£100 to last the whole month

Princess_Lou_II

Spend less - my fussy eater also eats 'red soup'

JackieO - I will try your advice for for the week, and let you know how I get on!

Anne_Marie_2

Reminds me of when my daughter was just a tot, she only wanted creama soup, she couldn't quite say cream of. All soup was creama in our house by the addition of a spot of milk for her, veg, lentil, scotch broth, minestrone, whatever - didn't make any difference and was wolfed down.
I sometimes used to blitz soup, but realized that I didn't have to after a while, as long as it had milk in, she ate it, and actually liked having chunks of veg.

iris

It's not just children that are fussy eaters!


My mother was definitely a 'fussy eater'. She was born in 1913 so you would have thought she would have been used to eating 'strange' things, having been through 2 world wars. Her mother was also a widow, so probably hadn't much money.


Up until I got married in 1963 I had never eaten mince of any kind or eaten a meat pie or stew (only at school). Meals were always meat and 2 veg or fish and chips on a Friday. Sunday's roast would be served on the Monday with chips and pickles. The rest of the week would be lamb/pork chops.


I remember having my parents to stay once and I decided to serve pork chops in a mushroom and wine sauce. On sitting to the table to eat my mother said 'I'm not eating that muck':eek: As you can imagine I was very hurt. However, my father said he had always wanted to try meat in a wine sauce. He really enjoyed it and ate my mother's portion as well:T

RAS

I think mouth-feel is more important to some people than others. I cannot bear lumpy mashed potato or custard with skin. And I have certainly come across some people who like "plain" food. Their taste preferences are very bland. And often people who are on the autistic spectrum find this really hard.

One place where I used to be able to go and self-serve a salad into a pot decided to run a new system. The staff member holds a pint glass and you indicate which bits you want to have added. They add a tiny portion to the glass and then ask what else you want. If you just want salad leaves, beans, tomato and olives it is almost impossible because the staff member keeps adding tiny portions and then waving the tongs over everything else whilst a massive queue develops. You then choose a dressing and they the turn the whole thing upside down into a cardboard box.

Which means that everything is jumbled up and everything is dosed with dressing and every mouthful tastes the same unless you are really picky. I expect my food to be jumbled up in my stomach not before it gets into my mouth. I generally like to savour the different components of a meal not eat everything mixed up.

I would be very happy with pork chops cooked in a sauce if they were rendered soft but if I am offered a fried or roast piece of meat, I want the sauce on the side.

OK I really like things like ratatouille, curries and mince and paella but I tend like to contrast them with a plain side dish.

And sometimes it is just that people are scared to try what they do not know; they might eat pizza but not want to eat pasta with tomato sauce. They may simply avoid getting into a situation where food they do not know is served and they feel obliged to eat it.

PLII - when the situation is easier, have you considered trying a "buffet", mezze, smorgabord style meal which allows people to nibble things they might not be used to as well as safe favourites?

Butterfly_Brain

Princess_Lou_II wrote: »

My list is done. The freezer one makes me embarrassed to post up, as it seems like a big list. However, its mainly bargains & reduced foods that I never know how to stretch.

FREEZER
White muffins x 8........... turn into muffin pizzas for children's tea
Crumpets x 18 Snack , lunch or supper at weekend
Hot Dog Rolls x 12 use for lunch boxes
Burger Buns x 4 with pulled pork burgers
Chilli & Garlic Naan Bread make a chicken curry with left over chicken or an egg and potato curry
Loaf Sourdough Bread
Garlic Bread
Summer Fruits, Summer pudding, tarts top with a sponge and serve with custard
Apple Slices, Apple crumble, apple sponge with custard, apple pie, apple tart , apple braid, apple crumble slice for lunch boxes lots of recipes on the internet for apples
Broad Beans
Petite Pois
Garden Peas Pea and ham soup, pea and mash cakes
Butternut Squash (Cubed) Butternut squash soup
Carrot & Swede (cubed) Use as mash for on top of a shepherds or cottage pie
Green Beans
Mushrooms
Cauliflower Florets cauliflower cheese
Broccoli Florets broccoli cheese or a mixture of broccoli and cauliflower
Pulled Pork Burgers x 4 use as burgers or chop and make a burger casserole
Sliced Lean Frying Steak x 1 use in a stir fry
Chicken Breast x 3 chop and turn into a stew, with peas, carrots, and onion, or a chicken and mushroom pie
Loin Pork Steaks (655g) take the meat off, cut into pieces and make a
Mediterranean pork stew,
Diced pork, peppers, mushrooms, onion, a clove of garlic, ¼ tsp dried thyme 2tsps sweet paprika, a tin of tomatoes, and 2tsps cornflour

