Feed a family of 4 on £100 for a month.

ciderwithrosie_2

I think making really good use of your freezer and not wasting anything that could be incorporated into another meal. Simple things like, if no one eats the beginning and end crusts of a loaf, then blitz them up into bread crumbs and freeze. These can be used to pad out mince for meatballs/meatloaf; in stuffings; as a topping mixed with a bit of grated cheese for a pasta or veg bake, as a crumb coating for fishcakes/rissoles or even in puddings.

Save plastic pots and trays to re freeze things in, or ask for contributions of plastic containers/freezer bags from family and friends - most people have got spares in the back of the cupboard they don't use.

A basic scone mix makes an acceptable pizza base, rather than buying bread flour, yeast etc.

I generally don't bother buying tinned tomatoes anymore I just buy passata which is pence but for homemade pizza mix a drained tin of tomatoes with grated cheese, grated onion, salt and pepper and a few herbs. Spread on to a base and top with some streaky bacon.

Corned beef and tinned fish are useful and cheap in Lidl/Aldi. My favourite sunday dinner when growing up was corned beef pasties, my mum & Dad couldn't afford a joint of meat very often. Served with peas and carrots and a beefy gravy, they're lush and good cold with a dollop of mustard.

Your slow cooker will be great for casseroling cheaper cuts, it also makes fab rice pudding.

When hubby was out of work and I was a SAHM (with 2 smallies then, ended up with 3) we had to get creative with our food budget and cooking. I would love to cut back on food shopping now but we both work full-time so my cooking/shopping opportunities are limited mainly to weekends and the boys are adults now with bigger appetites and opinions about what they want to eat.

Good luck with it and let us know how you get on

regards CWR

tessie_bear

op how are u all getting on ? well i hope

kahunababy

OK, please don’t shoot me down in flames but I have tried to work out what I would do if I was in this situation. I have had a look on Asda and worked out a meal plan for 2 weeks trying my hardest to stick to £50. Admittedly the meal plan isn’t very adventurous and I did come slightly over budget (£52.72) but it would be workable and I am sure with a little of shopping around and tweeking, some of the items could be bought cheaper elsewhere. Anyway here goes!

Meal Plan

Breakfast – Coco Krispies
Lunch – Egg Mayo & Onion Sandwich/Yogurt
Dinner – Chicken & Veg Curry (using 2 Chicken breast & some frozen Veg)

Breakfast – Toast & Jam
Lunch – Carrot & Lentil Soup/Bread/Jelly
Dinner – Spag Bol & Garlic Bread

Breakfast – Porridge
Lunch – Hot Dog Pasta/Yogurt
Dinner – Carrot & Lentil Soup/Rice Pudding & Jam

Breakfast – Coco Krispies
Lunch – Chicken Frittata/Jelly
Dinner – Cottage Pie

Breakfast – Toast & Jam
Lunch – Chicken & Rice
Dinner – Beans/Egg on toast

Breakfast – Pancakes & Syrup
Lunch – Hot Dogs & Chips
Dinner – Chill & Rice

Brunch – Beans/Egg on Toast
Dinner – Roast Chicken Dinner/Potatoes/Veg/Stuffing/Gravy

Breakfast – Porridge
Lunch – Carrot & Lentil Soup/Yogurt
Dinner – Chicken Fried Rice & Spring Roll

Breakfast – Toast & Jam/Marg
Lunch – Sausage & Pasta/Jelly
Dinner – Beans/Egg on Toast

Breakfast – Porridge
Lunch – Chicken & Rice/Yogurt
Dinner – Spag Bol

Breakfast – Coco Krispies
Lunch – Chicken Mayo Sandwich/Jelly
Dinner – Chicken & Bacon Pasta Bake

Breakfast – Toast & Jam
Lunch – Chicken & Rice/Yogurt
Dinner – Chilli

Breakfast - Porridge
Lunch – Jacket Spud & Chicken Mayo
Dinner – Sausage Casserole

Brunch – Sausage Egg & Beans with Toast
Dinner – Cottage Pie

The shopping list goes like this.

2 x 907g Frozen Mince £ 6.52
3 x Fresh Whole Chicken £10.00
Frozen Casserole Veg £ 1.00
Curry Sauce .19p
2x 1kg Rice .80p
2x Tin Tomatoes .66p
2x Spaghetti .36p
2x Garlic Bread .68p
1 Kg Carrots .94p
500g Red Lentils £1.14
Stock Cubes .58p
Cottage Pie Mix .50p
2x 2.5Kg Potatoes £1.94
3x 500g Pasta .54p
Chicken Soup .17p
Cooking Bacon .75p (Tesco’s)
Chilli Powder .59p
Stuffing Mix .15p
Frozen Peas .85p
Stork £1.00
Frozen Cauliflower .90p
Frozen Sweetcorn .94p
Spring Rolls £1.00
4x Beans £1.04
3x Loaves Bread £2.22
2x Tin Hot Dogs .90p
2x Packs Hot Dog Rolls £1.50
20 x Sausages £1.00
Sausage Casserole Mix .30p
2x Tins Rice Pudding .30p
2x Packs Yogurts .88p
4x 2lt Whole Milk £3.60
Porridge Oats .75p
15x Eggs £1.25
2x Tins Pineapple .86p
2x Tins Peaches .58p
Mayo .48p
Strawberry Jam .80p
Coco Krispies .64p
Self Raising Flour .52p
Sugar .80p
Gravy .20p
Golden Syrup .77p
Orange Squash .94p
Pasta Sauce .19p (Tesco’s)

As you can probably see, there are a couple of things I couldn’t find on the Asda website but I know how much they are in Tesco’s so I have included them. Nearly everything is Asda Smartprice. I have assumed you have nothing in so if you have the likes of chilli powder etc you might be able to get the cost down a touch and come in under budget. I have also threw in a couple of tins of fruit as I was aware there is no fruit in the meal plan. Personally I would use the fruit for the kids with packed lunches or pudding. I would only give the yogurts to the kids, My hubby & I would go without. I am no expert and this meal plan isn’t the best but it is what I would do if I was in your shoes. Maybe someone else might be able to tweak it so it is better?

