Only £10-15 a month for shopping :(

Butterfly_Brain

Another tip is to go to the market just as they are closing on a Saturday, they invariably sell fruit and veg cheaper that won't last the weekend.

Butterfly_Brain

Our Salvation army citadel does a hot meal for the homeless on a Thursday night, maybe he could see if your local one does the same thing?

RAS

And check out the possibility of bin-diving or freeiganism as it is sometime known - going through the bins at the back of supermarkets and raiding food.

The starbucks in town here often bins sarnies at the end of the day, just in bags in the street at about 8pm. One time they binned half a bin liner of unopened coffee on the sell by date. I could not take any of it however.

In another part of town folks find the supermarket bins locked but the ones at the back of the local deli are a treat.

FairyPrincessk

I'd definitely go for value porridge for breakfast and a spoonful of peanut butter stirred in will get him further with the extra fat and protein.

Doing hard, physical labour, he will need more protein than others since his body will need it to repair muscle damage. But, that doesn't have to mean meat. For a complete protein, these two combinations are great.

beans/rice (tried spicing up tinned kidney beans with cumin and chilli flakes) Kidney beans can be found for around 18p a tin. Lentils can also be combined with rice and cook quickly from dry.

cheese/potatos-jacket spuds are fairly cheap, although cheese can be pricey. try to get it reduced if possible.

Don't forget eggs--Aldi do 15 quite cheaply. Hardboiled with mayo on bread is a good, filling sandwich for not much money. Tinned tuna with mayo is also good for sandwiches. Bulk out with frozen sweet corn or sliced cucumber to get some veg in.

This isn't a great diet long term, but supplemented by meals at your house its a good idea. I'd definitely second the flapjack recommendation. Include some dried fruit if possible.

vodkawitch1

local foodbank help lots of people who are struggling to manage on benefits. Maybe there is one near him

Butterfly_Brain

I just re-read your post and you say that his Mum lives nearby, my immediate thought is why the hell isn't she helping him by cooking him a meal or buying him a few bits to help him out?

good_advice

Some good useful posts said.

I too would say go hunting in the evening @ the supermarkets for reduced foods.
Yesterday I bought 750g of mince for £2.65(reduced from £4).
I plan to make 4 cottage pies with it today.
£2.65 divided by 4 = 66p and add a few potatoes and an onion. gravy..

I would with his money buy things like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and some fruit and veg. may be 6 eggs. Tea. meat when reduced.

meg72

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

I just re-read your post and you say that his Mum lives nearby, my immediate thought is why the hell isn't she helping him by cooking him a meal or buying him a few bits to help him out?

My first thought too, but we dont know the circumstances, is she aware of his situation, maybe he hasnt told her.

Boodle

I recommend you look up Weezl's threads. Although these were based on prices a few years back, they may come in useful.

I wouldn't claim this is a plan which covers every single health base but this is what I could come up with in a couple of hours for 31 days... hope it gives you and your boyfriend some ideas.

Total 15.22 from Asda (sorry it's a little over, but hopefully a kind friend could lend 22p. Also, this doen't include meat - if he really wanted some you can buy bacon for around 80-odd pence and dice, fry an add a little to the lentil dishes below. Probably healthier without though.)

Smartprice oats 1 kilo 75p x 2
Smartprice wholemeal bread 47p x 4
Smartprice peanut butter 62p x 1
Great Scot yellow split peas 500g 58p
Smartprice plain flour 1.5kg 45p
Smartprice dried mixed fruit 500g 98p
Smartprice carrots 2kilo 92p x 2
Smartprice citrus (around 5 per pack) 49p x 4
Smartprice spaghetti 500g 24p
Smartprice gravy granules 20p
Green lentils 500g £1.00
Smartprice reduced fat spread 500g 60p
Smartprice tea bags 35p
Smartprice UHT milk 53p x 4 (I would have gone for soya 5p more each)
Smartprice tinned potatoes 550g 15p
Smartprice frozen mixed veg 1 kilo 75p

There is space for 2-3 cups of tea a day + just under 130ml milk per day for this.

Breakfast
Porridge made with 50g oats and water. Have a wee drop of milk on top too if liked. Add 1 tsp (around 5g) dried fruit.

