£7.00 per week - menu ideas

Popperwell

There is so much that you can do but use it wisely. I can't remember if you are single or have family.

Do you eat small or large portions? How many meals do you need daily. Do you spread them across the day and suppliement with fruit etc...

Just think what you normally do and you should be fine. Try and replace what you use and watch the dates.

I think you may need some vegetables and potatoes and possibly some baked beans(fish?)etc...

Cereal, milk, tea, coffee?

Butterfly_Brain

I will look at it tomorrow and see what I can come up with, it has to last 6/7 weeks doesn't it?

dogstarheaven

awful lot of tins/jars of prepared sauces there but not enough carbs or protein available. only one dish that i can think of is -

cheesy/creamy pasta bake

condensed chicken soup
pasta

method:
cook pasta, drain.
in a jug, add half tin of soup
mix with 3 times amount in milk
(optional) handful or two of grated cheese
S&P
mixed herbs
milk

put drained pasta in ovenproof dish. add in prepared sauce
add whatever additional ingredients that you wish to add - be it frozen veg like peas, sweetcorn. if you want, add drained half tin of tuna.

oven bake for 30 mins on 200c

(or maybe 1:3 to make it stretch that further). add cheese

here's another one, i just thought of since re-reading your list again:-

dhal using your red lentils.

method:

diced onion
lentils
garam masala (if unavailable, cumin, coriander, tiny bit of cinnamon, chilli and curry powder)

- sautee onion till slightly brown. add spices. cook for 30 secs and add in rinsed lentils. add stock with made with chicken bovril.

bring to boil and simmer for 30 mins. ready. if you have a bit of money buy some wholemeal flour and make chappatis. very easy. look on Youtube. just flour, salt and water.

debbym

Chunkysmum - just a thought but have you thought about applying for a credit card that is interest free for 6 or even 12 months? Whilst I would never normally advise anyone to get into credit card debt your bursary will be backdated and provided you don't go absolutely nuts with the spending you could say put the fuel for your travelling to the various hospitals you visit on the card and pay it all off when the bursary arrives and therefore have the fuel money to spend on food now. Once you are past this crisis you can just cancel the card without having paid a penny in interest. (Unlike your overdraft!)
Depending on the uni conditions you may have to end up paying some minimal interest on a crisis loan.

Soworried

debbym wrote: »

Chunkysmum - just a thought but have you thought about applying for a credit card that is interest free for 6 or even 12 months? Whilst I would never normally advise anyone to get into credit card debt your bursary will be backdated and provided you don't go absolutely nuts with the spending you could say put the fuel for your travelling to the various hospitals you visit on the card and pay it all off when the bursary arrives and therefore have the fuel money to spend on food now. Once you are past this crisis you can just cancel the card without having paid a penny in interest.
Depending on the uni conditions you may have to end up paying some minimal interest on a crisis loan.

That is a great idea.:)

Also, could your bank extend your overdraft as a temporary measure?

Soworried

Hi
This is how I would use your store cupboard. You say in your other thread that you also have £9. With some of that I would buy the following.
7.5kg of potatoes from Lidl £2.50
40p a kilo of rice MrT
85p 10 eggs at Lidl
50p kilo carrots at MrS
85p MrS parsnips
52p Lidl plain flour
£1.14 MrA kilo broccoli and cauli frozen.
31p basics cornflakes
That is a spend of £7.07 but it creates so many more meals.
First 7 days I would eat.
30g of cornflakes for breakfast for the two of you, with 125ml of milk.
Lunches can be either left overs or jacket potatoes with beans or cheese.
Dinners I would make.
Day1 150g of fusilli with a handful of frozen broccoli and cauliflower and the 2 cup of soups made up as the sauce.
Day 2 1/2 jar of the curry (freeze the other half for next week) with the golden rice and 100g of lentils. You will need to add water as the lentils will soak it up.
Day 3 The fish cakes with the tomato rice, I would also have some pickle with it.
Day 4 100g of chicken breast, 9 lasagne sheets, the tin of condensed chicken soup, 1/2 onion and 40g of cheese to sprinkle. Serve with a tin of peas.
Day5 Spicy lentil casserole. I posted the recipe yesterday in your other thread. I will paste it in to here soon.
Day 6 100g of chicken, sweet and sour sauce, 2 carrots and 150g of rice.
Day 7 Lentil dahl with flat breads. 150g of lentils, 3 cups of water. I would stir in some of your bovril as a stock. 1/2 onion, a chilli, squueze of garlic and a pinch of any spices you have.
The flat breads are easy and this makes 8 so you will have 6 you can freeze.
250g of plain flour, pinch of salt, tbs of oil or melted spread if you don't have any. 150ml of warm water. Make in to 8 balls, roll out flat and dry fry until it bubbles. It takes about 2 minutes per side. You can make these even nicer by adding garlic or chilli.
I'll work out a week 2 for you soon x
Spicy lentil casserole
1 onion 8p
2 cloves of garlic 6p
1kg of potatoes 33p
4 carrots 24p
2 parsnips 22p (MrS 85p a bag)
2 tsp of cumin and chilli powder 2p
1 litre of water and 2x stock cubes 20p
100g of red lentils 10p (MrT 2kg for £1.99 indus brand)
Total meal cost=£1.25 or just under 32p a head.

Butterfly_Brain

Take a look at the complete cookery thread, there are lots of recipes there.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=8736367#post8736367

rosieben

lots of good recipes on the front page of the Grocery Challenge too

Butterfly_Brain

You need a bag of plain flour, lard and eggs, you can then make tortillas which will keep you going for lunches instead of using bread. You can also make gnocchi with the baking potato, I cheat and bake the potato in its jacket in the microwave for 15 mins, then scoop out the flesh and fluff it up with a fork, add flour to make a dough ( It is the same dough that is used for potato pancakes) roll into sausages and cut small pieces, mark with a fork, bring some water to the boil and add the gnocchi pieces, they are cooked when they float to the top, serve hot with any warmed through sauce that you have.
Try and get some tinned fish Tuna chunks 54p, sardines 39p (Asda)

Spendless

There's several pasta bakes you could do, using the pasta, sauces/tinned toms with onion and a sprinkling of cheese on top. Sweet and sour chicken with noodles, chicken balti with some of your microwave rice. Stretch out the chicken with some of your veggies, eg the onion or the peas in order to save some meat for other meals. Eat the potato early-ish on if it's in danger of going soft. And pour the red wine into ice cube trays and freeze it, so it can be added to cooking at a later stage.