AIBU to ask if you had £50 for a weekly food shop what would you buy?

[FuckingDiet]

This is not my situation and in no way a begging thread. Between now and the run up to Christmas we see a lot of these types of threads so I thought it would be a good idea to put all our advice in one place. That way if anybody is in need everything is in on place.

I will set a challenge of 3dc aged between 2-10 and 2 adults, your meal plan for the week, shopping list and where you would buy it from with a rough total. Lets see which one of us can come up with the best result.

Fuckit, how do you make your curry sauce? I keep meaning to have a go and then get put off having to buy various spices, but maybe I should invest as a warm filling meal for the winter.

Anyone else got any cheap curry recipes?

Herbs I'd grow on a window sill. If I had a garden, then would look into planting fruit trees as can save hundreds a year that way

What about people who don't have gardens? I lived in a flat with DD as a student and our neighbour had the garden. He was very kind and let us have use of it but I very much doubt he'd have been so amenable if I started planting fruit trees next to the rose bushes?

A good idea in theory but people who are struggling to make ends meet now probably dont have a spare fiver/tenner for fruit trees etc anyway

You could probably get enough spices to make lots of curries for under a fiver if you get supermarket own brands or packets if you have a proper Asian grocers or supermarket aisle near you.

I make quite a lot of curries and mostly use curry powder, chilli powder, turmeric, cumin, coriander and garam masala. I buy frozen ginger and garlic very cheaply - much cheaper than fresh from the Asian freezer section at Tesco or Asda.

I'm mostly interested in home style Pakistani cooking and have found some great recipes on this website:

thismuslimgirlbakes.blogspot.co.uk/

Anyone else got any cheap curry recipes?

Just use paste and tins of tomatos, it's so much cheaper.

I use tin of tomatoes, then fresh or frozen ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin and tumeric - and sometimes chilli. There are lots of curry recipes online, some have lots of ingredients, but some don't. It is way cheaper than buying jars of paste. Also if you have any asian shops where you live, spices are way way cheaper there.

Merkin that's a great plan. My only suggestion would be to add an extra £1 for 300ml of double cream from Morrisons, and add a small amount to the porridge each day. Turns a healthy but utilitarian breakfast into something that just feels a little more enjoyable - you only need a spoonful stirred in. Can also be added in small quantities to dishes like the fish pie for a little lift to your budget eating. Sure, it's not essential but for an extra £1 (and still within the £50 budget) it gives what can be monotonous budget eating a boost.

We don't currently need to budget and don't have children but without any real effort to economise we spend about €60/week for two adults, that's in Ireland where food is quite a bit more expensive than the UK. I think I could make some changes and also feed two children for that amount, though I admit that's assuming not having v picky children.

My mother would always add porridge oats to mince at a ratio of half and half, for those who do eat meat, but I think cutting down your meat intake is the number one way to save money. The main reason we eat cheaply is we don't eat meat, and we actually eat fairly little dairy. Cheap but tasty meals I would cook include dhal- onion, garlic, ginger fried with turmeric, cumin, some paprika and a touch of cayenne or chilli, once it's all softened add a load of red lentils, two tins of tomatoes and stock. I like to add in spinach, either fresh or frozen. It's lovely and tasty and not expensive, and v filling served with a wholemeal wrap or rice.

There are about four similar meals I make - chilli, a vegetable tagine, dhal, and bolognaise- where the basic recipe is assorted veg and beans/pulses in a tomato based sauce, but the spicing makes it seem like they're completely different meals.

We buy Tesco or Sainsbury's spices (we will still stock up in spices and pulses if we're in Northern Ireland, the price difference is that noticeable) and always have chopped tomatoes, chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils etc in.

If you're cutting down on meat, the main thing is to make sure you're getting complete proteins, which generally just means choosing combinations of foods that go together anyway, e.g. Rice and beans, hummus and pitta. Eggs for breakfast are healthy and easy if you have the time.

Yesterday we were tired and I roasted an assortment of veg- parsnips, carrots, red onions, peppers (Id usually try and add courgette or aubergine but I know they're pricier, esp at this time of year.) Sprinkle a generous amount of pepper, salt and oregano and roast for half an hour, serve on one of the Tesco pre-packed mixes of bulgar wheat and green lentils- obviously cheaper to cook them from scratch, but for us it's a good emergency meal to have to stop us ordering a takeaway. V healthy, and inexpensive. I think if you're generally just trying to cut back and it's not a crisis, the microwaveable pouches can be a good way to establish if people actually like green lentils/bulgar wheat/quinoa etc before buying the reasonably priced big bags you cook from scratch.

