Cheapest recipies.

mi_jardin

This is a great site, as mentioned above, and you can "play" with the recipes to suit you.
http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/index.html

Vaila

Lentils can form the base of many healthy but filling meals.Dried pulses are cheaper than tinned usually and when you add some value veg and spices they can stretch quite far.Lentil dahl is a staple for me.

Shopping in asian supermarkets for rice,spices and herbs is usually cheaper than going to a supermarket,and try to buy value brands and eat in season to keep costs down.

If all else fails value pasta,value cream cheese and value frozen broccoli!

CWayward

Found the site you were referring to Mrs Jojo, thank you very much I think that'll be really helpful for ideas. If its possible to feed a family of 4 for £100 a month then my budget should be easy...I think the main problem is not having the facilities to refrigerate/freeze the extra portions, buying in bulk tends to work out cheaper, I think?
The other problem is finding recipes that don't take too long to cook, as I have an electricity pay as you go meter, and need to economise on that as well (so baking my own bread might be a false economy?)
Thanks for the help though, I've bookmarked the site!

CWayward

Thanks guys who posted while I was typing! I really appreciate all the help.
I wish we had asian supermarkets here (I live in Cornwall so not much in the way of ethnic food shops!)

ceridwen

You should be able to pick up some ideas from:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/257885

ie one of the vegetarian mealplanner threads done by Gingham Ribbon.

Vegetarian is the default setting if one wants/needs to eat as cheaply as possible I think.

tessie_bear

you could
# make some soup
# make some mince dishes...spag bol chilli burgers meat balls
# egg meals..frittata omelette quiche
# buy food when reduced in supermarket
# go to aldi and have a look at their special veg/fruit offers...a selection of veg 1ll 39p at the mo
# jacket pots with fillings...cheese/beans/tuna/coleslaw
# on toast menu...beans/spag/eggs

hth

CWayward

Thanks again

BitterAndTwisted

If you could find a second-hand freezer or one on Freecycle you'd be laughing. Would you be able to put a wanted ad in your local paper if there's no Freecycle in your area?

quintwins

you could still try shopping later in the day to pick up reduced foods then cook then or the next day if your lucky you could get 4-5 days of soup for pennys (veg is reduced to 10p later on in sm)

try to avoid convience foods, for example we had chicken nuggets and chips for tea, and i could have made 2 lots of sheperds pie for what we paid (was a nice treat tho )

eleanor73

I agree about the freezer. If you can get a free or v cheap one then you would be sorted. I did live with a freezer compartment in a fridge and you can batch cook and get bargains but it just means you need to eat it quick and be very good at planning!

Things to remember-
be really hungry when you have dinner and lunch-if I'm really hungry veggie soup and things I wouldn't normally choose taste way better!,
-always shop when things have been reduced in the bargain bin (I next to never buy anything full price),
-make a rule only to eat meat if it's reduced,
-bulk out dinners with lentils and/or soya mince
-never, ever throw food away!!!! Find a use for it.
-look out for freebies and vouchers
-Make pasta sauce it immediately is a cheap dinner.

Do all this and your dinners can stay below 50-75p!
Good luck:j