Feeding 1 adult and 2 children off barely nothing?

Spendless

Love the meal planner from quintwins. :T

and the story about the 'goat' :rotfl:

I've read some of your posts OP. I think your children are 4 (at school) and 2 (in nursery) and that you are at Uni, so not about during the day to do much prepping of meals? I agree with the comments about wipes, but does the LO's nursery ask you to send them in?

Get ahead of yourself as much as you can whilst kids are at their Dad's house. Which shops do you have access to, as that will help with the suggestions and costs?

I also agree about porridge and eggs being the most filling breakfasts you can have. For health reasons, I've recently had to learn to love porridge, previously I thought it tasted like wallpaper paste would, so it can be done. I'm still working on reducing my milk:water ratio and I still can't manage it plain. I put a few defrosted berries with mine for the sweetness, but if I was able to add sugar, I'd be using the sachets, that somehow find their way into my shopping bag whilst out. :whistle:

Definitely meal plan though, that will help. Good luck.

valk_scot

For school uniforms, ask at the school, they often have a uniform exchange or a stockpile of outgrown stuff they're keeping for the second hand uniform stand at the school fair, or just for emergency changes if a child falls in a puddle at the playground. Or if you've got a friend with a slightly larger child at the same school. i pas all our outgrown school uniform to my neighbours, it's a standard thing around here.

As to food I can't do better than the posters above re food, but I do second looking at your local lidl and Aldi. Better quality for cheaper prices. There's usually a weekend offer on both meat and veg, a couple of weeks ago Lidl were doing four large pork chops for £1.39 for example which is enough for two meals worth of sweet and sour or stir fry for your family. Milk is currently 79p for 2L at Lidl, their bread is much cheaper than the mainstream supermarkets, cooking bacon (for sauces, bakes and the odd bacon butty if you're handy with a sharp knife) is £1.79 for a kilo, potatoes are £4.75 for a 10kg sack, ten eggs for £1, vegetable cooking oil £1.29 a litre. There are good rolling offers on frozen foods and dairy like butter and cheese. Oh, and Lidl own brand cereals taste the same and are half the price of the big brands.

Is there anything you can sell to raise a little money to tide you over? Scrap gold for example, you get the cash for that very quickly. It's not like you're going to need that wedding ring again after all, unless you've stuffed it back up your OH.

honeythewitch

quintwins wrote: »

I'm not trying to nitpick i'd just hate for someone to see this and go and then not be able to afford what they went to buy

Iceland fishfingers are £2 i acually got up and checked as i have some in my freezer, i still recommend them and the chicken nuggets tho, altho i do think fishfingers go further.

Also i'm pretty sure the sausages are in bags of 20, it has been along time since i bought them tho (perfectly fine for sausage casarole).

Yes they are, and sausages too. It is a typing mistake rather than miscalculation. I have no idea how or why I typed out a pound, except i think i might have typed the adding up backwards, glancing at my written list, if you see what i mean?
The calculations are done for them being two pounds so the total spend is the same.
The sausages are in a bag of forty. They sell them in twenties too. http://groceries.iceland.co.uk/Plumtree-Farms-40-Value-Sausages-2kg/p/50984
Thank you for pointing it out.

honeythewitch

With the situation being a bit desperate, unless you actually need school and nursery for child care purposes you might consider not sending them at all until things are sorted, because neither are of compulsory "schooling" age.

pavlovs_dog

would you be able to access any hardship grant through your university? worth speaking to your union, there is always money available to support people who may otherwise have to drop out because they cannot cover their living expenses etc

WantToBeSE

Fruball wrote: »

I've come up with a meal plan for an adult and 2 children of what I think are nice meals and there are plenty of nice treats too. Not sure how old the kids are?

I have done the 'shop' on MrT online

There isn't milk on the list as MrT is expensive but I can get 4 pints for £1 easily so would get it elsewhere.