Brown the meat and add the onions and garlic and sautee until the onion is soft.
Sprinkle the paprika and thyme over the meat and onions and season to taste.
Stir in the peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and bring to the boil., then put on a very low heat , put a lid on the pan and allow to simmer gently for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the pork is tender, make sure you check and stir occassionally to make sure it doesn't burn.
Mix the cornflour into a smooth paste with a little cold water,then stir in a spoonful of the hot liquid from the pan and add to the pan, bring to the boil, stirring all the time, then simmer for a couple of minutes until thickened, adjust seasoning and serve straight away with mashed potatoes and broccolli or green beans. It also goes well with pasta.
I make this the day before to allow all the flavours to deepen. It makes pork chops stretch and is a family favourite.

Pork Joint 1/2 (cooked at home and frozen) Sunday dinner

Salmon Portion x 4 Make a Coulibiac http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/home/recipe_russian_coulibiac_1_1633919

Or make your own salmon fishfingers or fishcakes

Jumbo King Prawns (Raw) x 1 pack prawn and butternut squash curry, chinese prawn stir fry, spicy prawn pasta, prawn risotto, paella

Large King Prawns (Cooked) x 1 pack
Use in sandwiches or use as above, making sure that you add them at the very end, just to heat through or they will be tough
White Fish Fillets x 1 pack Batter them and have home made fish and chips or make a fish pie

Tuna Steaks x 1 pack
Flash fry and eat with salad or make tuna fishcakes

Smoked Haddock Fillets with Butter x 3 flake and serve with rice and boiled eggs, a sort of kedgeree, this way you have enough for the whole family

Breaded Scampi x 1 pack Enough for two people as a meal

Garlic & Herb Breaded Fish x 1 portion

Broccoli & Cheese Breaded Fish x 1 portion

Vegetable Mix for Curry
Vegetable Mix for Soup
Mini Sausage Rolls x 1 pack serve with mash and baked beans
Paella Mix x 1 pack
Vegetable Samosa x 1 pack
Patatas Brava x 1 pack
Onion Rings x 1 pack
Bolognaise Pasta x 2 kid's ready meals
Cumberland Pie ready meal
Spinach & Ricotta x 2 ready meals
Lentil & Bacon Soup x 2 cartons

Ice Cream (1 Neopolitan, 1 Vanilla, 1 Jelly Popper Candy)
Assorted Ice lollies
Cake Slices x 4

FRIDGE
Leftover Chicken (husband pulled all the meat off, and boxed that and the carcass into different pots) Curry, stir fry, stew, pie or pasties
Leftover Salad
Jelly (2 small glasses left, made by my daughter & I)
Chilli & Tomato Tear & Share Bread
Cheese Slices Cheese on toast
Feta serve with salad, olives and sliced red onion, or try
http://www.mygreekdish.com/recipe/shrimp-saganaki-recipe-with-feta-cheese/

Cheddar, grate and freeze, it lasts longer
Mozzarella, use on a home made pizza or muffin pizzas
Cooked Beetroot, Borscht, or chop with root vegetables to make a side for roast dinner or a root veg crumble
Mangetout
Jarred Olives, use on HM or muffin pizzas
Pickles (Beetroot, Capers, Onion, Roasted Peppers, Gherkin, Sandwich)
Chicken tikka Sandwich filler
Potato Salad
Tub of Creamy vanilla Yogurt
Peppers can be sliced and frozen to add to meals asking for them
Celery can be sliced and frozen to add to stews
Carrot can be sliced and frozen
Leek can be sliced and frozen or make a Leek and potato pie
Cupboard
Baguette
Kiwi
Apple
Onions
Baked Beans x 1
Kidney Beans x 3
Chopped Tomatoes x 4
Chick Peas x 2
Anchovies x 2
Kippers x 2 kipper kedgeree this will easily feed 5
Salmon x 1
Couscous
Rice
Arborio
Jasmine Rice
Lasagne Sheet fish lasagne, a mix of cod and prawns in a spicy tomato sauce and a creamy white sauce.
Egg Noodles
Penne Pasta
Spaghetti
Eggs
Porridge

I also have the usual selection of baking flours /condiments / gravy powder / stock cubes / herbs & spices / vinegar / oil.

