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!

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.

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This.

Not sure why everyone is immediately suggesting packets of mince...

Do you have a blender/hand blender? My fave cheap recipe is broccoli soup, 2 larger potatoes, 2 broccoli florets, pack of shallots, veg stock, chilli garlic, makes about 5 meals. Sauté shallots, add garlic chilli and potatoes, veg stock, simmer 10 mins, add broccoli, simmer til soft and blend.

Coco could I use frozen broccoli instead?
I’m pretty sure Lidl have shallots on offer cheap. Think frozen broccoli is cheaper though.

Why cant you ask family to sub a tenner or whatever you need / can afford to pay back? Why struggle if you don't actually have to?

I haven’t tried it frozen but if you let it defrost first I think it would be fine! If you bung it in frozen it may go mushy. If you can’t get shallots get a couple of red onions. Can serve with cheese if u have any

Our "really-can't-be-arsed-to-cook" go to is spaghetti with grated cheese. We're quite sophisticated these days though, as we now add a drizzle of olive oil and a twist or two of black pepper.

The point being it's as cheap as, er, chips.

Good luck with your mission OP!

Jingsmabucket no it really isn't the 'last step on the rung'.
Food banks are for people who literally have nothing. You might have never experienced that, but I have, and I know what I'm talking about.
It's perfectly possible to feed an adult and a young child on what the OP has. Please leave food bank resources for people that really need them.

Why struggle if you don't actually have to?
Why keep on asking other people for help (albeit family) and getting into debt, instead of learning some cheap nutritious recipes and how to budget properly?

Lidl cooking bacon is a great buy at around £1.50 max, adds flavour for very little cost-add to omelette/tortilla with potatoes delish hot or cold? I also break up the pack and freeze in batches.

Check the Olio app too to see if anyone is giving away food (that would otherwise go in the bin despite being good food in date etc).

Even without that though based on your store cupboard I think you'll be okay. It won't be easy but it's do-able. Look up "rubber chicken", and definitely check out cooking on a bootstrap, Jack Monroe has some fantastic yet cheap recipes. The carrot, cumin and kidney bean burgers are pennies but are really lush.

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.

^

This.

Not sure why everyone is immediately suggesting packets of mince...

I don't understand why people suggest lentils, not every one like them. My family for example do not like the texture of lentils so no I wouldn't buy them I would buy mince.

One roast chicken would have loads of meat on it. You could have a roast dinner with the spuds then the rest would do quite a few meals for one adult and a 5 year old. She could freeze some of the cooked meat for later in the week. A chicken isn't expensive and far nicer than going "vegi" when you aren't one or don't want to go a week without any meat at all.

What favour soup, op?

Eggs
Cooking bacon
Cheese
Carrots
Peas
Broccoli
Tinned tuna/salmon/vacuum kippers
Cream cheese

Carbonara
Bacon, veg, egg fried rice
Cheese and bacon potato skins (put an egg and cream cheese into mashed potato)
Pasta with sauce made from Oxo cubes mixed with bit of water and broccoli
Fishcakes with fish and potato, herbs
Jack Monroe 9p kidney bean burgers (could mush broccoli and add in), wedges

Jack Monroe's 10p kidney bean burgers are nice. You need a tin ok kidney beans, a couple of carrots, a little.flour and some cumin. You can find the recipe online.

Do you have oil and herbs? You could do a pasta bake with a carton of passata (about 30p in Aldi) and a budget mozzarella about 60p). Chuck in any veg or suitable meat leftovers.

have you any clubcard / nectar / boots points you could use to stretch the budget op?

One way to make your curry sauce milder and more palatable for your child, is to get a tub of cheap plain yoghurt and stir it into the sauce at the end of cooking, or serve it separately on the side of the plate.
Any left over yoghurt could go into a carbonara style pasta sauce or be a pudding with a blob of jam.

Perhaps use the kidney beans and some potatoes with the curry sauce, a bit boring but filling. Or if the soup is a vegetable type add the kidney beans to the soup along with any cooked potatoes for a basic vegetable stew.

If you can find out when local supermarkets reduce their goods, shopping then would stretch your money a bit further. It's often on the store website, or customer services will tell you.

