Who regularly eats well for 1 on £10 per week, please share your best ideas?

beautifylife

Hi - I've been checking out the forums so people don't feel like they have to repeat themselves here with previous info. I notice that there was a similar thread about £30 week. My budget is much slimmer than that.

I'm on a very low income currently, so have to be extremely careful, I sometimes find it quite stressful and have been managing for quite sometime, previously I wasn't in this position so it's been an adjustment but is a constant pressure.

I'm not the greatest cook, I can cook but baking isn't my strength! I'm good with the basics like, salads, soups, stews, snacks, egg dishes, dips, smoothies!

I'm a veggie so meat isn't a consideration for me, which keeps costs down. However I do eat a lot of fresh fruit and veg which can be expensive in supermarkets. I always check out the bargain reduced areas which have been wonderful. My best buy to date was 6 items for £2.60 on the reduced section! But that was a one off really! Sometimes I'm lucky enough to pick up lots of veg or fruit reduce to 10p a bag, e.g. mixed lettuce, bread, oranges etc.

I also like to get food for free in nature. I often used wild edibles like nettles (soups, stews, juices, smoothies), dandelions, fruit, berries etc which is great because I eat a lot of raw food. Wild food is highly nutritious and cheap! This is the way hundreds of years ago as a nation in UK we supplemented our food supply. We have lost the art although it seems to be coming back. If anyone has any ideas or resources about this please let me know I'm always eager to learn more.

The supermarkets in my area currently are Morrisons, and Asda which are in cycling or walking distance. I currently don't have a car and so buying in bulk is tricky for weight reasons. I try to cut down on bus fares which add about £4 to my bill on a return journey and which I still have to walk home from as they drop away from home.

I'd especially like to hear from people who are managing to live on their food budget of £10 per week as a single person because this is a must rather than a need.

Thanks to everyone in advance for any further ideas you can offer.

Gothicfairy

Have you tried nettle beer ?

I make :
Rowan jelly
Rosehip syrup
Sloe gin
All things nettle
Horseradish sauce
Horseradish vinegar
Blackberry jam
blackberry vinegar
All thing Elder

Etc and there is a fig tree not far from me that I have my eye on.
I eat wild mushrooms (only as long as I am 100% sure what they are ) haselnuts and have had a go at making acorn flour

I live off a quid a day at the moment and do that with the help of a store cupboard I save up to fill once every 6 plus months and make everything myself.

I have lentils / pulses in as standard and always try to have tins of toms, garlic, chillies, onions etc
I honestly think that something like orange lentils (big bag for under a quid at asda) can be turned into anything from soup to nut (ish) loaf

I am a bit of a piggy with food and love flavour etc so really enjoy cooking and trying new things.
I also find that mexican and White Trash / cajun, creole ( said with love and respect cos of the capitals..those White Trash among us will understand) cooking is easy to do and cheap..it is very corn meal / biscuits / grits heavy and those fill you up for the whole day and are easy as to make/ keep
Once you have a good spice stock you can make even the cheapest things taste fab and no one will even know how cheap it was.

415SanFran

I don't think people in the UK even know what grits and biscuits are, you may have to explain how you cook them.
Grits....I have no idea I hate the stuff personally.
Biscuits.....mmm kinda like a scone I guess.
Hubby always called "jello" Food Stamp food

Gothicfairy

Jello is just god awful, much like gaterade..ugh..

I love grits with butter and cheese but maybe I am just odd..lol

Biscuits are an odd one cos scones are sweet and rise well where buttermilk biscuits are kinda plan and normal but taste so good with Chicken and sausage gravy..or white gravy...or corn fritters..you can see where I am going with that one LOL

Pupnik

Asda sell a massive bag of pasta shapes for £3- a MASSIVE bag, but it'll last ages. Not sure about Morrisons (and my Asda doesn't have it that cheap) but you can get very cheap tins or cartons of chopped tomatoes which are great for all sorts of things- I get the Sainsbury's basics one for around 30p and it is a good easy and cheap way of getting veggies. I like to make a spicey tomato soup by blending it with vegetable stock (Marigold Swiss veggie powder rather than cubes as it goes much further) and spices and some cheapo dried noodles and a scoop of peanut butter for some creaminess, but of course you can do all the usual pasta sauces and things too- but don't limit yourself to them.

