anyone taking up the live below the line challenge?

ThriftyFelicity

Thanks to everyone for their ideas so far!

It was tough sticking to the official rules, i.e. counting the cost of an entire package of something even though only part of it was being used.

I did the plan for two people for 5 days, so there is not a huge variety in the meals. It would be a LOT easier doing a two week menu. There was stuff leftover, though.

You will note that breakfasts are oatcakes, rather than porridge. That's because I despise porridge (I know, I know, it's so healthy and all, but that's just the way it is).

There isn't much fruit; instead I opted for a good amount of veg.

You will also notice that I have rather decadently allowed 72p for a bottle of organic lemon juice. Ordinary bottled lemon juice (with preservatives) is yucky, and I wanted some nice lemon juice for making salad dressing.

The total has come in at £9.63, leaving 37p for seasonings (using the rules which allow you to count only the cost of seasoning used and not the whole bottle). I don't really know if that would be enough, though.

Everything is from Sainsburys, other than the three items marked "ALDI".

Menu for two people for five days

BREAKFAST
(same every day)
Oatcakes with strawberry jam
Microscopic fruit salad (peaches, pineapple)

LUNCH
Red lentil & carrot soup + potato scones (2 days)
Mexican bean & lentil soup + potato scones (2 days)
Red lentil & carrot pate + potato scones (1 day)

SUPPER
Bean burritos
Pasta with lentil sauce + steamed broccoli
Bean burger wraps + chips + carrot salad
Indian bean hotpot + spicy potatoes + carrot salad
Potato & red lentil hash + steamed broccoli

LEFTOVER
160g oats
780g self-raising flour
1/2 litre sunflower oil
plenty of strawberry jam
225g potatoes
390g carrots
3 cloves garlic
1 bouillon cube
250g pasta
1/2 tin tomatoes
3/4 bottle lemon juice

SHOPPING LIST
500g dry red lentils 88p
500g dry kidney beans 67p

411g peach slices in juice 30p
227g pineapple pieces in juice 17p
750g onions (loose) @ 82p/kg = 62p
1kg carrots (ALDI) 39p
2 heads garlic 46p
350g broccoli (ALDI) 39p
140g tomato puree 25p
3x 400g tinned tomatoes @ 31p each = 93p
2.5kg potatoes (ALDI) 69p
small chunk gingerroot 10p

1.5kg self-raising flour 57p
500g porridge oats 33p
500g pasta 9p

1L sunflower oil 1.59
10 vegetable stock cubes 10p
454g strawberry jam 38p
125ml organic lemon juice 72p

TOTAL £9.63

Doom_and_Gloom

I'm going to do this for a week so I'm going to have £7. Shopping will be in Mr S.

Breakfasts
Fruity pancakes http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipe-breakfastfruitypancakes.html?opt=rbreakfast

Lunches/Dinners
Bean curry with rice - http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipe-bakedbeancurry.html?opt=rfivehigh
Pasta salad - http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipe-pastasalad.html?opt=rdinner (not using balsamic vinegar to keep cost down)
Kidney bean and vegetable soup (including nettles from my parents garden as free and nutritious - they have loads and my dad will be happy to see them go, lol) with bread

Drinks
Water
Tea with soya milk.


Shopping list

• tea - 27p
• kidney beans x2 - 36p
• baked beans - 28p
• self raising flour - 57p
• tinned peas - 17p
• saltanas - 64p
• 1kg onions - 82p
• soya milk - 59p
• 1kg rice - 49p
• tinned tomatoes x3 - 93p
• 500g pasta - 9p
• 1kg mixed vegetables - 65p
• 800g wholemeal bread - 47p
• 250ml vegetable oil - 37p (my share of a 1L bottle 'as if sharing' with others doing the challenge)

Total = £6.70
So 30p for herbs and spices.

I think I have done all that right and not missed anything.

Boodle

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

Lunches/Dinners
Bean curry with rice - http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipe-bakedbeancurry.html?opt=rfivehigh

This is yummy - we all really enjoyed the bean curry here :cool:

Well two days in to our early project. Yesterday, we started off with the cornflakes in oatmilk, the girls had a sprinkling of well chopped prunes on theirs and squash to drink; we had tea with oat milk. Lunch was a visit out to someone's house I'm afraid, so that was a bit of a cheat Dinner was hm calzones with a filling made from veg stock, tomato puree, diced parsnip and carrot, well chopped cabbage and a baby onion. They were lovely! I used about 1/5 of my 500g white loaf dough to make the calzones (I left the bread dough in it's 500g tin in the fridge overnight and it rose enough to make up for that amount I had taken out.) I roasted the potato chips in about 1 tbsp spread I melted on the baking tray in the oven before adding the potatoes to it - they went lovely and sweet. For supper, the girls had their oat milk + an oaty biscuit I made with the oats, plain flour and spread, cut with a shot glass so they were nice and little.

Today, we had the cornflakes to start again. The girls did have some of their Easter choc, but a lot less than I had imagined they would (!) i.e. about 4 dark choc mini eggs each. Midday dinner was a nice loaf made with lentils, peanut butter, tomato puree, onion and oats (we will make this one again) with roasted potatoes (done as the chips above,) carrots and green cabbage. I had made a carrot and orange tart for pud and everyone bar me had that with vanilla soy yoghurt (I just had soy yoghurt, but there would have been enough for me too had I wanted any.) Tea was hm bread with scraping of spread and mixed fruit jam, followed by a satsuma broken into segments on a plate for the girls to pick at alongside their bread and jam. They had a cup of milk with this. Supper later on was another biscuit and cup of oat milk.

