5 people x £150 for food

threeboysmummy

hi im looking for help due to my partner going self employed rather than loosing his job ( his company is being taken over) we will for about 12 - 18 months be on a very tight budget, so the food toiletrys cleaning etc is £150 per month for myself my partner and the boys/men 18yrs 16 yrs and 12 yrs.... slightly ristricted as the oldest two are autistic so eat a fairly plain diet, my eldest loves poridge
anyway can this be done and how ?
oh yes im also cooking on a solid fuel cooker which heats our water and does our heating, this will keep the electric down i hope

oh yes i do have a sack of spuds £7.50 for each month not included in the budget oh yes and eggs at £3 for 30 i could find that each week if that helps

Ladyluck1

It can be done.
There's 4 of us (one is a baby though) and we get by on £120-130 a month and we don't eat badly AT All!
A few things;
Look for reduced items that you can freeze, I tend to sway towards mince, chicken and fish or any meat really.
Some value products are totally fine, I always buy morrisons value spaghetti.
Shop at aldi for their super 6 (this week I got butternut squashes for 49p each and some other veg)
Eat veggie at least once a week, we have a jacket potato night and a something on toast night when things are really tight.
Cook in bulk; I make 2 meals out of a 500g pack of mice so one bolognese and then keep the second lot and make savory mince or lasagnes etc.
Meal plan so you aren't tempted to go and grab something at the supermarket which can cost you £10+ easily!
Approved foods is great for snacks and cupboard stuff.
Stock up on washing/cleaning stuff when on offer if your fussy (I can't use anything but Persil or Ariel)

boultdj

15 eggs for £1 at FF at the moment if that helps

Broomstick

This recipe based on eggs and potatoes is a staple for us. I've posted it a couple of times. It looks fairly neutral so might be OK for your boys. With the veg (corn/peas/tomatoes) taken out it looks even more neutral!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=50813005&postcount=750

B x

AnnieO1234

Use grated carrot to bulk out bolognese, chilli, stews etc. You won't notice, and should be able to eke out more meals from them for freezer.

Check out agirlcalledjack, she is amazing when it comes to a tight budget having served herself and her son on £10 a week.

Make use of yellow stickers, bulk buy where you can, grow what you can, don't be afraid to downgrade brands. Also, use the MSE app on your phone MySuperlist to check best prices.

Try to include herbs and spices, one jar a week and you won't notice, as this will greatly improve the flavour of what you're cooking.

Cook from scratch. As am example, 5 pizzas even at £1 each are expensive compared to a basic dough made from cheapest flour, add a little mozzarella (44p a ball approx) and a little grated cheese with some tomato pur!e or even stewed down overripe tomatoes with a little garlic paste. Then use things like canned pineapple, canned ham (sainsbobs is fair trade for less than a £1), pepperoni from Aldi, basically whatever floats your boat. You could even save any left over chicken in freezer to add to your toppings. I promise you this will be much less than £5 for five pizzas for you all.

Buy whole chickens, look up rubber chicken on here or google.

If need to do a lot of sandwiches each month, grate the cheese or use a vegetable peeler to make thinner slices. Buy a ham or gammon joint for around £4, cook alongside something else to save fuel and use that for the week. You should also be able to turn a small amount of it into a delicious carbonara style dish. (Fry off onion or shallot with oregano, basil or mixed herbs. Add some garlic and as splash of white wine if your budget will stretch. Add double cream (long life is fine), cook through but don't allow to burn and stir in cooked pasta. - I find it a useful way to use up uneaten pasta and costs pennies.)

Take a look a sainsbobs latest campaign about using your leftovers.

Meal plan! Start with a week and build up to a month at least. This will help prevent wastage. Get creative with leftovers and things that are past their best.

Veggies, especially salad, can be refreshed in cold water for thirty minutes or so.

If you have a juicer, use up any overripe fruit and veg in it.

And remember - you can always ask here on MSE if you're really struggling for ideas.

Xxxx

Butterfly_Brain

What sort of meals do you usually eat? Maybe we could help with meal plans and recipes

saterkey

get a nectar card and watch the adds for points, bp for nectar points, Sainsbury basics for points etc, you can get 2.50-5.00 a month from the points, then I get as much as I can with that to stock up the cupboards in tins etc, amazing what you can get for a fiver. do valued opinions reviews and you can choose Sainsbury voucher when you get to £10 so potentially 12.50 a month if you do a lot of surveys. all adds up.

sax11

all these ideas are great

what about people that dont eat mince, sweetcorn, pasta, rice, most veg and especially curry or tomato based sauces

threeboysmummy

thanks all the ideas sound great...

the food they like is simple ish,
18 yr- all veg meatpies,bolognaise,chilli,burgers,sausages margarita piza but not fish ,joints,or chicken

16yrold all meat fish fingers,baterd fish burgers sausages,past with cheese or cheap tomato meatballs in a tin,pizas-margerita,peperoni,meatfeast,
but not meatpies chilli currybolognaise and not much veg except carrots,potatoes and at a pinch peas or sweetcorn, he also wont eat anything if its mixed up..he needs it all seperat on a plate......not too dificult hey

the youngest who is not diagnosed but i susppect is slightly aspergic
will eat some veg loves brocoli,plain pizza,sausages bacon sausage rolls,pasa with cheese and nothing else, nuglets,chicken portions rice and poperdoms,
but not joints burgers,baked beans,baked potatoes,curry chilli,bolognaise,
pies,

i think thats it oh yes they all love ice cream !!
i have tried making pizas for them but have not found a tomato base thats not herby or spicy..as it has to be realy plain.

patchwork_cat

threeboysmummy wrote: »

i have tried making pizas for them but have not found a tomato base thats not herby or spicy..as it has to be realy plain.

Make your own . Just leave out herbs, garlic or whatever http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/the-quickest-tomato-. Join the grocery challenge sticky at the top of the board. In order to maximise a tight budget you are going to have to be making things from scratch a lot. Compared to the £1 for a jar of pasta sauce, the 43p for a carton of passata and the 10p for an onion are going to make a difference. The only issue with make your own pizzas is the cost of the cheese.

JulieGeorgiana

Ref. Tomato Sauce - Napolina have a really nice plain one which I use for DD1 Mini Pizza's I make for her lunch... It's basically sieved tomatoes, but doesn't taste too sharp. It's really nice