Can i feed me and a toddler for three weeks with £55?

[Fishwearwigs]

Im a regular poster and this is not a begging thread.

I have just done my sums for when i get paid on monday. After my bills are paid i have £55 to spend on food for me and a 14 month old for 3 weeks (18.33 a week)

Can this be done? Has anyone got meal ideas for me please? My toddler drinks 8 pints of milk a week and i drink 4 (in tea but i could give that up and just drink water) so there is a £4 of my £18 gone already. Im a good cook but just struggling for ideas. Ideally id like my toddler to carry on having fruit everyday as well. I have basic items in (pasta, frozen veg and frozen peas) but not much else.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Is it just this month OP? A short-term cash flow situation? If not, it's rather appalling that in one of the richest countries in the world, someone should be in this situation when they are actually working. Do you need help with anything else - eligibility for benefits; help with findings a better paid job; claiming minimum wage and tax credits, child maintenance payments?

If you have a local market,at the end of the day they do very cheap deals for fruit and vegetables and some have tinned fruit near its end of shelf life and sell these at a very low price.
I hope things improve for you op

If it's just food it will be easy, which shops are available to you?
I find multiplying ingredients for meals is helpful so I've worked it out to be weekly, something like,

Toast and peanut butter for breakfast every day (2 loves of bread + v. Peanut butter)
Toast with beans/cheese/eggs (all value again but free range eggs)
Beans and cheese or tuna in a jacket potato (buy a bag of spuds)
Potatoes made into chips to have with chicken nuggets and some value frozen mixed veg (add mixed veg and value nuggets to basket)
Pasta with tuna and chopped tomatoes and cheese on top (you have pasta you said buy value is only 30p and tinned toms are 30p a can)
Add some loose carrots/onion and one of your spuds and buy some stock cubes and you've got a veggie soup with your bread on the side.
Add a 6 and a 2 pint blue milk and some apples and bananas and you're golden for a week, it's not exciting or varied but it will fill you up and keep you warm.

I worked that lot out at Tesco to be £15.30 if it helps.

I find that the big supermarkets have their own no frills lines of food too, I tend to get Asda's every value tinned beans, chopped tomatoes etc and there cheap and quite tasty too. Also, my local Asda has a reduced section in the fruit and very aisle and also in the chilled and break aisle's too where they have reduced items all day long so you could have a look in those and freeze things.

I've discovered some fab recipes from the Hairy Bikers which don't break the bank and can be frozen then re-heated for later in the week. ie cheap sausages cooked with chopped toms, some seasoning and served with noodles or rice is cheap and cheerful and quite filling too.

Good luck.

A big bag of porridge oats, pasta for dinner, forget meat, buy veggies from the market, home made all the way, tinned tomatoes, maybe a bag of flour to make bread.
It’s not going to be easy, but it can be done at a push.

Meal ideas must include

Homemade soups.
Veg curry.
Bean chilli.
Veggie lasagne.
Beans on toast.
Jacket potatoes.

Avoiding snacks like crisps, avoiding squash or even bottled water, shopping from markets or try to find when your local supermarket reduces fresh food, all these will make a £18.00 per week shop possible.

I have loads of vegetarian recipes, soup recipes and even some nice oat biscuit recipes that will cost not much, just let me know if you want and I’ll send the recipes over.

I'm sure it's doable if you have no other choice. Definitely get support from food bank.

Defo get biiiig bags of rice and oats and flour.
Frozen / tinned beans and pulses & tomatoes
Big frozen peas?
Big box of eggs and cheapest cheese.
Big sugar.

OP, please use your local food bank. There is no shame in needing help.

I volunteer at ours, help pack the boxes for distribution. Most people only need them for a short time until they get back on their feet but this is what they're there for. You might be able to do it without but please access and take the help that is available. I hope things get better for you soon.

A few of you have asked ehy im in this situation. A combination of things really, my money usually lasts exactly the month with about a fiver left over.
So i was still paying for christmas and then my dd was 1 february so that put me a bit further in debt and then my best friend died in march and i treated myself to some shite over a couple of weeks (nothing huge, some wine, a funeral outfit etc.) Came to about £100 and feel terrible about it now.
So hopefully if i have a really shit month this month and a bit of a shit month next month (but no where near as dire) i will be back on track and everything will be good again!

What's your nearest supermarket? 3kg of pasta is less than 3 quid (bit less in asda at the moment). Aldi cheese blocks are cheap, much cheaper than supermarket for better quality. I buy the medium cheddar and red Leicester.

