Help us get 5 a day on 10.00 for the week!

recovering_spendaholic

lynzpower wrote: »

OOH great thoughts there, thanks to all. Yes, we do have sultanas raisins & dessicated coconut ( bet that wont count lol).

Ok tonight we are eating out so I dont need to overly consider it, OH is having beans on toast at work so thats 1 for him done. Im having a glass of OJ now, so one up for me too. I think cramming in another 4 today is possibly a bit to the wind, given we are eating out later. However, we will survive.

Tomorrow Im going to roast off a pork joint with pots , peas, carrots, sweetcorn fritters and POSS pasnips if you can still get them now - I might be tempted to try the frozen variety anyone had these? Chuck in mushrooms on toast for tomorrows brekkie with a tin of beans ( + scrambled eggs!) and theres 6 done. Glass of OJ makes us 7. Should make up for any lack today.

Monday - Ill do the bacon chops with potatoes of some sort with honeyroast carrots and corn cobs - Oj in the morning and a bean soup for lunch which IM certain is 2 due to beans and the chopped toms. Im going to do baked apples for tea ( never done these before!) so with the raisins & sultanana thats 1 as is the apple so thats 2. - theres 6. Just.

Tuesday- more bean soup & OJ ( 3) mexican chicken- chicken fillets, passata (4) onions,mushrooms,pepper, (5) brown rice etc

So far that totals a cost of 50p for apples, 2.00 for bag of peas & one bag s corn, 1.16 value mushrooms, bag carrots 55p, 75 for OJ ( from concentrate) total 4.96 hmmm not looking good is it. plus a pepper 5.46

Weds, ive got some sort of watercress sauce ( got it cheap- no idea if this counts, cant see it) So we will have that as a pasta sauce with chicken fillets, with mushrooms, sweetcorn onions, (2) plus the OJ and the soup - 5.

Erm... might need to come back to this later....

On the subject of the seeds, i did the jar version, I found it a great deal of hassle for very little reward. I just dont have the inclination now I seldom have time to turn round at home these days.

Any more thoughts more than welcome x

Do you live near to a Lidl? I got three large tins of sweetcorn there for 39p the other day and it is lovely and crisp. I buy the Aunt Bessie's Roasting Parsnips (don't tell anyone;) ) and they are gorgeous but a bit pricey - I tend to get them from Farm Foods for £1. I also eat alot of carrot and apple salad - just grated apples and carrots with a few raisins thrown in. I keep it in a lock and lock in the fridge and have it on its own for a snack or with salads or jacket potatoes.

I have just made two lasagnes (so 6 - 8 portions in total) using 1lb mince, a tin of tomatoes, an onion, a bit of celery which I found lurking at the bottom of the fridge and half a pepper. I used 3 oxos, a dash of worcester sauce, a squirt of ketchup and some dried herbs for the meat sauce and a pint and a half of milk made into fatless white sauce to which I added some more dried herbs and some grated past its best cheese - then when the sauce was thick I threw in some hm natural yoghurt which I had left. It made masses of lasagne and provided about 2 portions of F&V per serving (maybe a bit more).

Good luck with your challenge - I reckon you will do it.

P.S - I just noticed you were budgetting £1 for a pepper - I get a big bag of value peppers in Tesco for £1.09 which may be worth considering, or you can get them for about 35p each in Lidl.

halia

I noticed you put down 70p for OJ, I get the tesco own brand stuff or similar which only costs about 55p for a carton and you get 4/5 portions from one carton.

When I was on a very low budget this was how I got my five a day:
glass of OJ (12p)
Apple (15p) - I used to buy them from the market
baked beans (value can = 30p 2 servings per can) 15p
3 tomatoes + onion as salad or cheap frozen veg with main meal 30-50p
apple or orange 15p
87p - 1.10 a day.

however that was for one person, I'm not sure its doable for 5 people. I used to work as a community diet advisor and one of the big difficulties people in deprived areas have is the cost of adding in the five a day part. Yes you can cut the cost by using pulses, dried fruit, cheap canned fruit and forzen veg but its still an 'extra' to your meals. Ie in order to fill kids up you need the carbs and protein - adding a salad or veg or fruit afterwards doesn't fill them up but does add to your costs.

