What's a reasonable....

bargainhunterss

whiteguineapig wrote: »

if anyone does the booths 3 for £10 for meat or fish, don't forget to scan your booths card as i think you get another £1 back (plus free coffee!)

good spot whiteguineapig! You buy 5 lots of 3 for £10 and then you get a £5 voucher through the post that you use instore on your next purchase (and a bargain if you're going for another 3 for £10!).

FairyPrincessk

For two adults we aim to spend an average of £45/week. Our cat budget is separate as I order that stuff online (we don't have a car and it works out cheaper than buying what we can carry in the local shops--I rotate litter, dry and wet food so that we should never have to order more than one per month but always have enough to get free shipping). I wouldn't recommend it this month as it involves a higher up-front cost but it may be a strategy to help you save once you're back on your feet.

We COULD eat more cheaply by switching some of our fresh f&v for tinned or frozen, cutting out a few convenience items, relying a bit more on processed meat, cutting out frozen fish like salmon or replacing with fish fingers and giving up a few luxury items--i.e. I've been eating strawberries with my breakfast through the summer but price per pound bananas are far cheaper.

A few ideas I use when I want to scale back:

1 soup or salad and pudding night (if it is what OH calls a 'watery' soup I usually do either a cheese toastie or quesadilla to bulk it out). I'll talk up the pudding or call it toastie night when we do this. Seems to do the trick, and given they aren't allowed sugar during the week this may go down particularly well. I usually do something like a crumble with an oaty topping or a cake made with fruit/veggies like courgette cake for this.

1 Rubber chicken--I can usually get three main meals for two people and 2 one person lunches out of the small chickens at Ald!. I've just drawn a blank on their price but I think ButterflyBrain knows it as she mentioned it a few weeks ago. I do one roast where we each get two slices of meat and the rest is veg/spuds. The next day I'll eat a sandwich while OH has lunch at work. That night is a pie or stew bulked out with veg, I eat leftovers for lunch next day and the following night is some sort of stir fry which is usually not plentiful enough for my lunch. Bones can be turned into stock which I then use for a meat free meal like a HM noodle soup--lots of ginger, garlic, cheap greens/spring onions/thinly sliced carrots etc. makes a nice asian inspired version. You may have to plonk for either a bigger bird or cut out one night/lunches.

Some sort of lightly fried bean/legume cake/burger/falafel. I recently tried Delia's Chilladas (recipe online) and they were fab with a few extra spices thrown in. Serve with salad and/or bit of whatever friendly carbs you have on hand. Take a page out of Delia's book and make up a fancy name for them--my OH didn't find veggie meals 'filling' when we met but happily stopped at the falafel takeaway to 'be a pig.' He has realized how silly he is and even had us both go veggie for awhile!

Switch to porridge for breakfast for those who can. It is one of the cheapest breakfasts there is. If they aren't keen try some variations..i.e. stir in a dallop of cheap peanut butter. It adds healthy fat and protein.

Eggs and salad/egg and chips/egg and wedges nigh (depends on how gluttonous we're feeling). Eggs are very cheap protein. We tend to do them as omlettes and load them up with whatever veg needs using up, scraps of cheese etc. but cooking them other ways also works.

Jacket spud night...or call it a baked potato bar. A few toppings--leftover chilli, tuna mayo, cheese, soured cream and spring onions/chives, leftover bacon or roast veggies, leftover curry etc. I find this goes over better if you scrape leftovers into individual little bowls, heat it all up and put it out on the table and let people 'build their own.' Salt, pepper, herbs, paprika, cayenne etc. can all help add a finishing touch.

If they often eat sandwiches for lunch try cheaper fillings or bulking out your fillings. As a child we always had a hard boiled egg or two mixed in with tuna mayo. It was only as an adult my mum explained it was because eggs were cheaper than tun and helped to stretch the tin so one would make a sandwich for all four of us. Egg mayo, cheese and tomato, cucumber and basics cream cheese etc. are all much cheaper than buying sliced meats.


