Not much of a store cupboard... what to eat?

HoplessCase

Hi guys,

Everyone seems to have such clever money saving ideas over here I thought I would see if any one could make any suggestions...

I usually spend about £20 a week on food, this covers breakfasts, lunches and dinners for just me. I know some of you could probably feed an army on that! :eek: My main issue is I don't have a freezer so batch cooking means either eating the same thing every night for a week or food gets wasted.

But I only have £200 to last me the rest of the money and this needs to cover socialising, eating, possibly a weekend in Brighton (!) so really need some ideas to stretch my food.

I have:
a jar of pasta bake, a jar of pasta sauce, pasta, spaghetti, tin of meatballs, sausage casserole mix, packet of smash, tin of new potatoes, some sliced cheese, bread, tin of tuna, condensed mushroom soup, tin of spaghetti, some bacon and a bit of salad in the fridge.
Any one able to help me figure out how to make this into a meal plan. I can see there's a few meals in there but all need me to go shopping so not sure what the cheapest meals would be.

Anyway thanks in advance for any input :A



[threadbanner]box[/threadbanner]

BitterAndTwisted

I can't help you with a meal-plan for that little lot but I would suggest that you attempt to cook from scratch rather than buying tins of what appear to be single-use guff. Being single and cooking for one doesn't need to mean that you have to buy tins of spuds, for instance. I would suggest that you pop oit and buy a couple of tins of tomatoes and maybe some fresh veg like peppers to use up that pasta-bake and pasta sauce perhaps.

I'm a single person as well and don't have a freezer either, so I know what you mean about eating the same thing several times a week but needs must.

FatVonD

HoplessCase wrote: »

a jar of pasta bake, a jar of pasta sauce, pasta, spaghetti, tin of meatballs, sausage casserole mix, packet of smash, tin of new potatoes, some sliced cheese, bread, tin of tuna, condensed mushroom soup, tin of spaghetti, some bacon and a bit of salad in the fridge.

I'm not the best at these sort of things but until someone else comes along I'll tell you what I'd do with it.

I'd buy a packet of 8 sausages (with a long sell by date) and a couple of onions then halve the sausage casserole mix and cook only 2 or 3 of the sausages with it. Have this with half of the smash then do exactly the same later in the week. (2 meals)

The remaining 2 sausages cook and slice into half a jar of the pasta sauce and serve with pasta. (1 meal)

Chop up the bacon and do the same with the other half of the pasta sauce (1 meal)

Tin of meatballs in the pasta bake (2 meals)

New potatoes on the side of the salad and half a tin of the tuna for another meal (1 meals)

Keep the bread, cheese, tuna, salad and soup for lunches. At a push you could use the soup as a sauce on pasta.

PS You might want to buy some veggies while you're at the shop

*Chattie*

check your iphone for an app regarding recipes, I have a few on my phone somewhere

FatVonD

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I'm a single person as well and don't have a freezer either, so I know what you mean about eating the same thing several times a week but needs must.

I'm hearing you, I only have a very small freezer and there are only 3 of us here most of the time I so can't batch cook huge amounts, if I've cooked spag bol or chilli I usually use it as a topping for jacket potatoes if we've had it with rice or pasta the night before, a change is as good as a rest so they say!

ETA My post count is 666 :eek:

BitterAndTwisted

Batch-cooked items don't always have to go in the freezer. I make some recipes and keep them portioned up in the fridge for between 7 and 10 days. Same with soup.

666: The Number of the (Chicken) Breast

HoplessCase

FatVonD wrote: »

I'd buy a packet of 8 sausages (with a long sell by date) and a couple of onions then halve the sausage casserole mix and cook only 2 or 3 of the sausages with it. Have this with half of the smash then do exactly the same later in the week. (2 meals)

The remaining 2 sausages cook and slice into half a jar of the pasta sauce and serve with pasta. (1 meal)

Chop up the bacon and do the same with the other half of the pasta sauce (1 meal)

Tin of meatballs in the pasta bake (2 meals)

New potatoes on the side of the salad and half a tin of the tuna for another meal (1 meals)

I know it's actually quite simple but I am still impressed you can just list out ideas so easily - I always struggle trying to put meals together! Probably why I don't eat very well... :rotfl:

HoplessCase

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Batch-cooked items don't always have to go in the freezer. I make some recipes and keep them portioned up in the fridge for between 7 and 10 days. Same with soup.

666: The Number of the (Chicken) Breast

Are you serious BitterAndTwisted?! I thought you couldn't keep anything in the fridge past about 3 or 4 days - would make a massive difference if food is still edible a week later!!! :T

HoplessCase

Thanks to everyone for their ideas so far, I feel a bit more optimistic already!

It's really annoying not having a freezer, I used to cook up loads in my slow cooker and then store it all up in the freezer but alas no more!

It seems a couple of you have noticed the lack of vegetables too... in fact the salad is quite a rarity for me! I have IBS which means (for me) I have to limit the amount and types of veg I have but naughtily I just take the easy route and all too often just skip them completely!!! I also tend to work late quite often so by the time I get home it's no surprise to find me just eating toast!! (*slapped wrist for me*) This something I hope to work on though... (*straightens halo again*)

FatVonD

HoplessCase wrote: »

I know it's actually quite simple but I am still impressed you can just list out ideas so easily - I always struggle trying to put meals together! Probably why I don't eat very well... :rotfl:

I'm a novice at it, some of the more experienced old stylers would have fed the five thousand with all that and still have had leftovers to make pies with!

BitterAndTwisted

HoplessCase wrote: »

Are you serious BitterAndTwisted?! I thought you couldn't keep anything in the fridge past about 3 or 4 days - would make a massive difference if food is still edible a week later!!! :T

Of course I'm serious. Have you ever paid close attention to the "use-by" dates on shop-bought cook-chill items in the supermarket? Nearly all of them will allow you to quite safely store things in the fridge for a week or so. I've also eaten things which were way past their use-by dates so apply the same principle at home. I think this requires a fridge which is really good and cold which I do have. I think some people worry unnecessarily about dates and believe they are absolutely strict rules but I do not. I've heard of folk who THROW FOOD AWAY the day after the use-by date. :eek: Mental!