£63 to feed myself and child in October

kazwookie

jbkmum wrote: »

just a one off, usual budget is £200 for everything household related.

Its because I've got double council tax to pay, double energy bills, DS father couldn't afford child maintenance as he was moving into his own place (and I accepted that because I'd rather he had a home so DS could go to stay). I might end up being okay mid way during the month but I need my UC and child benefit to start coming in (DS lived with his dad for a couple of months until I moved to my new house, weird situation)

Hi
What do you mean by double council tax? if you are the only adult in the house as your ex has moved out, then I suggest you apply to the council for a reduction in the council tax.
Is DS father planning on paying in the future?


Please don't stress about the planning of meals, like someone has already said plan it out in days.
Get a sheet of paper and pen or draw up an excel chart on your laptop, 3 squares per day and fill in each meal, start with a week and build up to the month.
Maybe your son can help you.


Re the large leg of lamb, I would defrost and roast it whole, then cut it up in to slices / chunks and refreeze in portions, ready to make into casseroles / mince etc (cut up finely)


If you can shop at Aldi or similar as their prices IMO are much better than main supermarkets.

Brambling

JBKMum I saw Michel Roux cooking this shepherd pie recipe on TV several years ago and it is so easy, you can adapt the veg he puts in (carrot and celery) to what you have in the house. His 'secret' ingredient was tomato ketchup.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/roux_family_shepherds_61889

If you're son doesn't eat lamb would he know it was lamb if you minced it once cooked and then used it instead of the mince?

PipneyJane

Firstly, a BIG hug to you, JBKMum. I can sense how stressed you are.

Second, please join us on the monthly Grocery Challenge thread. We may be able to help with meal ideas, recipes, etc.

Re the large leg of lamb, I'd suggest slow roasting it in the oven (add a cup or two of water/stock/red wine, a clove of garlic or an onion and seal into a roasting tin with foil for 3-4 hours at 150C). Once cooked, portion it up and then use it for shepherd's pie, curries, etc. It works well in Mexican dishes as well so you could try fajitas:

Fry an onion with garlic, add mushrooms and peppers and fry until soft. Add the lamb, together with a half cup of water, then sprinkle over a heaped teaspoon of paprika and a quarter to a half teaspoon of ground cumin. Stir well to coat the meat, etc, with the spices and then continue stirring until the liquid has evaporated. Serve with wraps or rice. It goes well with couscous, too.

Would your son eat creamed rice instead of Fromage Frais? That would use some of the Paella rice. The recipe I have is ancient but is really simple to make just remember to stir throughout:

Ingredients: 3oz rice, 1/2 pint water, 1 pint milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method: In a suitable saucepan, combine the rice, water and salt and cook until all the water is absorbed, stirring regularly. Continue stirring and add all the milk. Cooking until the milk is almost absorbed - it will just coat the back of your wooden spoon. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the remaining ingredients. Serve either hot or cold

While hot, fill small Lock-n-Lock-style tubs, put the lids on then immediately place in the fridge to cool/store. They should keep for 4-6 days. (I say "should". They mysteriously disappear in my house.)

HTH

- Pip

ETA: Make a list of everything you already have in the fridge/freezer/pantry and use that as the start of your meal planning. You will feel better just from doing that because action relieves anxiety and burns the stress hormones. It will also clear your head.

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

Not much I can add that people haven't already suggested. Re- the banana muffins have a check-in the reduced fruit and veg section. I always pick up the reduced bags they make up of all the overipe bananas and then I peel them and keep them in the freezer in a zip lock bag. I just take out what I need and let them defrost, it makes them easy to mash too. Last lot i got was about 12 large bananas for 36p.
Good luck.

mumtoomany

Hi, sorry you're having a tough time. We keep sheep and so have alot of lamb and mutton. If you can mince some of the leg while it's still raw, you could make burgers, meatballs, sausage, etc. If DS doesn't like the taste of lamb, maybe add spices and flavourings.

You still have time to pick blackberries. These could be added to cakes, muffins. Or make pies and crumbles. They freeze well, my DGS takes them in his lunch all year round, from frozen, just put in a tub first thing, they will be thawed by lunch.

If you have a Lidl near you they have half price grated cheese this weekend. That freezes too.

There will be lots of help here, you are not alone, good luck, mumtoomany.

buildersdaughter

So many good ideas on here, I hope you can pick out what will work.
Aubergines are expensive - could you roast root veg like carrots & parsnips instead?
I agree about cooking up the lamb and making it into so many other dishes, with lentils & veg that your DS doesn't know.
Having said that, it might be worth seeing if you can 'trade' it, or, who do you know who would love a proper roast dinner? Get some sausages or chicken thighs for your little one, roast alongside the lamb. Invite close friends and say 'I'd love us all to have a roast, please can you bring a contribution / trade for my store cupboard?'. I did something similar many years ago, but it really only works with the right people, especially as you don't want extra stress.

D&DD

Not much to add but my best wishes you'll be fine hun!


As above either spreadsheet or use a large pad to list out everything fridge,freezer,pantry and it's surprising that just sat with it all listed in front of you,you start to see meals you can make.


