If you had £20 to feed a family of four, for a week (10 meals), what would you make?

[LaChatte]

Two adults, one pre-teen with a moderate appetite and one 5yo who doesn't eat much.

How would you go about it? Everything else has been paid for, so it really is just to buy food with, and I'm trying to meal plan but lacking cheap ideas!

No meat or fish intake is required, as 4 days a week we all have a full lunchtime meal at work/school (already paid for). We have store cupboard basics (seasoning etc.).

[fluffapuss]

Hello

Homemade
Bread & butter pudding
Rice pudding
Buns or biscuits with muesli or fruit
Spanish omlette/frittata
If near a market, visit near closing time, fruit & veg is sold cheaper & in bulk, can freeze too
Banana & custard
Carrot cake
Fresh fruit smoothies
Queen of puddings www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/queen_of_puddings_79904

summer pudding www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4516/summer-pudding
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Eggs
Rice
Use all old stuff in freezer
soup

Mash potato made into a nest shape, crack egg in middle, bake, can add onion, cheese

Frozen pastry can make pasties, pizza, cinnamon whirls etc

[frazzled74]

If it's just one week I would just buy cheap frozen food and have an easy week,
Morrisons have pizzas for £1
Sack potatoes £2
3 items for £5 include chicken grills/fish fingers/scampi and more, so if you buy 6 items for £10 , potatoes, 2x pizza you will have £6 left for fruit,veg, baked beans and will have 7 meals. Or just buy 3 items and spend the extra £5 on eggs/cheese/pasta.

[LaChatte]

Bean burgers were pretty good, DH was sad at the lack of meat though
I think the things we're most impressed with though is bulking mince out with lentils, you really can't tell, and it really does make the mince go a lot further.

I'm asking for this thread to be moved into the Credit Crunch topic.

[fatlazymummy]

I've found another blog which might help someone //www.budgetbytes.com
It's American, so obviously the prices aren't accurate, but lots of different recipes with lentils and beans and other cheaper ingredients.

[LaChatte]

I'm trying her bean burgers today

[nea200pl]

OP, have a look at A Girl Called Jack blog by Jack Monroe.
agirlcalledjack.com/
She has many tasty meals on a budget as for many months she only had tenner a week to feed her son and herself.

[LaChatte]

Update

So, DH finally got through to Orange who admitted it was a mistake and will be putting the money back into our account
We are still on track with €30/£20 per week, although we did go a tiny bit over budget as had to buy catfood (had forgotten to budget for it ).

This week includes:

• Jack Monroe's bean burgers (thank you for the link to her website) with homemade buns (we had quite a few almost empty packets of flour in the cupboard)
  
• a whole chicken made into 5000 slight exageration different meals
  
• various soups (lentil soup is brilliant!!)
  
• lots of pasta and pesto (there was a three for two offer on jars of it)
  
• jacket potatoes
  
• chilli (batch made last week, bulked out with lentils and kidney beans)) and rice
  
• tonight it's pancakes (made with half milk, half water) with tuna and sweetcorn.
  
  Now I'm just waiting for ASOS to refund my order which I returned 2 weeks ago

[TendonQueen]

Great tips here. We do the bacon as seasoning thing. A pack lasts for ages and livens up pasta dishes, risotto, tray bakes, all sorts.
You mentioned tinned fruit - go and look for the cheapest value varieties and you can get this very cheaply. Works well on its own, with value natural yoghurt, or in a crumble type thing using porridge oats

Finally, porridge feels luxurious with either a little cream added or honey. Get a cheap tub of each and you'll be a lot happier on a porridge diet. You don't need much of either.

[Flomple]

When I was living on £10 a week I used to 'invest' in jalapenos and wholegrain mustard. Both can really transform a meal and make it taste more luxurious. Chorizo is similar - expensive but a tiny bit makes a big difference. We also found meals with a little kick of chilli were more satisfying.

The mustard could really help the disgusting mash along, maybe with some onion?

[OVienna]

Get yourself over to jack monroe's blog if no one has already suggested it.

[Golferman]

Blimey, that's not a lot! I admire you if you can manage that. My wife and I spend more than that on our fags a day.....

[captainfarrell]

ooh cheg your no.1 has given me a craving!

[Thisvehicleisreversing]

Do you have a convenience version of a supermarket close by? These tend to have better reductions at the end of the day.

I work in a small co-op where we have certain fruit and veg at 59p a pack. We've been sent loads more than we'll ever sell so when that day's reductions have been done we've been left with huge amounts of veg at just 15p a pack. Today I had packs of 4 baking potatoes, carrot batons, button mushrooms and kiwi fruits left over. All just 15p.