We have pesto pasta a lot (tomato and chilli) it's a pound a jar but it makes 2 meals for 2 (quite frankly we eat large portions cos we are pasta fiends so could do you more definately) you could have that and stir some pasta into a more toddler friendly sauce? I cook for two greedy adults 100g pasta each, can sweet corn, hotdogs or leftover meat and bit of cheese with half jar pesto. Pasta goes with everything :-). Second always looking in the reduced section. You could do pasta with Philly (or own brand but nicking the Philly ideas) it's supposed to make a good carbonara

Porridge is very filling and nutritious for breakfast. A 1kg bag (less than £2) would last 3 weeks for two people. Cook it with water, not milk. Add a handful of raisins and half a grated apple while it's cooking to get some fruit in.

I know we're not supposed to mention making a chicken stretch for several meals but a >£5 chicken should feed one adult and toddler for 2-3 meals, and then if you have the time to make stock (garlic, an onion, a couple celery sticks), you have the base for enough soup for another few meals. The stock itself holds lots of nutrition but to make it filling, throw in a very small amount of rice or barley and a bit more onion, celery & carrot. If like me you wouldn't eat celery on its own you can freeze what's left for the next time you make stock.

But vegetable proteins probably do stretch further - bag of dried chickpeas, soak overnight, cook for an hour. Use for stew, salad etc and you can freeze what you haven't used for future meals.

Apart from the reduced counters, Smartprice or Value pasta, baked beans, bread, the cheapest eggs and cheese. If you have an Asda nearby, their Smartprice pasta is only 32p for 500g. Pasta with a little grated cheese and a spoonful of baked beans is a favourite with my little Gdcs. .
Potatoes and carrots are also relatively cheap and filling.

I would apply for an overdraft if you don’t have one. I’m not advocating that you get into debt but an authorised overdraft is generally free whilst unauthorised is expensive.. it will also give you a little bit more flexibility on your spending.

When you are a little bit more comfortable maybe buy a few items each week to tuck away for a rainy week so you have a fall back?

Good luck.

Most supermarkets I've been to have had lots in the reduced section.

Try not to worry about the time you go. Do what's doable for you.
Have a good look round each section so you can pick up some cheap stuff.

Those little frozen pizzas are on £1 for 2 at Tesco love them so 1 of them and a pack of 20p noodles for a meal?

Hope next month is a little easier for you x

It can be done, but it takes planning, and a lot of energy. An easier option may be to go to your nearest foodbank and get some help there.

So sorry you're so short this month.

We make these veggie burgers quite a bit, they are tasty, healthy and cheap! You can leave out the spices etc for the baby (and add some salt to yours afterwards).

cookingonabootstrap.com/2015/01/31/carrot-cumin-kidney-bean-burger-9p/

@fishwearwigs Don't feel awful about spending money for a funeral. I'm really sorry to hear about your friend. That's beyond awful and you'll be out of this rough patch in no time at all. Don't beat yourself up.

jar of own brand pasta sauce mix with pasta or rice.frozen veggies.
go for reduced veg its always ok and then freeze if you can.
make things bulked by adding tinned low cost veggies,beans,tinned tomatoes(a dash of sugar make al differences to flavour)
roasting sauteeing veg that might lack flavour.
add leftover bread to stew
water down ur own milk a bit if you can bare it.
pan fry rice to give it flavour.add in some mixed frozen veg.do you have any stock cubes.herbs spices etc.
mix mashed vg with potatos leftover.
use half and half smash and real.

Iceland tends to be a bit cheaper for eggs and milk so 6 pints of whole milk is £1.48 or 4pt for £1. 10 eggs are £10 or 2 for £1.70 (or 15 mixed size for £1.19). Look at some of the basic frozen stuff too like 35 fish fingers for £2.

groceries.iceland.co.uk/nchp2

arrgh 10 eggs are £1

Are you not entilteled to Healthy Start Vouchers?

These will get you milk, veg and fruit for free from most local shops and supermarkets.

If i need a food bank refferal (will see how we are getting on first) how do i get one?

Your health visior can refer you.

We’ve recently started using a milkman as he isn’t much more expensive than the supermarket and it saves me going and wasting money when all I need is milk. He only collects the money once a month so the last week I would use a milkman and at least you’ll get your milk and fresh orange without paying for it til you get some more money coming in. Have a look on Milk and More or post on Facebook to find one.

We get six pints of milk (which is far nicer than supermarket milk) and two pints of orange a week for £7 plus a dozen eggs from his mate for £1.50.

Do you have a market nearby? Usually you can get fruit and veg there much cheaper than in a supermarket eh £1 for a whole bowl of tomatoes or apples etc

not eh, eg!