Learning to be frugal with food

HPoirot

As far as I know, any cut of lamb is fine to use in a curry.

[Deleted User]

I find that if I only have a small portion of meat I can make it go as far as it needs to feed whatever number of people by chopping it small and incorporating it into an all in 0ne dish like risotto or spaghetti and sauce even hot pot where you can use more of the bulk ingredient i.e potato, rice, pasta and make sure the meat is distributed fairly when serving out. Having the meat actually in the dish makes it feel as though there is more than there actually is. Sprinkle whatever you make with a little tasty cheese and serve it with some salad/veg/garlic bread and you have a stretchable meal that everyone will enjoy.

sairy2010

Try this website. She has great recipes although a lot of them are vegetarian.
http://agirlcalledjack.com/
She had to live on £10 per week for food for herself and her small son for ages as she had to give up her job.
She is now rather political but the recipes are worth reading

Soworried

It would make a huge pie. Dice them and fry off with onion and any veg you need used up. Add a home made pie crust and serve with some home made wedges.

Stick around and keep reading as much as you can, it keeps me in line

crispycreme_2

Thank you for all the support.

I do have a Lidl near me GlynD. I havnt been in there yet though.

There is a Farmfoods next to it. I have a market that goes through the highstreet most the week, as well as Polish stores.

Can anywhere give any suggestions as where to start with this all?

Food is 1 of our biggest costs. I would like to tackle other areas too though (days out, etc.)

We have a lot to pay back & I just want to knuckle down and get it done.

Downsizing__for_sanity

There is another great resource, and aimed more at the bigger family than A Girl Called Jack (great though it is). Elaine on https://www.mortgagefreeinthree.com had some really bad financial news but managed to pay back an awful lot of debt by being really frugal, especially with food. She has a few threads on there about healthy packed lunches too. She tends to bulk out meals with pulses as well and gets her fresh things from Lidl usually, and packaged things at Approved Food. She's now been picked up and started writing a column for one of the Scottish Sunday papers. She has lots of photos of the food, and simple recipes, and many of the OS board/Grocery challenge peeps are also there (like me). I think she says she manages on about £20 a week for food so it's definitely achievable if you have the time to plan and shop around.

Good luck

DFS.

meg72

Have a look at the Grocery challenge thread lots of support and inspiration there.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4798807

happycrafter_2

For me I started with making a list of what we had in the cupboards freezer and fridge then made meal plans for a week at a time to start with then as I grew more confident monthly ones with meals I knew we all enjoyed so there wouldn't be any waste. I mainly shop in aldi now but I started by dropping a brand you soon pick up where to buy certain items and great times to pick up bargins!
I go to a meat wholesale place and recently bought 10lbs of mince which I batch cooked in to loads of meals all bulked out with veg (I put a tin of mixed vegetables in to my shepherds pie for example as they are cheap 2 tins for 79p)
I feed 2 teenagers 2 adults and we eat well, better than when we had credit cards etc infact. I stockpile simple French bread pizza for the kids homemade when the bread is reduced in the shops homemade tomato sauce and a scattering of grated cheese (usually have a box of grated cheese on the freezer made up of odds and ends of leftovers).
I tray bake cakes for puddings today I made my own crumpets for a tea/supper.

Sorry for the long rambling post but this is how I started and still do it now and I think when I am debt free I will still do this with meals

Horace

Must admit since I became skint due to the recession and then lack of job, I have become a lot more frugal.

I have built up a store and this is in part to advice received from Elaine from https://www.mortgagefreeinthree.com and now I only need to go to the pantry to find what I want. I sometimes use the local butchers for meat (I tend to buy his sausages) but mainly I use Aldi. I know a lot of people who shop in Aldi and you can get some really decent food and other things from them.

I acquaint myself with the supermarket whoopsie shelves (these are where they sell the on date food at reduced cost). Today, I happened into Sainsbury's (it is an expensive shop for me) and manage to pick up 4 grapefruit reduced to 29p each from 45p each and I plan to teach myself to make grapefruit marmalade. I made use of my nectar points too to pay for the shopping today because I did stock up with some tinned stuff and other things from the whoopsie shelf - I am conscious that I will need food when it snows.

I meal plan these days too and if times are tough then I will make fridge forage soup (made with whatever tired veg I have in the fridge). Rather than buy cake, I bake more and again I am teaching myself how to bake and if I have a disaster then I just add a bit of cream to it because a multitude of sins can be hidden that way:rotfl: Guess I am lucky because I rarely buy eggs as I have friends who keep hens and I get eggs from them (sometimes I will contribute to their feed but for the most part I supply them with egg boxes). I also keep eggs long past their sell by date too - to check if they are fit to use I will put them into a bowl of water and if they float to the top then they get chucked and the rest get eaten.

I have two freezers (one outside in the shed) and one attached to my fridge - I fill these with meat often buying it when it is on offer or buying in bulk and then splitting it and freezing it in portions. If I buy a bag of carrots (too many for me) then I will peel, slice, blanch and freeze them in manageable portions. I do the same with other veg that I either buy or have bartered.

gayleygoo

crispycreme wrote: »

Thank you for all posting so quickly. Onion bhaji recipe sounds great.

So generally, the lamb chop is not good for curry really? Shame as I thought I could make it go further with sides etc.

Lamb stew looks lovely on the link .

If it's what you have, by all means use it to save yourself buying more meat! It will be just fine and won't need a long cooking time Just meant if in future you're going to buy meat for a stew then the fattier, cheaper cuts are better value and flavour (unless you're on a diet and wanting to cut down the fat)

I use cheap cuts like pork belly/shoulder, chicken and turkey legs (they make great curries too) and brisket. They are all great done in a slow cooker.

Can you see any areas that could be improved in your meal planning/shopping/cooking? If you're unsure, keep receipts and record what you spend on food, (perhaps separating into fruit & veg, meat, ready meals and convenience foodsc so you can see where could be cut down) and aim to cut down by 10% the next month. You could cut down by more, but this can be difficult at the start especially with it being near xmas! Each month you can try cutting down a bit more.

Do you work outside the home? If you use ready meals etc often, because you have less time than you'd like, then there are loads on ideas on this board for time-saving cooking, such as slow cooking, batch/freezer cooking etc. If you don't bake already, then start! It's a cheap way of having tasty snacks and treats, and the pleasure of making and eating your HM goodies is much more satisfying than picking a packet off a shelf.

Meal plans will make your shopping cheaper. Always check what you have already so you can try to make use of it, then work out meals for at least the next week.

I like Lidl for lots of things - just don't get sucked in by the non-food items that you don't need, or fancier foodstuffs that cost a lot more. I buy a lot of basics there, and their alcohol selection is good too...

If your Farmfoods is anything like mine they may not be very cheap for many things. Worth a try, but mine caters for people with a bit more money to spend. Local markets can often be cheaper if you can get to one. Avoid doing "top-up" shops unless you really need something, and if you have to, only go with the change you need.

Keep an eye on all your spending too - before I started writing everything down I easily spent the same amount on household stuff, hobbies etc, without realising.

And stay positive it can be fun learning to be frugal!