Hi all-joining you here as money is going to be a bit tight

Toomuchdebt

for pretty much the next 2 months...after that I'll be OK..so this week I have done a big shop so only have milk left to buy,next week I will have only 59pounds to spend on food for 6 kids, and the week after that 85.July looks like it'll be around 80 a week.August we will be on holiday for 2 weeks so not much spending there as we're staying with family in Poland.
I'm still 66pounds short on bills for this week but nothing I can do about that.
Dinner tomorrow is pork casserole which will be slow cookered,with rice as I have no potatoes(I forgot to buy them) but have no idea what to do for the rest of the week.I managed to get lots of reduced bread which is all in the freezer so lunches are fine.
I'm on Cambridge diet so no need for me to eat anything,so it's just stuff for the kids.Any ideas(the kids eat masses)?

Linda32

Hi, Have a look at what you have already got in, you might find you don't need that much extra food anyway.

How old are your children? anything special needed. Within reason its not the time for any fussy eaters. Health situations aside of course

I've no idea what the requirements are for The Cambridge Diet, but you must need to eat something :eek:

Best of luck

hilstep2000

Hi ther,
You will find loads of advice on here. Fill up on potatoes, rice and beans. Look in the cupboard and be inventive! You can do it if you try. Work out what meals you can make, and meal plan.
You can make soda bread (no yeast) if necessary.
If you do go to the SM, look for reduced meat,.fish and veg.
Try things like veg stuffed pancakes or spanish omlettes too. They don't cost much, but can be very filling.
Good luck!

bestestmum

hi, I'm a mother of five and I know how you feel. Some of the quick filling meals i do on a budget is Corned Beef Pie which is quick, (mashed Potatoes mix with a tin of corned beef and put in oven dish, grated cheese and pop in oven for 35 mins have it with beans.) approx £2.00 price divided by five kids = 40p per serving.

3 packets of Noodles (the 10p ones) with value sausages, some frozen mixed veg and salad is another favourite of the kids. I never by salad bags as they are too dear and don't last. this works out at about the same price per serving as previous meal.

Hope this helps.... x

joedenise

Jacket potatoes with beans and grated cheese is cheap. Anything using eggs is quite cheap - egg, chips & beans; quiche - my kids' favourite used to be tuna and sweetcorn which is quite reasonable, they had it with a bit of salad and new boiled potatoes. This is quite filling because of the pastry which again is really cheap to make.

Fishcakes made using leftover mash and tinned fish, sardines are cheaper than tuna or salmon and make good ones (I think the Aldi sardines are about 45p a tin)

HTH

Denise

bargainbetty

Hang on, you're paying for the Cambridge shakes/soups etc, and budgeting for cheaper meals for your kids?

Sorry, but I'm pretty sure that overall a meal replacement plan for you works out as more expensive than cooking healthy meals for yourself. Meal replacement plans are also quite bad for weight loss - you will lose it initially, but when you return to 'real' food, you will regain it, because you have not learned how to adjust your food consumption. Trust me, been there!

Eat healthy food, teach your kids to do it to by sharing it with them? Wholemeal toast with baked beans and a poached egg on it is cheap and incredibly nutritious, as an example.

Toomuchdebt

bargainbetty wrote: »

Hang on, you're paying for the Cambridge shakes/soups etc, and budgeting for cheaper meals for your kids?

Sorry, but I'm pretty sure that overall a meal replacement plan for you works out as more expensive than cooking healthy meals for yourself. Meal replacement plans are also quite bad for weight loss - you will lose it initially, but when you return to 'real' food, you will regain it, because you have not learned how to adjust your food consumption. Trust me, been there!

Eat healthy food, teach your kids to do it to by sharing it with them? Wholemeal toast with baked beans and a poached egg on it is cheap and incredibly nutritious, as an example.

