Wednesday 25 February 2015

Stretching the budget

School holidays really push the budget, so by Friday, I had £45 left to buy food for the rest of the month for all six of us. Yikes! I was going to need to really put my culinary skills to the test here!
I went through the cupboards, fridge and freezer. The freezer in the shed has some fish, a bag of peas and a bag of ice leftover from a party two years ago!! - not much use to me in this household! Undeterred, I worked out a menu, which would use every last scrap of food in the house and off I went with my shopping list. I spent £36.03. Now bearing in mind this is for 8 evening meals for six people, that's not bad! This also covers breakfasts and some lunches.

Sad looking contents of my purse! 


On the menu?
  • Friday: home made pizzas (I already had everything for this except some peppers, which cost £1)
  • Saturday: spaghetti in a 'creamy sauce' (I used the last of the mascarpone leftover from a meal earlier in the week, garlic, some frozen peas from the shed deepfreeze and a handful of rocket)
  • Sunday: pancakes (I know, it was last Tuesday, but we were away and it saved cooking a roast AND was much cheaper!). I also baked some 'chewy cake' which I will post about later.
  • Monday: roasted vegetable salad (amazing how roasting sad, slightly shrivelled root veg, can turn them into something delicious!)
  • Tuesday: vegetable curry and rice (I'm using the second half of the Jamie Oliver curry sauce made the other week and frozen)
  • Wednesday: black bean and lentil chilli and potato wedges
  • Thursday: curried pea and potato croquettes with salad
  • Friday: red lentil, chick pea and chilli soup and home made bread
  • Saturday: chick pea curry and rice

I have some small change left over to pop out and buy salad stuff and any bits I run out of this week, so if I'm really careful, that should just tide me over! I like the challenge actually and have spent a long time researching cheap vegan meals I can adapt for March too. I guess the draw back with my tight budget is that I never seem to have the opportunity to stock pile. I know some of you have impressive stocks, but anything that I had is being used up.

13 comments:

  1. I agree with you about roasted root veg, a great way to use things up. I would like to shave a bit off the grocery budget next month so I'm making this month last for as long as possible, and I'm using up all those bits and pieces I've had hanging around for ages (yes, I'm talking about you lemon and herb marinade!)

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    1. My grocery cupboards have never looked so bare! It's frightening what I had floating at the back of the cupboard. Still, I'll have loads of empty jars to fill with home made jam, curds, chutney and Harissa when I get going in the garden! I'm not sure I can shave much more off my food budget, but I'll give it a go! Actually it's not so much the food, but things like shampoo, toilet rolls (they eat them I'm sure!) etc....

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    2. We didn't have much when I was a child and my parents told me and showed me how to only use shampoo the size of a ten pence piece and gave us a cup to dilute it in, also to fold toilet paper to reuse the other side, only use a pea sized blob of toothpaste etc. We did also have newspaper squares instead of toilet roll in the outside toilet which we were told to use when possible and if you scrunch it up it is quite soft. It might seem a bit extreme nowadays-some of them could be worth trying though?

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  2. Hello I have just found your blog and I am really enjoying your straight forward, realistic approach to living a simpler life. Plus your meals look and sound amazing. Thank you for the inspiration!

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    1. Thank you very much. Glad you're enjoying reading it. If you ever want a recipe that I haven't put on, feel free to ask. I tend to tweak recipes quite a bit to fit in with what I have languishing at the bottom of the fridge!!

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  3. I check online using mysupermarket or the Coop or Aldi's websites to check the offers before I go shopping and stock up on the non food items which are on a good offer. I'm down to my last Persil non bio and it's the only brand we use so I've been keeping an eye online for this coming on offer. I noticed this morning that the Coop are selling it at half price and also 9 good toilet rolls for £3. I have a voucher for the Coop so I will go and buy these offers. We currently have 6 spare toothpastes and 3 bottles of shampoo as these were on offer in Tesco recently. I know it means spending a bit more all at once but it saves us in the long run. Loving your blog x

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    1. They're all good ideas! I used to have quite a well stocked store cupboard for toiletries and the like, but it's been severely depleted and I haven't managed to build it back up again. I've made my own laundry liquid, soap and handwash (tomorrow's blog) and am working through the cleaning products I already have before moving on to home made, but I still need shampoo, conditioner, sanitary products etc, which all add up! I'll do some more research I think!

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  4. Your doing a great job, something I must do this week is a menu plan for the next few weeks, I to am also really enjoying your blog, you have really embraced your new life style choice x

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  5. You're doing really well using everything you have in stock. :-)

    I always find a challenge (such as an empty cupboard) can bring out the best in me. Although trying to make a meal out of fish, peas and a bag of ice is tough going for anyone.

    Roll on the end of the month eh.

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    1. The kids are complaining because, even though there is food they can make for lunches and breakfasts and I'm making them yummy dinners, there is nothing they can grab! I think I may need to do some baking tomorrow to sweeten the blow as it were! They were horrified that I wasn't doing a shop until Sunday! LoL :)

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  6. Sounds like a lovely menu plan, lucky family!

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