£7.00 per week - menu ideas 21 July 2012 at 10:03PM edited 17 June 2014 at 5:01PM in Old style MoneySaving 1.1K replies 320.9K views

Chunkysmum

I'm a new member who's just come into alot of financial difficulty as I am a student awaiting bursary payments. NHS bursaries think you can live off fresh air and pay the nursery with smiles. :mad:

Anyway, I read the meals for £1.00 thread which was great but unfortunately, I think alot of the ideas are a bit outdated now as they'd cost twice the amount.

I was wondering if it'd be possible to feed two adults for a pound a day for a week, assuming you have no basics in? Any shopping lists/menu ideas would be great.


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quintwins

hmm thats gonna be hard, do you need breakfast lunch and dinner?

Chunkysmum

Yes please.

My husband can get lunch at work, but it's deducted from next months wages which we could really do without as our income is half our outgoings until NHS bursaries pays me.

I got the impression that you MSEs enjoyed a challenge.

Uniscots97

Its not impossible but may be slightly repetative, what stores (even herbs etc) do you have at home and what shops are nearby?

Uniscots97

Porridge is your best bet for breakfast for the week (most stores sell a bag large enough to make about 2 weeks worth for 2 people for around 80p), made with water. But we'll need the info I asked for to help a little more please.

Petlamb

Some of the recipes from http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/ (created by MSE members, led by Weezl) may be of use.

As Unixgirluk asks- what (if anything) do you have in already - anything lurking freezer/fridge/cupboards?

I'd also be considering hitting up your local supermarket at peak reduction time (these vary depending on shop/location).

quintwins

It's much easier to look at this over several weeks than one so here goes....

value spam 67p
value eggs £1.56
value rice 40p
value soft cheese 50p
value pasta x2 60p
2 value pasta sauce 78p
value marmalade 27p
3 onions 50p
beef shin 1.02
value beef paste 32p
4 value wholemeal loaves £1.88
4 value noodles 44p
value mixed herbs 19p
value carrots £1
value porridge 75p
value frozen mixed veg 75
4 uht milk (or you can get normal for the same price here) £1.96
2 2kg bags value spuds £1.42
2 value mince £4.80
value chopped tom 31p
value mushy peas x2 8p

thats £20.20 so theres 80p for fruit i'd suggest bananas as there very filling, with that you can make

sheperds pie x 8 portions (bulk out with mixed veg)
spag bol x6 portions (use pasta sauce and bulk out with tinned tom and herbs normally i'd say make from scratch)
beef stew (using lost fo spuds, carrot and onion and the beef shin) x 8
pasta in pasta sauce
pasta with creamy sauce (using cheapy philly, and half the spam)
fried spam with mash and mushy peas
egg and chips, chips and mushy peas, chips and spam if you ahve enough left.
porridge/porridge and marmalade
toast and marmalade
marmalade sandwichs
beef paste sandwichs
savory rice using mixed veg, herbs and some pasta sauce if you have some left

thats assuming you don't pick up any whoopsies and have nothing in

Butterfly_Brain

I can't believe that you don't have anything at all:eek:
Do you have any flour, cooking oil, lard, tea bags or butter?
Porridge is definitely the way to go at 75p for 1kg in Asda
It might be worth a visit to Aldi for cheap fruit and veg and their meat is a great price as well. 15 medium eggs are £1.25 and a cheap source of protein

Breakfasts...... Porridge with a dollop of jam
Porridge 1kg = 75p sp jar mixed fruit jam 29p = £1.04 for a week's breakfasts.

Lunches.......make your own tortillas just plain flour, lard, salt and water

Flour Tortillas
225g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt into a bowl
50g lard (at room temperature)
150ml warm water

Place the flour and salt into a large bowl, rub in the lard.
Add the water in a steady stream, and combine, until the mixture becomes a stiff but pliable dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 - 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, leave in the bowl covered with some cling film or a damp tea towel to rest for 20 minutes

Divide the dough into 12 equal sized pieces and roll each piece out to form a 30cm circle. Roll them as thinly as you can. Again keep them covered to prevent them drying out.

Warm a heavy frying pan or griddle ( No oil just a dry pan) and cook each tortilla for 1 minute on each side, until the surface bubbles and has turned a light golden colour.