Quick tip re the meats if I've a load over from a roast and I need mince whazz it up in short pulses in the food processor..works a charm but be gentle else you'll end up with soup

PipneyJane

Hello jbkmum.

I’ve been thinking about your tight budget, all weekend. In previous years, I’ve done a £50 February challenge, where I’ve limited my grocery spending to £50 for the entire month. That’s for groceries for two adults. Everything that’s already in the house (fridge, freezer, pantry, store cupboards) is allowed to be consumed. I do it because February is often a very tight month for people, once all the January bills come home to roost. Believe me, I’ve been bitten by them, too. Years ago, after paying all the bills, I was left with just £20 plus my train fare for the entire month of February. With that and the contents of the pantry and freezer, I had to feed 2 adults for the month.

Did you make lists of what you have in the freezer, store-cupboard and fridge? Care to share them with us? We may be able to suggest meal ideas. Also, what about cleaning products and toiletries? It’s really easy to forget about toilet paper or sanitary products, until you desperately need them and discover there’s not a tampon in the house. (NB: The cheapest sanitary towels are from Lidl, at 49p for a packet of 12. Ditto the cheapest tampons.)

In your shoes, I’d probably subdivide your budget down a bit to £50 for food, £3 for toiletries/sanitary products and £5 for toilet paper/laundry detergent/washing up liquid. That would give you £5 for contingencies. Try to only shop once or twice in the month.

Food-wise, you mentioned that you’ve got a gastric band, which means that you’ve got limited capacity, which also means that you need to focus on protein, vitamins, minerals and fibre, in that order, if you’re going to have an adequate diet. The cheapest source of protein are dried pulses, which are also a good source of fibre and minerals. Someone else already mentioned dried, split red lentils and a 2kg bag would be my first choice: use them for dhal, soups, a lentil loaf, patties, pad out minced beef dishes, etc. Cheapest cheddar is from Lidl at £3.95 for an 800g block, which would cover 6-8 meals in my house (various quiche/flans, pasta bakes, welsh rarebit). Cheapest cooking bacon is also from Lidl at £1.19 for a kg – that’d form the basis for another 4 meals. (Look carefully and you may find a pack with virtually no fat.) Don’t forget eggs – you can get 15 for £1.19 in Tesco. They won't e free range, but you can't afford to be principled this month. Cheapest cooking oil is “pure vegetable oil” for 95p/litre in Lidl or MrT’s. Don’t be fooled by the label, it’s usually rapeseed oil, so extremely healthy. For pastry, use lard (30p for 250g) instead of butter (£1.49 for 250g). Buy long-life SKIMMED milk at 55p/litre, so that you don’t have to keep going to the shops. (The skimmed does not have an aftertaste, unlike the other varieties.)

Veg-wise: are you storing them properly? Ensure everything is removed from its plastic bag before putting away or it will sweat. Onions and potatoes do not belong in the fridge. Store onions in a bowl on your kitchen counter. Potatoes need to go into a dark cupboard.

Re toiletries and cleaning products, now isn't the time to listen to marketing. You don't have the money. If you need shampoo or conditioner, buy the cheapest and, depending on consistency, water them down a little. If you need cleanser, use soap. You only need fabric softener if you're using a drier, to cut static.

Hope this helps. Good luck. You can do this.

- Pip

MandM90

jbkmum wrote: »

@mandm90 Raw and Frozen – can’t remember the weight of the damn thing though!
So shepherds pie would work, I’ve got some potatoes left over from a roast dinner my ex did for DS on Sunday. How would I do it? Roast the lamb then what? I’ve never made a shepherds pie – or would a hotpot be easier. Lamb curry I can manage, lamb ragu sauce, is that just tomatoey?
I think we can be okay without needing to go to a foodbank, the problem is I get stressed with trying to work out what to do and end up choosing a recipe that needs another 12 ingredients and it all goes to “pot”. If I can stick to a couple of recipes a week it won’t overload my brain
l

Roast the whole thing

Stolen and adapted from(https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/leftover-lamb-shepherds-pie/)

onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 carrots, chopped
2 tsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp tomato sauce or puree
1 tbsp gravy granules (to taste)
200ml water
1 stock cube
500g leftover lamb
handful peas and/or sweetcorn
800g potatoes, peeled and cubed
milk/butter for mash

Put a big pan of water on to boil

Fry onion, garlic and carrots until soft

Then add the mixed herbs, tom puree, gravy granules, 200ml water and lamb. Bring to boil then simmer for 10-15 until reduced slightly. Add peas/sweetcorn for last 2 mins.

Whilst simmering, boil the potatoes for mash.

Spread the lamb mixure along bottom of roasting tin. Mash pots with salt, pepper, butter/milk...however you usually do it! Then top and put in a hot oven for approx 20 mins - until top crispy and all bubbling.

MandM90

Lamb ragu, yes just tomato-ey. Something like this: https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/leftover-lamb-ragu.html

but use any herbs you have and like, and substitute tom puree and sugar for 2 tbsp ketchup if you dont have puree. If you don't have worcester sauce soy sauce/balsamic vinegar will do in a pinch!