OP, I had a quick go on the asda website, can do the following for £10.46 but you could maybe tweak it or get some yellow sticker items to bring it further down, would also need a small bag of cheap sugar if doing pancakes

Asda 800g wholemeal bread 55p
Smart price oats 1kg 75p
smart price cheddar slices 99p
asda cheese sauce mix 39p
asda chilli con carne sauce mix 23p
smartprice bolognese sauce jar 39p
farm stores 500g apples 69p
1.5kg smart price self raising flour 45p
asda mince 500g 20% fat £1.89
6x medium free range eggs 84p
long life whole milk 1L 69p
sunflower spread 84p
asda passata 35p
smartprice beans x2 at 23
head of brocolli 65p
2x red onions 30p

with that Id make

• use half the mince, chilli mix, 1x red onion, passata and your kidney beans for chile con carne and rice - stretch to 2 meals
• other half of the mince, jar of sauce and red onion to make a spag bol and some of your pasta - stretch to 2 meals
• cheese and brocolli pasta using your cheese sauce mix, brocolli and some grated cheddar on top - stretch to 2 meals
• baked potatoes, beans and cheese (or chilli if leftover)
• some form of egg on toast
• could use some of the brocolli, onion egg and rice to make a passable egg fried rice type dish and you could have the curry sauce

porridge for breakfast using the oats
scotch pancakes (120g SR flour, 40g sugar, 1 egg, quarter pint of milk) for either breakfast or a meal

hope that helps

Be careful about wasting money on things your dd hasn't tried before, just in case she doesnt like them.

Tomato (6 for 54p) and mozarella (45p) salad with a drizzle of oil and seasoning would make a cheap and healthy meal. Lots of blackberries )and some apples) at the mo. You could forage and eat raw, stew or serve as crumble if you have some flour and sugar in the cupboard. Tomato pasta. Egg fried rice.

Box of barn eggs, mousetrap cheese, few tins of budget tomatoes, save some for cheap bread, mince or bacon bits if it's stretching. Onions, carrots, savoy cabbage. Cobble meals together with it all. Filling first, protein second, veg and fibre last.

One of my best meals is pasta with cupasoup. Cook the pasta, drain it. Add the cupasoup with milk and butter and put back on hob. A pack of 4 cupasoup is only 80p from Asda I believe 😊 I normally go for the chicken one!

I've added these items to my basket on Tesco it comes to £9.60!
It's by no means healthy but for a short period of time it would be fine

8 Sausages £1
Tesco Chunky veg pasta sauce 75p
Tesco cheese £1.55
Tin of tomatoes 28p
6 free range eggs 85p
Tesco multi seed loaf 79p
8 slices of ham 89p
Mince 500g £1.49
2 tins of beans £1
Multipack of crisps £1

Make spaghetti bolognese add the tin of chopped tomatoes to make a bigger pot to do more meals

Sausage and chips

Cheese sandwich/ ham sandwich

Eggy bread and sausages

Ham and cheese omelette

Egg and chips

Beans on toast

Ratatouille. 1 aubergine, 1 onion, 1 courgette, one pepper, two tin chopped tomato with a bit of water and stock cube. You could add your kidney beans to this. One day eat with rice, another day with pasta. Another with baked potatoes. Might last you four days dependant on your appetite.

Some basic baked beans to go with the potatoes.

Bisto do a tub of instant cheese sauce for abt £1.50 just add water and makes lots of portions for different days. I sometimes cook pasta with cheap frozen veg and then make up a little of the sauce to go with it.

I would also get four pints of milk. A cheap loaf of bread and spread. And a cheap packet of biscuits ie digestive or malted milk or bourbon as a treat for dc.

Bag of basic porridge for breakfast if enough money.

My laziest and cheapest meal (and the kids favourite) is boil a pan of water, add a stock pot (any flavour) and some frozen mixed veg, bring back to the boil and add pasta or spaghetti and cook. Posh pot noodle!

Ratatouille. 1 aubergine, 1 onion, 1 courgette, one pepper, two tin chopped tomato with a bit of water and stock cube

Last time I went shopping a single pepper cost 50p, a courgette...50p and an aubergine was 70p. So £1.70...you can buy a packet of mince for £1.50.