Cheap shopping ideas/meals plz?

magicme

Financial situation is pretty bad at the moment so I need help on low cost items I can buy to feed myself for the week. I'm not sure what I'll have left once I get in my daughter's tea's and packed lunch but I know it won't be much.

Thanks!

Lynsey

Have a look HERE for some recipes and ideas.

Have a look at the coupons thread for cheap/free stuff - loads and loads of coupons to reduce costs

Coupons thread HERE - have a good read of page 1 and don't be frightened to ask.

Lidl half-price weekend offers and Aldi Super 6 along with reduced offers will help.

Good luck.

Lynsey

Chris25

The Old-Style board is really good too for tips & recipes http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

[Deleted User]

Pasta is always good and it goes far , just add a value 39p jar sauce & add your own herbs and spices to it for extra flavour , I would say add some cheese on top but cheese is SO expensive now

I am treating myself to a SMALL piece of parmesan as grated on top of dishes it has a very strong flavour so you don't need much and it goes far and keeps well in the fridge

You could also make your own pizza's with the 44p value mozzerella which is fine & you can add whatever toppings you have in the house ( I add chilli flakes , dried herbs 19p & lots of freshly ground black pepper , but I even find whole black peppercorns really expensive )

Value kidney beans are just 18p so you could always whip up a chile con carne quite cheaply , I've been thinking off adding some soya mince to mine to make it go further and its not bad when hidden with the herbs and spices etc or Quorn mince is often on offer and its not too bad either & both are better than fatty cheap mince!!

The 4p mushy peas go ok with cheap battered fish with a squeeze of lemon juice

I think though , the more taste and flavour you can add to things the more you enjoy them rather than plain bland cheap food & making a hearty stew with market veg or a home made chunky soup is both tasty and nutritious

I've got ''nothing'' in the house @ the moment as am off on hol tomorrow so just made pasta & sauce with added herbs , spices & a jar of Sacla sundried tomatoes with garlic I had knocking about & added a small drizzle of chilli oil ( bought when on offer ) and it wasn't too bad even though I missed a bit of meat with it ( some cheese on top would have sorted me right out! lol ) xx

Soworried

Hi
These threads have been a great support to me, they contain shopping lists and meal planners and all prices are current to the last few weeks or so.
The £7 a week for two people thread.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4084527

The feed a family for £20 a week thread.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4148389

I hope they are some use to you. x

If you want to post which supermarkets you have close we can do one tailored to that supermarket as well.

couponqueen123

local market most veg men have a pack of mixed veg for a £1 and all you need to do is peal roughly chop put in pan cover with wather if you got salt and pepper add it and bring to boil and simmer for few hours makes a nice veg cawl(is welsh for soup)i think

quintwins

My markets really expensive

I would suggest nice filling foods, sheperds pie is very cheap and can do several meals for you and your daughter

1/2 pack fo value mince £1.20, value instant mash 20p, value mixed veg 75p, gravy £1, costs £3.15 this should easily do 3 meals for the 2 of you, i can feed 5 and 2 lunches on this, if you like value gravy (we don't) it would be even cheaper

beef stew, bag of value spuds 70p, 2 tins of value carrots 40p, onion 20p, beef shin 80p, £2.10 and some of your gravy from before, cook slowly then add gravy, this feeds 5 of us easy and i never use the whole bag of spuds.

potatoe, tuna.,sweetcorn salad, tin of value spuds 20p, value sweetcorn 33p value tuna flakes 54p, value mayo 48p, £1.37 mix it all in a bowl.


Don't forget about things liek porridge a value bag is 75p, and things like banana on toast are filling and get some fruit into you.

Butterfly_Brain

magicme wrote: »

Financial situation is pretty bad at the moment so I need help on low cost items I can buy to feed myself for the week. I'm not sure what I'll have left once I get in my daughter's tea's and packed lunch but I know it won't be much.

Thanks!

Is it just you and DD and how old is she ? Why are you doing different meals for both of you? It is more economical to cook for two than for one.
Have you any flour, tins, packets etc? If so would you post what you have and maybe we can help with a meal plan

magicme

Thanks for all your posts, I really appricate the help.

The closest supermarket I have to me is Asda but as I work in the city centre I also have Sainsburys, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco and morrisions, farmfoods and iceland withing travelling distance.

I would love to be able to cook meals that both myself and my 6 year old daughter would be able to eat unfortunately she is extremely fussy. Does not like (well is sick eating) mince, gravy, tomatoes or tomato based sauces and prefers finger food to runny food.

I can eat pretty much everything except nuts, the healthier the better though.

x x x

Butterfly_Brain

I never pandered to my two being fussy because we have always been on a very tight budget.
They were allowed in the kitchen from 2 years old and were given a piece of pastry to play with or we made cakes, biscuits, calzone's and pizzas together and they got to choose what they wanted as a topping/filling.
We always made a game of "naming food" such as broccoli trees, kale was seaweed, shepherd spy, frog in a blanket, etc. I always encouraged them to try new things and told them that if they truly didn't like it that was fair enough, but to tell me they hated it without trying it was frowned upon.

• Toad in the hole (Frog in a blanket) or as mine like to call it "Frog jumped out of bed" and they are 23 and 18 :rotfl:(Separate Yorkshire puddings and sausages) with peas and roast potatoes.
• HM pizza and HM wedges
• Macaroni Cheese with slices of pepperoni on top "Macaroni Special"
• Sausage and mash
• Pitta breads filled with salad and chicken and a sweet chilli dip.
• HM soups with crusty bread or tortillas sprinkled with cheese and put on top.
• Stuffed pancakes,bacon and cheese was always a fave. I just use streaky bacon which you can get for 79p a pack in Aldi
• Frittata using any vegetables that you like.
• Sweet and sour /chow mein egg noodles with a variety of vegetables and, if you have any, some diced meat such as chicken, beef or pork
• Pea and mushroom risotto
• Jacket potatoes with baked beans, etc

Or you could batch cook a lot of things that you like in single portions, saving money and energy, because all you have to do is just warm it through in the microwave.
Sorry I can't be more helpful x

Bealer

Another tip is to make your own egg salad for sandwiches. Just boil some eggs. When done boiling, and peeling, grate them with a grater in a bowl. Mix with a few dollops of mayo, a dollop of mustard, and salt and pepper (and perhaps some other seasoning of your choice). And there you have it. Quick and easy, and with far more healthy eggs than the pre-bought stuff.

Make sure you put a few drops of vinegar and some salt in the boiling water before putting the room-temperatured eggs in. This makes the eggs very easy to peel under running cold water.