What can I buy for £10 grocery wise? Meal ideas needed

[IdentifyAsCat]

NC because I’m a bit embarrassed.
This needs to last until Thursday. I have access to Lidl or Asda.

One adult one dc aged 5. No dietary needs at all. Need some ideas please.

In my cupboards I have.

2 packets of spaghetti and half a bag of basmati rice.

About 7-8 large potatoes.

A few random odd herbs, gravy and oxo cubes.

A tin of soup.

A can of kidney beans.

In my fridge I have:
Pickled beetroots and a bottle of milk
In my freezer I have;
A bag of onion rings and some frozen curry sauce (fine for me but too spicy for dc)

Quick disclaimer: I’ve been here on and off for a long time and know begging posts are common. I have recently gone onto universal credit but can lend money off family and have a (high interest) credit card if I can’t manage this. I in no way need donations or money nor would I accept or ask for them!

Hi!

Well you can probably pick up a bolognaise or other pasta sauce from Asda for very cheap (39p). 2 of these with your spagetti would be 2 good meals :)
Cream will take down the intensity of a curry by a long way. Portion out your daughter's and add a little cream until it's milder. Add the rice and that's another meal.

A whole chicken should do the two of you for several meals. A packet of bacon or mince should also last for a couple of meals, especially mixed with a tin of lentils.
Tins of tomatoes, onions and a tin of sweetcorn. Packet of frozen peas.
Loaf of bread.
With the food in your cupboard you should be able to make lots of meals.

Could you get referred to a local food bank? The staff there are lovely and completely non judgemental. This is not your fault, the change to universal credits impacts thousands of families every week. You could probably manage just about with what you have in your cupboards and your £10 but It will be tight, especially towards the end of the week when you'll need to top up bread and milk.

Please, please please use a local food bank - they exist for situations exactly like the one you are in. No one will think less of you.

Veggie chilli - half an onion (optional) fried add a tin of tomatoes, kidney beans and sweetcorn and serve with rice. Depending on your appetite you can have the second half of the chilli on baked potato the next day.

Scrambled eggs on toast
Cheese sandwiches
Porridge goes far

Are you doing breakfasts lunches and dinners on that?

Baked potatoes on two days, wedges to go with something else on a couple more
Soup for lunch, add broken bits of spaghetti to pad it if needed
Pasta and pesto
Pasta and a sauce from tinned toms and your herbs
Chilli with your kidney beans and rice. Buy a small thing of mince it will probably do two meals. Doesn’t have to be spicy

Hi OP, I'm sorry your in this position. It's absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. If anything it's embarrassing for the government to put families in this position to begin with.

Can you look into a food bank? They're set up for exactly this kind of situation and it may be best to keep your last £10 "just in case".

You're

I'd go to lidl and get...

Prices are estimates by the way...from what I remember last time I was there...

Loaf of bread...36p
10 eggs...99p

Will do breakfasts and can use eggs with potatoes for a frittata.

Couple of cans of baked beans for jacket potatoes/beans on toast

Small chicken for about £2.35...I think. Roast it and remove all meat...use for fried rice using an egg too and also with your curry sauce for yourself.

Buy a cheap pasta sauce and add a little chicken to it and serve with your spaghetti.

Hth

Some cheap pasta sauces - two packs of spaghetti should do quite a few meals for you and a little one. If you can pick up some cheap hotdog sausages you can make hotdog spiders which might be fun for your 5 year old, and can also be chopped up and added to spaghetti.

I'd probably get a 500g pack of cheap mince, think they're about two quid. If you're near a farm foods or Iceland I think you can get a bigger pack of frozen mince for the same price. It's not as nice but needs must. Then you have chilli with rice/jackets, shepherd's pie, spag bol....i reckon you could make a couple of teas and maybe lunches out of a 500g pack, more if you can bulk out with lentils.

Use any leftovers for next days lunch.

Large box of eggs and a loaf of cheap bread. Scrambled or boiled for breakfast or lunch, or eggy bread, Spanish omelette etc.

Some frozen veg.

Any unused points or vouchers? It's doable, but will be a bit repetitive I fear. Any chance you can go to someone's for tea one of the nights?

When similar happened to me i had a very bland diet of jacket potatoes for tea with baked beans (just butter towards the end) bread and eggs for breckfast and some pasta for my lunch

I have seen people ask for a week's groceries on Freecycle, and received it.

If there is a market near you maybe get some cheap veg. At the end of the day it is often sold off very cheaply.

If you have coriander in your herbs?
carrot and lentil soup 1kg bag of carrots one onion good few handfuls of lentils an oxo if you have it and lots of coriander lovely soup should make 2ltrs so that a few lunches

Pasta sauce goes down well with my kids at home and work (school cook)
1 small sweet potatoe 2 tin Tom's 1/2 onion and any other veg lying around and water
Fry it off till cooked blend pour on the pasta tastes cheesey without any cheese should do a few meals

Dont buy meat if you're on a budget. It's so much more expensive than beans, lentils etc. Look for vegetarian recipes and your money will go much further. Veg chilli with lentils as PP suggested which can then be used on a jacket potato, with spaghetti etc.

