Eating for one month on £60

dbelle

Great post Justin.

Unfortunately I don't like tuna and the Mr doesn't like risotto!
Although I have to say I'd rather buy normal bagged rice and make up the rice from scratch as its cheaper.

I have to say we hardly eat any fruit and veg, which is something I want to improve on but hard when on a budget. I'm trying to substitute by getting exercise, I try and go for a walk at lunchtime for at least 45mins and the Mr goes out on his bike at the weekends and sometimes evenings.

We never buy lettuce either, or bagged salad, with the exception of Spinach as it tends to keep better and you can cook it also. Also good as we have been eating less meat = protein.

Had my chicken soup just now which was ok, I seasoned it really heavily but it was still really plain. The bread I made was really lovely though.

newlywed - £25 a week is pretty achievable! Our normal shop is about £30 per week, sometimes less, and I tend to get some nice things in there like pork chops or a bit of fish - trout is really nice and really cheap.

justin1972uk

dbelle wrote: »

Although I have to say I'd rather buy normal bagged rice and make up the rice from scratch as its cheaper.

I did try making my own savoury rice but after you've factored in the mixed vegetables, bouillon, herbs and spices, it didn't work out any cheaper - and wasn't as nice! There's also the fact that it costs less to boil a kettle and microwave it, rather than boiling up a pan of water and then boiling down again for 30 minutes. Well - that's my excuse!

dbelle wrote: »

We never buy lettuce either, or bagged salad, with the exception of Spinach as it tends to keep better and you can cook it also.

Yep. If I'm going to buy salad leaves, I buy spinach - precisely because once it starts to wilt, you can cook it!

lynzpower

cant remember if I copied you guys in on this thread,theres some fantastic tips on getting 5 a day! Particularly on portion sizes. http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=490221

help us get 5 a day for 10.00 for the week

dbelle

New menu plan...

Menu Plan

7 - 13th September

Friday - Mac and Cheese
Saturday - Potstickers/Pork Dumplings (freeze half for week after) and Egg Fried Rice - Coffee Cake
Sunday - Roast Brisket of Beef, HM Yorkshire Puds and Roast Potatoes - Coffee Cake
Monday - Beef Noodles - Homemade Hobnobs
Tuesday - Bean Chili with any leftover beef and HM Tortillas and Sour Cream - Homemade HobNobs
Wednesday - HM Gnocchi and Tomato Sauce , Apple Crumble and cream
Thursday Veggie Lasagne - Apple Crumble and cream

Pork Mince - 500g 1.14
Pack of Yeast x 1 50p
Garlic x 1 bulb 18p
1 x onion 10p
Chopped Tomatoes x 3 45p
Eggs x 6 1.09
Cream Cheese 38p
Beef Brisket - 750g 3.00
Plain Flour 28p
Milk - 4pint 1.15
Potatoes - Basics 2.5kg 73p
Butter 78p
Kidney Beans 14p
Sour Cream 39p
Single Cream x 1 27p
Cheddar 1.39
Pasta Twists 19p
Apples 34p
Cat Food - 12pouches 1.98
Cat Litter 1.17
Bread 26p
Loo Roll 12pk £4.00 (2wks)
Sponges 14p
= £22.21

Needs a bit of tweaking as its a bit over still (although I do have toilet rolls for two weeks, Mr has had a bit of a ahem stomach problem last night and today and has used up alot of loo roll so its not going to last as long as I thought!)

newlywed

dbelle wrote: »

newlywed - £25 a week is pretty achievable! Our normal shop is about £30 per week, sometimes less, and I tend to get some nice things in there like pork chops or a bit of fish - trout is really nice and really cheap.

It is for four of us though - the step kids stay over 3 nights a week and so we have them all weekend to feed too!

As for trout - we had that last night with roasted veg (lidl have veg reduced). OH has now decided he isn't keen on trout - eats most fish but decided he's not fond of trout.

Have some reduced fresh sardines to try - absolutely no idea what to do with them though!!!

dbelle

Oh blimey, I didn't read that. Good luck!

newlywed

Instead of sour cream (dairy allergy) I use creamed sweetcorn for tortillas.

It's not the same but OH quite likes it in with the chilli wraps - just get a tin of sweetcorn and bung in the blender with a bit of water till its thick cream consistency. Might work out cheaper?

lynzpower

Just a quick tip or the crumble, the tescos powedered instant packets are 21p

dbelle

Not a bad idea on the sweetcorn front, although the Mr might object to it, he doesn't like sweetcorn much.

I didn't realise you could even buy crumble mix! I'm quite shocked!
:eek:
It shouldn't work out too expensive with the crumble anyway, its probably about 5p worth of flour, 5p of sugar and maybe 10 of butter? Probably less of the butter as I use margarine instead which is cheaper and works out fine.

justin1972uk

newlywed wrote: »

Have some reduced fresh sardines to try - absolutely no idea what to do with them though!!!

Thai green curry paste and then grill. They're actually quite bland so can stand to be highly seasoned. You might want to remove the bones before serving too.