Feed a family of four for £20 a week challenge

Feral_Moon

Sorry but the above is completely unrealistic. Maybe for ONE person but certainly not to feed FOUR healthy adults. They certainly wouldn't be very healthy if they had to survive on this diet!

For example, are you seriously suggesting a pack of eight sausages will provide two main meals for FOUR people? So that's one sausage per person per meal. With not much else to bulk out the meal nor make it filling :rotfl:

buzzyzoe

Feral_Moon wrote: »

Sorry but the above is completely unrealistic. Maybe for ONE person but certainly not to feed FOUR healthy adults. They certainly wouldn't be very healthy if they had to survive on this diet!

For example, are you seriously suggesting a pack of eight sausages will provide two main meals for FOUR people? So that's one sausage per person per meal. With not much else to bulk out the meal nor make it filling :rotfl:

Completely disagree with you, I have made both these meals and they have served 4 people. Firstly the toad in the hole is a lunch rather than a dinner - that would be more than enough food for me for lunch. I work on the principle of a smaller lunch and a larger dinner as that is how I eat. You could have it with rice if you were that worried about going hungry.

Secondly, for the sausage pasta dish, the main ingredient is the spaghetti - that would be the bit that would fill you up. The sausage is to add flavour so you're not just eating plain pasta.

I imagine you've gone along the lines of thinking that a meal needs to be mainly meat - this is not the case at all. The daily recommended intake of protein for a man is 56g, and less for women and children - this meal plan easily provides that.

When you have such a limited budget, the important thing is to make sure people don't feel hungry. There is no way you would be able to do this if you're making meat the main component of any of the meals.

AsherBat

I tried this out to make a meal plan and didn't quite manage. It came to £25.63. I'm veggie and lactose intollerant, so eat vegan. I tried to base it on that. Still might be a useful base. Not sure it's all that healthy, although there's lots of veg. I eat more than this haha. I'll probably try to do one for under £20 when I have a bit more time.

The Plan
DAY 1: Curried carrot & kidney bean burgers in pitas with mango chutney & potato wedges
1 tin kidney beans
1 onion
1 garlic clove
2 carrots
1 teaspoon curry powder
4 tbsp oats
Salt
1 tbsp oil for frying
Mango chutney
4 sweet potatoes + 1 tbsp oil, salt, oregano
4 pitas

DAY 2: Spaghetti puttanesca
400g spaghetti
1 tbsp oil
2 garlic cloves
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 onion
1 carrot
¼ jar olives
1 chilli

DAY 3: Flatbread (pizza style) topped with tomato sauce & veg
500g flour
1 tsp yeast
Salt
2 tbsp oil
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
1 red onion
⅓ jar olives
1 chilli
Oregano

DAY 4: Spaghetti with courgette-lemon pesto
400g spaghetti
350g courgettes
3 tbsp lemon juice
Salt
⅓ jar olives
Oregano

DAY 5: Chana Masala with garlic flatbreads
2 tins chickpeas
2 onions
1 chilli
5 garlic cloves
2 tbsp curry powder
4 tbsp oil
2 tins chopped tomatoes
Mango chutney
500g flour
1 tsp yeast
Salt

DAY 6: Sweet potato dhal with rice
2 sweet potatoes
2 tbsp oil
1 red onion
4 garlic cloves
1 chilli
2 tbsp curry powder
Mango chutney
350g lentils
Salt
1 stock cube
300g rice

DAY 7: Chilli with rice
2 tins kidney beans
1 red onion
1 carrot
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2 Stock cubes
1 chilli
Oregano
300g rice

Breakfasts: porridge with sweetened soy milk or toasted homemade bread
Lunches: soups with homemade bread, spiced tomato & lentil or pea & mint

The Shopping List (from tesco, probably cheaper elsewhere)
Fresh food
1 pack of mint £0.70
1 kg pack red onions £0.69
1 kg pack brown onions £0.59
1 350g pack of courgettes £0.60
1 pack of chillies £0.60
2 garlic bulbs £0.60
1 kg pack of sweet potatoes £0.95
4 loose carrots £0.24
Frozen food
2 bags of peas £1.38
Store cupboard
3 cartons of soy milk £2.25
1 pack of veg stock cubes £1.50
1 kg bag of red lentils £1.80
1 kg bag of rice £0.45
2 tins of chickpeas £0.70
1 bottle of lemon juice £0.60
1 jar of oregano £0.70
1 jar of yeast £0.65
2 bags of plain flour £0.90
1 jar of black olives £0.75
9 tins of chopped tomatoes £2.79
2 packs of spaghetti £0.40
1 jar of mango chutney £1.00
1 500ml bottle of sunflower oil £0.75
1 tub of salt £0.29
2 1kg bags of oats £1.50
1 jar of curry powder £1.00
3 tins of kidney beans £0.90
1 pack of pita breads £0.35

