Including cheese,meat, vegetables and fruit but no pulses!
(But I must first apologise to Faith at Much More with less because she has already written about this book and done some of the recipes in February and I'd long forgotten so I'm sort of copying without realising)
Here's the shopping list (using whichever is cheapest, usually the value brands Asda or Tesco)
1kg Porridge oats 75p
Supermarket variety of 24 'weetabix' 74p
Value Marmalade 33p
4 Loaves of value wholemeal sliced £2.20
1.5 kg bread flour 69p
1.5kg Self Raising flour 45p
sachets yeast 59p
2 x 4pts whole milk (mix 2:1 with water to make 12 pints)£2.18
500g of whichever spread is on offer £1
250g Baking fat 55p
500g whichever cheese is on offer £3.50
Pack value mozzarella 47p
2 x 1kg Frozen chicken portions £3.36
500g frozen value pork/beef mince £1.69
500g Asda bacon offcuts 57p
Asda Pack 4 frozen nut burgers £1
Value mayo 40p
15 value eggs + 6 eggs £2.19
7 tins value brand plum tomatoes @ 29p = £2.03
2 x value tins spaghetti hoops 28p
1 Tin value brand baked beans 23p
2 tins tuna chunks in brine £1.30
500g value Pasta penne 32p
tube tomato puree Lidl 37p
Tub Asda Curry powder 79p
Asda 1lt sunflower oil £1.09
1 kg value Asda frozen mixed veg 82p
2.5kg potatoes £1.35
1kg small potatoes 65p
2 large baking potatoes 50p
Head celery 55p
1 Aubergine Lidl 67p
2 lettuce and cucumber Lidl £1.29
1 red peppers Lidl 49p
1 kg onions 59p
6 Salad Tomatoes 69p
__________________
£36.67
6 Salad Tomatoes 69p
__________________
£36.67
Which, if I've added up correctly, leaves a few £ to buy some fruit - the cheapest fresh in season, bananas at 13p each from Lidl and some tinned value peaches and 22p for a Asda basic value sponge mix for a sweet treat! (Although goodness knows what size sponge a small packet of mix and one egg would make - I've never tried it)
This turns out to be not much different from the 2015 menu which just proves I am a creature of habit and have no imagination!
This turns out to be not much different from the 2015 menu which just proves I am a creature of habit and have no imagination!
The Menu............
Breakfast is porridge, made mainly with water or 'weetabix'(with minimum of milk) and/or toast with marmalade
The bag of bread flour plus yeast will make rolls, a pizza base and Naan breads.
Lunches are home made bread rolls or sandwiches with
Cheese and tomato
Cheese and grated onion
Chicken and lettuce and Mayo
Egg Mayo
BLT sandwich
+
Spaghetti Hoops on Toast
Poached Egg on toast
Main meals
Cheese Omelette
Bolognese sauce using mince,2 tins toms, puree, half pepper and an onion. Served over pasta
The other half of the above served under mashed potatoes to make a cottage pie.
A bacon,onion and cheese quiche half served with potato wedges
The other half served with small salad potatoes and salad
Chicken tray bake with tomatoes,onion and half pepper and small potatoes
Chicken and celery pie
Vegetarian nut cutlets in bread rolls and salad
Home made pizza with tomato/onion and mozzarella topping
Coronation chicken and pasta salad
Tomato and Tuna Pasta bake
Baked potato and cheesy beans
Aubergine curry with Naan breads
Tuna Fishcakes
There wouldn't be much left over at the end of the week but unlike that book there wouldn't be lots of other things needed that are NOT in the list. Just sugar, seasonings and tea/coffee I think.
I'm sure I couldn't stick to this......I like more fruit, but at least it is do-able.....just. Also, although all these things are on the Mysupermarket price comparison site, there are some that I've never seen in the local shop....Asda bacon offcuts for 57p certainly don't exist in our local Asda.
( 3 Posts inspired by one book is pretty good don't you think?!)
My brain now needs a short rest!
My brain now needs a short rest!