You're in a better position because you have more information + you've got a cupboards with a few things in it. I agree that cheap frozen evg is a good way to go, dont' waste you money on salads, most salad veg you buy has few nutrients left in it. If you aren't sure how much of your five a day you can ge i'd concentrate on really nutrient rich things.
Pulses
Spinach
Kiwi's
Lemons
Dried fruit (apricots are great)

this is a great site to check the vitamin content of what you are eating
http://www.whfoods.org/foodstoc.php

For example 1 apple has 15% of your daily vit C requirement, 1 Kiwi has 95% of your daily vit C requirement PLUS Potassium, copper, magnisium and vit K.

thriftmonster

One I often forget about is that onions count and they're cheap and really nice roasted in wedges as a veg, rather than just in sauces. Value mushy peas are also really nice and only about 11p a tin (if you like mushy peas that is!!!)

lynzpower

Just to say another big thanks to Queenie for the 5 a day portion size doc.

Im quite staggered how small some of these portion sizes actually are.

3 tablespoons of canned cherries for example is a portion, I would hav thought it was more like a big tin would have meant a portion! So thats great.

I like canned cherries and its not something I usually buy to be honest maybe I can doa crumble with these can I?

Queenie

halia wrote: »

...

I used to work as a community diet advisor and one of the big difficulties people in deprived areas have is the cost of adding in the five a day part. Yes you can cut the cost by using pulses, dried fruit, cheap canned fruit and forzen veg but its still an 'extra' to your meals. .

Ok, first and foremost, (thanks to the latest OFSTED report) I can now officially state I live in a "socially and economically deprived area"

On that basis, I can categorically contradict you in your statement that " ... pulses, dried fruit, cheap canned fruit and frozen veg ... an 'extra' to your meals ... "

I find that comment patronsing in it's simplicity!!!! If you are on a low income/budget, and I speak of one who comes from an officially labelled "deprived area", those items are NOT deemed an 'extra' ... but more, they become "essentials" - staples!!! "Cheap" canned fruit becomes the 'norm' (with all it's added sugar and c-rap!), a good trip to Iceland for your frozen veggies becomes an "essential" and even a trip to the local health food shop becomes a "necessity" to stretch the meat ration as far as possible by bulking it out with pulses!!!

Please!! While I accept and respect you quoting your experience as a diet "advisor", I live, have worked and "am" one of those who have to budget and exist on a "deprived area" status!!!!!!! Your comment is patronising and inaccurate! Last year I went to college with women who, even by my standards, are living way below the accepted "norm" with little or no hope of bettering their prospects! Each month we continue to meet up - we share experiences. They would be aghast at your comments! Their view would be: "Who does she think she is talking to? Pulses, dried fruit, 'cheap' canned fruit are ... "extra's"????" I have no doubt your comments are well meaning - but do please review your terminology ... it is patronising and inaccurate!!

You may well have experience of "working" in a deprived area scenario ... clearly, from your comments, you have no real experience of "living" the "deprived area" scenario If you had, you may not have made such patronising comments!

noonesperfect

Asda do a range of 5 items for £1 (vegetables) and their value sweetcorn is no different from any other I've tried.

Markets often start reducing their fruit and veges about mid from about 2.30pm usually.

Netto have started selling 7 (I think) loose items of fruit for £1 but this seems to be limited to oranges apples and pears. Still their fruit is usually perfectly OK as long as you don't go on a Monday!!

beckiem

shephards pie, chiilli con carne and spag bowl all nice and cheap and you only need a couple of things

lynzpower

ok well Ive come back from Mr Ts. i did consider lidl but it iws pouring down and I couldnt be faffed to change buses to save about 50p.

