To ask what are your food shopping essentials?

[jennie0412]

When you're on a very low budget?

Pasta, rice, lentils and chickpeas. Tinned tomatoes and some spices.

Tinned tomato's
Tinned chickpeas
Pasta
Rice
Carrots
Frozen peas
Other frozen veg
Chicken fillets
Tinned fruit

Pasta,rice,bread, lentils,passata,baked beans, milk, onions, potatoes,cheap veg, apples,bananas,porridge. Tinned kidney beans and chickpeas.

dried chickpeas (cook in slow cooker) and lentils, tinned tomatoes, onions, garlic, chillis, spices, frozen spinach and peas, big tubs of yogurt, frozen fruit

No need for the and actually everyone shops on a budget don't they, some are just smaller or larger than others.

Anyway... potatoes, eggs, cheese, pasta, tuna

Potatoes, carrots, swede, leeks, parsnip, milk, marg, cheddar, squash (I don't drink tea or coffee), bacon, onions, a chicken, sage and onion stuffing mix, baked beans, flour, eggs, bread, chutney, jam, sugar
Meals, jacket potatoes, veggie stew for 2 days, pancakes, drop scones, chicken in a pot then chicken soup, cold chicken stuffing, veg and potatoes, chicken chips and beans, toasted sandwiches, scrambled/fried eggs or beans on toast, bacon sandwich, jansens (sp) temptation with bacon instead anchovies and a white sauce. Make a cake and scones for snacks.

Cooking bacon

Like from having zero in cupboard?

Absolute basics: rice, onions, carrots, tinned tomatoes, stock cubes, salt, spices (start with pepper, paprika, cumin, turmeric, then branch out), porridge oats

Next things up: lentils/chickpeas/beans etc, milk, pasta, potatoes, gravy granules, chilli, bread, vinegar, cereal

Then start adding whatever veg, spices, flavourings etc you can, also cheese, eggs (if you eat them) then meat last.

Speaking from experience of building up from absolutely nothing and next to no money.

Chicken breasts and thighs, eggs, cheese, coffee, herbs and spices, ginger, garlic, sweet potatoes, veg (fresh and frozen), porridge, rice, quinoa, bulgar.

Potatoes.
Tinned tomatoes.
Couscous.
Pasta.
Rice.
Seasonal vegetables.
Fresh veg from the "wonky" ranges at supermarkets. I can get a huge bag of "wonky" potatoes for only 80p and they last forever.
Tinned fruit.
Frozen veg.
Milk.
Bread.

What very low budget us and for how many people?
Also what facilities you have available to cook? Where do you shop?
Depending on your answers we may be able to give you more specific tips.

£12.50 a week and for one person, usually shopping at Morrison's

Thanks everyone so far!

Don't start with essentials, start with what's already in your cupboards. Work out what meals you can make with that, (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and then a build a meal plan for the whole week.

Shopping list next = everything you still need to make the meals you want.

At £12.50, try and go to the supermarkets at the end of the day to pick up reduced food. 10p bread will really help you out.

And if you run out of food, please do try your local food bank.

I've been there, and it's shit but you will get through this.

Frozen veg less waste as can just cook what you need.
Lots of tins, pasta, lentils
Tomato puree mixed with water makes a basic tomato sauce for pasta without needing to open a tin of tomatoes

Do you have anything in the cupboards already that you can work with? Sugar, flour, spices?

Chicken stock powder, makes risotto cheap and tasty.

Milk
Bread
Cheese
Lentils
Tinned Tomatoes
Potatoes
Veg like carrots
Bananas

What's in your cupboards already, are you allergic to anything/really hate anything? On foot or by car?

By level of priority:

Bread, eggs, cooking oil, potatoes

Pasta, cheap Cheddar, tomato puree

Sausages, baked beans

Carrots, swede, cabbage

Also, what cooking equipment do you have? Slow cooker, pressure cooker, blender, grater, frying pan? Whisk? None of them?

Is it possible to shop with a friend who is in the same position and go halves on various items (maybe minced meat/frozen chicken thighs) to increase choices. Have done this in the past and it's a big help

Does the £12.50 need to cover soap etc too, or is that budgeted for separately?

I am amazed that "onions" and "stock" and spices! would ever pop up on the absolute essentials.

If it's just you, you absolutely need to consider what YOU like. Nothing wrong with buying a pot of chocolate spread if it makes you happy (and doesn't absolutely wipe out your budget obviously)

Morrisons sell the wonky veg boxes for £3, if I can get one then I base nearly all meals around these.

I make a lot of Asian food that needs ingredients you won't get in a supermarket but we also regularly eat lentil and veg soup, bean stew, veg curry, cottage pie, beans on toast, bean tacos, bean burgers, egg chips and beans, spaghetti with garlic butter and mushrooms, pesto pasta...

Porridge is great for breakfast, I used half milk half water to make and I eat leftovers for lunch or toast/sandwich.

Slow cooker, pressure cooker, blender, grater, frying pan? Whisk? None of them?

Food processor, blender, grater, frying pan, wok, kettle, whisk, oven