How do people feed families on £40 a week?

Georgiegirl256

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I wonder what the 'official' stance will be on purple potatoes if they become more popular, both Asda and Sainsbury stock them now. :think:

I've tried those purple potatoes but wasn't keen on the texture of them at all, and the purple mash (even though it's my favourite colour) was weird looking to say the least!

Edwardia

I've had purple carrots, only purple on the outside though

paulinewb ASDA does 400g organic trimmed leeks for £2, usually five leeks and no waste whatsoever so 1.89 for 4 non-organic leeks does seem a rip off to me :eek:

Fire_Fox

Edwardia wrote: »

I've had purple carrots, only purple on the outside though

So are aubergines. Potatoes seem like a good option compared to pricey berries since many families eat potatoes regularly anyway but not if they don't taste right.

Luckystar

Some good offers in Tesco today but may be store specific as cant see them on their website. Fresh skinless chicken breast fillets 500g £3 (half price) and lean steak mince 750g £2.75 (half price) the mince is shown online but states just 'steak mince',my packs are lean and the fat content is lower. I bought 2 packs of each will freeze some and for SandA the mince packs would be plenty for 2 possibly 3 meals per pack for 2 adults and 1 baby eg shepherds pie, spag Bol, chilli, lasagne, meatloaf or meatballs choice is endless. You could make something and freeze half for a meal the next week. Hope your new £40 weekly budget is working out ok

blackandwhitebunny

[QUOTE=Fire Fox;60420511

Here in the UK potato crisps and chips clearly fall into the 'maximum 10% of daily calories' as sugar added/ fat added junk group. Even commercial vegetable crisps fall into this category. The potatoes are usually peeled so not even whole produce, akin to fruit juice which only counts as one serving per day.

[/QUOTE]
You know that and I know that and most people interested enough to be reading threads like this know that but lots of people would just assume that they did count.

Edwardia wrote: »

I've had purple carrots, only purple on the outside though

paulinewb ASDA does 400g organic trimmed leeks for £2, usually five leeks and no waste whatsoever so 1.89 for 4 non-organic leeks does seem a rip off to me :eek:

You do get completely purple carrots but you'd have to grow them as they aren't available commercially. the ones you buy are sometimes called maroon carrots (don't ask me why) and are very high in antioxidants and vitamins and minerals, even better than the completely purple ones. It is recommended to eat the skin though so you'd have to find organic ones if you didn't want lots of nasties as well.
I did a taste test with a class at school with the purple potatoes, steamed, baked and wedges and most of the pupils preferred the purple ones, although this was probably a novelty factor.

Penny-Pincher!!

You just need to shop more wisely:

Use vouchers £12 off £60 spend at Tesco or Mr S ATM

Use in season veggies or frozen/tinned

Use value items that dont taste different like kidney beans, flour, stuffing, sweetcorn, carrots, cabbage, toothpaste, soap, yogurts, strong cheddar, crisps etc.

Meal plan

See what food you have in and utilise this

Bulk cook and pad out with beans, pulses, veggies etc

Use chicken carcass for stock/soup

You can get 3 chickens for £10 which should do you 4-5 meals and then soup

Loads more, but brain not working.

PP
xx

SandA

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

You just need to shop more wisely:

Use vouchers £12 off £60 spend at Tesco or Mr S ATM

Use in season veggies or frozen/tinned

Use value items that dont taste different like kidney beans, flour, stuffing, sweetcorn, carrots, cabbage, toothpaste, soap, yogurts, strong cheddar, crisps etc.

Meal plan

See what food you have in and utilise this

Bulk cook and pad out with beans, pulses, veggies etc

Use chicken carcass for stock/soup

You can get 3 chickens for £10 which should do you 4-5 meals and then soup

Loads more, but brain not working.

PP
xx

Were can I get the £12 of £60 at Mr T? I seen it in the discounts thread for a code online, but when I put it in it said the maximum discounts have been used or something. Is it just an online thing?

Thanks x

quintwins

SandA wrote: »

Were can I get the £12 of £60 at Mr T? I seen it in the discounts thread for a code online, but when I put it in it said the maximum discounts have been used or something. Is it just an online thing?

Thanks x

The online codes only for new customers so if you were doing it on an account you used before it won't work.

Fire_Fox

blackandwhitebunny wrote: »

You know that and I know that and most people interested enough to be reading threads like this know that but lots of people would just assume that they did count.

IME the majority of adults know white potatoes don't count, but relatively few are aware of the 10% of calories as fat added and sugar added guidelines. And fewer still think commercial 'wholegrain' breakfast cereal and flavoured/ sweetened yoghurts can fit into that category.

blackandwhitebunny wrote: »

I did a taste test with a class at school with the purple potatoes, steamed, baked and wedges and most of the pupils preferred the purple ones, although this was probably a novelty factor.

That's interesting, I will mention that to nutrition clients thanks. :T

Dinosaur_Train

I haven't read all the pages of replies (got to page 6 or 7 I think) but just wanted to say OP that I think your DH's behaviour is out of order and that he needs to rethink his priorities. It sounds as though he is putting himself first.

It reminds me of my situation with my first husband. He didn't go out much but was absolutely obsessed by healthy eating, and so his meals, protein shakes and other things had to be the priority for our food shopping each week or he'd kick off. He was having things like 72 weetabix per week, 4 or 5 bags of apples, lots of fresh organic chicken breasts. There was around £15 left out of the food budget each week to feed DD1 and I after all his requirements were bought. We lived on value bread, value weetabix, value pasta and sauce etc whilst he lived the life of riley. I didn't dare argue with him as he'd kick off.

We were also constantly very overdrawn and he always blamed me for this saying that I was 'greedy' and a 'big spender' (I wasn't; my parents had to buy my tampons, haircuts, underwear, and clothes and shoes for my DD. He even took the child benefit off me each week to pay the electric). however, once I finally got the courage to kick him out I discovered he had been syphoning money out of our account, gambling, and spending money on himself.

He also insisted that I stayed home with DD, and wouldn't allow me to get a job. I tried to do a waitressing job on Saturday nights (with my parents having DD as he refused to) and he said that whatever I earnt he would spend double so it wouldn't be worth my while.

I know your situation isn't as bad, and I'm not for one minute suggesting your DH is abusive, but just wanted to make the point that things do often snowball and if he thinks you are a pushover on things like this he will continue to take advantage. x