£10 a week food budget for 1 :)

siaoeh

can't post much now, but just have a quick one to add... noticed you said you have Aldi nearby... if you're buying chicken, I think the cheapest you will find is their chicken quarters.. 2 of them for 99p! they don't all weigh the same though, so have a feel and nab the heaviest! :-) roast them, curry them, de-bone and cut into strips for sitrfry etc

Boodle

Wow Skint Yet Again - those shopping lists and meal plans are great! Thanks for sharing

Sunflower, you could try the 2012 Living Below the Line Challenge, where people posted meal plans for £1 per day, stretching over 5days. Obviously you have £3 more than that to play with but it could be a good base to expand on perhaps. This was my contribution (shopping at Asda):

Tin of bean and pea mix 25p
500g self raising flour 40p
Smartprice mustard 34p
Smartprice malt vinegar 13p
Onions x 3 22.8p
Carrots x 5 39p
Smartprice fruit and nut mix 200g bag 58p
Smartprice tin of peaches 29p
Smartprice cornflakes 750g bag 46p
Smartprice 1 litre soya milk 59p
Smartprice salad bag 44p
Smartprice tin of baked beans 29p
Smartprice pasta 30p
Smartprice tea bags 27p
Total £4.96 .... if you preferred dairy milk, then with smartprice UHT milk at 49p the total would be £4.86.

Breakfasts
Cornflakes with milk and a cup of tea (cereal is fortified with vitamins and minerals, bonus!)

Lunches
Bean pate on scones, and a couple of peach slices diced up afterwards. (Just to add, I think the peaches might be nice
on the pate-spread scone...)
(bean pate would be made with half the tin of bean and pea mix with a little mustard and vinegar to taste)
(scones would be made with 200g self raising flour, 100ml milk, 1 tbsp vinegar and of mustard - baked at 180C for 20 minutes)

Snack
1 carrot per day cut into batons and some of the nuts from the fruit and nut mix

Dinners
Pasta with marinated onion and raisin salad, with salad leaves x 2
(marinate a sliced onion and some of the raisins from the fruit unt mix in a combo of vinegar, mustard and water for a couple of hours, then mix wit freshly cooked pasta)

Baked beans on toasted soda bread, with salad leaves

(use half the tin of baked beans. Make the soda bread using around 100g self raising flour, mix in 50ml milk with 1 tbsp vinegar and add a handful of raisins from the fruit nut mix. Shape on a baking tray and bake at 180C for around 40 minutes. Split and toast the cut sides when cooled slightly. Top with beans.)

Southern-style Cobbler, with salad leaves x 2

(put the remaining half of the baked beans and tin of bean and pea mix in a casserole dish with a diced onion and a diced carrot. Put in an 180C oven for around 30 minutes. Mix the cobbler mix up: stir 100ml milk and 1 tbsp vinegar and 1 tsp mustard into 200g self raising flour. Spoon the cobbler mix over the top and bake a further 20-30 minutes.)

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Potatoes are your new friend. Jacket spuds are cheap and filling, and can be had with cheapo beans, cheese (grated goes further), tuna and any leftover chilli/curry you have.

If you're feeling deprived of snacks, a bag of popping corn is about £1.40 and lasts for ages as you only need a small amount to make a bowl. You can eat it while watching telly in the dark and pretend you're at the cinema; where you would have paid about £5 for the same amount.

vodkawitch1

This is what I buy when really skint.

Porridge - 60p
powdered milk - £1
7 bananas - £1
12 eggs - £1
4 baking poatoes £1
bag pasta 60p
block cheese £2
bag bacon bits £1
bag of apples £1
1 pkt custard creams biscuits 39p
Teabags 27p

Thats it and it does breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Sunflower1227

Just like to say a big thanks to everyone

got-it-spend-it

Isn't it interesting how different everyone's lists are?

I would go for the following:

Breakfasts-
Value Muesli- 1kg- 98p (would last at least 2 weeks)
Milk- 4 pints- £1.00 (should be enough for teas as well)

Lunches-
Value Noodles- 11p- x 4= 44p (add a handful of frozen veg as below)
Potatoes- 2.5kg- £1.35 (Jacket potatoes for three lunches)
Baked Beans- 27p- x 2 = 54p (half a tin per jacket potato- last half tin added to chilli for dinner below)

Dinner-
Chilli for 2 nights made from:
Kidney Beans- 18p
Tinned Tomatoes- 31p
Onion- 16p
Half tin of beans as above
Chilli powder- 98p (would last more than one week)
Potato Wedges from potatoes above.


