Shopping help with a twist!

abailey54

I like lentil curry as a cheapy meal, don't have a recipe though (I just shove random quanities of various spices in, garlic, onion, tin of tomatoes)

Falafel is relatively cheap to make too (some recipes use wheat flour but not all of them), depending on what you have with them

Have you got any foraging opportunities if you're rural?

If you were able to save on other things, could you still buy the gluten free bread?

Ollycob

Yes can get blackberries etc from the hedges, although tend not to as struggle with time. Everything has been cut right back as I'm pulling in just over £1k a month and I do have 1 horse and 1 dog, trying to hang on to the horse as long as possible but depending on how long I'm out of work and how well I do with the budgeting he will have to go if I can't make ends meet.
Would rather cut bread out altogether

Nicky_Noo_Na

When I went gluten free for a short while I definately became a fan of rice!

You can also get wheat/gluten-free products on prescription so I know people who get a lot of food off the doctors - if you pay for prescriptions not sure if you can ask for a lot on one charge or if a pre-pay certificate is an option? Although if you are on JSA prescriptions might be free?

Worth investigating anyway....HTH

Ollycob

Really? I will have to investigate that! Thanks

Save_me

Hi, I felt the need to register (I always just lurk and pick up tips as I don't usually have anything to offer), however on this occasion I do!

You can eat far better by removing all bread, grain, sugar etc from your diet and you will feel great for it! Check out the Paleo diet (diet isn't the right word for this as it's a lifestyle rather than diet). The idea is you go back to eating what we are programmed to eat - veggies, fruit, nuts & meat. There's a wealth of recipies for this and once you start shopping for the raw ingredients (although it seems more than you ever would spend on these types of food) that is all you need to buy!

The health benefits are gained within a few days. You will lose weight, your tummy will like you again and you will have bags of energy!

Although money is a concern right now, if this is all your food money will be going on, it will be worth paying more for the grass fed beef & organic veggies!

I really recommend it and I seem to have saved loads of money from just buying food in it's raw form and spending 30 mins a night to cook a meal (I have enough left over to freeze portions too).

At the moment, I'm mixing using up what I had in my cupboard and only buying raw food. Once my cupboards and freezer are cleaned out, I will only be buying high quality foods to use (you are what you eat!).

If you want some help to get started, check out the Nerd Fitness website and look for the section on Primal/ Paleo. They have loads of tips and recipies and will put any doubts you might have at rest.

Good luck!

tryingtoruletheworld

Risotto is my favourite gluten and dairy free meal, obviously I make it without cheese! If you use your veg scraps to make a really good stock it makes it even better, and is obviously a lot cheaper than gluten free stock cubes. You can then use your stock for lots of cheap filling soups like leek and potato, mixed bean, spicy lentil, cumin and parsnip, jerusalem artichoke etc. There is a great spiced lentil soup recipe on the bbc good food site.

Pesto is pretty easy to make dairy free and can be used for a wide variety of stuff rather than just pasta. I love root veg casseroles, lentil stew and rich warming dishes like that. Veggie chilli is easy and cheap to make, and you could have it with corn tacos if you are ok with those. You could also have polenta if cornmeal suits your diet.

There is a vegan thread on the old style board which might help with some dairy free ideas. I posted a vegan lemon curd recipe there which is delicious!

maman

I try to keep bread to a minimum but for 'waistline' reasons! I like it too much.;)

For lunches I tend to either have soup which I cook in large pots and freeze in portions. Or I deliberately cook extra veg with my supper including potatoes and have fried potatoes with some meat and pickles or a big pile of bubble & squeak at lunchtime. I really like stir fry and they don't need to have any meat or a miniscule amount. Making a really big casserole with a cheap cut of meat (like shin) and loads of veg good. While I'm not a veggie, vegetable curry is delicious.

If there's an Aldi or a Lidl when you go into town it's worth looking at the veg prices there. I find them about the cheapest around.

Clowance

instead of egg on toast how about making your own potato patties either bubble and squeak style or plain? then fry them in frylight which I think is cheaper as well as healthier than oil as a bottle lasts forever and have egg on top.
(What I mean is cook and mash some potato and shape into flat pancakes about a cm deep). No bread required and no wheat. You could make a batch, open freeze and then cook from frozen.

Ollycob

Brilliant some more ideas! Thank you

ss3n08

Slimming world have a recipe for an egg quiche, you can google it. It has no pastry whatsoever it is completely egg based. It is delicious and cheap but I think it may contain cottage cheese. Is this something you could eat?