£7.00 per week - menu ideas

Boodle

This is what I would do with £7 and had absolutely nothing in the house so starting from scratch. The total is actually 7.31 but I'm sorry to say that I don't really have time to fiddle about with it to bring it down further, I'm sure I could if I did. Or I might scour the ground outside newsagents for change. Otherwise, you can drop 10p by using UHT dairy milk, or 25p by using ordinary not fortified oats for the extra minerals. I tried to get a range of coloured fruit and veg, as well as protein and calcium elements. Drinking plenty of tap water will help with calcium levels. Mid morning/afternoon you could have a cup of tea or carrot sticks if peckish.

Asda shopping list

Smartprice potatoes 2.5kg 99p
Smartprice carrots 92p
Frozen shredded cabbage 75p
Garlic bulb 30p
Smart price self raising flour 52p
Smart price mixed fruit and nuts 56p
Foresight pease pudding 42p
Smart price baked beans x 2 52p
Smartprice kidney beans 27p
Asda ready oats (like cheap ready brek) 500g £1
Tomato puree 29p
Salt 29p
Smart price soya milk 59p
Smart price orange juice from concentrate 62p
Smart price tea bags 27p

Breakfasts
Fruit Pancakes (flour, splash of milk, water, a wee drop of orange for acid so will rise a little, half of the fruit from the mixed fruit nut bag) with diluted orange juice - we always dilute as fresh juice is very strong and sweet
Porridge (make with water - we eat it like this and it is fine) with diluted orange juice

Lunches
Sandwich Scones with pease pudding
Fruit scones with carrot sticks alongside
(scones made with flour, wee drop of orange juice to help the rise, and half milk/half water - lack of fat just makes them more bread like and less rich. For fruit ones, add the remaining fruit from the mixed fruit nut pack - I might add some oats too to vary the texture and add a bit protein boost when lacking the pease pud.)

Dinners
- Nut Pot with flatbreads
(toast half the chopped nuts in a dry pan. Cook some of the pots, carrots and cabbage. crush garlic and add to pan with some tomato puree, a little milk, water and salt to make a coating sauce for the veg and toasted nuts. Serve with a flatbread made with the flour and water rolled out thin and cooked in a dry pan on both sides.)
- Nut Cutlets/Burgers served with veg and potatoes
(mash half a tin of kidney beans with some of the oats and flour to thick workable consistency with some crushed garlic, salt and the remaining chopped nuts you have dry fried. Shape into burgers and bake until crisp.)
- Gnocchi with tomato sauce served with cabbage
(cook and mash potatoes then mix in enough flour to make a workable dough. Roll into balls and cook for a couple of minutes in boiling water until they rise to the surface. For the sauce, crush garlic and heat with tomato uree, a little milk and water and salt. You need just enough sauce to caot the gnocchi.
- Hotch Potch with baked beans
(cook potatoes, carrots and cabbage with a little garlic. Mash and season with salt. Serve with baked beans.)
- Cowboy Bean Pot with Jacket Potatoes
(heat remaining kidney beans with tin of baked beans, adding cooked carrots and crushed garlic.
- Pizza
(mix salt and water into flour and roll out to make a base. Top with a spread of tomato puree, crushed garlic, grated carrot. Mix some milk into a tbsp or so of flour then mix in more half and half with water and stir over the heat until thick with added crushed garli and salt to taste. Spoon the thick white sauce over the pizza. Bake at 220C for around 20 minutes.)

rubytuesday

Ecoelle those recipes sound fantastic!

Thanks for sharing x

ecoelle

Thanks:)

I know they don't answer the question of £7.00 per week, but if you don't mind repeat teas then the mung bean and chana recipes £2.50 and actually makes 10 portions so only average of 25p per portion. Really good for the freezer, i think that it's easier to think of this as £28 for 4 weeks rather than £7 per week. As you have more scope for buying in bulk. Take chick peas, some can be 80p a tin nut buy them in Asda on the worl food section and get the KTC ones at 4 for £1, so only 25p a tin, same with tinned tomatoes and kidney beans are only 18p a tin in Aldi.

ILoveEoin

just wanted to write an quick thank you to all:)

this morning i currently paid all bills (last month was hard one for us) and currently 2.48 left in my bank but different from now and 6/8 months ago i have store cupboard, i can kinda cook and enjoy reading cheap week ideas for 7pounds for last few months so we be good & with full bellies:) so thank you all!!!!


well done all, pat on back for the amazing mse ppl

Butterfly_Brain

:TI LoveEoin I wondered how you were getting on and I remember how you were struggling. Well done:T

winniepooh

wow you lot really inspired to cut back and youve shown me its possible to do, im feeling slightly more postive about cutting back back

Boodle

Had another go at this. This ones total is 7.01 at Asda, or 7.87 with tea bags and soya milk.

Breakfast
Porridge and orange juice

Lunch
Wholemeal sandwiches with pease pudding
Wholemeal sandwiches with kidney bean pate (mash tinned beans with a little passata, salt and garlic to flavour)
Carrot sticks with them

Dinners
- Baked beans with colcannon (fry cabbage in marg and mix nito mash) x 2
- Cowboy Bean Pot with mash (fry garlic in marg, add passata, water to thin enough, grated carrot and tin of kidney beans - simmer around 10 minutes. Season with salt if needed.)
- Garlic Spaghetti x 2 (cook half pack spaghetti per 2 people, fry thin sliced garlic in marg then mix in pasta with salt to taste.)
- Sage and Onion Sausages, carrots, cabbage and mash (for sausages, mix a little garlic, passata and enough oats into stuffing mix to shapeable mixture. Fry in marg.)

Snacks: tea if buying. Make oatcakes by soaking oats in boiling water, enough to make a rollable dough. Bake until crisp. Serve spread with a little marg if liked.

Shopping list
Carrots 500g 50p
Smart price instant mash x3 60p (each pack gives 3-4 portions, so keep sealed in fridge and reheat thoroughly)
Smart price orange juice 1 litre 65p
Frozen shredded cabbage 750g 75p
Garlic bulb 30p
Salt 29p
Smartprice wholemeal bread 47p
Smart price spread 500g (no dairy in it) 60p
Smart price stuffing mix 120g 15p
Smart price oats 1 kilo 75p
Smart price baked beans x 2 52p
Smart price kidney beans x 2 54p
Tin of pease pudding 42p
Smart price spaghetti 500g 24p
Passata 500g 29p
TOTAL: 7.01
(optional)
Smart price soya milk 1 ltre 59p
Smart price tea bags 27p
TOTAL: 7.87

quintwins

Boodle thats really good, but it would never suit me i'd be dying for something crunchy lol.

good to see you back ILoveEoin i was wonderinga few weeks back how you were getting on, it's nice to see your back on your feet

Boodle

quintwins wrote: »

Boodle thats really good, but it would never suit me i'd be dying for something crunchy lol.

Carrot sticks and oatcakes?? Toast the bread for your sarnies for a "club". And as long as you crisp up the sausages when you cook 'em and the garlic for the pasta, and keep you veggies al dente (as well as getting most of vitamins out of them) there would hopefully be enough crunch to help deal with the fact there was only £7 for the week

newlywed

ecoelle , don't you have to soak mung beans before cooking?

I have a bag but rarely think of them in time to soak.... so if it won't kill me by skipping that, I'd be happy