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.).

[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

[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]

I'm trying her bean burgers today

[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]

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.

[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.

[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