Do you have Lidl, Aldi or any Asian stores near you? Rice can be quite pricey in the usual supermarkets but you can get nice big sacks from Asian supermarkets and sometimes Lidl do them too. They are about £5 a bag but it could last months- I don't have a car either but I have a trolley on wheels for things like that, it's great. Asian stores are also much better priced for things like spices and lentils.

Frozen veg can be really handy, I always have frozen peas, sweetcorn and mixed peppers- they're a lot cheaper than fresh or tinned and just as good for using in stir fries, pizza toppings etc. I think it is about £1 for a huge bag of mixed peppers- so much cheaper than fresh and really great for so many things.

Bulk out your meals with cheap ingredients like onions and carrots, bulghar wheat, oats- whatever is suitable.

When you go foraging for reduced items make sure you go at the right time- I find around 4:30 is a good time, I think they do a big reduction frenzy around there to sell to people on their way home from work, but if you aren't working sneak in and make merry. Smaller stores like Co Op seem to reduce much later so it is good to pop along to them before closing- they are usually overpriced but they make massive reductions, eg the one near me always seems to get stuck with loads of brocolli which I snap up for 25p each. Feel free to ask a member of staff if they are reducing things- they have been very helpful for me in the past when they have told me what they will be reducing and you can pick up 'luxury' items for fairly good prices, like ready made quiches for 25p (4 servings so pretty good!) If you have any markets selling veg you could time your visit for when they are packing up and see if there is anything they want to offload dirt cheap- even if the condition isn't great it will probably still be perfectly fine for soups and stews and things.

Not sure if you like the 'fake meat' style foods but in Asda you can get pouches of things like 'veggie sausage mix' or 'nut roast mix', they are around 75p and you can get quite a lot out of them- I usually bulk them out a bit by adding my own extra ingredients.

hearts

Potatoes roasted Monday
Potatoes Mashed Tuesday
Potatoes Chipped Wednesday
Potatoes Mashed with Cabbage Thursday
Potatoes Chipped and in Curry Friday
Potatoes Boiled Saturday
Potatoes Roasted in Goose fat Sunday.

gallygirl

Good advice so far :j.

Do you use freecycle at all? Why not ask for a wheelie trolley thing - that way you could buy more in bulk. They're v trendy at the moment as well

Good luck - anyone COULD live on £10 for one week but to HAVE to do it week in, week out must be very stressful. Hope things look up soon for you

Pisces

When I lived on my own (five or six years ago), I used to live on about £12 a week. I know stuff has gone up lots since then, but with some thought I guess it's tight, but do-able.

My favourite thing was a big veggie lasagne with homemade chips, which would last me two days plus a meal in the freezer for the following week.

Homemade chips - any potatoes you can buy, value absolutely fine, wash and chop them in wedges. Put a small amount of oil and brush around on a baking tray, put the pots on and swish them around to get oil on them, put them in the oven for 40 mins and they're done.

Lasagne - any veggies you can find (fresh, frozen, tinned or a mix) red lentils in you have them and three or four tins of chopped tinned toms. Chop veggies and fry off in a saucepans for a few mins, add tinned toms and lentils until moist consistency and cook for 20-30 mins, until veggies are soft. Layer with lasagne sheets in baking dish and top with a tin of macaroni cheese. Bake in the oven for about 10 mins. Yumm!

415SanFran

I know this might sound a little silly, but could you afford a small order from approved foods?
At the moment they have a CASE of soup lentils for 99p.
A 3kilo bag of chickpeas for a small price. (this would probably last you a year, for hummus and curries, that sort of thing)
A CASE (18 packs) of stock cubes (again a years supply)
If you shop wisely on there at the moment and could afford, say 20 pounds, you could get a years supply of quite a few things, that way if you can't get to the shops for any reason, or you just can't afford to you still eat.

