Meals I can make at home with limited food?

[OneBrightAzureBiscuit]

Hiya,

so I am skint til the 6th & don’t have a single penny to my name I’m overdrawn by £30 and am making do with stuff that’s in. There’s very random bits like cheese, fish fingers, tinned food etc does anyone have any ideas for a broke meal at home? Can’t make cheese on toast as no loaf of bread :((
thank you xxxx

Eat whatever you have at home.
Even if it's random food.
Do you have flour, rice or pasta at home?
You can make flatbreads with flour and water then make wraps with all the random stuff and cheese.

Baked potatoes with various fillings (beans, cheese, tuna)

Pasta with butter or oil & a litttle salt. If you have garlic granules and cheese - even better

Rice with an egg & soy sauce. Add any bits of veg you can find - even salad is okay on the side. If you have it, chilli or chilli flakes spices it up a bit

Scrambled or fried eggs

Fish fingers with veg

Instant noodles are great with veg stir fried and some chilli, or pepper, and soy sauce. A fried egg on top makes them even better

Porridge oats cooked slowly with water are creamier than with milk. Add a pinch of salt to balance the flavour then any topping you like: sugar, honey, jam etc.

Flour, milk & butter make a bechemel so you could whip one up, add cheese and pasta and you have mac & cheese

website with community fridges locations hubbub.org.uk/community-fridge-network

Yabu. If you're not going out to buy a loaf of bread then it's pretty obvious you just need to eat what you have?

Call your mother and ask her can she lend you some money for a grocery shop.

Really do need a full inventory of what you do actually have in and what appliances you have to be of any real help

One thing I would advise against is buying bread - its high calorific , and doesn't fill you. For the price of a loaf Id be buying a bag of spuds, even a bowl of cheesy mash and baked beans will be more filling then cheese on toast

Ive been that piss poor in the past that I made and lived of potato soup - potatoes, water, and the scrapings of the marmite jar. Now Im not as poor and I have spices, I make dhal - filling and nutricious adding veg to really bulk it out

I had dhal yesterday - and the day before and the day before, and I used hard boiled eggs and cheese as a kind of topping to really fill me with protein and extra nutrients

Im sure if the OP was actually after meal ideas then she would've posted the ingredients she has.

Yes, I agree

If you have food in the cupboards and freezer then eat that. Nothing wrong with fish fingers and cheese and something from a tin.

@PoissonOfTheChrist totally agree

I’ve not read the full thread so apologies if someone’s already answered in a similar vein.

Sorry to read about your situation. Can you access a food bank? There is no shame in that, especially with the cost of living crisis going on at the moment.

Hope you’re ok!

Obviously without a comprehensive list of what you have,we can't help much.
Soup is a really good idea, especially if you have stock cubes, herbs, spices etc for flavour and variety.
If you have flour, you may be able to make bread, even if it's a flat bread, or used bicarb to rise. Or you could make a sourdough starter which can be used for bread and cakes.
My favourite ingredient when skint is mince! Add lentils, beans, veg and you can make spag bol, cottage pie, chilli con carne, shove it on top of jacket potatoes or stick it in a wrap/pitta.
If I only have a small bit of meat/protein I dice it reasonably small and add to pasta, rice etc so it feels like more.
We can't always qualify for food banks or have a local community fridge, so I hope this helps 🌺

My most skint meal is tomato pasta..
2 tins of chopped tomato
Tablespoon of butter
1 onion
Slow cook the lot together for about 2 hours on the hob until the onion is really soft then blend it all. If you have frozen sausages pre cook them and add chopped into the sauce and cook for another 45 mins. Have with pasta

A more fancy one...
Asda just essential Italian style hard cheese
A few egg yolks
Bacon
Spaghetti
Mix the egg yolks and grated cheese
Fry chopped bacon
Boil spaghetti
Mix the bacon with cooked spaghetti then stir through egg and cheese mix

Another one..
Cube some potatoes into 1cm cubes, parr boil then fry with chopped bacon. Serve with an egg

Honestly the Olio app is really good, I'm in a large town so it may vary depending where you are op but it's worth getting the app ( free ) on your phone and see what there is.

If you have school aged children you could ask to see the parent liason at school and see if they can help with a food package or bypass some hoops for a food cupboard voucher.

Staying hydrated will help you avoid hunger pangs, warm water is best and obviously a splash of squash if you have any.

Surely this is why food banks exist? Can't you go and some food?

OP - Can you please give me some ideas for meals but I wont give you a list of things I have

🤔

Download the olio app and see what is in your area. You can collect free food from neighbours or sign up as a distributor and keep 10% of anything you collect.

Do you partner even if not living with? Would they give you some money.
What about your parents? If they can’t give you money, could you go to stay for a couple of days maybe?
Please give list of food? Otherwise no one can help.

Maybe the op is hoping people will message her with offers of money?

🤔

Well, quite. Tis the season!

Have you subscribed to Olio? People give away free food from supermarkets. Also try a community kitchen? Good luck x

If you have yogurt and flour you can make a really easy flatbread (2 parts yogurt, 3 parts flour, mix together into dough, flatten and fry each side). Add toppings under the grill if you want a pizza/cheese on toast or eat with curry as a naan bread or use in place of bread/wrap. Very versatile and filling.

If you have any veg, make soup or curry. Chickpeas or potatoes are great for bulking things out.

Porridge is very filling for breakfast.

Ass others have said, Olio or TooGoodToGo apps.

Good luck OP.