Lentil soup for two nights made from:
Handful of lentils- 500g- 83p
Passata- 29p
Onion-16p
Handful of frozen veg- 1kg- 75p

Tomato-lentil Pasta for three nights:
Onion-16p
Tinned Tomatoes- 31p
Value Penne- 500g- 30p (would last more than one week)
Red lentils- as above
Optional addition of frozen veg

I've also included Value tea bags- 27p (would last more than a week)
7 x bananas- 94p

Which I make £9.92 for a week, but with quite a bit left over for next week, which would enable more variety for next week.

Sorry, those are Tesco prices and I've just seen you don't have one nearby. I imagine Asda/Aldi would be cheaper though so you may sneak in some extra fruit or veg from Aldi.

little_miss_moneysaver_3

Already some great ideas here, havent got any wisdom to share really. But as you have nothing in the cupboards, something I found really useful was a tub of dried mixed herbs. In @sda and MrT they're about 19p and will last for ages. Liven up casseroles, spagbol etc. obv great if you can grow your own but a great thing or the cupboard

meanmarie

Aldi here (ROI) normally have some kind of potato on their super six list...we have been buying these lately as most we have paid was €65c for 2 kg....not sure if they do that in UK but is certainly cheapest way to buy potatoes...if you transfer them immediately into a paper bag they will keep much better than if you leave in plastic.

HTH

Marie

Popperwell

Being in between knowing how my benefits will be affected when I come into Mum's savings(Mum sadly passed away a few weeks ago)and worring about paying the energy bills and rent/community charge...

I have been trying to have reasonably healthy meals and eat on a budget. I have found(possibly because I am still grieving or perhaps just because I am now single, I am managing on one or two meals daily, trying to portion out what I buy so I can have a few meals out of what I purchase.

I have found that many items in the Tesco's Every day range have the same Calories, fat, sugar etc...as the same items priced much higher. I have managed to eat cereal/porridge with fruit and milk and that usually fills me quite well...

And manage a decent meal(hot or cold)in the evening.

Sometimes my food costs £1.50 per day, sometimes £1 or less each day.

Sometimes it has to basic/comfort food but I am still trying not to fall into the trap of just surviving on cans of soup/baked beans...

I do still try to have a real meal and not lose interest in cooking which could happen being single.

Last Sunday I managed to do a Sunday Lunch for one and another night I had a mixed grill(Mushrooms, bacon, sausages, egg, tomatoes and baked beans)

I think that actually worked out at £1 and a little desert to follow so that came out at around £1.25(If purchased at Tesco's Caf!! They charge £4.25)
Probably good value and great as a treat. Lovely having it cooked for you instead of having do do it yourself but nearly £5 is still quite expensive.

Yet BHS if you live near one have been doing free meals I believe if you can find the link and go in with a voucher. But again no good if you have to travel specially to get it.

Frozen vegetables can be measured out to do a few meals. And they can be as good as fresh vegetables.

I am also trying to use the main electric oven less or cook a few things when its on to save on energy costs and I have a couple of microwave ovens and am thinking of getting a halogen oven...

I have a slow cooker but haven't quite got the hang of it...but probably will...and I do try and spot bargains.

We have a Tesco's and a Heron Freezer shop on town but soon we will have an Aldi and they seem to offer quite a lot of great items at decent prices but its going to take 18 months before it is built and trading...and travelling to a neighbouring town to an Aldi store would mean any savings made would be lost because of the cost of using a bus or taxi...

calicocat

Great ideas on here.

If you have any local ,or that you pass at times often the asian shops are cheap for herbs and spices,and larger bags too. They can also be cheaper for bags of nuts.

Chinese wholesalers are good too.....I buy a chilli garlic sauce from one that costs £1.25 and lasts ages ...(£3.99 at local farm market and farm shops !!)

I would when you can start to build up herbs and spices so you don't get bored.

Good luck.......amd aldi is great for passatta ,and grapes,the grapes last for ages unlike some shops.