Anyone want to join me on a cheap food month challenge?

[BasinHaircut]

We are spending about £300 a month on groceries (including cleaning/toiletries etc). Want to keep it under £200 for the next 4 weeks if possible. Only 3 of us and I’ve just done a big bulk cook for DS (4) so mainly just me and DH. To cover all meals except we are invited to 2 BBQs in May so won’t need food for those.

Come round for dinner Silvertap I will convert you 😁

I love frittata.. fab for using up left over veg/meat etc. I always fry my veg first while beat my eggs in jug then add a little grated cheese and mix that in. Pour over and let it thicken .. once it’s turning solid I pop the rest of cheese on top and put whole think under grill for 5 mins. DH loves them.. ds hates them!
We had fish cakes, jacket potato and mushy peas last night. I also cooked off a bag of reduced new potatoes that needed using so will make a potato salad this morn. Just need milk today.. it’s DH shopping week again so will write a list and he prob do it tomo or Sunday.

Silvertap I have a great frittata recipe that tastes lovely. I add whatever needs using up in the fridge in it.

Right we've spent £75 so far this week, in the fridge for dinner tonight we have a pack of 10 chipolatas, 2 small packs of lardons, leftover mung bean curry, some eggs. In the cupboard I've got a huge pack of prt bake rolls. I'm going to try and cobble something together with the above miss mash for dinner. There's some frozen mixed veg in the freezer too.

Slutty,,, have you got pasta...make some carbonara with the eggs n lardons garlic bread with some rolls.

Spent £12 in Waitrose yesterday but still not doing a full shop until next week.

Anniversary celebrations this weekend so we will be over budget anyway.

I’m enjoying the challenge and spent nothing on credit card this week.

Ooh good shout Notreally I never think of making carbonara! And yes I always have a well stocked pantry of basic stuff. We tend to cook from scratch most of the time I wish we could afford a chef because I now hate cooking so I have in the usual of various flours, pasta, tinned toms yada yada.

Slutty... get yourself some basic pasta sauces / chilli etc in the freezer so your ready.
A basic chasseur sauce makes a good pasta with some soft cheese or cream added.

I had to buy cheese £3 and also succumbed to a multi pack of 9 kitkats fir £1. Managed to resist buying cake

Ended up buying a takeaway last night but that didn’t come out of the food budget, we paid for that out of our ‘spending money’. Either way I regret it. Why do we eat this stuff when it makes you feel like crap afterwards? Not worth it.

On the plus side it means I’ve technically got an extra days food now though

There’s recipes online for vegan white sauces, I use them for parsley sauce but it would do for a cheese sauce for pasta too.

I hate cooking too but I have allergies so I have little choice.

The takeaway secret book is perfect for takeaways, you don’t feel awful after eating it either.

Thanks fluffy, I did go through a phase of making sure I had something equally ‘naughty’ feeling and yummy but not so greasy and salty (or expensive) in the fridge/freezer for when the urge took us, something like a supermarket lasagne and garlic bread, but haven’t done it for a while as we have been trying to lose weight. I think not having it there is a bit of a false economy though as that would have ultimately been much better all round last night

lovingitvegan.com/vegan-white-sauce-bechamel/

You can use cows milk obviously, no point buying soya just for one recipe.

I don’t make it how she does, I mix the flour and oil to a paste, then add cold milk and mix thoroughly, then heat it up in a pan. It doesn’t take long that way. I use sunflower oil as olive oils expensive.

Fluffy....you could just throw it all in the pan without the paste mixing and beat it to death with a whisk as it warms..like the all in method when using butter etc x
Bad move today went back into the butchers dh wanted bacon..lamb chops and bbq chicken called me £17 extra...it's a really nice butchers but wtf.. £17

I hadn’t thought of that, does it go lumpy? Your butcher sounds like our last butcher.

He’s fully organic and slaughters on-site from his own farms for a lot of it. 10 years ago two steaks was £10. Lord knows what he charges now.

I do what notreally does, chuck the whole lot in a pan and stir continually, never lumpy. I haven't got the patience to make a roux and then gradually add the liquid 😂

No lumps fluffy...just like slutty says...
There was a sirloin steak purchased before me for 6.26... 2nd mortgage x

Trip to Iceland today so up to £115 since 26th. Should be ok except milk till Tuesday

Went Lidl this evening and spent £34 which should see us through until end of next weekend more or less. Might need a bit more veg depending on how the week pans out.

Have invited people over on Monday though so will need to get some sandwich stuff for lunch. Have £12 in order to keep on track for £50 a week average.

Oops. £3.58 on a late night cookie run to the coop last night. Bad for waistline and for money.

Didn't read the weather before doing my meal plan this week and really don't want the roast chicken,
Potato & swede mash with veg for dinner today! Also don't want to go to the shop to buy sals and the swede will just go off.

silver cook the swede and freeze to save wasting it?

Basin - we have an Aga so trying to avoid the kitchen as much as piss today!

Have rejigged my meal plan and will do sausages and mash on Thursday when it's a balmy 18 degrees.

Spent £43 in Lidl on a top up shop which will get me through till Friday.

Well budget blown a bit as we went out for tea!! But we have ran down the fridge and DH is doing a freezer inventory as I write. Doing food shop tomorrow so I will post again after x

Just had a good read through this thread and it’s inspired me to get control of our spending. I’ve downloaded an app to keep track of my day to day spending to see where I can make cuts there and in my weekly shop. I’ll be endeavouring to use up what’s in the cupboards and freezer too.

Spent £11.68 in Lidl again earlier on lunch for our guests. So now we have spent pretty much bang on £100 so far since 30th April and should have everything we need to last until Sunday. Last night’s dinner didn’t get eaten in favour of some toast as we were out late and couldn’t be arsed, and means we have an ‘extra’ dinner in the freezer.

Tonight is sausage pasta, which will also be tomorrow’s lunch. Served with veg, probably peppers and green beans or asparagus.

Meal plan for the week is loosely as follows, with most things doubling up as the next day’s lunch:

Sausage pasta/veg
Fish cakes and veg (jacket spuds for lunch)
Slimming world quiche/salad/coleslaw
Risotto/veg
Veggie toad in hole/veg
Salmon and sweet potato mash/veg
Pulled pork, macaroni cheese and veg