How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy Balanced Diet, with Very Little Money...etc

Mics_chick

Mics_chick wrote: »

Good plan Trow - I was struggling to think of what else I want to buy from Amazon so off now to see if I can delete my pre-order

Done :T :T :T

It's 90p more for the book but £1.85 cheaper overall :j :j :j

lil_me

Good thinking Trow, but bang goes my thinking of what else can I treat myself to to make the £15

Trow

lil_me - just pretend you didn't see my post... I won't tell...

lil_me

Trow wrote: »

lil_me - just pretend you didn't see my post... I won't tell...

What post:whistle:

Mics_chick

lil_me wrote: »

What post:whistle:

Tut tut lil_me this is a money SAVING forum

HariboJunkie

Thanks for the link Mics_chik. :T

I'm off to stick a post it on OH's forehead telling him to order it for me.

luxor4t

Mics_chick wrote: »

I've been trying to get a copy of a old book called "Feed Your Family for £4" or the updated version "Feed Your Family for £5" but this is still over 10yrs old

The book is called 'How to feed your family for £4 a day' by Bernadine Lawrence, and was subtitled 'The Benefit Book'. ISBN07222518226. Published 1989. My copy is held together by sticky tape and hope.

Didn't know there was an updated version - thanks!

moanymoany

luxor4t wrote: »

The book is called 'How to feed your family for £4 a day' by Bernadine Lawrence, and was subtitled 'The Benefit Book'. ISBN07222518226. Published 1989. My copy is held together by sticky tape and hope.

Didn't know there was an updated version - thanks!

Can you please tell me what kind or recipes are there in the book? Also, does it cover meals for all day?

I smiled when I saw it was subtitled 'The Benefit Book', I remember 1989 being the start of some very hard times with over 6 million people unemployed. The housing market died, thousands of businesses went broke. Lots of people had their houses repossessed because they had taken out loans secured on their mortgages. It was not the main mortgage company who repossessed but these second mortgage companies. People would have kept their houses with just the main mortgage. The interest rate was 15% so if you had a job it was hard to make ends meet.

1989 was the start of a truly terrible 6 years for many, many people in this country.

I am intrigued by these books. When it says 'Hardly any Money', what exactly do they mean? I know people who would consider £75 a week hardly any money to feed a family. The Jocasta Innes's Paupers Cookbook does give recipes that can be made cheaply, using cheap in the OS sense.

ceridwen

Hi Moany

I have that cookbook (the 1989 version). It does cover all food and gives suggested weekly menus at back - say £24 for a week at 1989 prices.

However - I have picked up a few ideas from it. But:
- the meals are very basic and monotonous (her suggested weekly mealplans are very repetitive - boiled eggs and toast for 4 of the days for instance and baked potatoes for dinner veg. in several of the days)
- the quantities are too small in my opinion
- where's the fruit? pretty conspicuous by its absence it seems.

I dont personally feel its a realistic way to eat.

Different people have different parameters that guide them in choosing what to eat. This book is nowhere near my own personal parameters, which are:
- first and foremost - HEALTHY! Meaning, for instance, that I do buy lots of fresh fruit and everything is organic (unless there isnt an organic version available) and I dont eat meat.
- I dislike instant coffee - it HAS to be real (thats about £3 a packet straight off - organic and fairtrade)
- I eat reasonable-size portions

To save money I do:
- full-fat milk and dilute it down with water (healthier than skim and semi-skim milk anyway)
- try not to waste food
- very rarely buy ready meals
- usually grow any beansprouts I require
- homemade kefir instead of yogurt
- usually make own bread (I would have to pay £2.50 per loaf if I didnt :eek:
- using odd bits of bread for breadcrumbs

With all that - last weeks food cost about £29 (though I am living in a dear area and have to buy everything as, at present, growing own food is in the planning stage). That was pretty typical - I estimate I spend between £25 - £35 per week for food alone and thats just for me. My main reason for that level of spending is that I rate being healthy as extremely important and want to ensure that I stay what in my case is (relatively) healthy - ie I am passably healthy and working on being healthy by my definition. By many other British peoples definition - they would count me as being healthy already.

thriftlady_2

I have Bernadine Lawrence's book too -mine's called Feed Your Family For £5 a Day.

I agree with Ceridwen's comments about the menu plans being repetitive and the lack of fruit. I suspect though, that if the author were writing it today she would include more fruit. Remember in 1989 we weren't as familiar with '5 a day'.

As for monotony, I'm beginning to think that a bit of monotony is no bad thing. I'm constantly seduced by new and exciting ingredients/cookbooks/cooking programmes/celebrity chefs. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all the choice we have about what to feed our families. I spend a lot of time and energy into deciding what to cook. If I only had this little book and no other from which to feed my family I would be happy and life would be simpler.

The book has recipes for fish (usually herring or mackerel, but other fish can be used) -fish pie, fish cakes, fish curry, spicy fish.

Meat doesn't feature much. There's roast chicken and chicken casserole, curry, salad which only use one chicken quarter. There are a few liver and kidney recipes and some mince and pork ones.

There are lots of bean/lentil recipes and vegetable and cheese dishes.
Plenty of soups, simple breakfasts, pancakes, homemade yogurt and bread.

The book is very light on puddings and cakes- a good thing, I think if you are tempted by all those yummy recipes from the likes of Nigella.The flapjack recipe is one of 3 cake/biscuit recipes and it is the one I use with a slight alteration (golden syrup instead of black treacle and butter rather than marge).

I have used the ingredients called for in the book as my basic storecupboard list. You can make plenty of cheap, healthy meals from the list. If you are confident in the kitchen you don't need to follow the recipes in the book to benefit from its ideas:)