This comes to £36.14 but you could easily leave out a couple of the treats and bring it down to under £36 which would allow for 16 pints of milk or if you are getting £42 you could get the milk and have almost £2 to spare


Breakfasts:

Bacon sandwich
Egg sandwich
Egg on toast
Toast and jam
Banana on toast

Lunches

Chicken fried rice and mixed veg
Chicken sandwich with mayonnaise
Egg mayonnaise sandwich
Crackers with cheese spread
Crackers or toast with pate

Dinners

Sausages (2 each) with new potatoes, peas and baked beans
Sausage Spag bol with tinned tomatoes and bit of onion
Turkey escalopes made with 1 egg, hm breadcrumbs and fried in butterserved with mixed veg and rice
Turkey and mixed veg thai red curry withrice
Chicken casserole with new potatoes and peas
Spaghetti with chopped bacon, onion, peas and cream for sauce
Kidney bean chilli with rice and peas


Desserts and snacks

Jelly
Chocolate swiss roll
Strawberry whip or chocolate mousse
Tinned fruit and custard
Ice Lolly
Crisps
Biscuits
Roasted drumstick or chicken wing
Chocolate
Bananas
Raisins
Squash or apple juice to drink

Shopping list

Meat deal is 3 for £10 so I chose the following items:
Quick cook turkey steaks 418g
10 Finest pork sausages 756g
16 rashers bacon 600g
I also added a Value roasting chicken £2.60
Country store peas 1kg 99p
Casserole veg £1.00
Value mixed frozen veg 75p
Value milk chocolate 30p
Thai red curry sauce £1.19
Value chilli sauce 57p
Value kidney beans 21p
Value spaghetti 19p
Oaktree baked beans 33p
East End tinned tomatoes 39p
Value jam 29p
Value tomato ketchup 28p
Value gravy granules 20p
Value rice 40p
Hartleys jelly 40p
Tesco Everyday value 8 fruit flavoured lollies 73p
Value strawberry whip 15p
Value tinned custard x 2 34p
Value tinned peaches x 2 64p
Value tinned mandarins x 2 38p
1kg seedless raisins £2.87 (Expensive and I would buy lots of tins of cheap tinned fruit instead but saw them on your list)
Value crackers 69p
Value custard creams 35p
Value multipack of 12 crisps 68p
Value mayonnaise 40p
Chicken stock cubes 15p
Value chocolate swiss roll
Value wholemeal bread x 2 94p
Value chocolate mousse 4 pack 19p
Fresh double cream 60p
1 onion 19p
6 bananas 73p
Brussels pate 65p
value eggs 6 pack 95p (I am sure you can source these cheaper)
Value cheese spread 49p
Kerrygold irish butter £1.25 (I will never compromise on butter but would spend 15p more on Lurpak!)
Value small potatoes 1kilo 69p
Sunsip summer fruits high juice £1.09
1 litre value apple juice 65p

Total = £36.14

Thats amazing Fruball!!

Could you post the recipe for the sausage spag bol please? (sorry OP, i hope you dont mind).

SunshineButterfly

Id like to apologise for not replying sooner I have been studying and catching up on the housework so havent been online much.

I am copying and pasting all meal plan ideas and food ideas. I will try and reply to all questions asked.

SunshineButterfly

RAS wrote: »

SB

I gather that you have actually bought the stuff listed in the first post??

No I have not yet bought anything. I am currently trying to use up items in the cupboard and freezer and saving the pennies I have been given for as long as physically possible in hopes that it all lasts as long as possible.

SunshineButterfly

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I know it's "judge not, lest ye be judged" but as your kids are out at school or nursery all day, I would have thought that any food-prep could be done before you go to pick them up in the afternoon.

Currently due to how far away from my home school and nursery I am getting the children up at 6.15 each morning and then its a mad rush to go for the buses to get to school and nursery on time. By the time I get back home I have 20 minutes (if all the buses turned up on time etc) before I am back out again to get buses back to collect from nursery... and the same applies for the afternoon.

Admissions have told me I should hear in about 7 days if a school place close to my home is available and then I can speak to the school and arrange a start date. Once school has been changed I will have more time in the mornings and plenty of time in the day and also after school to be cooking fresh meals.

I am also in university mon-weds so am out all day studying.

SunshineButterfly

honeythewitch wrote: »

With the situation being a bit desperate, unless you actually need school and nursery for child care purposes you might consider not sending them at all until things are sorted, because neither are of compulsory "schooling" age.

Although education is not compulsory until the children are 5 I feel that not sending them to education currently would effect them badly and I think that they need this routine and stability whilst they get used to all the other changes that are going on in their life currently.

Also education means they are both fed 1 hot cooked meal at lunchtime for free... which frees up a little of my non-existent income to feed them breakfast, tea, snacks and weekend meals. But it also means that they are most likely getting protein at school / nursery meaning if I get seriously desperate and have to feed them pasta and cheese for a few days of something not so healthy it should not affect their health in the short term until things are sorted out.