[Cheg0151]

1. pasta, soft cheese spinach and mushrooms. Total £3.70 in asda - can add chicken
   
2. jacket potato cheese n beans n poss tuna £5
   
3. chicken soup (last 2 days), carrots, celery, onion and stock cube. Chicken soup (buy a cooked chicken at end of the day so reduced). £5.50
   
4. rice (u already have), carrots (bought with second meal), coriander, refried beans, garlic, sweetcorn. - £4
   
5. tuna pasta - already have the tuna and the pasta. Add sweetcorn already have, and mayonnaise xx

[ancientbuchanan]

Disgusting instant mashed potato is perfect for two things, fishcakes ( no, you don't need to deep fry them, you can either fry or bake) and potato scones. You can have the latter with poached eggs and then honey/jam for s high tea. Clings to children's ribs, like pancakes. And you don't need much fish for fish cakes.

Proper Boston beans are great. Again, make enough for two meals. If you don't want to buy treacle brown sugar will do.

Multi bean chilli is excellent. The beans will give you protein. You don't need meat. With rice and some eg economy frozen peas you have s well balanced meal. Same concept as curry.

[dreamteamgirl]

Can use up some mash in blinis?
www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/nigella-lawson/potato-cakes-with-smoked-salmon-recipe.html

[LaChatte]

Some brilliant ideas people, thank you! DH is going to speak to Orange tomorrow, the guy who came out definitely said we wouldn't be charged as it was their fault., but I seriously doubt we'll get a refund until next month.

I've worked out a shopping list for tomorrow for the week which comes in at €20 (new adjusted budget).

We are going to bulk out chilli with lentils and batch cook to freeze.

Next week I'm actually not going to be at home, so that will mean a little less food to provide.

[captainfarrell]

My mu always bulked out mince with porridge oats so a 450g pack lasts for 2 meals. You can't tell.

[captainfarrell]

All of the above. Buy fro Lidle/aldi and saver lines. Spuds/beans/porridge/ flour/eggs/onions/cabbage/spring greens. Avoid 'flown in' veg. Use tinned fish. Very healthy. Good luck.

[ArcheryAnnie]

Veg stew! Base of onion and potatoes, add other veg you like, stock, then dumplings on top. When you serve put a dab of butter on top of the dumplings. So delicious, easy and cheap.

[theflyingpig]

lidl's fresh bread is, for the price [I think say 85p a loaf] fantastic.

say a loaf of that and, if your £20 limit allows you to on top run down stocks of stuff like olive oil & whatnot, a bag of these would allow you all to have a decent meal of onion soup & bread for about £1.

www.lidl.co.uk/en/1970.htm?action=showDetail&id=21640

rather than averaging it all out at say £2 a meal I'd definitely be looking to have some meals for more like a quid [say beans on toast for all] & then some for more like £3 [say with a little bit of cheap meat or whatever].

[MinceSpy]

We don't like cauliflower soup but do like cauliflower cheese. I just trim the really rough bits off and use the whole thing.

A cheap tin of tuna with finely chopped pepper and or onion if you have it made into fish cakes will deal with some of the evil spud powder.

[Snowfedup]

Find out what day your supermarket's bargain shelf is filled. I am amazed at the stuff that is less than half price but most of which could be frozen on the day !

Large chickens for 2.50 mince, sausages etc... Thurs morning seems to be the best time when its full and not been picked over for some reason?

I add lots of chopped carrots and basics peppers to bolognaise to bulk it out, usually get 2 days out of it. Or carrots and parsnips and frozen peas to mince for shephards pie.

[KKCupCake]

Oh honey, been there, done that!
The most basic soup, stew, casserole etc as long as it's well seasoned, is made into a gourmet feast with the addition of home made bread - This is my no fail go to bread recipe ANYONE can make and it will easily feed 4. BTW from 1 bag of 90p bread flour you can make 6 of these loaves. Plus lidl sell 2 sachets of yeast for pence which mill make 4 loaves.

250g white bread flour
4g or half a teaspoon of quick yeast
175g warm water
5g salt

mix yeast and water a bit, add flour and salt and mix together until you have a smooth dough with no floury lumps. Cover with an old carrier and leave to rise at room temp for 1-2 hours (or in the fridge overnight). Once risen scoop out the dough and shape into a round shape or plop into a greased 1lb loaf tin. Preheat oven to 200c (180c fan) and allow you loaf to rise for as long as it takes your oven to come up to temp (or about half an hour). Bake for 40 - 50 mins. For variety you can add spices, seeds, herbs, dried fruit, cheese, anything you may have in your store cupboard. Hope this helps.

[Liz87]

Oh and cheapest meal ever carbonara! Pasta, 2 eggs, bit of cheese and some cheap cooking bacon.