Meal Suggestions etc, Please (I have £30 A Fortnight to Spend).

zennith

This is an ongoing situation and with cats and bills etc, i usually have only £15 a week to feed myself.


I don't really like meat, as such. Fish is ok.


Pasta, rice, sauces, bread, potatoes and eggs are my normal (carbohydrate rich) meals.


Has anybody got any 'new' ideas they can share with me, please?


I have become rather bored of food, with my repetitive and restricted 'diet'.

Thankyou.

DisneyLisa

make veg versions of items - like a courgette lasagne

Working_and_Scheming

Have a look at Greying Pilgrims thread. I am only a lurker there but am in awe of what she produces for veggie meals.

recovering_spendaholic

Hm soups can be lovely and filling - hm minestrone is easy - just a chopped onion, chopped carrot, chopped celery if you have it - fry off and add a shredded Savoy cabbage and tin of tomatoes. Add stock (tesco valu for 10 for 6 are fine), dried mixed herbs and tomato pur!e and chuck in about half a packet of pasta. Cook until pasta is to your liking and then chuck in a tin of beans. Season to taste and add a tiny bit of sugar and tsp of vinegar - sounds mad but it makes all the difference. If you have any serve with Parmesan type cheese, and crusty bread. Really filling.

You could also make lentil soup - just lentils, onions,carrots, stock, tin of tomatoes, salt and pepper ans stock. Chuck in pan and cook, then whizz or mash. Lovely with a sandwich.

Both recipes make loads! At least six large bowls for the minestrone.

Tiddlywinks

Here's some threads which will help:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4571337

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5010839

http://www.campbellsoup.co.uk/recipes

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/23531

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/96553

mlarmour

As a recent graduate, living off a small food budget seems to be my forte. As I've basically eaten £10 worth of food a week, I keep trying to cut my mum's food bill, which has increased since I have some home, so hopefully this can be of some help.

1. Take stock of your cupboards, yes it is a basic rule when it comes to food shopping but it will help keep your food bill down if you know what you have. It will stop you double buying and you will only buy what you need.

2. Use the correct portions for foods such as rice and pasta. This rule alone saved me so much money. Instead of going through a 500g bag of pasta in 2-3 meals, it was lasting me 4-6 meals.

3. Bulk meals. This is really a two fold rule. I suggest bulking your meals out with vegetables so you have a larger meal but its healthier and will fill you up. I also suggest doing bulk meals. For example you could cook a chilli for four people (or 10 if you are me and useless with portions) and the separate the chilli into individual meals using either pour and store bags or into plastic containers that stack and freeze them. If you do this with several meals, you can freeze them all and then take one out each day and it also gives you variety.

4. Swap fresh for frozen or tinned. When I first did this it was a little depressing because let's be honest tinned food and frozen food does not look as appealing as fresh. However used in the correct manner you could never know the difference. You can throw them into stews, curries, pasta bakes, soup and you'd never know the difference. Just try not to get pulled into the deals on tinned veg you won't eat. I passed for three tins of mushrooms to one of my housemates as I had bought them and then realised I really hate mushrooms.

I know you wanted meal suggestions, but I really do think the tips help which is why I have given you them.
As for meal suggestions.

Soup is always a good one. You can make so many different varieties so easily. As a stews, pasta bakes, curries and chilli. I could easily write for days about food as its my favourite topic but I will leave you with some links to recipes that I like and I think are really cost effective and you might like.

http://your.morrisons.com/Recipes-and-Ranges/recipes/index/C/Broccoli-Soup/

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2628/chorizo-and-chickpea-soup

http://morethanbratwurst.com/2012/10/03/turnip-stew-steckrubeneintopf/

http://weelicious.com/2008/08/19/spinach-gnocch-wee/ (you can freeze the portions of the gnocchi you don't use and have them another time.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/spicy-parsnip-soup

http://ohsheglows.com/2010/05/09/delicious-vegan-chili/

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/member-recipes/Vegan%20Shepherds%20Pie/7118

http://www.lavenderandlovage.com/2013/07/low-calorie-cauliflower-crust-pizza-gluten-free-paleo-and-52-diet-pizza-recipe.html

http://www.thehealthychef.com/2012/02/vegetable-spaghetti/

http://sortedfood.com/

Hopefully this helps, I'm now going to find some food. I'm starving! :rotfl:

Gigervamp

Check out Jack Monroe's blog. She had to survive with £10 a week to feed herself and her little boy. She has a book called A Girl Called Jack with a lot more recipes. If you have a library, I recommend borrowing it.

Lentils and other pulses are good forms of protein and very cheap. If you have any ethnic food shops near you, you'll find that things like rice, pulses and spices are a lot cheaper than the supermarkets.

zennith

Thankyou everybody for all your replies and links.

They are appreciated!

:T

patchwork_cat

If you have a Morrisons nearby get their voucher in the Sun and get either £5 of free veg or half price fish - that will free up some money for you to do make more interesting meals.

Finetta

Have you ever tried lacto-fermented vegetables? I eat a starch heavy diet too, and fermenting autumn cabbage (sauerkraut) or zucchini or carrot, for example, is a pretty frugal way to add new and interesting flavours to rice and beans, stir-fry, or a soup.

All it takes at the most basic level is plain (non-iodised) salt, a knife to chop the veges, a suitable container (e.g. quart glass jar), and time. No fancy equipment is needed.

The complex flavours develop as you keep the veges submerged under the brine. You can experiment by adding herbs and spices. You end up with something you can't buy in the shops, it's your own artisan product.

Sandor Katz wrote a book called Wild Fermentation that spells all this out, but you can also google "lacto-fermented food" and you will find lots of information. Plus videos on You-Tube.

Gigervamp

Another thing. Go foraging! At this time of year there are blackberries galore and you'd be surprised how many wild fruit trees are around. In one small area near me, there are 3 different types of plum trees, a couple of apple trees (one cooking type and one eating type), sloes and hawthorns. There is a foraging thread on here somewhere for tips.

Foraging is a nice way to spend a few hours and you end up with free fruit to freeze and make into jam.

Check to see if you have a community food co-op near you. My local one sells carrier bags of fruit, veg and salad for about £3 each. The only problem with those is that you have to order and pay a week in advance.