Aibu to ask what you eat when you are broke?

[NCsobroke]

I don’t mean feed your family for £10, I mean dinners like baked potato and beans that cost a couple of quid. None of us are v picky and no dietary issues.

The kids mostly eat a v healthy balanced diet, lots of whole foods and tons of fruit and veg, maybe frozen pizza on a Saturday, don’t really have takeaways often etc. I hate the thought of them living off cheap freezer food not enough fruit snd veg.

Also needs to include lunches as we don’t qualify for FSM despite being on UC as husband works FT.

We are so broke. We usually receive universal credit which we live off as DH wages all go on bills and rent. We won’t receive any at all this month and can’t do anything about it.

2 adults, 2 children. £110 to last for the next 3 weeks (plus toiletries and cleaning stuff and petrol for DH 2 hour commute )

Not rtft so this may already have been mentioned, but have a look at the thrifty Lesley website. She does a lot of costed weekly meal plans for a whole range of different circumstances. The recipes I've tried of hers have always tasted good too.

Some places have 'Community Larders' which aim to avoid the perceived stigma of food banks. They are about reducing food wastage alongside food poverty and anyone can go along and take items for free - there is no referral process.

I'm often broke too - baked beans on toast, jacket potato with grated cheese, pasta with a little oil and cheese, cheese and potato pie, made with boiled potatoes, a little chopped onion, baked in a cheese sauce, potato omelette, toasted cheese, tomato soup made of a box of passata warmed through with a little tomato puree, oil, dried oregano and seasoned well. Kedgeree made with boiled rice, onion, a little oil, curry powder, lemon juice heated through and a hardboiled egg chopped into it

Minestrone - an onion, carrot, tinned tomatoes, tinned beans, handful of pasta, stock. My store cupboard go to - quick, hearty and delicious.

Pasta in a tomato-based sauce with added vegetables and grated cheese on top or tinned tuna added.
Vegetables soup with either pasta or potatoes added or bread on the side and this is also a way to use up vegetables reduced/past their best .
Beans and grated cheese on toast or with jacket potatoes.
Scrambled eggs on toast.
A slow cooker is your friend because it uses little electricity, meals cooked with cheaper cuts of meat taste delicious and are nutritious and filling when combined with vegetables and potatoes, rice, pasta or bread.
Frittata - great hot or cold, in sandwiches or with salad, and again a great way to use up vegetables.
Frozen vegetables - no waste and nutritious.
Porridge.
I agree that the reduced section can be very helpful, but don't be tempted to buy things you won't use or aren't actually good value just because they are reduced.
Remember, bargains aren't always that - compare the cost per 100g/litre to find the real cheapest option.

@Dotoallasyouwouldbedoneby

Some places have 'Community Larders' which aim to avoid the perceived stigma of food banks. They are about reducing food wastage alongside food poverty and anyone can go along and take items for free - there is no referral process.

We also have a community fridge. The shops give all their food going out of date that day, you can take what you want and if you can, you give a donation towards their charity. If you can’t you can still take what you need and less food waste going to landfill. I think it’s a great idea!

Is it only this month you aren't getting UC, due to a change of income or something?

If so, I think you've just got to grit your teeth and eat the contents of the freezer (I see from the OP that you have one) and larder. With £110 to live on and all that petrol to cover, you can't afford to do anything else. Your DC aren't going to be harmed by 3 weeks with less fresh food than normal.

Is there any chance your DH could get a lift, at least for some of the time, this month? Maybe a white lie that he has car trouble, if he doesn't want to confide in a colleague? I don't think that's being a CF if it's just for a few weeks, as he could then return the favour.

Egg curry is delicious and cheap- check out recipes online.

Lentil dhal and rice

Stir fry mix

Bake own stove breads cheap yoghurt but if oil salt and flour, quick and very yummy.

I didn't read everything but I do agree with the ones that suggest the local food bank or other help around you.because a good chunk of that money will be used for getting to and from work. That said there was a time quite a while ago when I had nothing but a bag of flour, a little butter and a hungry toddler. So I made flour and water pasta topped with a small pat of butter. I guessed the amounts back then but there are recipes online. It's just basically plain\all-purpose flour and water. Make whatever shapes you want. Get the children involved. And top with whatever you have on hand.

Kidney peanut butter stew delicious

Onion garlic a pepper if you can find one cheap curry powder tinned kidney beans some tinned tomato and a big dollop of peanut butter at the end. Kids love it

I've not RTFT but I assume most of what I have to offer has already been said. So apologies if I'm repeating but this really helped me during some hard times - if you are buying fresh veg or getting veg boxes to use for some recipes you can regrow parts on a windowsill, in water. Spring onions, garlic shoots, celery, carrot and beetroot tops are all free ways to add some greenery and a bit of flavour into budget dishes (although it can take a week or two for them to get going). Sometimes it's enough to stop all the budget meals tasting the same, which for me, is good for my mental health when things are hard. Good luck to you.

I would really like to be able to force the entire Cabinet to read this whole thread, then try to make £110 last for 3 weeks. Best wishes to OP and her family.

Sauté some onions and garlic in a pan then add some curry powder and turmeric. Stir it about then add chopped tomato and let them kind of melt down. Add a bit of tomato paste and a tin of corned beef followed by a wee bit water. Simmer till it’s cooked through. Cook some pasta and mix both together. It’s nice and filling.

@Gagagardener

I would really like to be able to force the entire Cabinet to read this whole thread, then try to make £110 last for 3 weeks. Best wishes to OP and her family.

Absolutely!

@Angliski

Kidney peanut butter stew delicious

Onion garlic a pepper if you can find one cheap curry powder tinned kidney beans some tinned tomato and a big dollop of peanut butter at the end. Kids love it

If you add some coconut milk to it it makes an East African dish called. Maharagi.