So far, all the food has been enjoyed except for DD1 not being keen on the orange and carrot tart. The oaty biscuits and lentil peanut loaf have been the highlights so far

Frugalista

Boodle wrote: »

Midday dinner was a nice loaf made with lentils, peanut butter, tomato puree, onion and oats (we will make this one again) with roasted potatoes (done as the chips above,) carrots and green cabbage.

Please would you post the recipe for this - it sounds delicious .

redlady_1

How do you make the bean burritos please Thriftyfelicity?

ThriftyFelicity

First, a warning

I make bean burritos regularly, but not this "live below the line" version. My usual version uses olive oil instead of sunflower oil; black beans instead of kidney beans;and includes the addition of a finely chopped red pepper and sometimes fresh coriander. I also usually make salsa with fresh tomatoes, and add other toppings like finely chopped spring onions, lettuce and homemade guacamole.

I've also not tried the tortilla recipe I've linked to (I was too lazy to dig out my favourite one )

Bean burritos

1 tablespoon sunflower oil
120g (1 medium) onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, dry roasted and ground*
1 teaspoon paprika
110g dry kidney beans, cooked (reserve cooking liquid)**
salt and pepper
Four large flour tortillas
salsa***

Heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion for 20 minutes, until tender & lightly browned. Add minced garlic and cook another 5 minutes. Add roasted ground cumin seeds and paprika and stir well. Add beans, plus enough of the reserved cooking liquid to make the mixture moist but not runny. Mix well. Heat over medium-low until mixture is hot. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble, put some of the bean mixture down the middle of a warm tortilla, and top with salsa (and any additional toppings you may be using). Roll up, folding in the short ends to enclose the filling.

*To dry roast cumin seeds, heat a heavy pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and toast until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Grind in a mortar & pestle.

** Soak beans overnight in 750ml (3 cups) water to which 2-1/4 teaspoons salt have been added. Next day, drain and rinse beans, and cook in fresh water until tender. The salt water soak will make the beans more tender (yes, really!). If you’re starting with tinned beans, use one 400g tin.

***Salsa: Combine one 400g chopped tinned tomatoes (reserve juice to use for soup), 60g (one small) onion, finely chopped; two cloves garlic, minced; and salt to taste.

ceridwen

Boodle wrote: »

This is yummy - we all really enjoyed the bean curry here :cool:

Well two days in to our early project. Yesterday, we started off with the cornflakes in oatmilk, the girls had a sprinkling of well chopped prunes on theirs and squash to drink; we had tea with oat milk. Lunch was a visit out to someone's house I'm afraid, so that was a bit of a cheat Dinner was hm calzones with a filling made from veg stock, tomato puree, diced parsnip and carrot, well chopped cabbage and a baby onion. They were lovely! I used about 1/5 of my 500g white loaf dough to make the calzones (I left the bread dough in it's 500g tin in the fridge overnight and it rose enough to make up for that amount I had taken out.) I roasted the potato chips in about 1 tbsp spread I melted on the baking tray in the oven before adding the potatoes to it - they went lovely and sweet. For supper, the girls had their oat milk + an oaty biscuit I made with the oats, plain flour and spread, cut with a shot glass so they were nice and little.

Today, we had the cornflakes to start again. The girls did have some of their Easter choc, but a lot less than I had imagined they would (!) i.e. about 4 dark choc mini eggs each. Midday dinner was a nice loaf made with lentils, peanut butter, tomato puree, onion and oats (we will make this one again) with roasted potatoes (done as the chips above,) carrots and green cabbage. I had made a carrot and orange tart for pud and everyone bar me had that with vanilla soy yoghurt (I just had soy yoghurt, but there would have been enough for me too had I wanted any.) Tea was hm bread with scraping of spread and mixed fruit jam, followed by a satsuma broken into segments on a plate for the girls to pick at alongside their bread and jam. They had a cup of milk with this. Supper later on was another biscuit and cup of oat milk.

So far, all the food has been enjoyed except for DD1 not being keen on the orange and carrot tart. The oaty biscuits and lentil peanut loaf have been the highlights so far

Would be interested in seeing your recipes for carrot and orange tart and the lentil and peanut butter loaf if you have time please:D. You sound like you managed to work out a pretty healthy/interesting menu on this money.

Doom_and_Gloom

Boodle wrote: »

This is yummy - we all really enjoyed the bean curry here :cool:

I have tried the bean curry before and you are right it is yummy, very yummy. I love how it is cheap, tasty and contains 3 of your 5 a day (tomato, onion and pulse) :T. I could acually eat the bean curry every day but then I love curry.


Can't wait for next week I have to say. Although I'm not sure on the tea - I've never tried the basic kind :eek:. Everything else I have tried before and liked (although I haven't bought and ate white flours, rice or pasta in a long time so could be interesting).

I have already started buying the ingredients and so far have;
pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, soya milk, saltanas, vegetable oil and self raise flour as well as the herbs and spices.
That means I only have the bread, tea, onions, baked beans, kidney beans and mixed vegetables to worry about which I can get my partner to pick up after work later this week (partner gets a discount but haven't used this to work out the prices as it is unfair to do so as would gain me an extra 10p's worth of food a day if I did!).

Kittikins

Another vote for carrot and orange tart and the lentil/peanut butter loaf please

jackieglasgow

Yet again your menu makes my mouth water Boodle, I am definitely going to stalk you and come live there!