eat for 30 quid a week

Gothicfairy

What I did was start with a store cupboard of dried pulses, beans etc and now I shop proper about once a month maybe less then that but bulk buy where I can..So at the moment I have about 2 tray's (24 cans) of toms that I got for £2 as the outer packing was damaged..I also buy cheese and veg on their sell by date and cook it for later..same with meat and fish

So far this month I have made ( not the list for the whole month clearly but the bits I remember )

Nut roast... I made this with a small bit of Cous cous, bulgar wheat , some mixed nuts from a Tesco bag of healthy choice nut mix ( sell by date thing 75p for 400g)
eggs that I get for free

I had that hot one day with potatoes ( use by date from the co-op at 92p per bag)

Cold day 2 with cold pots and some lettice / salad mix that was on offer that day for 32p

Warm day 3 as a hash with the left over pots etc

I then made a lentil curry which turned into soup day 2 and dip/ drink thing day 3

I got 2 cauliflowers from my local co op for 50p and made cauliflower cheese and then had cauliflower soup and puree there after

I cook all things from scratch and have found with a little bit of thinking it can be done..

A whole chicken from Aldi can be around £2.50 and that will do at least 3 meals with the bones making stock as well.

I cook very American type food as well so can do a mean breakfast with biscuits and sausage gravy ( which only needs one sausage out of a use by date pack)

Frozen sweetcorn can also make fritters and I also use leftover pots for potato cakes etc..

I am shocked that I manage it to be honest but I enjoy cooking and love looking at stuff and working out what I can do with it..As long as I have flour and yeast in most things are possible and I am a great fan of milk powder and things like that as they just don't seem to go off..Also I do have my own idea about sell by dates and as long as it smells and looks fine, I will eat it.

I am also not beyond dumpster diving if the chance arrives...

mymerrywidow

i have been trying and failing to spend less than £10 a day since begining of june. i am gonna have another tryon july 1st

WhiteHorse

kentguy07 wrote: »

Do you think its possibly to live on £30 a week "by living I mean food wise" could you live on £30 a week or less? just for 1 person.

I can. I do. And I don't go short, either.

tessie_bear

thanks gothic fairy thats interesting....do u get much variety ? it sounds like u do but i have found we end up eating the same things and kids start moaning

Bob_the_Saver

kentguy07 wrote: »

Do you think its possibly to live on £30 a week "by living I mean food wise" could you live on £30 a week or less? just for 1 person.

If so what is the cheapest place to shop for food out of the supermarkets.

Easy, we spend 40 euros a week on food for 2 adults, simple answer is make meals don't buy pre-prepared. This includes non alcoholic drinks but not pet food or soap etc, just food.

kentguy07

I just did not realise. Its easy to go in to a super market and spend a tenner or twenty quid but making it stretch. Its just I am learning to cook and want to cook for myself but on a budget.

Thank you guys for the info. I will give it a shot tomorrow

Gothicfairy

tessie_bear wrote: »

thanks gothic fairy thats interesting....do u get much variety ? it sounds like u do but i have found we end up eating the same things and kids start moaning

I try to eat something different every night if possible.

Tonight it was pizza made from scratch with left over stuff on top..Tomorrow the left over dough will become a stuffed roll

That is something your kids might like :
plain/ normal bread dough
pizza sauce or anything knocking around
Cheese

Take a small ball of dough ( golf ball size) roll it out into a round shape.
put some pizza sauce and cheese in the middle and tuck the edges in to make a ball.

cook in a medium hot oven for about 20 min.. Great for the lunch box or work

You can also do the same but fry them.. Best eaten hot though as they get a bit odd cold

If I take a normal week I will manly go for American breakfast of :
plain biscuits with sausage gravy , Grits, Bacon and pancakes, welsh cakes, eggs and left overs, mexican burritos which again is a left over meal..

I don't eat lunch but that is just me

Dinner would be :
American fritters , fried chicken/Collard greens and pork etc...Italian spag bog or polenta ( corn meal that can be used in American / mexican food ) and roast veg, gnocci and tom sauce etc...Jewish chicken soup and dumpings etc...Mexican tortilla pie (using corn meal to make the torillas and mince that would be half a pound from the spag bog) red rice and peas ,Frijoles Charros that use dried kidney beans ( make twice the amount and make a chilli)
Then there is English food of Roast chicken and fixings then making chicken pot pie etc.

I try to eat around the world(or as many places as I can think of )every week and really enjoy trying new things and seeing what works. I find that if I have an open mind about what should be eaten when I can get around most things

One thing to try is breakfast biscuits with leftover chicken and stuffing with sausage gravy..that is one of the best things going LOL

I have also found that making things like batch biscuits or cowboy means really help as it can be added to other things and I always have a bowl of tom mush in the fridge which is really just cooked tinned or fresh toms, garlic, herbs , salt etc and that can go with pasta as a pesto or in spag bog / mexican food

I also make a big batch of plain curry sauce ( toms, onion, garlic, ginger, corriander, cumin etc etc) and then use that to add to Chicken, lentils, Lamb etc

When I cook rice I make twice as much as you can do fried rice with cold leftovers, or what I call smush...rice with everything chucked in and spiced to liking.

Hash is another great one.....


I could go on all night but that would drive you to drink :rotfl:

Ilona

kentguy07 wrote: »

Do you think its possibly to live on £30 a week "by living I mean food wise" could you live on £30 a week or less? just for 1 person.

If so what is the cheapest place to shop for food out of the supermarkets.

Yes, it's easy. I aim to make an evening meal for less then £1, often it is only about 50p. Like someone mentioned, don't get all your food from one shop, cherry pick the best offers from all the shops. You don't need to make special journeys, just call in when you are passing. Get used to memorising the prices of everything you buy so you can compare in your head. One tip I will mention is to drop the meat, that will bring your costs right down. You won't die if you don't eat meat.
Ilona

SimIsOnTheUp

Hiya,

I'm currently on ESA due to health issues, and have been struggling to spend less than £40 - odd per week, on food :-/

Been doing an online shop, weekly, at Asda.

I'm amazed by how cheaply, yet healthily you all seem to eat

All of the above is fine and dandy, but I don't have a freezer (yet..) and I'm a hopeless cook!

Cheers - Sim x

SimIsOnTheUp

Even the price of basic stuff, like bread has rocketed recently