Please don’t feel bad or embarrassed these things happen to people and to more people than you’d think.

Veggie meals will probably be cheapest - batch cook and freeze portions if you can.

Mary Berry’s red pepper, mushroom and leek lasagne is popular in my house (and we’re meat eaters) and shouldn’t cost you too much to make it says it serves 6-8 but it’s made in a 5 pint dish so I’ve found it goes further than that. Basic sauce is two leeks, 2 Romano red peppers, two tins of chopped tomatoes (get the ones in Lidl with basil in for flavour) 500g chestnut mushrooms. Then your usual white sauce to go on top.
You could make the tomato sauce up and use it as a bolognaise with your spaghetti if your budget doesn’t stretch to lasagne sheets.

Veggie chilli con carne would also be a good option - pad it out with tinned chickpeas as they are a good source of protein too.

Porridge oats for breakfast as they are cheap but filling and can be made with water if needs be.

i'd agree with suggestions get pack of mince split in two, get two tins basic brand tomatoes , do one half of mince as a pasta sauce with stock cube, herbs you have and see if you can get some veg on special offer to bulk out,- my lidl last week had nets of red onions for 49p , the second half i'd do with second tin tomatoes , the kidney beans and a little chilli powder if you have it in your herbs/ spices as a chilli with the rice or over the potatoes.

Another good cheap dinner idea you should get two meals form is a pack value 8 sausages, can do half with potatoes and your onion rings, and your gravy, and second half as a sort of casserole you need an onion, a pepper some ,of your potatoes cubed, and a jar basic pasta sauce. fry sausages and potatoes till browned, add pepper and onion fry till soft, add the tomato sauce , add a bit of water and simmer for a while. This you can have with rice pasta or just plain. if you have room in budget you can add a tin of baked beans to it.

Loaf of bread or two £0.45p/90p
Cheapest cheese you can find. (10 mild cheddar slices £1 or block £1.50)
2x Long Life Milk £1.40
Cheap Cereal £1
Breakfast: Cereal with Cheese on Toast
Grab tinned beans for lunches and have beans on toast. Beans are 23p and spaghetti hoops are 13p. You can also get fairly cheap eggs.
Five tins of tomatoes 30p each £1.50 onions £1 & veggie mince (better value) £1.50. Do spaghetti with the onions, mince and tomatoes - 1 dinner. Chilli with mince, kidney beans and rice but make double and stretch it over 2 dinners. Make a Shepard’s pie with the potatoes and do jacket potatoes with cheese!

Why are people suggesting a food bank? The OP has food and some money, she should be able to manage fine.
Have a look at cookingonabootstrap.com , OP, there are lots of meals on there that use these kinds of ingredients. Also do a search on here for Budget meals, there are often threads like these, with lots of different suggestions.

Tin of sardines in oil (use the oil to cook with) with onions or whatever green veg is cheapest makes a good cheap nutritious sauce for spaghetti.

Packet of smoked mackerel is good for kedgeree (adding a boiled egg and using your rice and a teeny bit of your curry sauce), and also for fish cakes with your potatoes.

Hit your local supermarket in the evening - you can get lots of cheap reduced items. Most of them freeze. Worth going over several days though so you can get a good mix of items.

You can usually pick up 9p sandwiches, 9p bread, reduced on date milk, salad bits and veg, might take a day or two for you to learn the right timing but well worth it when you are skint

With the chicken carcass you could also make chicken noodle soup with your spaghetti and add a tin of beans of required.

@identifyascat I know you said you wouldn't accept donations but if you're in Lancs, I have 6 chickens in my freezer and you are more than welcome to a couple if you would like.

Thanks so much for the tips I’m creating a meal plan now, picking bits and pieces from everyone’s suggestions.
I’m sorry I had to disappear to make DC lunch.
For those saying use a food bank, well no I could ask for family help and would way before I went to the food bank or asked anyone else (see disclaimer) there’s many many things I’d do before a foodbank was on the agenda. But thank you for the comments nonetheless.

@feelingverylazytoday £10 to last a week with minimal food in her cupboard isn’t “managing fine”. That’s the last step on the rung.

Do you want her to only ask for help when she’s down to some Brussels sprouts in the freezer and that’s it? There’s no virtue in starving. She needs to see a good food bank and would qualify for help. She is exactly who the services are meant to help.

Sorry Knickers I missed your comment. Lovely of you but I’m nowhere near. Thank you anyway!!

Jings, I really wouldn’t go to a foodbank when I have a credit card and family who’d help if I asked I’m just hoping to get through this really tight week (a one off) without relying on those. I’m appreciative of the suggestion and I’m sure it’ll help others but I really don’t think I need it