Memorygirls - The Matrix Reloaded

Memory_Girl

clairewop wrote: »

MG how on earth do you manage to only spend £100 a month on groceries? I spent £18 yesterday and that was just on packed lunch stuff!!!

Since that fateful day when I was left with my last 71p on earth by the Big Horse Bank I made a pledge to create a "proper" stock cupboard.

So for the last year I have bought what I needed for that week and then stocked up on great offers (5 bags of pasta flour for a pound for instance) and of course Approved Foods - where I managed to stock up on a years worth of dried pulses, wraps etc. I had a budget of £5 per week to build my stockcupboard/ Freezer up BTW.

Well now's the time to start living out of these stores - freeing up money to pay off Big Horse Bank as quickly as possible - then I can do another AF order before the bad weather arrives again later in the year.

Hopefully the garden will contribute to our meals soon as well - helps that we like things like Kale, Spinach and Chard - which can be used as the basis for many meals (like our Spinach Lasagna last night - Mmmmmmm).

Mind you - with food inflation running so high - its proabably been the most financally savvy thing I have done in the last year.

............... but remember Clare - I'm feeding one adult, one child and one toddler - You're really feeding four adults.

MG

fantasia322

Have to mention this website again - found this when I was reading the Frugal living challenge.

It shows how to feed 4 people for £100 a month, and that includes the 5 a day. Some really helpful stuff in here.
http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

Memory_Girl

fantasia322 wrote: »

Have to mention this website again - found this when I was reading the Frugal living challenge.

It shows how to feed 4 people for £100 a month, and that includes the 5 a day. Some really helpful stuff in here.
http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

This is a fab site - Weezel is a star to create it. This is how I "Know" I can go a month - because her costings assume you have NO substantial storecupboard.

Just been in to pull out some chick peas for hummus tomorrow. I use 100g per time to make hummus for the three of us (and my nightime snack) - so that is five weeks per 500g bag. I have 12 bags - so I am sorted for one lunch per week for the next 60 weeks :rotfl:

............. thats why we need to start eating our way through it.

Also have 10 bags of white beans and I use those at 250g per time with a tin of tuna to make "tonna al fagioli" - tuna and beans, with ciabatta and salad. I have 14 tins of tuna, so 14 dinners taken care of ..................

........... think I need to up my challenge somewhat!!

MG

clairewop

Memory_Girl wrote: »

Since that fateful day when I was left with my last 71p on earth by the Big Horse Bank I made a pledge to create a "proper" stock cupboard.

So for the last year I have bought what I needed for that week and then stocked up on great offers (5 bags of pasta flour for a pound for instance) and of course Approved Foods - where I managed to stock up on a years worth of dried pulses, wraps etc. I had a budget of £5 per week to build my stockcupboard/ Freezer up BTW.

Well now's the time to start living out of these stores - freeing up money to pay off Big Horse Bank as quickly as possible - then I can do another AF order before the bad weather arrives again later in the year.

Hopefully the garden will contribute to our meals soon as well - helps that we like things like Kale, Spinach and Chard - which can be used as the basis for many meals (like our Spinach Lasagna last night - Mmmmmmm).

Mind you - with food inflation running so high - its proabably been the most financally savvy thing I have done in the last year.

............... but remember Clare - I'm feeding one adult, one child and one toddler - You're really feeding four adults.

MG

Yes i suppose I am feeding four adults with the boys being 17 and nearly 14. Doesn't help that they won't eat lentils and pulses, so I can't eek the meat etc out. Plus they won't eat HM bread for their sandwiches.

fantasia322 wrote: »

Have to mention this website again - found this when I was reading the Frugal living challenge.

It shows how to feed 4 people for £100 a month, and that includes the 5 a day. Some really helpful stuff in here.
http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/

Thanks will have a look at that site in a bit.

Memory_Girl wrote: »

This is a fab site - Weezel is a star to create it. This is how I "Know" I can go a month - because her costings assume you have NO substantial storecupboard.

Just been in to pull out some chick peas for hummus tomorrow. I use 100g per time to make hummus for the three of us (and my nightime snack) - so that is five weeks per 500g bag. I have 12 bags - so I am sorted for one lunch per week for the next 60 weeks :rotfl:

............. thats why we need to start eating our way through it.

Also have 10 bags of white beans and I use those at 250g per time with a tin of tuna to make "tonna al fagioli" - tuna and beans, with ciabatta and salad. I have 14 tins of tuna, so 14 dinners taken care of ..................

........... think I need to up my challenge somewhat!!

MG

Nathan likes Tuna I wonder if he would eat that??

Well my downstairs is looking lovely and tidy and gleaming and all the craft stuff is away out of sight Mum came back and helped me, we have moved a few things around and I now have a glass vase sitting on my dining table, which I am going to fill with daffodils tomorrow

I shop with approved foods, but as I said everyone else won't eat the lentils or country veg mix, its too hard, I wonder actually whether I am cooking it wrong.

Well I have just gone to do tea and there's again nothing to go with anything so I'm going to have to go shopping even though the freezers are quite full.

fantasia322

If the boys dont like lentils Claire, you can add oatmeal to Mince and stews, it thickens it, is nutritious, and almost invisible. Fooled my kids many a time when they were teenagers (yuk I don't like oats or porridge). Still eat it that way now they are adults, and if I don't put the oatmeal in, they complain it is too watery.

If lentils and country veg mix are cooked in the slowcooker, they soften up and thicken the liquid and its virtually impossible to tell they are there. the trick is to not let them know you've added then lol x

clairewop

I must be not cooking them long enough then, will try using the slow cooker, how long for??

My challenge for this week is to not spend loads of money on food

The boys like wraps, might have a look on approved foods see if there are any there, they would do a nice lunch box too.

Memory_Girl

My best mates kids "won't" eat ................ lentils, beans, HM bread, pasta or Non-branded pizza's.

S'funny but when its dinner time and they are around mine - they hoover up all those and more.

Maybe we should all just swap houses / hubbies / kids for a while and get them all ontrack:rotfl:.

I'm kidding - I really would like to keep my kids please

MG

clairewop

ok stupid question, are Chipattis wraps???

fantasia322

In a way Claire, they are eaten with curries etc, but they are a bit like tortilla's and I ofter use them as wraps, lovely with chicken, reggae reggae sauce and salad, or whatever you want to wrap

fantasia322

clairewop wrote: »

I must be not cooking them long enough then, will try using the slow cooker, how long for??

My challenge for this week is to not spend loads of money on food

The boys like wraps, might have a look on approved foods see if there are any there, they would do a nice lunch box too.

If I'm making soup I fling it all in in the morning, lentils (you can presoak these) veg stock etc., 5 hours on low does it for me, but you can vary your times.

ETA one of my kids all time favourites was baked potatoes, with the guts scraped out,mashed with a little tomato puree and butter, and seasoned. Once mixed put the mashed contents back into skins and baked in the oven, served with lashings of grated cheese and a little chopped raw onion through it, and tinned tuna and sweet corn. Literally the only way they would eat tuna.