Feral_Moon

buzzyzoe wrote: »

Completely disagree with you, I have made both these meals and they have served 4 people. Firstly the toad in the hole is a lunch rather than a dinner - that would be more than enough food for me for lunch. I work on the principle of a smaller lunch and a larger dinner as that is how I eat. You could have it with rice if you were that worried about going hungry.

Secondly, for the sausage pasta dish, the main ingredient is the spaghetti - that would be the bit that would fill you up. The sausage is to add flavour so you're not just eating plain pasta.

I imagine you've gone along the lines of thinking that a meal needs to be mainly meat - this is not the case at all. The daily recommended intake of protein for a man is 56g, and less for women and children - this meal plan easily provides that.

When you have such a limited budget, the important thing is to make sure people don't feel hungry. There is no way you would be able to do this if you're making meat the main component of any of the meals.

No, I'm not going on the basis of needing more meat, although being a protein it would certainly fill you up and stop you becoming hungry again a lot better than a carbohydrate. And there are lots of ways to provide protein that doesn't necessarily involve meat. Eggs, for example are cheap, filling and nutritious.

I was also looking at the amount of batter you used to make the toad in hole (around half that you used for the Yorkshires in the roast dinner) and I'm sorry but that simply wouldn't suffice to feed four adults (toddlers maybe) with just a single sausage each.

I also don't see any vegetables other than the carrots. A little variety would be more nutritious and doesn't have to cost very much. In fact you could make enough soup to feed the entire family for a week with just some basic vegetables and barley, using the chicken carcass for stock.

Oh, actually I see you've put chicken noodle soup down but as a main dinner? Really? Most people would look on that as a starter to their main course, not a meal in itself.

I think the ideas are good but there's just not enough food there to realistically feed four adults for an entire week. Most children I know eat far more than that.

buzzyzoe

Feral_Moon wrote: »

No, I'm not going on the basis of needing more meat, although being a protein it would certainly fill you up and stop you becoming hungry again a lot better than a carbohydrate. And there are lots of ways to provide protein that doesn't necessarily involve meat. Eggs, for example are cheap, filling and nutritious.

Exactly, see where I have used multiple eggs in this menu

Feral_Moon wrote: »

I was also looking at the amount of batter you used to make the toad in hole (around half that you used for the Yorkshires in the roast dinner) and I'm sorry but that simply wouldn't suffice to feed four adults (toddlers maybe) with just a single sausage each.

As I said, you can have with rice if you feel that you would be hungry.

Feral_Moon wrote: »

I also don't see any vegetables other than the carrots. A little variety would be more nutritious and doesn't have to cost very much. In fact you could make enough soup to feed the entire family for a week with just some basic vegetables and barley, using the chicken carcass for stock.

Vegetables
Carrots
Mushrooms
Onions
Potatoes
Lentils (count as 1 of your 5 a day)

See the vegetable soup on the menu plan

Feral_Moon wrote: »

Oh, actually I see you've put chicken noodle soup down but as a main dinner? Really? Most people would look on that as a starter to their main course, not a meal in itself.

I think the ideas are good but there's just not enough food there to realistically feed four adults for an entire week. Most children I know eat far more than that.

Again this is a meal I eat regularly for dinner. Either you eat too much or I eat too little..

You seem very keen to poke holes, care to post your own menu plan so I can compare? The whole point is that it's not very easy to feed 4 people on that amount of money. If it was, everyone would do it.

I also said that there is a small amount of money left over on my plan - this could be used for whatever you feel is lacking, be that more veg, more sausages, more noodles, whatever. For me this would be enough food and I would probably spend the extra on some herbs and seasonings to make the food more interesting, and maybe some treats - a bar of chocolate perhaps

tessie_bear

great to see this thread back with us i need to get a grip of my food shopping it has got to silly amounts of money and all the cupboards and freezer are bursting at the seams

going to stock take the freezer and use some of it and ban myself from buying any yellow stickers for a bit as need to use what i have

Tink_04

Really going to look at my meal plans so this thread is great to make a start.