Wrap the tortillas in a clean tea towel to keep them warm and pliable until you have cooked them all and are ready to use them. Fill as desired. They will keep in an airtight zippy style bag for up to a week , or freeze separated with greaseproof paper or cling film, if I freeze mine I open freeze them first then stack and bag up

Fill with tuna and mayo (tin tuna 59p mayo cheapest 48p) or boiled eggs chopped with mayo, which works out even cheaper

So if you count buying flour and lard basic plain flour 52p for a 1½kg bag, Lard is 39p and not as unhealthy as some of the hydrogenated oils and cheap if you are on a budget = 91p for wraps for the week 500g flour usually makes around 12 - 15 wraps and you can use them as a base for pizza with a mozzarella ball 44p and a couple of tbsps of passatta 29p and anything veggie that you have to hand or get some pepperoni slices 79p a pack and they will do 2 pizzas easily or I make a macaroni cheese and just put the slices on top instead of cheese if I don't have any.

500g spaghetti is 24p and 4 instant cheese sauces are £1 in asda

You could get a small onion from the market for about 10p (use half and save the other half for the next day)
A tin of meatballs in tomato sauce and spaghetti will cost approx 12p pasta ½ a pack of spaghetti) tin meatballs 42p total 59p for a main meal

Eggs = Omelette, Fritattas, fried eggs, poached or boiled use to make pancakes just add a jif lemon 20p on offer in asda and a little sugar for a sweet treat or as a change from porridge for breakfasts. 15/2 = 6 eggs each plus 3 extra for batter for pancakes or even a HM cake.

Off to sort a menu plan BBS x

Butterfly_Brain

Week 1
Sunday
B Porridge and Jam
L Toad in the hole 2 sausages each plus 2 y.puds, some mixed veg, use 1 of the baking potatoes and cut into 4 and gravy
D 2 boiled eggs each plus one sliced roll toasted each. Pancakes using left over batter from Yorkshire puds and lemon juice for dessert
Make up the sponge mix using 1 egg to make 12 fairy cakes for lunch boxes for through the week put them in the freezer and just get 2 out every morning

Monday
B As Sunday
L 2 ham rolls and a cake
D sausage pasta: Cook ½ a pack of spaghetti and fry 2 sausages and slice them up, add ½ a jar of pasta sauce and a handful of frozen mixed veg....

Tuesday
B P & J
L 2 ham rolls and a cake
D Sausage pilaff :Cook some rice for 10 mins, transfer to a dish, fry and slice the last 2 sausages and put into the rice along with a handful of mixed veg and the ¼ of a jar of the pasta sauce, plus 1 mug full of water. (Leave the rest of the sauce left in the jar for tomorrow) Put in the oven for 15 -20 mins, or until the rice has absorbed most of the pasta sauce.

Wednesday
Breakfast as the rest of the week
L 2 ham rolls each and a cake
D Pitta bread pizza....... spread the last of the pasta sauce over one or two pitta breads each
(Depending on appetite), break up some mozzarella and equally divide over the pitta breads along with a few olives from a jar.

Thursday
Breakfast and Lunch as Wednesday
D. 1 egg omelette, with a jacket potato each, plus a tin of baked beans.
.
Friday Breakfast and Lunch as Thursday D ½ pack spaghetti, a diced onion and a cheese sauce for a spaghetti cheese.

Saturday B As Friday L The last 2 pitta breads filled with boiled eggs and lettuce D Mixed veg crust less quiche 2 eggs 200ml milk the last of the mixed veg and a sprinkle of mixed herbs, if you have them, serve with lettuce and a couple of tomatoes (get these from the local market or Greengrocer( they don't mind you buying a few at a time) and boiled potatoes using the last baking potato or they can be diced and fried.


Tesco unless specified Aldi or Asda

Porridge 500g 55p...... 1kg £1 (1kg in Asda is 75p)
Mixed fruit Jam 29p
Everyday 12 pk rolls 35p
Everyday ham (10 slices) 61p
sponge sandwich mix 22p
6 pitta bread 20p
Baked beans 26p Aldi
4 baking potatoes 59p Aldi
Spaghetti 500g 24p
LG Rice 1 kg 40p
Bag frozen mixed veg 75p
Gravy Granules 20p
Everyday pork sausages 56p
Pasta sauce 39p
Cheese sauce mix 3 for £1 = 33p
Batter Mix 7p
1 onion 10p
15 eggs = £1.25 Aldi
Mozzarella1 x 44p = 44p

The total is from the cheapest price on the list £7.80, but you will still have 5 eggs and 2/3 of a bag of rice left for the following week.

Uniscots97

Chunkysmum, what shops nearby do you have? I stopped at coop tonight and along with what I intended to buy I got 2 pears for 10p (reduced).

Butterfly_Brain

This thread might help as well meals for two for 50p
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=326929

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=180154