Christmas food on a budget - help!

[CharlotteSloane]

DP has unexpectedly been out of work for a few weeks so the budget is tight - it'll be me, DP and the DTs (9yo) for about two weeks before we go back to school/ work routine - I'm trying to meal plan for at least two meals per day rather than us eating out. I'm vegetarian, DTS1 has a very beige diet but DP and DTS2 will eat most things, I just don't have the headspace to work out two weeks' worth of meals for all of us

I've never cooked a roast dinner before in my life either, we'll now be at home for Christmas and I have to decide what to cook I've been vegetarian for years and never needed/ wanted to cook a roast - but now I think I'll need to cook something!

I'm just absolutely at a loss, I'm terrible at meal planning at the best of times and it's sending me into a panic just thinking about it, I know I need to do a big Aldi/ Lidl shop soon whilst the DC are still at school (I have an afternoon left to take off work to do it!) but am stumped as to what to actually buy. Any tips gratefully received!

F

I'd do a chicken. Delicious, good value for the money, easy to cook, and as long as all the sides are proper Christmas trimmings it'll still feel like a proper Christmas dinner. Keep it simple if it's your first time cooking, so you can still relax. Would be good if both of you would cook together so it doesn't all fall on you!

Roast potatoes
Roast carrots and parsnips
Brussels sprouts
Pigs in blankets
Stuffing (dried, just add water. Don't be tempted by any fancy ones - too much work and more expensive)
Gravy at the end from the cooking juices.
Something nice for yourself - whatever vegetarian dish you fancy.

I don't have the brain power to plan meals now, but I'll list some of our favourite easy and cheap meals tomorrow.

2 week h meal plan for 2 adults, 2 kids, incl one adult vegetarian and one child with simple tastes. To include festive treats and a Christmas dinner?

Do you have a budget or it is 'as inexpensive as possible'? What supermarkets do you have locally?
I'll be back in the morning.

Surely DP can sort this if you're working and he's not?

Plus as a vegetarian you wouldn't be cooking meat I assume? I agree with the suggestion to get a big chicken unless he can find a reduced turkey late on Christmas Eve. If he can get to a supermarket or two about an hour before closing the shops are often empty by then and you might get a bargain that can be used to stretch your food budget.

If you do have some money to pay for a food shop, I'd plan to do the main shop as early as possible (6-7 am) on Monday 23rd and get all the very cheap veg that's always on sale. You can then have a filling meal of roast potatoes, sprouts, carrots and parsnips alongside the chicken and your chosen vegetarian alternative.

Do you have any supermarket loyalty points that can be used to boost the food budget?

Are things sufficiently bad that you could seek help from a food bank or is it more of a case that the ££££s that would cost to eat out on Christmas day would be better used for groceries for a couple of weeks?

Iceland, and they deliver @CharlotteSloane

Do you have anything in the store cupboard to prompt some ideas?

@Bjorkdidit if I sent my dh out to shop he’d spend a fortune and I still wouldn’t have adequate food for the required number meals.

I would make a different plan and do a number of small after-work shops to take advantage of stickered yellow items. I went Tesco shopping early on Boxing Day once and got super deals - would it be a possibility to switch things up and do a big meal on Boxing Day and something else on Christmas Day itself? Maybe say to the kids, 25th is going to be a day dedicated to Board Games and family Christmas movies (maybe a James Bond day or a Star Wars day) and feed them home made fajitas and melted cheese and tortilla chips. And then Boxing Day sneak out early and hoover up bargains.

Sometimes spontaneity is your friend.

If you've never cooked a roast dinner before then do you really want Christmas day to be your first attempt? I'm vegetarian and do a veggie roast most weeks but there's a lot going on and timing can be difficult. Last year we decided to have pizza on Christmas day and this year we're having pasta, a roast isn't essential, spending time together is. If you're sure you want to do a roast though do as much prep as you can before the big day. If you want Yorkshires they can be made in advance and frozen, parsnips can be peeled, frozen and put straight in the oven. Make sure all your veg is chopped the day before to minimize your time in the kitchen.

As for what to buy, what do you normally buy? Christmas is just one day and there's only 4 of you, you don't need much more than usual, few chocolates, some cake maybe, possibly something a bit special for breakfast.

If it was me I would do:

Lunches - bread, cheese, ham, fruit, crisps.

Dinners (if you don’t cook a lot and one child likes beige food keep these simple)

• pasta and sauce (two meals from one bag)
• Jacket potato with beans and cheese
• frozen pizza with salad
• sausage, mash, peas (veggie for you)
• Burger in a bun (veggie for you)
• curry and rice (two meals from one set of ingredients)
• chicken nuggets and chips ( two meals from one bag)
• Xmas day dinner
• Boxing Day dinner- leftovers from Xmas day
• pigs in blanket with potatoes and veg (veggie sausage for you)
• One meal whether everyone chooses from the bits left in the freezer at the end of the two week.