I bought:
banana chips 67
beansprouts 39
onions 31
froz s corn 1.19
fr peas 1.10
snips 49
carrots 35
2x OJ =1.16
cooking apples bag =1.19
value peppers 1.48
val mushroms 1.39
potatoes ( i know these dont strictly count as 5 a day, but they are veg) .89
TOTAL 10.61

Im very chuffed with that, as TBH I didnt think it was possible without getting "bargains" ie market or bogof or anything like that. So Im v pleased indeed

Menu plan looks like
SUN
Brunch mushrooms on toast beans & eggs.
Pork joint, potatoes, carrots, peas sweetcorn firtters, gravy yorkies parnips followed by HM apple crumble & custard. ( we expect to have a hangover tomorrow! this will be perfect)

MON
Beans on toast/ bean soup/ sweetcorn chowder
Mon night Chicken hoi sin, ( using mush peppers, carrots onions, beansprouts) egg fried rice with peas in

TUES
Usual soups, BoT type combo for lunch ( Oh can take the HM RM chillis I just remebered!)
Chicken Balti using peppers, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, chick peas chopped toms, passata

Weds
Usual lunches
Bacon chops, honey & sesame roast carrots, corn cobs,
Apple crumble & custard again

Thurs
Mexican meatballs ( albondingas!) using passata, mushrooms, chilli paste, onions, peppers, served with pinto beans and rice & blackbeans

Fri
Chicken fillets with pasta, with watercress sauce, onions, mushrooms sweetcorn. Garlic bread.

Im actually really pleased with this, thnka ever so much to everyone for the help - and do keep posting ideas & plans with a touch of luck I might be able to stretch out the freezer again next week ( lots of meat still) and magic up more money to pay off OHs barclaycard :beer:

halia

Queenie wrote: »

You may well have experience of "working" in a deprived area scenario ... clearly, from your comments, you have no real experience of "living" the "deprived area" scenario If you had, you may not have made such patronising comments!

Um, sorry love but yes I have! born in one inner city one, 5 years in another rural and isolated one, 20 years in yet a third inner city one. (and no I wasn't living there but had loads of cash - I was on benefits etc)

I'm very sorry you took offence, maybe i didn't phrase it right. I meant it to be a bit of an indictment (sp?) of government policies/social divides etc which contribute to food poverty.

If you are on a very low budget to feed a family your first priority will often be to get stomachs filled. I have been in a situation myself and known other people to be in a similar situation where you only have £2 for food and the electricity meter today and nothing except teabags and half a loaf of bread in the house.
In that situation Fruit and Veg DOES become an extra - and that is assuming you can walk to 2 miles to the nearest shop that stocks fruit and veg with 2 kids under 2 (and yes I HAVE lived in an area where it was that far to a shop selling anything but newspapers, fags, white bread and alcohol)

Its winter, you need the heating on and you have to fill your families bellies so they don't scream that they are hungry all day long. In this kind of scenario the 'necesity' in terms of food is something hot and filling.

"a trip to the local health food shop becomes a "necessity" to stretch the meat ration as far as possible by bulking it out with pulses!!!"
wow, round our way its 8 miles to a health food shop - thats an hours trip each way, 3 different bus's at a cost of £2.50 a trip per person - again with kids hanging onto you all the way there and back. (and no there isn't a nice handy tesco etc any nearer that would stock pulses)

What I meant was that if you look at some cheap 'meals'; veg or fruit is an extra.
Scrambled eggs on toast
Cereal and milk
Fish and Chips
Cheese Sarnie

Yes of course you can add salad, mushy peas etc etc. But its 'extra' to the meal. So if you make all the family scrambled eggs on toast, to add in a piece of fruit or can of veg it costs you MORE. And as you dont' need the fruit or veg to feel full, it can end up being a battle between - do I let my 4 kids feel full and warm on a tray of chips for 50p or make them only have 3 trays between them so I can buy a portion of veg or fruit to share.

Food poverty is very very real, there's a whole host of things that contribute to it, lack of local shops, lack of cooking skills, lack of knowledge etc etc. If you find you are able to manage to get a healthy diet for you and your fmaily on benefits then well done :T .

But please don't brush off the real difficulties some people have in doing the same.

Quackers

lynzpower wrote: »

Im very chuffed with that, as TBH I didnt think it was possible without getting "bargains" ie market or bogof or anything like that. So Im v pleased indeed

:beer:

:T and so you should be - well done

I'm all inspired to have a 'freezer' week or 2. It'll empty the freezer and help to 'fill up' the bank balance which is poorly sick at the moment.:o