That is quite a few meals without even having to set foot in a shop. Hope this helps.

Have a look at the £20 a week thread, there are lots of ideas on there
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4148389
Or
http://cheap-family-recipes.org/
Which was written by osers

Join the grocery challenge, lots of great ideas fro using up what you have in your cupboards

wannalot

Hi Princess Lou,

I'm not a great cook, but some of the stuff on your list is the basis of some of my favourite recipes.

I like chicken casserole/stew: fry some of your leftover chicken or raw chicken, onions, celery and carrot (and mushrooms and garlic if you like) for a few minutes. Add chicken or ham stock (or a couple of stock cubes), peeled potatoes cut into largish pieces, and any other veg to this (brocolli and peppers would both work), and add salt and pepper, any Italian herbs, or thyme or rosemary lurking in your cupboards. Cook this on a low heat for around an hour, until the potatoes are slightly soft. The potatoes really bulk this up, so you can stretch a little bit of chicken to feed a family.

If I were you, I would also make a big batch of soup, which would work for lunch on its own, or with a chunk of your frozen bread. When money is tight, I make a big pot of veg broth. Buy a bag of broth mix from the supermarket (usually less than £1 and it will make two batches of soup, each batch having around 10 bowls in it. Soak around 250g of broth mix overnight. When it has soaked, rinse it out in a colander and place in a big pot. Add some chicken stock (made from your chicken carcass) or a chicken stock cube and a couple of ham stock cubes and quite a lot of water (around 1.5 litre) and simmer on the hob. In a different pot, boil some carrot, swede, celery until it is starting to get soft. Then remove this veg from the pot, and mash up, blend or cube the veg and add it to the broth mix with some of the water you boiled the veg in. Finally, add a chopped leek, an onion and some potatoes to the pot, season it, and simmer on a low heat for a while until it thickens slightly. You can freeze this for a while.

culpepper

re the fussy one, could he help perhaps making some of the eats?
My son was terribly fussy but would happily eat the things he had made himself despite not usually liking them..

Both my kids would eat more when it was a help yourself type meal where they could choose what they were going to put on their plates.

My husband always said he didn't like potatoes and would gag if forced to eat them in school. When I asked him why, he said they had slugs in .
I thought it was unlikely ...
On further consultation, what he had described as slugs were actually the bits of sprouting spud left in by the school cooks.
It's amazing what the power of imagination will do.

Princess_Lou_II

Thank you all so much - the recipes ideas are great and I really appreciate it. I have used some of our food this week, and will edit the original list to show this.
Tomorrow is payday, so will be shopping. First though is to make a meal plan of some sort, which I'm terrible at. I have the choice of a market nearby to me - is it worth a trip? I worry that the food might not last too long

Towser

When I am using up stuff I have in the house I usually categorise most things into casserol, curry or spaghetti bolognese. Some weird things can end up in them but if I think they go together it's usually alright. As long as there is a protein, carbohydrate and vegetable in it. It should taste good.

If stuff really needs using up you can use a recipe finder and put in the things you have.

For the hundred pounds I would keep £20 as emergency only and the rest divide into the number of days you have left and then spend it on something that can be put with what you've got already everyday. If it is YS even better.

That is how I would do it.

maman

Princess_Lou_II wrote: »

Thank you all so much - the recipes ideas are great and I really appreciate it. I have used some of our food this week, and will edit the original list to show this.
Tomorrow is payday, so will be shopping. First though is to make a meal plan of some sort, which I'm terrible at. I have the choice of a market nearby to me - is it worth a trip? I worry that the food might not last too long

Even though it's pay day I'd still try to buy the absolute minimum of ingredients to turn what you have into meals. Before you buy anything, make a meal plan from your list. try to use only small amounts of meat and fill up with vegetables and carbs which are always cheaper.


Markets can be good for cheap fruit and veg but, you're right, it sometimes goes off quickly.
So, perhaps only buy it if you have a plan to eat it quickly or cook and freeze.