415SanFran

Good to see that you are using mother nature as a helper.
Did you know that rosehips have more vitC in than anything else, at the first sign of a cold this is always what I reach for, the cordial made into a warm drink, or if I have a sore throat a little mixed with plain yogurt, do you make your own yogurt by the way? No need for the fancy equipment, and a good way to get some fruit down you.
Living on such a low income long term, if you are not careful can be very detrimental to your health over a long period, if all you are eating is ramon noodles or the like. Did you know that if you were to eat pitta bread with hummus, (home made) with some spinach, that will cover you for all you bodily needs.
I know with the price of fuel you might not like the sound of beans and the like, but I guess you could cook up the whole pack and then put them in the freezer in smaller amounts.
Have you though of making your own washing powder? Or using 10p shower gel as handwash. All these tricks can save a few pounds here and there so you can spend a little extra on other things, even if it is a really thick sweater from ebay so you can keep an eye on energy bills in the winter.

Sorry for the ramble!

beautifylife

Hi, firstly I wanted to say thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond and especially for posting a few times, I really value it.

I don't drink (although at times I have been tempted!) so that keeps costs down. I really like the sound of all the other things you do, I love to swap more ideas.

You are right though, no idea how to cook grits or biscuits - I have tried them before, if you have any links please post, but I can google for info so no pressure.

I can see that I'm going to have to consider how I can get around the buying in bulk because it sounds like a worthwhile strategy which I use to do when I had transport. Free cycle is a good idea so I'll check it out thanks for the tip.

I also appreciated the help about approved foods, I'll have to take another look on their site. I tend to eat a lot of fresh food, although I do freeze lots of fruit for smoothies and keep some frozen veg in the freezer for quick soups, stews.

Can I check where you were buying your £1 bag of frozen veg please?

In terms of nutrition - I know I'm doing well because I eat v. little junk and I have studied it for many years. It's more about being able to not compromise the nutrition while still being able to meet my budget! I really appreciated the comment about having to manage longer term on this amount. It's certainly been an education. I used to think I was good with my food budget, now I have to be much more creative. It's a challenge but I realise I never throw food away. Everything gets recycled where possible and I juice, freeze or turn things into smoothies.

Top tip: buy bananas with the brown sugar spots on because they are at their ripest and best for absorbtion. Supermarkets always tend to reduce these. I often get a full bag for 23p especially at Morrisons. You can freeze them and make great smoothies or even ice cream if put in the blender with eg. a little orange juice to get it going.

I'll check out the lentils at Asda, I only saw them in the Asian section is that where they are?

When possible I also do go to an Asian store, mostly for nuts, seeds, spices, dried fruit, some fruit and veg, rice - it takes about 1hr with 2 buses and train for single journey! Nothing really local available. But if I am going anywhere I always batch tasks and activities together, so I get shopping, meet a friend and go to a meeting, take back library books etc all together. That saves a lot just being careful with your time and energy and makes the trip enjoyable and cost effective although a little tiring at times!

For paper goods I always buy the cheapest, I'd rather spend money on what goes inside rather, than on the outside or being flushed away!! For hand soap I just use washing up liquid - cheapest option, and when I do travel to the asian store, I also pick up anything I can from pound shops or the like. They often have good deals on tissues sometimes you can save between £1-2 on a double box, so worth stocking up.

I'd be interested to hear how you make your own washing powder please tell me more?

I don't tend to eat much pasta or bread because it doesn't agree with me too much and I find I get quite hungry. But I do make my own dips from canned and dried peas/beans which is a big saving.

Just a thought - yes would like to learn about how to make yogurt - I know what you mean about the equipment costs! Can you say more. Where do you buy 10p shower gel from? Thanks for rambling it's been very helpful, so don't stop!!

If anything else comes to mind please let me know, any other saving tips you can think of much appreciated. :A