just moved out... need help

pickle

Find out the cheap times to shop. Eg. My local Lidl reduces the price of veges on a Fri.
Look for 'own brand' if shopping at the more expensive supermarkets. You can get some good deals. When I was younger I lived on pasta as it was cheap and bulky. I'd get some ham or bacon and onion and garlic, some tin toms and a pinch of basil and have that as a topping. Don't throw anything out, save it for lunch the next day. Baked beans have a lot of protein so worth stocking up on. Freeze your bread so it doesn't get mould and take a slice out as you need it. I noticed at ASDA that you could get 4 chicken pies for about 80p (a lot of supermarkets have similar), if you had a pie and added some veg. it would make a filling meal. Learning to budget for shopping is quite a skill and takes practice.

Lisakx

thank you!! I don't have a freezer at the moment because I'm in temporary accommodation, I go to view my new flat wednesday and should be moving again soon then, I will definitely invest in a freezer one way or another. Will be writing an inventory of my food items in a bit to see what I need to get for this week or can afford to get to stick in the cupboard to build up those essentials everyone needs. Thanks again for help.

Skint_Catt

taplady wrote: »

Me too! my DS comes home atweekends and I always send him back with a food parcel, when I'm doing my shopping I always buy some of his favourites. Us Mums cant bear to think of our kids going hungry! It gives me peace of mind to know that he's always got something to eat.;)

I've moved out of Mum & Dads (again) and in with boyf. Every time I see my Mum (she's only six miles away) I come home with food (cooked, raw or still frozen), cooking trays, roasting dishes under the pretence of 'I bought this in error/I don't want it anymore' even though we earn 5 x what dad ever did! :rotfl: Bless all Mums!

liz545

Maybe ask your mum if she can lend/buy you a few recipe books? When I first moved out, one of the ones that I got the most use out of was Veggie Grub on a Grant by Cas Clarke, but she's also published a book of meaty recipes, you can get both here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Student-Cookbook-Foolproof-Recipes/dp/075531056X/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=gateway&qid=1201555265&sr=8-1 one of the handy things about her recipes is she doesn't assume that you'll have lots of gadgets or kitchen gear, so there are plenty of one-pot recipes and mostly the recipes serve 1 or 2 rather than a family of 4!
A freezer is really handy if you can get one, because then you can cook a few extra portions and re-heat them if you're feeling lazy, and also if you see something reduced but you don't want to cook it immediately. Meal planning helps you keep waste to a minimum, but what I tend to do is think about what I'm going to cook with what I have and pin the list to the fridge, and then I pick one of the dishes for dinner, rather than planning on having spag bol on monday, curry on tuesday etc, as this means I feel able to be more flexible and spontaneous. Finally, if people ask you if you'd like a housewarming gift, don't be afraid to ask for food parcels/cleaning stuff!

charleybabes

defo get in lots of pasta.. this is a great staple to have as a basis for a meal.. especially if you are really short on money.. it will fill you up and you can make somthing with it..
get in lots of tins of tomatos aswell, tomato puree,
bags of flour and eggs to make pastrys, cakes etc
and frozen veg.. you can always bulk out a meal with veg
and once you get your freezer you can make bigger meals and just freeze some of it so that you have ready meals done for you when you cant be bothered to cook

i had myown house at 21 and used to live on tuna pasta and chunky chicken out of a tin and pasta.. to be honest .. i wish id been a bit better organised as my fridge was always full of wine and nothing else!!!