I can't provide a useful shopping list as things are different prices here, but I can really endorse the tomato+pulses+veg+seasoning stew/bolognaise/dhal model as being a v cheap and healthy way of getting a warm and hearty meal on the table.

I've lost the actual recipe now, but I used to do a cauliflower curry that used boiled eggs as the protein.

Basically do whatever you would for any curry base you like, add blanched cauliflower florets, cook until tender and serve over rice with halved hard boiled eggs to dress.

Also, there was a good recipe for spiced roasted cauliflower on Jack Monroe's web site.

Another one I used to do was frozen mixed veg, curry paste, rice and water all in a microwave dish, stir and cover then zap on full for 10 mins, stir and continue zapping until rice is cooked. You can add any leftover meat or poultry you may have.

I guess it depends on where people live. There are the rural poor as well as those in the inner city.

My relatives in Italy mostly have decent sized vegetable patches at the bottom of the garden and by swapping with neighbours rarely buy a vegetable in the summer and autumn.

It’s not that bad an idea for SAHP with a garden, especially if you are on the south coast where it’s warmer. It might not get you that much extra food but after the initial outlay it can provide a fun and cheap hobby/activity for the DC...looking after their veg patch...plus bonus fruit and veg in a good summer.

Same for the blackberries, my parents house backs out to fields...my DM currently has a whole winters worth of blackberries in her freezer.

My Nonna used to make nettle soup, I wouldn’t eat it as a dc either...I don’t think I believed it wouldn’t sting.

I used to do an egg curry. Tomato based curry sauce, crack a few eggs and cook them on whole. Then serve with rice. Was easy and very cheap to make.

We're trying to economise a little as well and also get back to healthier eating (we've not been very successful at that the past 3/4 years for various reasons - but have been much better in the past). Also in Ireland, so more expensive food, and as well as DH and I having very busy FT jobs, DD has some food issues (SN related) so we need to have things that she will definitely eat for school lunches and make for herself when she gets in after school (she's Y6 and gets home 4pm, we're in about 6)

I'm trying to cut back the discretionary beer, wine, treats spending.

I'm trying to get back to my batch cooking and freezing ways.

I'm getting better at shopping the offers of things we would use anyway and either swopping out from the meal plan or keeping for the planned use next week (freezing in between, or just keeping in cupboards).

I'm also trying to get back to growing some veg in my (spare?!) time. We have the last tomatoes and some beetroot still, some handfuls of broccoli yet to come, and a couple of leeks. I need to plan better for next summer - but I do have a few bags of French beans (surprising glut) and some broad beans in the freezer from earlier.

I add loads of veg to most "sauce-y" meals, like curries, spag bol, lasagna, shepherd's pie etc. Some it's diced very finely (like 4 carrots, a courgette, a pepper and a large handful of mushrooms added after the meat is browned before the tinned tomatoes to lasagna) while others it's chunky (like quartered tomatoes in a rogan josh, or butternut squash, cauliflower and beans into a different chicken curry), or mixed (whizzed carrots but whole peas in a shepherd's pie).

I also like meals where you can add a lot of small bits of veg, generally stir fries but I use that principal for lots of pasta dishes too. So my "mac'n'cheese" has bacon (leftover from a joint or a pack of lidl lardons fried up and then use that flavoured fat for other frying!), onion, garlic, mushroom, peas, peppers and courgette in it. I do a very large pot of that for dinner one night, and freeze the leftovers to make a pasta bake easily another night (although fine reheated in pot/microwave next day from the fridge, it's not great just reheated in a pot from frozen, but as a pasta bake works very well after freezing). Nasi Goreng uses up cold rice (great for leftovers), a tin of tuna (I use the one in oil, and use that flavoured oil to fry things in), onion, garlic, and then a mix of whatever you have like mushrooms, peppers, courgette, peas, beans, brocolli florets, cauliflower florets, sliced brussels sprouts or shredded cabbage, sliced carrots, the inner part of broccoli stalks finely sliced (my supermarket gives them away "for rabbits") etc, with some tinned sweetcorn, a handful of frozen prawns is nice, and some mild curry powder.

So dishes like those are great to use up a small amount of something that wouldn't either be enough on its own or that is looking past its best.

I try to also make a plain tomato sauce (onion, garlic, tinned tomatoes, salt and pepper) to freeze in usable batches, and then I can transform it into Italian or Mexican or Indian very quickly by adding the spices/herbs/seasonings. As a base for meatballs, with some leftover frozen roasted medditeranean veggies with pasta, making a chicken tikka masala with leftover chicken, or a quick beef or veggie chilli.

