 2:1 for porridge/cheese sauce type things)
- Rice (brown rice - if desperate I've had it 50:50 with barley)

Actually -right now - I'm feeling pretty astonished/pleased at the fact that its possible to eat quite cheaply (even with my healthy/organic parameters) if one "eats from what you've got - rather than recipes and readymeals".

Reet- must go and check out what that current "use up" recipe is like - ie "I've got loads of celery to use up - what shall I do?" - so its baking in the oven after pre-cooking in salted water and I chucked a bechamel sauce on top of it and some Parmesan cheese (woulda been Cheddar if desperate....).

EDIT: Just taken a mouthful of this celery bake - verdict:

I'm not a great fan of celery - but ummm....ummm....nice....

Followed that recipe for cooking some chopped up celery in salted water for 10 minutes and then sticking it in the oven with a bit of bechamel sauce on it, some bits of butter and some Parmesan cheese grated over and bake. Nice.......

Penelope_Penguin

attentionseeker1 wrote: »

1x chicken mini-fillets pack
2x tins chickpeas
10x eggs
1x tin white crab meat but OH doesn't eat crab

2 x large bags pasta
1 x medium bag rice
enough bread flour for a couple of medium loaves
2 small potatoes
1 x box atora suet
porridge for breakfasts

1 x bag frozen peas
1 x Savoy cabbage (some being used tonight for HM coleslaw)
5 x carrots (some being used tonight for HM coleslaw)
1/2 lettuce
1 bag onions
1/2 bag frozen spinach
1 x tin kidney beans
1 x tin baked beans

1/2 large bag each of SR and normal flour
1 x block butter
1 x bag rolled oats
baking powder, yeast, mixed nuts, icing sugar etc

crackers
150g cheddar cheese

Plus every Indian spice known to man, a few herbs, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, stock cubes, oils and vinegars etc

I have some leftover chicken for tonight but that still leaves 7 days!!!!

Thank you for being the first to list your stores to the PenPen Patented Colour Coded Scheme (TM, Pat pending ).

I'd try:

10x eggs, 2 small potatoes, 1 x bag frozen peas,
1 bag onions - Omelette :j

1x chicken mini-fillets pack, 2 x large bags pasta,
5 x carrots, 1 bag onions, 150g cheddar cheese - pasta meal :j

2x tins chickpeas, 1 x medium bag rice, 2 small potatoes, 1/2 bag frozen spinach, 1 x tin kidney beans,
1 x tin baked beans - curry :j


Obviously, you won't need all of each ingredient for each meal - you'll have loads of eggs left. Egg sandwiches and salad - yummy :j

Penelope_Penguin

Hippeechiq wrote: »

This is yet another very interesting thread :T

I've been loitering on these type threads for a few weeks now, as I was made redundant 2 months ago so am trying my best to find..well....cheap meals to be quite honest.

I'm new to this, so should you feel this post if off topic, I apologise, but I'm still finding my feet

Welcome :beer: Take a look at this thread. It's been set up with beginners like you in mind There are lots of links to the best threads to start with, and advice on how to search, so that you can look for just the recipe to suit you :j

ceridwen

Well - in accordance with Penelope Penguin - I tend to think in terms of meals as being:
- protein
- a reasonable amount of food with Vitamin C in (vegetables and/or fruit)
- filler food

That is a pretty good basis to assess a meal on in my book.

So - tonight's meal was:
- that celery baked in bechamel sauce with cheese on top
- home-made wholemeal bread
- tomatoes

So - I think I've covered myself for that again....and that celery bake was definitely very nice (hence scarfing it down RATHER quickly:o).

I don't think one can go far wrong for a main meal if one has those 3 constituent parts...

Now...if I was being VERY conscientious - then I'd go and grab some fruit....but that filled me up....so I'll forget about that bit (which would - in the event - have meant grabbing a handful of dried fruit, rather than having a bit of fresh fruit)...