Stuffed peppers in summer--peppers are relatively cheap in the big bags in Ald! right now. Stuff with rice or other grain you can eat, add feta or top with mozerella (both cheap in Ald! and stretch well in this recipe), spices, tinned tomatoes etc. Add a tin of kidney beans to add protein and bulk out.

You can definitely do this!

Butterfly_Brain

We love soup and pudding night here as well, especially in the cooler months

Sunflower1227

Don't forget to use money of coupons, for example , Coventry garden soup is £1 in Asda at the moment, and there is a £1 off coupon on the , MyMail site. Register a couple of accounts and get a couple of cartons of posh soup free

Butterfly_Brain

But it is much easier and nicer to make your own soup Sunflower.

We all love HM mushroom soup
Parsnip and apple soup with a little cumin
Miserstrone soup so called in this house because I make it using cheap frozen veg, a tin of tomatoes,1 ltr of HM vegetable stock , some broken up cheapo spaghetti, a clove of garlic (or a dash of garlic granules if I haven't any fresh)
HM cream of vegetable soup again using frozen mixed veg
HM leek and potato soup
HM celery soup
Broad bean and l/o gammon soup
Parsnip and chestnut soup.

Buy a copy of the covent garden soup book or their 365 days of soup recipes. Well worth every penny

Corsetgirl

In response to the discussion about gluten:
Consultant may not know that recent UK guidelines for kids are that they should have HLA genes tested rather than a biopsy if coeliac is suspected.

It'd need one blood sample taking and would show if they have DQ2 or DQ8 genes that mean they have the potential to develop coeliac - if you don't have the gene you can't develop coeliac so its a useful test to eliminate it as a possibility or see if it's worth doing any further investigations.

They wouldn't need to eat gluten while having this test.

Source - I work in an NHS hospital lab that does this testing.
Hope this might help

wildesavings

Corsetgirl wrote: »

In response to the discussion about gluten:
Consultant may not know that recent UK guidelines for kids are that they should have HLA genes tested rather than a biopsy if coeliac is suspected.

It'd need one blood sample taking and would show if they have DQ2 or DQ8 genes that mean they have the potential to develop coeliac - if you don't have the gene you can't develop coeliac so its a useful test to eliminate it as a possibility or see if it's worth doing any further investigations.

They wouldn't need to eat gluten while having this test.

Source - I work in an NHS hospital lab that does this testing.
Hope this might help

Thank you!!!!!!!! :A

wildesavings

So many helpful responses!

I am inspired. Dinner last night was a mammoth Turkey drumstick (£2) for 5 with pots and veg. Bones and left overs made into a delish soup for lunch today with a handful of quinoa and rice (already lurking in the cupboard) with GFHM flatbreads and all 3 DD's requested it again Having chicken drumsticks tonight roasted in curry spice, HM briyarni and cucumber salad. Will make a curried soup for tomorrows lunch..... i'm learning

FairyPrincessk

Fantastic! I think half the battle is being able to see it as a creative challenge and not a scenario of constant doom. It can feel overwhelming and is certainly no small task and can have serious consequences, but the most successful meal plotters I know seem to be able to find some satisfaction in it.

I try to keep my approach fresh. Sometimes I try to cook wartime recipes, others I give myself a monetary goal, sometimes it is a week of new frugal recipes others it is old favorites. And sometimes? I'm just knackered and I use a template based on the ideas I put above. Whatever gets the job done!

happy35

I tend to spend around £250 a month on food shopping for 3 adults and DS girlfriend who stays a few nights a week. I shop at Lidl quite a lot but went to Morrisons this week and thought they had some good 3 for £10 meat offers and good soft fruit prices so will now shop between the 2 of them. I tend to cook from scratch every night but as I work full time and very long hours I tend to plan and pre-prepare as much as possible in advance.
I spend a load of money every week on fruit and veg and this is an area that I could probably cut down in, but wont as we enjoy it. We also eat a lot of yoghurt and quite a bit of cheese. I dont really buy treat foods but do buy squash as I am the only one who likes water.
i could spend less but this is comfortable for us and we eat well