I keep tins like tuna (in brine and in oil, for different uses), sweetcorn, tomatoes, coconut milk and some soups.

I also have some good jars for nights when I have no time or energy to cook - to prevent me getting a takeaway. Italian sauces (I generally have Sacla tomato and roasted vegetables, and tomato and chilli), Indian (Uncle Ben's mild curry, Pataks - we like about 3/4 different types, and also Pataks and M&S pastes for Korma, Tikka Masala etc).

I love a dinner of leftover mashed potato fried into a cake thing (I usually add grainy mustard and some onion), with some black pudding and a fried egg. You could have a sausage or rasher with it to make it more dinner-y, or leave it to just egg and mash.

We've started keeping a full loaf of bread in the freezer. We were buying the half loaves, as we never eat a whole loaf in a week and throw lots out (even though I try to catch it in time to make and freeze breadcrumbs, as I have loads of uses for those!). But even those were getting thrown out. Whereas 2 slices from the freezer thaws quickly for sandwiches, still makes fast toast at night for those who get the munchies, and there is far less waste!

Big joints, while expensive, can often be very worthwhile as you can get so much out of them. I did a roast lamb shoulder a couple of weeks ago, fed the family, had leftovers next day, froze a large chunk of leftovers and made a pasta with roasted veggies and lamb dinner, and the leftovers of that are tonight's pasta bake - so 4 dinners from a €12 joint. I do similar with a chicken - chicken and mushrooms in a creamy sauce (cream and white wine, or a tin of Cambell's condensed soup!) is a great way to use up leftovers and can be served with rice, mash or pasta. Thai chicken broth, chicken risotto, curries - there are loads of ways to "elasticate" your chicken.

Sweet potatoes are great and cheap. Sweet potato oven chips are great - slice into chip size, mix with some oil and seasoning and bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes or so. Or added to root veggies for a roasted root vegetables side (or main event) with a roast dinner. Or as part of a vegetable curry or vegetable chilli (I don't have a chilli recipe, but we took the Jamie Oliver Friday Night recipe for curry and its yum).

NotWithoutMyMerkin thats a great list.

I should freeze my bread really. We are always throwing away unused bread, which is a terrible waste of food

Yup - I often cut a large loaf in half and freeze it.

If your whole family is unfussy, there are some very cheap protein options available:

we bought kidneys for 2 meals last week- total cost £1.90 (sautéed in a milk sauce they are very filling)

chicken liver with apple is another good one

and if you can get pig's or lamb's heart that makes a very good base for a hearty stew

tinned pilchards tend to be cheap and can be grilled or served on a toasted cheese sandwich or with jacket potatoes

get the whole family used to drinking water rather than squash or juice and eating fruit rather than drinking juice or smoothies

Ok, I've just priced out a list for Sainsburys , which is a pretty expensive shop,IMO. It's a starter list (assuming you have no food at all), hence no money left over for toiletries/cleaning stuff. Obviously not everything will have to be replaced every week. It's mainly meat but also some veggie options, for families with both meat eaters and vegetarians, like mine.
1 med. Chicken 3.50
Basic pork sausages fr. 1.10
Minced beef 1.80
Fish fingers, basic, x2 1.30
FR eggs x12 1.80
1 pack ham 1.00
Porridge oats .80
Basic sultanas 1.00
Basic weetabix 1.05
Milk x 8 pints 2.00
Marmalade, basic .40
Butter spread 2.00
Sliced loaves x2 1.10
Bread rolls ×2 packs (12) 1.30
Cheddar cheese 2.20
Fruit yoghurts ×12 2.20
Red lentils 1.15
Big bag of basics potatoes 1.90
Basics spaghetti .40
Basics rice .65
Broccoli .50
Basics carrots .45
3-4 onions .50
1 cabbage .70
Frozen peas 1.25
Baked beans x4 1.00
Tinned tomatoes x3 1.05
Tomato puree with garlic .70
Curry powder 1.00
Dried mixed herbs 1.00
Cookeen vegetable fat .75
Cream cheese basics .85
Stock cubes .50
Gravy granules .70
T bags x 80 1.10
Basics fruit squash x 2 .90
Small bananas x16 (2 packs) 2.10
Apples, family bag (11 apples) 1.95
Satsumas x 6 (1 bag) 1.00
Tomato/brown sauce .45
Vinegar .40
Salt .40
Basics stuffing mix x 2 .40