Hippeechiq

emilyka wrote: »

Ooohhh, with regards to amounts of liquids, lentils etc I would really just judge in by eye- I never cook to a recipe because I'm lazy and don't want to have to clean extra items like mesuring jugs and scales! With things like lentils, you can't really go far wrong as adding too many wouldnt make anything inedible. With stock etc, with most dishes you can reduce down the liquid once it's in or just add a little at a time.

If you want amounts I would say add half the amount of lentils as you have beef as a marker, and if you're using dried beans/ pulses and have rehydrated them I wouldnt add any extra stock, just treat the lentils excatly how you would if it were mince- you can always put a few tablespoons of water in if it looks a little dry (it shouldnt need it though!)

Once you've tried it in the quantities above, if you feel you would be happy with a few more or prefer a few less you could adjust accordingly.

Good luck!

Thanks for that emilyka, that gives me a rough idea, and that's just what I needed to help get me started. Thanks too for the link Penelope Penguin, I've got that and the one higher up in the thread bookmarked now :T

MrsWoolfe

attentionseeker1 wrote: »

Well, after the Easter period of DIYing etc I now have a very nice looking flat but no money left in the bank account! Very annoyed with myself as I normally budget carefully but definitely got carried away and lost track this time.

The problem is, our storecupboards have run right down, and we have been trying to run the freezer down too to defrost it so very little to work with. If anyone has any ideas on what I could make out of the following and what essentials I will have to buy to tide us over until next Saturday, I would be very grateful. (Could spare 5-10 pounds but will also need to buy milk out of that) :think:

We like to normally eat a lot of fruit/veg and don't eat ready meals/processed foods at all as we cook everything from scratch (it's just me and OH who has big appetite though)

1x chicken mini-fillets pack
2x tins chickpeas
10x eggs
1x tin white crab meat but OH doesn't eat crab

2 x large bags pasta
1 x medium bag rice
enough bread flour for a couple of medium loaves
2 small potatoes
1 x box atora suet
porridge for breakfasts

1 x bag frozen peas
1 x Savoy cabbage (some being used tonight for HM coleslaw)
5 x carrots (some being used tonight for HM coleslaw)
1/2 lettuce
1 bag onions
1/2 bag frozen spinach
1 x tin kidney beans
1 x tin baked beans

1/2 large bag each of SR and normal flour
1 x block butter
1 x bag rolled oats
baking powder, yeast, mixed nuts, icing sugar etc

crackers
150g cheddar cheese

Plus every Indian spice known to man, a few herbs, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, stock cubes, oils and vinegars etc

I have some leftover chicken for tonight but that still leaves 7 days!!!!

One thing I tend to do quite often with any chicken breast, is chop up into pretty small pieces and marinade in soy sauce (I use 3 types...but that's just me) sesame oil (just a dash) and some crushed ginger and garlic. The longer you can leave it the better, once cooked and cooled I divide into small portions and freeze- I then use this to make a quick chicken noodle soup/fried rice/ chinese wraps.

Looking at your ingredients you could do an easy fried rice undercook the rice slightly (pop the frozen peas in with the rice too, I like to add sweetcorn too but what ever veg you like is fine), mix and fry a couple of eggs- My mum always fries really think omlettes and shreds them which is nice but I'm lazy so I just break up the eggs in the pan or pour the rice straight into the beaten eggs and coat.

Add a drizzle of soy sauce and your pre-cooked chinese chicken and stir until eggs are fully cooked. Yum!!!

Also with the chickpeas you can do a channa massala - think there are already a few recipes for this on the site- but if you want one let me know. Another dish my hubby quite likes is the chick peas sauteed with garlic onions and some garam massala, cumin, and tumeric. once the chickpeas are almost done add in some spinach and wilt, serve with rice/ naan

HTH

MrsWoolfe

Kerfuffle

Hi Mrs Woolfe,

I know your response was to the previous poster, but I like the sound of your Chickpea Curry, so I'm going to give that one a go using the Butter Chicken Curry Paste instead of the garam massala, just need to buy some spinach.

Thanks for your post.

Toodles