Back Tomorrow
Sue
Oh goodness you don't have to apologise to me for writing about Home Economics! I remember you saying you had reserved a copy at at the library, and I've been really looking forward to hearing how you found it. Not copying at all - you bring your own views and entirely new content with your menu suggestions. I do like loads of the Home Economics recipes, they're great on a budget and the shopping lists save time & effort. But they do depend on a well-stocked store cupboard, which puts the price up if you don't have those items to hand.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of recipes in the book I shall try.
DeleteI found some things had already gone up in price from when she did the book, so they'll need to update quite often!
That sounds a good menu Sue. I don't care for Aubergine so would make a vat of veggie curry (using some of that pack of frozen mixed veg) and substitute broccoli or cauliflower for the aubergine. That's just personal taste though. You've done really well.
ReplyDeleteThe Aubergine curry was one of the recipes from the book - it looks rather tasty but then I do like aubergines. 3 aubergine seedlings have appeared - so there is hope....
DeleteInteresting. I would need fruit, one piece a day for my smoothie. We have soup almost every day but might still cost the same with all the veg for that.
ReplyDeleteI think soup could be much cheaper but as I'm off soup at the moment I didn't include it!
DeleteClever girl, that's a great effort.
ReplyDeleteThank you
DeleteYou said:
ReplyDeleteI am a creature of habit and have no imagination!
No it doesn't, it means you have found a way that works really well and are sensibly using it (part of frugal is using what you know/have, isn't it).
I love the look of your meals and I think you'd be eating really very well indeed. It's brilliant.
J x
I'm not actually planning to do the menu, it's just theoretical to see if it's possible but this food would be things I would choose
DeleteThat’s a great menu. And under budget. It’s certainly doable. I would miss my fruit too. We have an orange everyday and I enjoy a banana as a filling snack. Good meal ideas though.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly get value for your money and planning. Converting to Imperial to metric and £s to €s the cost of 'basic' foods is so much less in the UK. Your list was an eyeopener to me here in France. Best Wishes.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a well thought out menu, and very do-able. I sat and worked out what I would buy with £20 for one person for 2 weeks yesterday, so I could see how we would differ with our plans.
ReplyDeleteI'm still enjoying soup, so that helped keep my costs down.
Now you need to rest that brain 😉
Really interesting to see how you've planned out your menu, Sue.I think I'd have soup in there somewhere if I had to do a similar thing (I'm not off soup at moment as we've not been eating it over our summertime.) I did make some pumpkin soup yesterday which I portioned and put into the freezer for when the weather does eventually get cooler. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteWhen did we become so fussy about our food....and if we'd eaten the same meal recently?! x
ReplyDeleteWow, well done (to both you and Faith). I make a fair bit of soup in the winter but I like to use fresh veg rather than leftovers which are past their best, so it's not always a cheap option. It does, however, make more than one meal at a time so is not too bad per portion, I guess.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of work but it looks like it is worth it. I'm off to research the book. Thank you for sharing LM x
ReplyDeleteWell done. That is a lot of figuring and fiddling with foods and prices but you made it work! How great is it that you have the choice to add other things and this can be mostly an exercise to see what if? I can not imagine having to do this every 2 weeks and struggling to make it work, can you?W
ReplyDeletethe off cuts bacon is called cooking bacon its a 500g pack and it is hit and miss what shape it will be! some times slices some time thick wedges
ReplyDeleteYes I use them and can buy off cuts from Sainsburys or Co-op but not as even though its on the Mysupermarket website I've not found it in Asda
DeleteSue is this budget done with having herbs and spices already in the cupboard? The two mainstays for me would be garlic paste , chilli and black pepper, they make the bland ingredients more palatable, oh and. Mixed herbs too!
ReplyDeleteyes seasonings would have to be in the cupboard already as I said in the post
DeleteThank you for working this out and sharing it!
ReplyDeleteThere is lots of helpful information on the Facebook page Feed Yourself for £1 a day. One of the Admin people has put a shopping on there. It is extremely helpful for people who are really struggling to make ends meet.
ReplyDelete