Feed a family of four for £20 a week challenge

BigMummaF

threeboysmummy wrote: »

hi i love reading the thread ...and have got some good ideas, my question is i have 5 in my family and the kids are 13 16 and 19 ,so they all eat adult portions and the oldest one has to have a large pack lunch as he does manual work and needs a lot to sustain him, the older two are also autistic, am strugling with 25 pounds i cat get it below £270 a month how do you all do it ?

Hi TBM :wave: It would help to know what foods to concentrate &/or avoid, for peeps to make menu suggestions. For example, in the BMF Foodcourt, 2 won't eat egg (rarely get away with quiche), 1 won't eat *takes deep breath* gravy, custard, cream, most fish or casserole options, pasta bakes, stew.. there's a lot more too, so I really can understand your predicament :doh:

threeboysmummy

thanks good to know am not alone ok here goes

they will all eat carrots poatoes pasta icecream,yorkshire puds,peas,sweetcorn,bread,chicken,pizza (only the cheep basic)macaroni cheese,sausage rolls,chocholate cake,buiscuts,chicken nugglets,bacon,
some of them will also eat chilli fish in bater fish fingers noodles meatball from a tin,burgers,noodles,cheese on toast,scrambled egg fried egg meat pies,

i hope thats of some help oh yes they wont have mixed up food and gravys and suaces, as they have to have the food spaced out on a plate :cool:

i lookforward to some sugestions.

BigMummaF

Right.. let's have a ponder...

Would they get involved with making their own pizzas? A bag of bread mix would make 2 individual size bases I would think, & they can be eaten cold for lunch.

Pasta salad with the veg in little pots, works with couscous too. Add boiled egg for protein or again, get them making it themselves, grated cheese is another one.

Have a look at the monthly Grocery Challenge for easy recipes to make chocolate bakes, all manner of different breads (you will be surprised how easy most of them are!) but I found getting my lot involved, really encouaged them to try 'new' things.

BigMummaF

Keep a look out in the reduced-to-clear (yellow sticker) when you're shopping because there's a big chance you can find ready to use pastry at a better price. Knock up some mini pasties, with the meat in one & veg in the other; jam tarts, apple pies, your own sausage rolls.. my lot like a couple of 'recipes' I saw on tv a few years back.

• Lay out the pastry (doesn't matter if it's puff or shortcrust; haven't tried with filo..yet ) & use pepper-army as the sausage to make scrummy mini sausage rolls! I don't like that stick meat, but I do enjoy these.
  
  Lay out your pastry (like before); spread with mustard &/or tomato sauce, add grated cheese. Cut into squares--about 3" & upwards for lunch-sized portions--& put a bit of bacon in the middle of each square. Fold over opposite points of pastry to make something like a bacon twist you'd find in a shop. You could add almost anything you like--sliced onion, tomato, mushrooms, egg--& make up a salad of sweetcorn & red peppers. We love sweetcorn straight out of the tin in our house & add it to boiled rice, cooked pasta, salads...

I understand they like to keep their food separate, but would you be able to start with pastry & maybe one ingredient, then work up to full blown mash-up

NewShadow

The easiest way with kids that don't liked mixed up food might be sticking to traditional meals - Lots of potatoes roasted, mashed, boiled, chipped, cheap cabbage/carrot filling half the plate, then a couple of cheap sausages, a smallish heap of shredded roast chicken, a piece of fish - it then becomes more about what you buy than how you cook it.

You might have a market near you with a meat man who'll do you good deals on bulk buying - lots of chicken legs or sausages at a few quid a kilo - keep them in the freezer and pull out what you need the day before. Keep your eyes open for good offers on what you like and fill ya' boots.

Those that will eat mixed up food, make things like tomatoey tuna pasta bake, mac and cheese, potato bake with leftover smoked gammon, curry - as a substantial carb heavy meal that'll keep them going without breaking the bank. These can be made fairly quickly and easily especially for lunches on a sunday and will keep at least until thursday.

Lunches for those that don't like mixed up - i often have a mix of boiled eggs, leftover cold meet, cubes of cheese - slices of carrot, slices of cucumber, gherkins, fruit - crackers, bread, wraps, couscous. Its a nice variety and easy for me to pick at if I'm working through lunch.

hth

Savvy_cash

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

500g bread, torn up and soaked in water 25p
500g dried fruit 84p
mixed spice to taste, I use three teaspoons I buy it in Aldi for 49p a jar so approx 8p
2 medium eggs, beaten farmfoods 15 eggs £1.00 = 13p
1tsp bicarb 5p
50g granulated sugar (59p Aldi or farm foods) 5p............ plus a little for dusting
50g dark brown sugar 95p/ 500g Aldi so 10p

Total cost £1.50

Soak the bread in warm water, then squeeze out as much water as you can.

Put in a bowl and add the fruit, mixed spice, bicarb brown sugar, gran sugar and eggs and mix well

Put into a greased deep baking tray or ovenproof dish

Bake at 180c/fan160/gas 5 until a knife comes out clean

Dust with granulated sugar while still warm.

Thank you Butterfly Brain for posting this recipe! :T

I made it last night, (with chocolate chips instead of fruit) and baked it in the oven for roughly 25 mins.

It was scrummy and would probably feed up to 6 people too

A cheap and cheerful dessert, highly recommended!

Butterfly_Brain

Glad you liked it Savvy cash

moments_of_sanity

Sorry, been awol (although autocorrect wanted me to be 'swollen') lol

Dinner tonight is chicken chasseur and with carrots, onions and mash the total cost is £1.51 / 37p per serving.

Butterfly_Brain

We had a really tasty ox heart casserole tonight and it was dirt cheap.
Pack of diced Ox heart £1.06 (morrisons)
Onion 8p, 2 carrots from a 500g bag 25p = 8p (aldi), a diced parsnip 10p and 2 tbsps frozen peas (frozen 89p a bag aldi) 10p.
Served with roast poatoes 40p and some cabbage leaves from the garden.

£1.87 = 47p a portion

Butterfly_Brain

Sorting out the freezer and I found loads of frozen summer fruits, they can go on top of the porridge in the morning with a drizzle of honey yum.
5 portions of porridge 25p, summer fruits £1.49 I use about ⅓ of a pack so 49p and the squirty honey costs £1 in poundland and I only use a little so about 20p's worth
Total cost of 5 bowlfuls of a hearty and healthy breakfast 94p = 19p a bowl. If you want to add milk that will cost an extra 35p which is £1.29 or 26p a bowl.