Grand total of £50.55 (I think).
Menu -
Breakfasts - porridge with sultanas, weetabix. eggy toast, toast and marmalade
Lunch - sandwiches/ rolls filled with cheese/ham/roast chicken leftovers/sausages
Lentil soup
Beans/cheese/eggs on toast
Dinners -
roast chicken, stuffing, roasties, veg and gravy
Sausage, mash/wedges with baked beans and fried onions
Spaghetti bolognaise or lentil bolognaise
Fish fingers, homemade oven chips, peas
Baked bean curry and rice
Vegetarian shepherds pie made with lentils unstead of mince
Ham or cheese omelette, wedges and vegetables.
Hope this helps someone. Bon appetit !

wp.me/p9id9n-n
Some great ideas here to get kids to eat veggies. This is the thing i struggle with but they are cheap, filling and oh so nutritious!!

On the subject of fruit trees...my grandparents living in a terraced house in Lewisham had a Conference pear tree and a Bramley apple. That was their vitamin C till Xmas. No freezer. In the 30's, my mother used to have rhubarb and custard, with unlimited bread, for her evening meal after a day's work. Thinking back, everyone I knew with even a small garden had a fruit tree and rhubarb. We had loganberries and blackcurrant bushes. Food took priority over shrubs and a lawn.

I live in an outer London suburb. I know where to find blackberries. There's a fine crop on the wire netting round the local leisure centre. I have bags of them in my freezer for porridge and crumble. Thank you to whoever suggested planting a fruit tree and got sneered at. I'm going to ask for a plum tree for Xmas. Jam, stewed and frozen for crumble and to eat straight off the tree. No one sells fully ripened plums these days. I actually saw some on a market stall advertised as 'crunchy'. Plums are not meant to be crunchy.

I've no time for Chris Grayling and his Dig for Brexit idea, but no harm in thinking ahead. My working class ancestors weren't stupid.

Oh - and Sainsbury's do excellent packs of 'cooking bacon' for about a quid. Choose carefully - some have more rashers than wodges and vv. V economical for fry ups and quiches.

Kidney beans are great at padding things out, I even like them in salads these days, 25p a tin.

noeffing Thanks for that, it looks really good and practical. Going to use it as a model as I try to plan for next week.

breakfast: poached or boiled egg on toast, porridge, pancakes.
So 2x15 eggs mixed weight (£4)
2 loaves of own brand bread (£1.50)
plain flour (50p)
butter (£2)
presume a bag of sugar somewhere in the house, otherwise £1.

Lunches: round of sandwiches, veg sticks, multipack crisps. soup for adult.
loaves own brand bread (£2.25)
cheese and a little wet ham (£4)
iceberg (£1)
cucumber (50p)
Family pack tomatoes (£2)
onions (£1)
stock cubes (£1)
carrots (70p)

Dinners:

1. sausage and bean casserole (sausages £2), a couple of tins of beans: borlotti/cannellini etc (£1), herbs from cupboard, chopped toms (33p) stock cube. served with mash (sack of spuds £6).
2. Cheese and potato pie: potatoes from sack, onions bought previously, cheese from block, tomatoes from salad pack.
3. baked potatoes with beans and tuna. (spuds from sack, Tuna £2, beans £1)

4.macaroni cheese. Pasta £1. Milk £1, Cheese £1, toms from family pack. Serve with value bacon on top if liked ("1)

1. Pizza (£2) with lots of garlic bread (use par baked baguettes at 50 for two)(£1.50) and salad (mix from salad bought for lunches incl chopped onion and grated carrot.
2. Chicken stew with onions, carrots and potatoes in, with dumplings. Chicken thighs (£2.50), suet (50p)
3. leftovers night/fridge soup

£42.78 so far, plus milk, tea/coffee, laundry detergent, washing up liquid etc but wouldn't need to buy those every week.

I can survive a week on £50 with four kids but it would take effort to stick religiously to that. I will do a typical week and post it. Being Uber healthy for £50 for six maybe isn’t possible.

Big sack of potatoes
Loads of eggs - yoir meal once a day. Add fried potato and tomatoes and you have a tortilla, turn them into omelette, etc
Big block cheddar
Loads of own brand beans
Pasta
Own brand pesto - stir a little into pasta plus a bit of cheddar
Own brand tinned soup
Bacon to have with your eggs, chop and fry some up with potato for your tortilla or add to pasta with a little cream and grated cheese
Frozen peas - go with nearly all meals