I really need help

merlin68

due to self employment drying up and being hit with a 3500 pound tax bill from last year thankfully paid. A 100 vets bills and 100 overdraft charges. I have 30 pound to feed 4 adults, a dog and 2 cats with nothing in. Please could I have some meal ideas for fussy kids and a shopping list please. need to allow a fiver for animal food so leaves 25 for humans.

helzbelz_57

feed you for how long? a week? also can you list everything you have in cupboards, fridge and freezer.

merlin68

rice and tins of kidney beans and some frozen vegetables eating out all day Saturday got enough till then so will just be Monday to Friday.

merlin68

pack of sausages which will do 2 meals, bag and a half of Tesco white value fish, mince, pheasant, partridge breasts and 4 cod in crumb. I also need packed lunches for kids. so this is from tomorrow till next Thursday.

helzbelz_57

you have enough to last til this Monday coming or you need food to last until Monday?

helzbelz_57

ah xpost.

are there children aswell as 4 adults or are they teen kids so eating as adults?

merlin68

the food needs to last till Monday, then Monday I will have 25 to get food till next Friday.

merlin68

2 adults and a fifteen and 18 year old.

happydays89

Hi,do you have a home bargains near you,they have tins of butchers dog and butchers cat for 39p a tin,you could mix it with a value bag of dog biscuits until you have a bit more money.It might be worth a look in tesco,I have been in 3 different ones in the last 6 days and they all had reduced to clear frozen food,one had bags of chilli mix (mince,onions,peppers,spices)ready to just tip in a pan and cook they were £1.00.There was a shepherds pie one aswell.Bags of fish for £1.30.you could bulk them out with tins of tomatoes and extra onions,serve with baked potatoes and salad for one meal,and then freeze some to serve with rice another day.Try and shop late in the day so you can buy the reduced food,we stock up on the 10p bread and rolls.Make lots of soup to fill everyone up,it's amazing what veg you can hide in there.

FairyPrincessk

I second the chilli. You'll need an onion, a tin of tomatoes and a pepper and some seasoning. If you have cumin and chilli powder, use that. If not then it may be more feasible to buy a seasoning pack. Use mince and pad out with kidney beans. Serve over rice.

You don't say how much mince you have. I'd look to use about 250g for the above. If you have more than that, let us know how much. You could consider making a double batch of the chilli. Serve over jacket spuds the next time.

Buy some pasta, slice up some sausages (or de-skin and turn into meatballs) and mix in frozen veg. If you have cheese or dried basil or oregano sprinkle on top. If not then it doesn't matter, the sausage tends to give it a lot of flavour.

Cod in crumb with steamed carrots or peas, wedges. (buy, veg and potatoes).

If you buy carrots, make a carrot soup one night, serve with whatever reduced bread you can find (if it is value sliced toasting it makes it nicer).

For lunches--boiled egg and mayo sandwiches, value tuna and mayo sandwiches...not very good with kids lunches. Hopefully someone else will have some ideas.

Just a suggestion, it is often helpful if you can be very clear about what you have and what you need. Understandably you sound a little panicked, but if you can do one post which says everything you have in (i.e. I'm not sure if you actually have mayo or onions or stock cubes, what spices etc). then people can give you a much better plan that uses what you have to the best advantage.

If you need breakfasts I'd strongly suggest value porridge with a swirl of jam or sugar. You can get it for about 80-90p/ kilo in most supermarkets.

Nargleblast

I also recommend the porridge for breakfasts, economical filling and nutritious. Lunches can be home made soup, using any leftovers you may have. There are lots of recipes on this forum for soups and stews, also home-baked cakes to stretch your food stores.
Fruit and veg-wise, try local markets or shops like Ald1 and L1dl.