I love it.

One of my favourite meals when I don’t have much money is fajitas, any supermarket white wraps, 400g chicken breast/skinless boneless thighs, kidney beans, red lentils (bulks it up so you get loads) pack of fajita mix, creme fraiche or sour cream (either fresh or the ones you get with the fajita mix if can’t afford then omit it) Cook chicken, frozen chopped onions, add fajita mix and can of water, kidney beans and dried lentils, have it on low-medium gas light, let cook for 20 minutes, spread mix on wrap, add creme fraiche if wanted, wrap up and enjoy

I can normally make a whole chicken last few meals, roast, risotto (with onion frozen peas and sweetcorn), pasta bake (with frozen peas, sweetcorn and tomato sauce) and make my own stock for the risotto.
I also make chickpea and spinach burgers (taleoftwovegans), dhal (pinchofyum) and toad in the hole (cutting sausages to make them go further) regularly.

But honestly in your position, i would be seeking out a service like a food bank, you can then supplement the supplies you have with fresh, tinned and frozen fruit and veg.

I haven't RTFT.

Quick suggestions in case they haven't already been mentioned...

I've heard good things about the Olio app where food that would otherwise be wasted is given away free of charge. It's not only people who are hard up who use it; it's people who want to avoid perfectly good food going to waste.

For three weeks you should be able to get by without buying tons of cleaning products. I'd just use cheapest washing up liquid for surfaces, plus a bleach spray (the latter only because of the Covid situation, otherwise I wouldn't bother with that unless finances ease up).

In terms of cooking suggestions, although the initial outlay is greater I find the cheapest way for DD and I to have meat is to pick up a roasting joint that's reduced at the end of the day at the supermarket. Roast it and then use leftovers for lots of different meals. In pasta/rice dishes, you need less meat for it to feel satisfying so it stretches further. It definitely works out cheaper than using tinned fish which I actually find works out quite expensive and don't really enjoy.

If you're anywhere near an M&S, conversely to what you might think, I find they do the best reductions (seem to discount by a big percentage) and on decent food. I recently picked up a load of large free range eggs at 50p per box because they were about to go out of date, but really eggs keep for weeks beyond their stated date.

One of my favourite and incredibly easy things to eat is pasta with a can of baked beans, and super cheap.

Also you could put a can or chicken soup or mushroom soup over pasta.

Banannas, apples.

Brown bread with peanut butter sandwiches for lunch

Cereal for breakfast.

Shop in Aldi and Lidle, ask the staff what time they discount their food. Hope this helps.

Fish finger sandwiches , veg curry with potato and lentils in. Baked beans and cut up hotdogs topped with cheesy mash like a cottage pie.

Roast chicken, mash and veg, the next day pasta with leftover chicken, tin of condensed chicken soup and whatever else you can throw in (eg peas, sweetcorn, bacon or ham), then soup out if whatever is left of the chicken.

Or going to the supermarket when they do the final reductions on the yellow stickers, you can get things for 10p.

I think there were only one or two negative people on this thread. Scaring the OP when it isn't necessary.

No one wants to be in this situation, the way things are going it could be a lot more of us.

I've bookmarked the thread for all the useful tips, hints and recipes. I'm sure others who don't post have done the same.

Unless you have a lot of savings and a very secure job then this could be anyone of us. Especially with the NI & energy and possibly inflation raises coming.

Unless you are very rich, or possibly a Tory MP it's unlikely that this won't affect you.

Can we be nice to people who for the sake of an early payday are struggling to feed their children.

Everyone else, I've enjoyed the posts and there are loads of things I'm going to try out!

Chicken fried rice is my 'I'm broke' meal,
Chopped carrot, chopped inconvenience, chopped chicken breast (or sausage or whatever I have), five spice, garlic and soy sauce.

Very yummy, filling and always a favourite

Chopped inconvenience?? Hahaha that should have read onion hahahahaha

@NCsobroke

Thank you so much to everyone for all the supportive, positive comments and recipe ideas.

I have found a local social supermarket which at first looks seems amazing value and offers lots of fresh fruit and veg for the £3 a week subscription.

Can’t find the post now but whoever suggested it - writing to MP isn’t a bad shout. The more visible these issues are the harder it is for them to ignore.

As a family we qualify for some UC which is what we live off after DH wage pays bills and rent. We fall through the net when it comes to any additional support though such as FSM/childcare etc. But that’s fine as usually we manage - just.

There is nothing to bridge the gap when something goes wrong though, so this month when husbands pay was early we had our income counted as double what it was and hence no UC whatsoever. There needs to be some real support for families to bridge this gap.

I am trying to ignore the guilt/shame of being in this position - although I can’t ignore the frustration. We both went to uni, made decent life choices and have high level, relevant degrees and experience etc but can’t survive on his wage alone and I can’t afford to work because of high childcare costs, I hope things will be better when we get the universal free childcare hours and I’m able to go back to work.

Thank you again for all the kindness and suggestions, I have taken a lot on board and feel a bit more able to tackle the next few weeks

Never feel guilty about a situation you have not created! This hard time will pass. You will need longer to do a food shop in a supermarket at first until you have worked out which is the most cost effective item on the shelf.

Please do write to your MP, you can bet your life that s/he has never eaten budget baked beans in their life!

I wish you all the very best for your future

Cheesy wham bams

Toast- lightly as opposed to cremated. Top with a slice of ham, a bit of cheese and grill till cheese is melted. Then add a fried egg on top. My kids love these.

Pasta with a bacon and tomato sauce.
One can of cheap tomatoes, bit of tomato puree if you have it, half a pack of cooking bacon and an onion.
Finely chop and fry the onion with the bacon. Add the tomatoes, any extras and warm through. Serve with pasta