To ask your absolute cheapest ways to feed 1 adult 1 5 year old

Make sure you buy full fat everything:.cheese, milk, Yog.

Makes you feel fuller

Rissoles (Delia Smith).
Kedgeree.

This carrot and bulger recipe is brilliant for packed lunches as it's lasts for days in the fridge. you can also use rice instead of bulgar, any bean, or swap in chicken pieces, halloumi, tofu for the feta. www.theguardian.com/food/2024/feb/05/quick-easy-winter-recipe-spiced-roast-carrots-feta-dates-bulgur-beans

Bananas are great, cheap filling and really easy to turn in to a pudding if you want something treat like.

• banana in custard
• slice them longwise while still in skin, a couple of chunks of chocolate, push them closed again and wrap in foil then bake them in the oven while dinner is cooking. Unwrap and enjoy the sweet chocolatey yummminess.
• slice into rounds, fry with a bit of brown sugar till caramelised
• freeze whole then blitz the frozen bananas in a food processor for instant banana icecream.

Or just eat as a quick filing snack, have on toast with peanut butter for breakfast, on cereal, with peanut butter in porridge, sliced and cooked in pancakes.

Apples are usually cheap for a big bag, DD loves it when I peel and slice one then cook in the microwave with some sultanas/raisins, and put on top of porridge.

Stick to basic veg, seasonal and local will be cheaper - potatoes, onion, mushrooms, carrots. Potatoes are versatile and filling, if you have an air fryer then tinned new potatoes drained, seasoned and air fried are magical. I hate tinned potatoes but I bloody love them air fried.
You can shred potatoes and turn them into rosti's or mash and have fish cakes using cheap cuts of fish.

Eggs are full of protein and good fats and will be really filling, hard boiled, scrambled, omelette, fried egg sandwich. You can add a hard boiled egg to noodles and broth to bulk it out a bit, and can add veg to omelette or scrambled egg to do the same. Onions, peppers and wafer thin ham or ham offcuts make for a delicious omelette.

If I'm making mince for chilli or bolognaise I'll do 500g mince then a whole punnet of mushrooms (I hate lentils but if you like them then add them too), a couple of big carrots (grate them if DS is fussy about chunky veg), and whatever other veg or tinned tomatoes you have. That way you can double or even triple the volume of your food without adding much cost. Portion it up and freeze it for meals on other days.

Look for cooked meats like gammon offcuts, ham trimmings then just treat them like leftovers from a roast dinner. You can make them in to a pie, curry, pasta bake, stir fry, mix them with mash and onion and make rissoles.

Have you seen meals by Mitch op. He has an Instagram account and a book...he makes really great budget food.

If you like garlic, you can cook some crushed garlic up with some butter and then mix in pasta. There are some really simple pasta dishes out there with minimal ingredients. Roast tomatoes and then crush down with a fork and mix with pasta (smaller tomatoes the better). Add any seasoning or cheese.
Wraps, with tomato purée, cheese and any other toppings.
Tins of fruit cocktail.

Lots of stews and homemade soups OP. A big stew can last 4 days.

Soup made from whatever veg you have

chilli/cottage pie with lentils to spin out the mince and make it go further.

pasta with homemade tomato sauce (tin chopped toms, onion, garlic etc) then maybe a bit of bacon and chilli flakes in it too. Or even just pasta with some pesto stirred through it. And a garlic bread-the Aldi ones that are about 50p are great. Could use some leftover bacon chopped up in an omelette

if doing a big pot of chilli: one night with rice, one with jacket potato or wedges so it’s a bit different.

Buy a bag of dried chickpeas (about £2), and prepare the whole bag in one go (soak overnight, boil and then simmer). Portion into bags and freeze. You can then use them in almost any recipe to replace meat just by chucking them into . You can do chickpea and potato curry (parboil potatoes then chop into bit sized chunks), chickpea chilli, stir them into pasta with frozen veg and passata, etc. You woul have enough for about 9 meals.

When skint I have porridge (Tesco Value oats) with half milk, half water for breakfast.
Lunch, any kind of homemade soup is cheap, healthy and filling - lentil, carrot, leek and potato etc.
Dinner, cheap bacon pieces, onion and tinned tomato with pasta. Bacon pieces, onion and potato slices layered up. Pour on white sauce , sprinkle with cheese and bake, stuff on toast, French toast, omelette, baked potatoes and cheese/ beans. Pasta and tomato sauce. Special fried rice - whatever is hanging round in the fridge mixed with rice. Replace half meat with lentils in a curry.

A dinner I love...cherry tomatoes cut in half softened in some oil...toss with spaghetti. Things you can add if you have or can stretch to...basil, garlic, chilli, parmesan or some sort of hard cheese. Works out very cheap per person

There is a fab group on Facebook called "feed your family for about £20 a week"
It has loads of cheap but filling meal ideas and lots of tips for stretching meat further like adding porridge oats to mince when making mince and tatties or lentils when making Bolognese.

Easiest & cheapest (free) option is food banks. Many don't even need referrals & those that do are easily obtained. GP, HV, mental health team, anyone from social services or domestic violence charities, nursery/school. Local libaries/community centres. A family member is a police officer & they can also do them.

Olio is another good one, community fridges (google/local fb pages will have info for your area)

You say you're getting your ducks in a row, so assuming, leaving a relationship? Do you have a family member/friend that could also support you?

Omelettes/frittata filled with vegetables.

Chilli with lots of beans. Pasta sauce with extra vegetables finely chopped. When I do bolognaise sauce, or a tomato sauce, it’s about 50% veg to bulk out the meat.

Breakfasts - eggs (scrambled, poached etc for variety) porridge oats can be bought in bulk cheaply and various things added for flavour such as jam, fruit, peanut butter

dinner - jackets with tuna, beans,
bean chilli with rice (beans bought dried and then soaked are cheapest usually)

cheapest fruits and veg are usually Aldi’s or if you have time your local market will be offering lots of good deals. My city centre markets does 5 large oranges for £1 and lots of deals better than the supermarkets

Also research locally if there is a food pantry near you. You can get food cheaply there (this is different to a good bank, apologies if you know this already)

good luck, this is tough and I have been there and it was tough but things for me have now improved and so will your situation x

Pasta is your friend.

Shepherds pie made with lentils instead of meat. Frozen peas and carrots on the side.

A roast chicken. Eat it roasted on day 1. Then strip the carcass for a couple more meals: chicken curry, chicken soup and chicken sandwiches.

Homemade tomato soup and toast or cheese sandwiches.

Porridge for dinner is a luxury when my DH isn’t home. It’s self-indulgent but cheap and quick. I make mine with mostly water too. Then you can add jam or banana or Nutella for toppings.

Tonight I had toast for dinner 🤷‍♀️