to think £18 a week for food isn't that much of a "tiny" budget?

[Oakmaiden]

I just downloaded a free recipe book. It is actually a very good recipe book, and I am dead impressed by the author making a budgeting recipe book and then providing it free to people who need it. But.

It is subtitled "Eat well for £18 per week", and all the recipes are costed, and they have recently redone the costings etc, so I am quite impressed with the idea. But, as I say, there is a but. It is £18 a week per person. AIBU to think that is not actually a very tiny budget? For a family of 5 that is £90 a week. Sure, it is not a luxury budget by any stretch of the imagination, but it is not tiny, is it?

Also - I need to get through this month with a family of 5 on a genuinely tiny budget. I am aiming for around £50 a week if I possibly can (though I am not completely certain where I will find £50 a week, but I am sure something will come up. It generally does.) Anyone got any genuinely cheap recipe ideas please? I have a feeling we may be in for a lot of scrambled eggs and vegetable soup...

Op it really is worth investigating if you have a community kitchen nearby - it’s not a food bank. They’re set up by people who hate to see perfectly good food go to waste, so they’re open to everyone, they don’t care what your income is, they just don’t want to see the food wasted. Obviously it wouldn't be in the spirit of the place to completely clear out kilos and kilos of food but taking enough that you will actually use to make meals for a few days is encouraged.

So end result is that you get to feel good about being eco aware and eating food that would have otherwise have gone to waste, rather than feeling worried or guilty about taking food from a food bank - they’re very different things.

You'd probably be healthier on that amount - less meat, more veg, more plant based protein.

You'd probably be healthier on that amount - less meat, more veg, more plant based protein.

I feed 4 on £40 a week, normally full meals as well. I wouldn't be able to do £18 a week though! The lowest I've ever got it was £30

Queenofthestress

It’s £18 per week per person. So you’re already doing it very successfully.

Big bag of value porridge oats - porridge for breakfast and use to bulk out minced meat for a bolognese - we use 50% less meat this way.