With the carrots I would make a giant pan of carrot and lentil soup, really filling, even throw in a couple of potatoes to thicken it up a touch. I have also included a bottle of squash as kids get bored of water very quickly. I have include whole milk for a reason, if you normally drink semi skimmed you can water whole milk down till it tastes the same as semi and you get nearly double for your money. With the flour and sugar maybe you could make some treats for lunch boxes, jam buns come to mind, also pancakes as a treat. This place is littered with recipes to make something from nothing! I’m sure someone can point you to the recipe thread (I am writing this in word then copying & Pasting so I can’t add links). Also you may have noticed I have put down 3 whole chickens, if you have a look on the rubber chicken thread you will be amazed how far one can go and I would say you would only need to use 2 Chickens for this plan so would have one sat in the freezer for next week! Bulk up the cottage pie/chilli/spag bol with some lentils and veg so you have one to freeze for the following week. Portion size, we are all guilty of piling too much on our plates, try putting half of what you normally have, eat slower, drink plenty of water and you will be surprised that you are just as satisfied as you would have been before.

Also, keep your eye out for coupons, I recently got 3 boxes of Shreaddies for fee as there was £1 off coupon and they were on offer for £1 at Tesco's.

Really hope this helps. If you need any clarification on anything, just ask.

CompBunny

Wow Kahuna, I'm impressed! How very kind of you to research all of that for OP, and useful for many other OS-ers as well!

Thankyou!

fd1972uk

Yeah is there something else you can possibly play about with?

Also, you could maybe jump on the likes of Tesco and/or Asda and do a rough order up to see what you can buy, sometimes they have good deals.

Also not sure if you have a Farmfoods near you, I find them brilliant price wise for freezer stuff and usually they give out vouchers too (for every £25 spent £2.50 off).

I see people are obviously giving you some tips on the likes of growing stuff and making things from scratch, but from your post you said that you are okay in the kitchen, but maybe a bit afraid to start from the beginning with stuff.

It's getting into the cold weather too, a good pot full of homemade soup can be made for a few pounds and could you feed you for 2 to 3 days.



FD

chickywiggle

thanks kahunababy I must get round to my meal planning now I have done a big shop (i know i work backwards).

Have to 2nd Farm Foods - have done 3/4 of my monthly shop in there for £47 this week (and we eat a lot of processed food - golden drummers, chicken steaks, fish fingers).

Just made myself homemade spag bol (for the 1st time EVER)..... a few strands of tesco value spaghetti (verrry cheap - but can't remember exactly as it was bought ages ago) and 400g of Morrisons value fresh mince which I believe was £2.99 or £3.99 for 800g .......... the mince is one of the best I've tasted. (also added a tin of tesco oxtail soup that i had in cupboard,some cherry tomatoes we grew in the garden and are overrun with (do they freeze?) and some tomato puree and dried herbs).

YORKSHIRELASS

Some great suggestions on here. Serve bread with meals too, it helps fill everyone up. Tesco do 4 x part baked rolls for 49p and these go down a treat with stews or soups. I do have a breadmaker but these are so cheap that they are handy to have in the cupboard.

Also puddings, can you get some free apples anywhere? I feel guilty because I have just posted that I am getting a bit overwhelmed with the free apples!! Hot puddings are really filling when its cold, even a steamed fruit pudding only needs very basic ingredients.

Oh and Kahuna - that has to be one of the best posts I have seen in ages.

deb68_2

we spent £48 at Asda 5 weeks ago shelves still got loads of pasta,rice,cereal,salt pepper curry sauces,beans,spagetti,rice pudding etc this week we spent £43 in mr ts on freah meat , diff flour tea,coffee suger,
some crisps few loaves bread as the were 20p each,potatoes,fruit,butter, a big tub of marge for cookin,onions,yeast
an we spent £23 in wilkinsons on dog food,

our cuboards an the shelves/pantry oh made have loads food on/in them
the upright freezer is stuffed full 1st 3 shelves in it are full of food we batched cooked, next 2 shelves 6 pkts 800grams mince,for mince n mash,shepherdss pie,chilli con cane spagetti bolanaise
3 pkts stewing steak for currys,pies,passtys etc,4 fresh chicken a huge joint of pork that will do roast dinners for 4,currys,stews,the reat will be sliced up for another roast dinner

the other freezer one under the fridge has our home grown veg in an the bread we got cheap, an some scrummy crumpets reciepe from someone lovely on here
we have 6 pkts loo rolls, toothpaste shower gel shampoo condidioner etc an washing powder

yes i do think you can do it an i think when you an your other half get into it like me an my lovely oh you will enjoy it,enjoy seeing how much you can do with what you have how nicer your food will taste
thier are some awesome people on here i just read what they were saying an re read it till i understood it all

you will do it an you will be ok KEEP SMILING
xx

patchwork_cat

The batch bake mince recipe makes 8 meals at £1 a meal estimated.

deb68_2

ooopppps for got Milk as well have to have my cuppas