Feral_Moon

buzzyzoe wrote: »

Exactly, see where I have used multiple eggs in this menu



As I said, you can have with rice if you feel that you would be hungry.



Vegetables
Carrots
Mushrooms
Onions
Potatoes
Lentils (count as 1 of your 5 a day)

See the vegetable soup on the menu plan



Again this is a meal I eat regularly for dinner. Either you eat too much or I eat too little..

You seem very keen to poke holes, care to post your own menu plan so I can compare? The whole point is that it's not very easy to feed 4 people on that amount of money. If it was, everyone would do it.

I also said that there is a small amount of money left over on my plan - this could be used for whatever you feel is lacking, be that more veg, more sausages, more noodles, whatever. For me this would be enough food and I would probably spend the extra on some herbs and seasonings to make the food more interesting, and maybe some treats - a bar of chocolate perhaps

Sorry, but I stand by what I said previously. The eggs you have used - only 15 to feed for 4 adults for a week - have all been used in producing batter/pancakes. I'm talking about actually using eggs as food items, e.g. scrambled, boiled, poached, omelettes, flan/quiche or even eggy bread (gypsy toast) etc.

As a family of four adults I would expect to use at least 3 dozen eggs a week, at a cost of £3 from local sources, which would cover breakfast for everyone (nutritious and filling) plus a couple of lunch/dinner options - spaghetti carbonara, frittata, quiche etc.

For example, for breakfast this morning we had two poached eggs each, on a slice of toasted soda bread topped with a slice of thick carved ham, a grilled tomato and a spoonful of spinach.

Total cost 45p a person (bread & ham reduced price from Co-op) but none of us wanted any lunch and we're still not hungry at almost 5pm as it was so filling.

Dinner will be spag bol - 400g veal mince £2.14 (Waitrose), tin of tomatoes 25p, squirt of tomato pur!e 5p, herbs, onion 10p, red pepper 20p, mushrooms 20p, black olives 20p, 300g linguine 60p, freshly grated Parmesan cheese 30p - so total cost approx £4 to feed four people.

Total cost today to feed four people with healthy, nutritious but tasty food = £5.80 or £1.45 per person.

Yes, you can eat healthy, nutritious food on a budget. It doesn't have to be all cheap, beige carbs which are neither nutritious nor filling.

Ok, I can't do it for £20 a week but bare in mind this thread was started 4 years ago and food prices have increased since then. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect to spend at least £40 a week for four people, even in a tight budget. That's just £10 per week each!

ariarnia

Feral_Moon wrote: »

As a family of four adults I would expect to use at least 3 dozen eggs a week, at a cost of £3 from local sources, which would cover breakfast for everyone (nutritious and filling) plus a couple of lunch/dinner options - spaghetti carbonara, frittata, quiche etc.

erm... Don't you find that many eggs dreadfully ... binding?

I mean, that's 9 eggs per person in a single week.

We get through maybe 12 or so in a week with two adults and two tiny sproglets

And quite often that's savoury pancakes or batter based (It's not like making them into a batter effects their protein levels)

I thought the menu given was quite varied and have stolen some of the recipes for my meal planner - including the lovely sounding noodle soup.

Feral_Moon

ariarnia wrote: »

erm... Don't you find that many eggs dreadfully ... binding?

I mean, that's 9 eggs per person in a single week.

We get through maybe 12 or so in a week with two adults and two tiny sproglets

And quite often that's savoury pancakes or batter based (It's not like making them into a batter effects their protein levels)

I thought the menu given was quite varied and have stolen some of the recipes for my meal planner - including the lovely sounding noodle soup.

Not at all. Eggs are extremely nutritious and a complete food in themselves. And a cheaper source of protein than meat, as well as being very filling.

The OP had some good ideas and I appreciate she was trying to beat the £20 budget but I didn't think some of the meals she chose were sufficient to realistically feed four people.

I apologise for being so critical but nutrition is important for good health. And being hungry is no fun either. Filling up on cheap carbs such as rice and pasta may seem good at the time but they leave you feeling more hungry and have zero nutrition.