Really tight shopping budget for October!

Ladyluck1

Hi, I'm a bit of a lurker I'm afraid. So :wave:

We have basically just moved house and been told our housing benefit is being cut to less than half! My husband works
I'm currently in my final weeks of pregnancy though so things 'should' improve when the baby comes. I know, I know I shouldn't look at it like that but it's a struggle at the moment.
So I have budgeted that we can 'afford' (not really!) £20 a week for a food shop but I want that to include fruit, protein, carb and veg if possible, as I said I'm pregnant and we also have a toddler.

Can this be done?!

Many thanks x

seabright

Unless you have a well stocked store cupboard already, that's going to be tough.

I'll get the ball rolling by suggesting that vegetable soups for lunch, especially with basics/value pasta in can be very filling. Can your husband take lunch to work, rather than buying?

Go through your cookbooks and maybe a trip to the library to get soup recipes. I love French onion soup, it's cheap to make as onions are cheap to buy, but it always tastes like a luxury soup.

Ladyluck1

Thanks, luckily I have a very well stocked store cupboard (lots of spices, garlic, pasta, oil etc)
Hubby gets lunch at work but it's very cheap in the work canteen, a full meal for under £1 usually. But I can see how that adds up now!
I'm just awful at planning!

FairyPrincessk

I'd suggest heading over to Aldi early this week before the supersix change. Right now carrotts, onions, broccoli and savoy cabbage are 49p. You can do carrott soup, onion soup, stir fries, coleslaw, carrott batons, and your usual veg as sides with this. They also have cherry toms and snack pack of grapes at this price, although I'm not convinced they're such a great deal.

Also think of making your own tom. soup with tinned toms or passata.

Courgettes are probably still cheap, they're good for stir fries, or try this courgette lasagne, which I promise does not taste healthy at all
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/517627/quick-courgette-lasagne

Aubergines are also generally cheap this time of year (at least for another week or two!) So a nice ratatouille might be in order.

In the coming weeks, leeks should start appearing at a decent price, so think leek and potato soup!

Also, don't discount jacket spuds topped with tuna/baked beans/cheese or roasted leftover veggies, and omelettes with leftover veggies for cheap, easy dinners.

Tibbie's_mum

Do you have a market nearby, if so, wait 'til packing up time and see what fruit and veg they've got that's a bit past its best, my sister usually gets it free or for a few pence. And then as suggested by Seabright do soup, or with fruit do smoothies.

HTH

Butterfly_Brain

Could you tell us what you have in the cupboards and freezer and then we can come up with some meal plans for you x

Have a look at the £7 a week thread it has lots of money saving ideas
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4084527
Go foraging, this is the ideal time for blackberries, apples, rose hips damsons, beech nuts etc

CH27

Go to Aldi & stock up on their super 6.

Their passata is 29p. Warm it & pour over cooked pasta. Sprinkle with grated cheese & grill until cheese is brown.
Jacket spuds with cheese & beans.
Grill a couple of sausages. Chop up & mix with baked beans. Top with mash & bake until mash has crisped.

Ladyluck1

That's great thank you!
Unfortunately we don't have an Aldi as yet but it's currently being built so will keep an eye on their deals... I have a lidl literally next door though

In my cupboard I have;
Pasta - spaghetti 250g, fusilli around 200g and shells 500g
Noodles - 3 nests
Spices - cumin, coriander, curry powder, oregano, peppercorns, mint, 5 spice. Garlic. Packet of fajita mix
Stock cubes - 4 beef and 2 vegetable
Sauces, tins and oils - olive oil, vegetable oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, a splash of rice wine, beans x2, gravy granules, tinned tomatoes x3, tinned peaches.
Baking- plain and self raising flour, caster sugar, baking powder, cornflour.
Freezer;
Turkey dinosaurs, a packet of steam veg for 1, potato waffles, 2 portions of savory mince. Peas. My freezer is tiny!

I have the basics in my fridge too but they'll need replacing obviously...

lilbert

Anything in the freezer? another vote for super 6. Lots of passata, and cheap veg. You can grate carrot/courgette and chop onion into passata, with some seasoning for a decent pasta sauce. Some recipes here that might help:
http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/jacks-recipes/
http://thriftylesley.com/
http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/index.html

lilbert

The 3 x tin peaches will come in handy! peach crumble or peach upside down cake etc, if you can get some cheap custard sachets will fill you up after a lighter meal of soup. X

FairyPrincessk

If you have an A$da near you, I believe they have a scheme similar to supersix where several fruit/veg items are 50p each. We don't have one near us, but when we stayed at a friends, I seem to remember this being the case.