\
Yes I know what you're saying BUT I have been massively overweight my entire life-and I don't mean a few stone-I weighed 12 stone too much!!I have tried and tried all diets-and failed-this is the only diet that I have had success with and so I am sticking to it.Eating now would be the end of me.It's not as bad as it sounds-I was given a lot of packs from a friend who stopped doing it and I also got a lot left over from before I got pregnant, so I am only paying 28 a week for packs as I am using up the old ones but need the support of someone as well.
I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't have expensive hobbies-this diet is the only thing I am doing for myself because my blood pressure went sky high, my blood sugar was all over the place and my knees hurt so much I couldn't walk.This is a non negotiable expense for me as I'd really like to avoid ending up in a wheelchair with bad knees(they hurt still but less since losing some weight).
My cupboards are pretty full-I'm just rubbish at actually putting things together to make meals.I'm now only 16pounds short as I returned a sat nav I bought to the shop.And this is a school bill that can wait a few weeks.
You may think I'm selfish,and you're entitled to your opinion but I am not prepared to lose weight at the rate of a pound a week when I have so much to lose, and potentially gain weight as I have a problem with food.

Right...here's the sorts of things I have...sausages,sweetcorn, pasta,rice,tuna,ham,cheese,mized veg,flour, eggs,pastry,chicken portions,beef cubes(reduced),bacon(lots),potatoes(will buy today),milk,all kinds of spices,cous cous,noodles,spaghetti,2 ready made corned beef hash dinners(reduced to 30p each),mushrooms,celery, carrots,reduced salads,fruit and other bits and bobs.
I'm rubbish at meal planning-really rubbish.Just found some beef mince in the freezer,and more chicken pieces.

Toomuchdebt

joedenise wrote: »

Jacket potatoes with beans and grated cheese is cheap. Anything using eggs is quite cheap - egg, chips & beans; quiche - my kids' favourite used to be tuna and sweetcorn which is quite reasonable, they had it with a bit of salad and new boiled potatoes. This is quite filling because of the pastry which again is really cheap to make.

Fishcakes made using leftover mash and tinned fish, sardines are cheaper than tuna or salmon and make good ones (I think the Aldi sardines are about 45p a tin)

HTH

Denise

How do you make the fishcakes?I have a huuuuge can of tuna that I got from Approved foods.

joedenise

Toomuchdebt wrote: »

How do you make the fishcakes?I have a huuuuge can of tuna that I got from Approved foods.

Just mash the fish into the leftover mashed potato. Take a handful and shape into a burger shape. Once all made put in fridge for a while to firm up. Once firmed up, you need a bit of a "conveyor belt" type thing going on - 3 plates - 1st one: plain flour; 2nd one - beaten egg, 3rd one breadcrumbs.

Use one hand for dry stuff (1st & 3rd plate), other hand for egg.

Dip in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs then place on another plate. Continue until all done. If you want a crisper crumb you need to repeat again.

Firm up again in fridge before cooking. You can fry, grill or oven bake.

Denise

Toomuchdebt

Thanks Denise I'll try that on Friday as that's fish day

Toomuchdebt

well thanks for that shegirl that's so helpful-I hope you have a go at posters who smoke and drink too.Oh and perhaps you would like to speak to my doctor who SUGGESTED this diet as she has seen me for the past 20 years. Get off your high horse-it's a temporary situation for a few weeks not for the next year-and as I generally spend less than 100 on food and all the kids are healthy I think I do quite well.And as I posted before I have MASSES of food in the cupboards and freezer-all I will need over the next few weeks is milk and fruit and poss some extra sandwich stuff.How DARE you judge me???I'm trying to lose weight to improve my health-I'm not blowing it on nights out and getting wasted.
And no I'm not ashamed of myself, sorry. I'm actually proud of the fact that I'm sticking to this diet despite there being lots of nice things in the house...perhaps you'd like me to post exactly what the kids eat for the next 2 weeks so you can see they're not starving??


You know what on second thought I won't be posting here again after all.Thank you to those who helped out with recipe suggestions-I will try them all :)Going back to lurking mode now.