When your broke what meals can you always make?

[45hopperbunny]

I have exactly £1.61 to last me until next Friday! I had to buy a bed outright at the end if last month so being £400 down for a month has had a massive impact.

It made me wonder though, when you’re super broke and have no money, what meals can you make at home? Or what food do you always have indoors?

I can always make,

• lasagna
• spag bol
• chicken & pasta
• tuna pasta

I always have in the house,

• pasta
• spaghetti
• bread
• some sort of food in the oven to last some days if need be
• beans
• eggs
• DD’s (15m old) porridge, yoghurts and fruit

Just wondered what other people have in their cupboards/fridge all the time!

Pasta and a tin of cream of mushroom soup is a current fav

Egg chips & beans.
Tuna Pasta Bake.
Vegetable Chilli & Rice.
Spanish Omelette

We always have rice, pasta, baking stuff, noodles, various beans, lentils, pulses, baked beans, some tinned fruit and jarred things like peppers and artichokes, tinned tomatoes and coconut milk, various cereals, nuts in the food cupboard. In the freezer we normally have frozen veg especially things like onions and peas, sweetcorn, carrots, broccoli, some frozen fruit.
We also have garlic and ginger and chilli purée in massive jars from the world food shop so its less likely to go off or run out, as well as most other sauces and ingredients we've ever thought of and a complete spice rack.
We really enjoy cooking, live a drive not a walk from the supermarket and are fortunate enough to be able to keep the cupboards full. Despite this my husband will still panic that we are 'running out of food and need a big shop' meaning we've run out of his preferred type of bread and milk.

Still some really good meals coming through😍 I’ll definitely be trying this!

I have food shopping coming on Friday so I’ve done a big shop to restock the freezer and cupboards. I’ve added a few things from this thread in case I’m ever in need.

@ladydoris I’m well, thank you for checking in! Only 3 days until I’m back to normal haha. Hope you’re okay too:)

What a sad thread. Hope your enjoying your beans on toast!

Homemade macaroni cheese is my super cheap meal

Always have tuna, beans, pasta, pasta sauce., noodles, cereal in the cupboard. Normally have chicken and mince in the freezer just incase. Yogurts for my 2 year old, potatoes, bread and milk.
I got caught out when I couldn't go shopping as LO had chicken pox so always have enough food for the week plus 3 to 5 extra days (boring food days though).

@jd88123 why’s it sad😂 people can be broke but they still have to eat food. I don’t see what the problem is

❤

I echo PP, in that I always have rice, pasta, a full freezer. However, I've also been experimenting with frugal recipes that make the most of what I have.

These are WWII ration book recipes, but bloody lovely. They work on potatoes, sausages and onions.

Potato floddies

1. Grate a raw baking potato, skin as well.
2. Season (or add herbs) and add enough of any flour to make a batter/wet dough. Shouldn't need any extra liquid.
3. Fry large spoonfuls, slightly flattened, on each side.
4. Serve with a fried sausage.

Amazing with a fried egg, and nice as something different. Can add a finely sliced onion in too.

Pigs in Clover

1. Clean a baking potato, then core it longways (use an apple corer, or a 1-2 cm tube, or even cut a square hole)

1. Fill with either sausage meat, or vegetarian stuffing mix. If sausage meat, can skin one chipolata for this.

1. Bake, as for a baked potato.

The flavour goes all through the potato, and it's a full meal, with just some green veg. This was invented as a substitute for the sausage roll, as fat for pastry was rationed, but potatoes were plentiful.

Bakery potatoes

1. Thinly sliced potatoes and an onion.

1. Layer in a greased casserole dish, potatoes, onions, potatoes, onions, potatoes.

1. Dot a little fat over the top layer, add a sprinkle of thyme (or another herb), then fill the dish with stock (up to the top level of the potatoes). Veg or chicken stock work best.

1. Bake for about 1.5 hours, until the potatoes are soft, much of the stock has gone, and the top layer of the potatoes are crispy.

1. Serve with sausages.

The last two recipes do take a while in the oven, so I would recommend putting them in at the bottom, when you have something else cooking. They also freeze really well, so you could make an oven full (once you know you like them).

Oh, also, I'd recommend the Olio app.

It is primarily for reducing food waste. Tesco have signed up to it, and food waste volunteers will collect the yellow sticker food at the end of the day, and put it on the app.

You do have to be able to collect, but I've stocked a whole drawer of my freezer with it. Also, haven't purchased any breakfast pastries in about 6 months, I freeze, then reheat the free ones!

We always have onions and potatoes in the shed - we grow masses and they last all year.
At the moment we have raspberries, peas, broad beans, runner beans, French beans, sweetcorn, carrots, salad leaves far far too much beetroot, tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. So with a few eggs and flour I can do quiches , salad, lots of veggie stuff. Always have pasta in. Could probably last 3 weeks without getting too bored this time of year