A little project you can all join in with!

Little_Pickle

Hi OS board!!!! :wave:

Well, I've been here for yonks and flit about here and there, however, I need your help!

My personal life has gone through an upheaval, and I am, for the first time, living alone.

Okay, basically, I moved in 2 weeks ago and have almost nothing in the cupboards. (Started from scratch).
My food budget per week will be £25.00 per week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7 days per week.

This is what I need your help with:
Please let me know what 'essentials' I need for my cupboard.
Give me some ideas for cheap dinners.
Anything else you think may help me… (I’m talking how to make leftovers into soups etc)

I’m used to my ex and I eating expensive food and not really worrying about the cost, but now I’m alone, I have to severely budget!

Think you can help?


Here is a quick list of what I currently have in my cupboard:
Brown Lentils
Brown Rice
Black Pepper
Salt
1 tin Chopped Tomatoes
1 tin Sweetcorn
1 bottle Sweet Chilli dipping sauce
1 bottle Soy Sauce

Thanks guys!!!
I really will try everything you suggest! :T

csarina

You should be able to do this easily. OH and I live on this every week!!!!!

Menu's for this week.

Sun Pork chops

Monday Egg and HM oven chips.

Tuesday Spg Bol, rest of bol mix frozen for use later

Wednesday Quiche and salad, Jacket spud

Thursday Cauli and Brocc gratin

Friday Fish and mustard mash, green beans

Saturday Liver and bacon.

We have sandwiches, soup, bread and cheese etc for lunch with fresh fruit chopped in yogurt...........or bananas.....eggs on toast, beans on toast........bacon or sausage sandwich.................

Do you have a pressure cooker, I use mine to make soup, keep a packet of soup mix in, soak over night, onion & leek and just lightly fry, add the soup mix and diced carrot and tomato puree, I use water from my steamer, but you can just use water with a stock cube.

Cook in the PC for 20 minutes, and allow to cool on its own, lovely soup, with toast will make a good lunch............

I buy my groceries on line, it helps me to stop overspending...........I buy stock items for a month and then ppick up meat and fresh veg and fruit as I need it. This month my shopping came to £41, I got a £10 discount on £30 spend which paid my delivery charge and a bit left over.

The secret is menu planning, you can always swap them round if you do not want something on a particular night......

Good luck, you can do it, I do every month..........

Pink.

Hi Little Pickle,

Welcome back!

These older threads should help you put together a list of essentials although you'll need to build them up gradually.

Help!! Basic shopping list needed

1st ever shop... And doing it OS!

Your fully comprehensive storecupboard

store cupboard essentials?

Storecupboard list - might be useful

Emergency food tin

OS store cupboard basics


For cheap meal ideas have a look at these threads:


Eating for one month on £60

Meal for two for 50p. Suggestions?

The Cheapest Healthy Meal Ever!

Feed 6 for £1.62

Cheapest meal

Your Cheapest Evening Meal.

cheap, easy family meals


Pink

Little_Pickle

PERFECT LADIES!!!! thanks so much!!!!
I'm really looking forward to working out my meal plan etc today!

These ideas and links are great!

Right... here I go!
xoxo

MRSMCAWBER

Hi lickle pickle

Once you get into the swing of it..there will be no stopping you.. you will get that store cupboard built up in no time

meal ideas.... well

• corned beef hash... with dumplings...leftovers can be warmed up with yorkies of made into a pie
• basic bolognaise.. you can split it and turn part into a chilli.. or even bulk it out with a bit more veg and turn it inot a cobbler with some savoury scones
• Hm pizza... really quick and tasty... very nice to use philli kind of cheese on the base instead of tomato puree
• left over mashed potato... add in some fried onion and cheese and pile in a dish and bake..lovely with baked beans,,, and i make them into flans/pies/pasties
• the philli (own brands of course;) ) when mixed with a little milk and warmed up makes a lovely light sauce for pasta or over veggies...
• sliced potatoes and onions in a dish with some stock..cover in foil and bake until soft-then remove the foil and allow to crisp up .. you can put sausage/bacon on top or even a layer of corned beef in the middle

To start your store cupboard up....perhaps:-

1. stock cubes
2. herbs/spices... they will build up over time
3. flour
4. sugar
5. suet
6. cornflour
7. tinned tomatoes/passata
8. tom puree
9. rice
10. pasta

Getting carried away now hope tht a bit of help....

Shortie

Don't forget rubberised chicken :rotfl:

If I was living on my own, I'd definately continue with rubber chicken (I do it already with 3 eaters in the house plus my Dad sometimes too).

If you have the freezer space then grab 2 for £5.00 chickens from Tescos and cook one bird up for dinner one day. If you're not a lover of a roast then another simple but LOVELY dinner is the roasted chicken meat (whichever is your fav) heaped onto a pile of plain rice. Sounds boring but it is delish.

What you don't eat of the chicken gets stripped off the carcas, stripping off everything that you find edible. I even take off the fat and grissle but that goes to the cats not us :eek: . Bag into 'portion' sizes ans freeze for a later date. e.g curry, stir fry, tortillas. Keep some of the meat out of the frrezer and make into simple sandwiches like chicken mayo.

I recon if it's just for one person you could get a total of 5 meals out of one bird costing you £2.75, so equivalent of 55p of meat per meal. Okay you won't want chicken that much I expect, but that's the fab thing about the freezer

And here's where I learn that you don't eat chicken :rotfl: :rotfl:

mummy_Jay

At the end of the week where you get to the point have having a few odds of cooked meet left over and some veggies, how about a stir fry.

bubble n squeek, left over mash potatoe mixed with left over veggies fried

stews and cassoroles are good as you can make bulk and freeze the rest.

and my favourite veggie dish, eggs and HM chips

and you can make salads galore.

Have a think about what you like to eat and work from there, stock up your freezer as and when you can, and you'll be rocking n rolling in no time.