Lunch
Peanut butter in wholemeal bread sarnies for 2 weeks
Pease Pudding in wholemeal bread sarnies for 2 weeks
Make pease pudding by simmering 3/4 pack of yellow pease as packet instructs but longer until pease have broken down and whole mixture is thick when stirred. Mix in a knob of butter. Put in fridge and this will set.
A carrot cut into sticks

There are also enough of the following rock cakes and citrus fruits for days at work:
Orange
Fruit Rock Cakes
Rub 100g spread into 275g flour, mix in 100g dried fruit, and then 100ml water. Shape into 20 rounds on a baking tray. Bake at 180C for around 10 minutes. Make twice in the month. Enough for weekdays at work.

Dinners
Pease Pie served with around 45g mixed frozen veg x 4 days
Make pastry with 200g flour, 50g spread rubbed in then enough water to make it rollable. Line a greased heatproof dinner plate with half. Spoon in 1/3 of your pease pudding. Top with remaining pastry. Bake 40 mins at 180C. Lasts 4-6 meals.)
Lentil Mince and Spaghetti x 5 days
150g lentils, 75g oats and 100g veg simmered in water 20 mins. Make some gravy up with the drained cooking water. Mix lentil and veg mix into gravy. Serve with 100g spaghetti per meal.
Lentil Pie served with around 45g mixed frozen veg per meal x 4 days
Cook 150g lentils in simmering water 20 minutes. Darin and use cooking water to make up gravy. Mix with lentils and 75g oats and leave to cool. Use to fill a pie lie the above Pease Pie and bake same way.
Yellow Split Pea Broth x 4 days
Cook half yellow pease and 75g oats in 1.2 litres water with a couple grated carrots and a little gravy granules dissolved for flavour.
Carrot and Orange Soup x 4 days
Cook around 8 carrots and half tin of poatoes in gravy granule-flavoured boiling water (1.2 litres) with saved orange peelings. Fish out the orange peelings and blend the soup if possible.
Tisdagsopa x 2 days
100g mixed veg, 30g oats, a couple of potatoes cooked in 600ml litres boiling water flavoured with a sprinkling of gravy granules. This is broth-like soup.
Fruity Lentil Stew with Flatbread x 4 days
200g lentils, 100g mixed fruit (I'd pick out the peel) and 45g mixed frozen veg cooked in around 500ml boiling water (check it doesn't get too dry) then thicken with gravy granules. Make a flatbread by mixing enough water into 50g flour to be able to knead it until smooth and roll out. Cook in dry frying pan or griddle a minute or two each side.
Peanut Burgers in "buns" with veg wedges x 4
Mix a spoonful of peanut butter, 45g mixed frozen veg and enough boiling water into 80g oats to make it shapeable once cooled. Shape into 4 burgers. Brush with melted spread and bake until crisp. Also cut about 2 carrots into wedges, brush with the little melted spread, and bake alongside the burgers. Cut one of your bread crusts into quarters and use two of the quarters to sandwich your burger.

star2007

Porridge
Jacket potatoes (buy a big bag and keep in a black cloth bag in the dark)
Baked beans
Veggie chilli with soya mince and kidney beans
Bread bought at reduced price (or homemade)
Home made pizza… just bread flour, yeast & water for the base (or one of those bread mixes) Use passata & reduced price vegetables as toppings.
Home made soup - Fry an onion, garlic & diced veg til softened. Cover with stock up to the level of the veg in the pan. Simmer for about 12 mins then blitz.
Spag bol with veggie mince/ cheap beef mince. Add a small scoop of dried red lentils to bulk out cheaply. Cook for about 20 mins. They're still rich in protein so you're not skimping on nutrition.
Veggie burgers. Make up a packet of value stuffing mix, a little on the dry side. Add a tin of mashed value kidney beans. Mix in some finely diced onion & veg. Form into patties and fry. Serve in value pitta breads.
Shop at Home Bargains & the like for cheap store cupboard ingredients like rice, chick peas, tinned tomatoes, curry paste, noodles etc.

You'll *need* to go to the supermarket or street market at reductions time, you can get some really good bargains and fruit and veg is relatively expensive otherwise.

I'd look at other sources of income to be honest… even £10-£15 a week food budget is quite modest. Trying to shoehorn that into a month isn't really doable without risking malnutrition. Even earning 50p extra a day by doing surveys online or whatever could cover a filling vegetarian meal like homemade spag bol made with value ingredients. If you have a N*ctar card you can watch videos online and earn up to £1.25 a week in points which you can spend in S@insbury's.

If he's genuinely cut out all reasonable fripperies like alcohol, coffees out, bus fares under a couple of miles etc etc, I'd go and see the CAB and even his MP. This is surely a social policy issue, if people don't have enough to cover the basics like food, something has gone badly wrong in the country, when MP's can claim a food allowance on top of wages.