Meals on a budget....help!

[Stonerosie67]

Sorry, not an AIBU but posting here for traffic...

Having been hit with an unexpected bill for almost £1000 we really need to tighten our belts....
Please, hit me with your budget meals, the cheaper and tastier the better please!!! Thanks

We eat on a very tight budget. We have a basic menu....bolognaise, chilli, veggie curry, homemade burgers with wedges and only have chicken once a week.

Soup is also cheap....you can make a meal out of soup if you add pulses and sprinkle cheese on top and have with bread.

The trick is to make everything yourself. You do need a good spice cupboard though.

Chilli, spag bol (batch cook an freeze)
shepherds pie
Any sort of casserole/stews
Currys, pasta bakes
Gammon joint (roast 1 day & leftovers with whatever the next) same with chicken
Lasagne
Just off top of my head thats quick easy an cheap

soup too! Can never have too much soup stored away

Following as we both want to cut down and eat more from scratch.

Check out the olio app for free food

That's great, thanks, keep 'em coming! 😊

Mince & dumplings too, sorry I'm old school when it comes to meals but i think they're the best ones 😂
You can also fry up left overs from a sunday roast 😊
Try your local butchers for good bulk buying deals for meat.
Meal plan for the week ahead so when you do your shop you're only buying what you need too

Lentil Dahl, Pilaf, veggie chilli, veggie andchickpea tagine, Homemade pizza done with bread dough and value mozzarella and whatever you have in, pasta bake, homemade flat bread and veggie soups, Nando’s style veggie rice

Subway style sandwiches using part baked bread, jacket potatoes, jacket sweet potato

Try some vegetarian meals -
Rice and beans
Roasted sweet potato and red onions with baked beans and a fried egg
Rice or noodles, frozen mixed veg and fried egg/omelette or other protein
Lentil bolognaise
Lentil and carrot soup with wholemeal bread
Sweet potato and chickpea stew

Jacket potato
Dhal
Stuffed aubergine with mozzarella
Bulk out anything mince based with lentils

Basically ditching meat makes shopping g much cheaper.

1. Buy meat, fruit and veg from your local market, it's usually much much cheaper.
2. Cook meals with rice, pasta and/or dried pulses.
3. Eat less (portion control)
4. Get rid of snacks and anything that isn't water/tea
5. Eat less meatt.

Pasta, tuna, jar of Dolmio-type sauce and grated cheese is a good one.

Fish finger sarnies.

Agree with Dhal but there are so many different types which can make them more interesting! Chana dhal is my fave.
And have a go at making your own breads!
In general veggie Indian recipes are very low cost and yummy if you have the spices.
There is a great Saag aloo recipe on bbc good food.

Bulk out with lentils and beans!

Use frozen veg - I get Asda's smartprice ones as they taste exactly the same as others!

Spag Bol
Lasagne (we have this over 2 days with Asda's own garlic bread)
Tuna pasta (again over 2 days)
Roast
Whole chicken cooked - day 1 chicken salad, day 2 chicken curry, leftovers for sandwiches
Pulled pork
For quickness I sometimes do pasta and sauce split between 2 with a chicken Kiev
Corned beef hash
Cheese and onion/corned beef 'pasties' made with tortilla wraps (can be frozen)

Also google slimming world campfire stew... amazing! Full of beans and lentils too

www.youtube.com/c/MadeleineOlivia has some great ideas, admittedly the meals are vegan, but full of flavour and easy to prepare- could easily add meat of course. She also does videos going shopping which has been really helpful in helping me to meal plan and get the best value for money.

Tuna pasta bake...tin of tuna, chopped tomatoes, an onion, pasta, any cheese sprinkled on top.

Pasta with mushrooms and bacon and peas...I make a sauce from cheap cream cheese and a little milk

Fried rice...any meat, any veg, eggs...fry, add cooked cold rice and some soy sauce

Toad in the hole

Jacket potatoes with whatever filling you like

Veg chilli and rice

Tinned tomato soup with cheese toasties

My favourite cheap meal at the moment is lentil bolognese. I boil some red lentils maybe 100-200g) and when soft add a jar of Lloyd Grossman sauce. I know you could use a cheaper sauce or make your own but I like that one and always buy it on offer when it is £2 for a big jar.

For around £2.30 you have the main part of the meal and you serve it with a bag of pasta for 50p. You get 4 potions of sauce for around 60p each, add the pasta and it is around 72p per portion.

Lentils are nice and cheap. I make a bit batch of lentil soup and often have it for lunch to save some money. Cutting out meat, things like soft drinks and alcohol obviously makes a huge difference. Also cleaning products are a bit of a con...you can just make your own with things like vinegar and bicarb. Little things like that do begin to add up. Oh and check for local food waste charities too. We have one near to us which takes all the imperfect / just going out of date stuff from supermarkets. We always go there first and then plan our weekly shop around that. It's great because we save a lot of money and save things going to waste at the same time. Bulk buying can also help, but obviously you need the money up front which isn't always easy.

Shop at the time they reduce food to pick up bargains.

Omelettes.

Home made burgers with reduced minced beef

You can make a tasty meat and potato pie with a tin of corned beef, onions, potatoes, a beef stock cube and a squirt of tomato puree, with some pastry on the top. Carrots could also be added.

Use the oven to cook a few things at once to save on electric/gas. Put a batch of baked potatoes in at the same time, they'll keep in the fridge for a couple of days and then you can freeze them.

You can usually pick up veg and salad reduced.

Chilli, spag bol etc can be made cheaply, batch cooking, you can always stretch them with an extra tin of tomatoes/ kidney beans.

For a "treat", pork fillet is excellent and a quarter of the price of beef fillet. A sauce of " whoopsie" cream, a spoon of dijon mustard, freshly ground black pepper and a quarter teaspoon of sugar adds a delicious luxury touch.

What's "whoopsie" cream @Hopeisnotastrategy

Jack Monroe recipes from 'Cooking on a Bootstrap' or 'Tin Can Cookbook'