Budget for 1 and a teen??

suki1964

tessie_bear wrote: »

wow suki thats brilliant...£10 a person per week..amazing if you have a minute could you share a few meals or a days eating ta

i am spending way too much on food so wont write a figure...need to reduce it so will look for some tips on here

good luck op

Like I said in this thread I'm very lucky that I pay pennies for chicken

We also grow carrots, parsnips, spuds, carrots, sprouts, cabbage and we try to grow salads with varying success

We just got hens this year so we didn't buy eggs for a while ( they have now stopped laying till whenever)

This weeks shopping was 800g of mince for £2. Now even though hubby is a brikkie, that's MINIMUM 8 portions, and if I choose right it's 10 portions ( lidls)


My second meat option was chicken thighs - around £2.80. That will also make 8 meals

My third meat option this week was 8 pork chops for £5 from tesco


Not forgetting I've been cooking on a budget for years now I do have a well stocked cupboard of herbs and spices and basics such as flour, yeast etc



Tomorrow will be four of the chops with veg and stuffing ( think Sunday roast) hubby will eat two, me and mum will eat one

Monday will be lasagne

Tuesday will be chicken tikka masala - using perhaps half the pack depending on how much they need trimming

Wednesday will be mince and tatties or shepherds pie

Thursday chicken pie

Friday will be an egg dish

Saturday will be stir fried pork with veg and noodles ( only needs 2 chops so that two left in the freezer for another day)


Or the menu will be chopped and changed around to suit

This week I had to buy loo roll, bread, Parmesan, lettuce, toms, mushroom, spuds ( ours are finished ) and a 4kg bag of basmati rice for £4 ( won't need that for another six months ) spaghetti, pasta, 10 large eggs reduced to 30p and a packet of ham and a bag of apples

Now I admit we don't eat a lot of fruit. None of us actually enjoy it and most of our veg are the roots we can grow or salad in the summer months

However we are all pretty fit and healthy , don't have rickets or scurvy


I also look in the ys aisle and I see what veg is good value. Today I fancied cauli but at 98p I passed. But I got reduced butternut squash ( 30p) and broccoli (10p). That will make my soups for lunches

Oh I also had to buy a large packet of Turmeric and Cumin seeds ( 2 for £1.50, once again won't be needed for a good few months)

Our diets wouldn't suit everyone. Hubby being a manual worker loves a good meal of meat and veg. He also needs a hearty lunch ( wraps, sandwiches , soup, fruit and a treat like a cookie). I'm home most of the day so eat sod all till my meal and mum still likes her three meals a day plus treats

I always do a meat free day. Be it a lentil, or an egg dish, it will be a meat free day. Serve enough veg/sides, not even the most carnivorous will miss the meat

I really don't mean to sound preachy, this is what suits us and I know it won't suit everyone which is why I suggested on this thread the op needs to decide her own budget and not try to fit someone else's

Skint_yet_Again

Hi sammey90 I too have experience of buying for myself and my DS (who is now 20) he is very fit and active and hollow legs


I guess it depends which shops/supermarkets you use/ are near you and how much of an appetite your DD has.


I shop at Aldi and spend £40-50 a week now as DS has changed his diet he gives me the money for his high protein diet now he's working and goes to the gym.


However before he left college I used to spend up to £40 but found cheaper carbs mostly filled him up - Jacket potatoes, pasta, crumpets, toast, scones. I don't know if you have to be careful with carbs as your DD is diabetic ?


For meat I mainly bought mince as I could pad it out with veggies and its versatile - spag bol, shepherds pie, meatballs, pasta bake, chilli and you can pack it out with baked beans too.


I also buy sausages - Aldi butchers choice are £1.29 for 8 and would do 2 sausages per meal so 4 meals in total - with chips and beans or jacket and veg or toad in the hole - even as a pasta bake with a tin of tomatoes a tin of beans a sprinkle of mixed herbs from my storecupboard and any leftover veg thown in - a bit of cheese grated over the top if we had any and put back in to melt/brown just before the end of cooking


Many of these meals could be pre-cooked/batch cooked and frozen ready to warm up on the day if I didn't feel like cooking.


Good luck to you. Hope all goes well at the new job x

sammey90

Wow - thanks guys, loads of useful advice and ideas!

We do get a bit lazy in the week, but i enjoy cooking, so can get a few things in the freezer at the weekend. DD being diabetic isn't such an issue (food-wise at least!), she covers whatever carbs she eats with insulin, so can pretty much eat whatever, whenever (and does!).

I realise it was a bit of an open-ended question, but you've really helped put my head straight - THANK YOU

sammey90

Wow - thanks guys, loads of useful advice and ideas!

We do get a bit lazy in the week, but i enjoy cooking, so can get a few things in the freezer at the weekend. DD being diabetic isn't such an issue (food-wise at least!), she covers whatever carbs she eats with insulin, so can pretty much eat whatever, whenever (and does!).

I realise it was a bit of an open-ended question, but you've really helped put my head straight - THANK YOU