A £15 Challenge?

sophiesmum_2

Another one kids like is fruit in jelly. Smart price jelly 12p tin smart price peaches 10p? put into six individual moulds - snacks or desserts for pennies.
sometimes add canned custard and spray cream to make little trifles.

If you have an aldi /lidl nearby tinned fruit is really cheap and I find it better quality than the value brands. as someone else said tinned fruit and veg and frozen is all okay and often cheaper.
sophiesmum

frosty

I buy a sack of potatoes every month £4.50 (56lb).We have baked potatoes with grated cheese(looks alot if grated),beans,you can use leftovers for toppings as well,eg curry,spag bog.Make potato soup.Asda have 1 kg bags of pasta for £1.00.

culpepper

Making the meat or fish the other ingredient instead of the main ingredient helps.
We often have rissotto which is rice and some kind of meat(sliced sausages,pepperoni,mince,ham) and mixed veg.
Quiche with sardines/bacon bits/pilchards is nice.
Bolognaise with mince and lots of tomatoes(8oz mince for 4 people is enough)
The carbohydrate is the main thing pasta/rice/spuds/bread/pastry,then the veg and lastly the meat /fish/cheese
You can also do cheap puddings with hedgerow blackberries this time of year.
We've even had toasted jam sandwiches for pud at times.

black-saturn

I feed 3 people and 5 at the weekends on £12 per week. Here's my meal planners:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=2340412&posted=1#post2340412

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=157526&highlight=black-saturns+menu

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=237050&highlight=shopping+list

Dobie

Porridge for breakfast is a good idea, home made soup for lunch & pad out your evening meal with cheap starchy things like potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, yorkshire puddings, pastry etc.
If you're making a stew serve it inside a giant yorkshire pud with mashed potatoes & some seasonal veg. You can do the same thing with sausage & mash with onion gravy, mince & onions, chicken casserole etc. & it makes the meat go much further.
Put pulses like lentils & beans in your home made soups as well as stews to make them more filling.
I happen to be vegan but my husband isn't & I only ever buy meat & fish if it's been reduced, then store in the freezer until I need it.
Bulk cook & freeze additional portions when you can to keep your energy bills down & to make the most of seasonal products.
I think somepone has already suggested the Hillbilly Housewife for cheap filling meals - it's excellent.
Never buy cakes or biscuits, there's loads of cheap, easy recipies on the thread on here & making those regularly will stop you feeling deprived.

jcr16

i'm sure your be able to do it. it may seem hard but i often enjoy setting myself a target and trying to stick to it. hunting down bargins can be fab.

tesco have huge 3kg bags of pasta for £1 and also 4kg bags of easy cook rice for £1.84. these are great basic's.

i have found meals like toad in hole, mash and baked beans , shepards pie etc all very cheap and fillinf meals. try bulking a meal out with homemade bread rolls. etc

sorry i can't be of anymore real help. have u thought about maybe having a meal with someone else once a week.

when we had money prob's my parents and my in-laws would invite us for a meal each once a week. it really really helped. i also went off and picked fruit like blackberries and apples off the ground ( fallers ) and would use these to make puddings.

HTH

thriftlady_2

frosty wrote:

I buy a sack of potatoes every month £4.50 (56lb).

Frosty, I've got 56 lb to lose - thanks for reminding me that it's equivalent to one of those huge sacks of spuds:eek:

Chipps

Another recipe is cheese & potato pie:

you need mashed potatoes, grated cheese, and perhaps onion, baked beans or even tinned tomatoes.
mash some of the cheese with the potato, then put some at the bottom of a greased casserole dish, then a layer of baked beans & fried onion, then another of mash, then the beans or tomatoes, then top with the last of the mash, with grated cheese on top.
Put in the oven for .... about 20 - 30 mins, till the cheese has melted nicely (about 180 C)
Serve with green salad or veg: nice balanced meal, very filling & high protein.
But very cheap!

ps: storing potatoes - don't leave them in plastic sacks. Store somewhere cool & dark. If they begin to sprout, pull the sprouts off - try not to let them get "spidery". They are still ok, it is green parts that are harmful & that comes from being kept in the light.

thriftlady_2

There are many strategies you can use to cut your food costs. If you use just one of these you will save money, combine 2 or 3 and you will save more - use all of them and you will really save money.

Grow your own
Gather your own - food from the wild, blackberries etc
Preserve your harvest
Eat less meat
Buy own brands
Use up leftovers
Cook from scratch
Don't buy foods that have no nutrition- eg alcohol, chocolate, coffee(I don't do this one;) )
Don't buy any convenience foods
Buy reduced goods or bogofs IF they are things you need and eat
Buy in bulk
Don't eat out or buy takeaways

I don't do all these but if you really want to reduce your costs these may all be worth considering.

Bogof_Babe

I suggest you don't think weekly because that does limit you to your £15, whereas if you think of it as £30 a fortnight or £60 a month you will be able to take advantage more of bogofs and special offers, stocking up on that product while it is a good deal. This works particularly well with tinned and non-food items.

Also, however hard it is, always keep a £2 coin in a separate part of your purse or wallet, that you sort of don't count as available. Put it in a cut-off corner of a used envelope or something, and seal with sellotape. That way if you do see a brilliant bargain that you know will really help to stretch your meal plan, you have the means to get it.

This worked for me this morning - I only had enough loose change for the milk and bread I needed, but noticed that Linda McCartney sausages were on bogof, making them 90p a pack, so I was able to take advantage of it. I now have to replace my reserve £2 a.s.a.p. ready for the next great offer.