Meal plan 6 meals £5-7 a day for 2 adults and 1 dd?

[cantheyseeme]

Looking for cheapo meals for this week, sick of having same old thing and spending too much.

Go veggie for the week.

Porridge with sultanas and mixed spice or toast and jam for breakfast.

Sandwich, yogurt and fruit for lunch.

The other parenting website has some really tasty budget meals.

Girl called Jack does meals for pence and we've only had one disaster, all the rest we've tried have been a sucess

www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/ Not exciting meals but again they cost pence

You could easily feed you all for £5 a day. Week in week out there wouldn't be much variety but for the first couple of weeks you'll probably find you're trying quite a few new things. The trick is to use whatever you have in the cupboard or freezer as a starting point.

I always start our weekly meal plan with at least 2 days which are 'something on toast' or 'freezer food', usually to coincide with our busy nights as they're so quick and easy. So cheap and means extra budget can be split across the week.

Most of our meals are '2-nighters' plus lunch the next day. So this week we'll have two nights as mentioned above, two nights of leek and potato soup, two nights of cottage pie and veg.

Our favourite frugal meals are probably vegetable macaroni cheese, bulk out with lots of broccoli, tomatoes, courgette, leek etc and homemade cheese sauce and good old bangers and mash. Sausages are such a good cheap source of meat. Got some from tesco butchers recently, very good quality, 12p each!

Foods I would love to eat more of but go without because of cost - fish, especially fresh salmon, lamb, chicken breasts, nuts and seeds, avocados, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries...hmm, making myself hungry!

Veg chilli and rice and wraps, with cheese and yoghurt.

Lentil bolognese with pasta, make double and have the second lot with baked spuds

Lentil soup

Baked spuds with cauliflower cheese

Sausage and mash as suggested with onion gravy and carrots.

Sweet potato and chick pea curry with nan and/or rice

All of these recipes are around on MN or the net in general. They are staples in our house and all nice.

Home made apple crumble and custard is good as a filler too after the main event.

There is me, DH and DTs aged nearly 6.
I always do a roast chicken if money is tight. This will do the initial roast and two other night's main meals. Stir fry, rice and bits, chicken and lentil curry, pasta etc. The same can work if you get a boiling bacon joint. Sainsbos are doing large ones for £10 atm. This sounds a lot but will go on for ever is used sparingly. Easily 5 days and freezes well in slices for omelettes and such. This also can be stretched and the stock makes fab pea and ham soup. Boiled with dumplings is really filling.
Use the chicken carcass for stock to make soup with root veg and, again, lentils to up the protein (tin of mushy peas, about 14p, are good too). This will do a couple of lunches.
My cheepo which always get eaten is huevos rancheros with pitta to dip. I under spice it for the kids and add chilli sauce on the plate for grown ups. Chuck in any meat, bacon etc for extra taste.
Pasta with a sauce of pasata, herbs and veg, a can of sardines and 1/3 tub of philly is lush. Works out about £2 or less for 4.
Mince is quite a good cheap base for dinner and always keep an eye out for yellow sticker stuff.
We have cereal (aldi)or porridge or toast or crumpets for brekkie on weekdays. W/e it is beans on toast, egg on toast or pancakes.
Lunch for the boys is pack ups. I find these can be expensive and a bit mundane. Today they have taken chiken mayo and lettuce. A satsuma and a biscuit. I too need inspiration as they eat too many sandwiches!
Weekend lunches tend to be ploughman style for them or sometime soup/ spaghetti/ boiled egg.

Sausage pasta bake this will make 2 for 2 adults n one toddler plus an adult lunch for next day.

12 aldi sausages 98p use 8.
One large onion
Jar aldi tomato pasta sauce 45p
tin chopped toms 40p
(any veg can be added if wanted )
500gms pasta shapes

Chop n fry sausages n onions
boil pasta n any veg u chose to add
divide above between 2 oven dishes (we use pyrex that have rubber lids so can freeze)
add half tin toms n half jar sauce to each. Fill jar half full with water shake n divide between 2 dishes.

Give good stir

bake for 30mins in oven n serve with value garlic bread.

If u have some cheese grate a

Sorry should read if u have some cheese u can grate some on top of pasta bake

we sometimes use just an 8pk of better quality sausages if we haven't been to aldi but aldi ones work well.

Dried pulses are cheap, but you do need to soak them overnight and then cook them for approx 1.5 to 2 hours. If you can fit this in, then:

Chili con carne - use the whole bag of red kidney beans so you have 1 or 2 meals for the freezer. In addition: onions, 1 leek, chilli, 500 g mince meat, 1 can of tomatoes. Serve with white or wholegrain rice. Latter is more filling I think.

Red lentil soup.

Green lentils, leek, courgette stew - this freezes really well, so I tend to make it in bulk.

These are quite cheap, filling and very nutritious.