Xmas day
. Roast chicken

• Nice veggie thing for you
• roast potatoes
• carrots and a green veg
• gravy
• cranberry sauce
• nice desert

I'm always on a budget and my regular go-tos are ;

cassoulet - make tomato/garlic/white bean, and then add fried cubed pork steak to serve
mushroom risotto with cheese.
Home made chicken fajitas are cheap and fairly beige
Stuffed peppers - with sausagemeat for them, crushed kidneybean & veg for you
shop sausage rolls & cornish pasties might work for the dcs
chilli & rice
assorted pasta & sauces - choose wholemeal, more protein/filling.
breaded haddock & oven chips
omelettes & oven chips - fillings to suit
burgers & salad
Hake fillets (freezer section) served on green lentils cooked with tomatoes & a slug of olive oil.
home made soups are quick & great for lunches, leek & potato, spicy parsnip etc
served with bread

For Christmas lunch, A big roast chicken is least expensive, with roasted veg
Add sweets, nuts, a few chocolates and a stack of mince pies served with ginger ice cream.

if i sent my dh out to shop he’d spend a fortune and I still wouldn’t have adequate food for the required number meals

@TwixForTea silly me. Of course making the most of a limited grocery budget is a skill that only women have and the unemployed man in the household couldn't possibly be capable of such a complicated task. That's why there's no men working in finance, project management or running profitable businesses.

As pp have said just do a chicken -£5 in Aldi for a roast in the bag one. Potatoes and root veg are cheap. Roast carrots and parsnips too for lovely flavour. Jar of cranberry sauce and packet of stuffing. For veggie alternative you could buy some ready made puff pastry and dill with the ready made stuffing, add some cranberry and your fave cheese and nuts or mushrooms roll up. Brush with egg and bake u til golden. Like a wellington.
Chriatmas puds come in all sizes, serve with cream or ice cream.

We have pretty normal meals over the Christmas holidays and just special meals for Christmas day, boxing day and NYE. Then a selection of treat snacks. What do you normally eat?

Stick up on soups and part baked bread. Cheese and crumpets is also a cheap and easy dinner. A massive Quorn mince billed with lentils, veg, beans can be divided up with mash and rice etc.

Jamie Oliver did this lovely ooking veggie option for Christmas Dinner, a sort of suet pudding and you could swap out the veg for ones you like.
https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/jamie-olivers-veggie-crown/

1. If you’re working why on earth is your partner not taking charge of meals?

2. It’s more efficient to have groceries delivered and take advantage of whatever offers are available. Tesco? Iceland?

3. This site has all you need for nutritious vegetarian cooking - including recipes for pretty much every ingredient, so your partner should have no trouble composing meals. Big savings if you buy larger quantities. (Or if cheaper you could just follow their suggestions but buy locally.)

https://hodmedods.co.uk

I would do one of those turkey roll things rather than bones tbh. I'll try and find a picture

Like this. Much easier and nicer for veggies to cook.

You just need to keep it simple. Crackers and fun pudding.

Roast potatoes, veg, pigs in blankets. I did veggie sausages when mine were little and stuff they liked like sweetcorn and peas.

It sounds like you've been eating out a lot? And always for most of the Christmas holiday?

What do you normally eat for Christmas dinner? You can easily go to a supermarket and buy the same meal for a whole lot cheaper than eating it in a restaurant.

We only have a special meal on Christmas Day and New Years Day, otherwise we eat the same as we do any other week of the year. What do you normally eat? What would you like to eat differently because it’s Christmas?

Christmas on a tight budget www.mumsnet.com/Talk/christmas/5222900-christmas-on-a-tight-budget

I’ve just been made redundant so refusing costs. I’ve swapped to aldi which does seem to be a lot cheaper.

Some of the meals we are eating this week are;
chicken wraps
bologanise
pasta bake
chicken curry (
(I’ll batch make a big tomato sauce with onion, celery, carrots, garlic and tinned tomatoes and use it in the three recipes above)
jacket potato cheese, beans and coleslaw
Roast pork dinner
lefts overs from the roast. And some giant Yorkshire’s for bulk!

im also making a big vegetable soup for lunches. Carrot, parsnip and any other veg that needs using up. I’ll add some lentils for extra fiber, protein.

I would do-

Veggie curry
Bolognaise
Soup
Jacket potato's with cheese/beens
Tuna pasta
Omelette
Wraps

Bulk cook some of them to make it easier.

Christmas Day-

Chicken
Roast/mash potatoes
Carrots/peas/broccoli
Dried stuffing
Powder gravy
Yorkies

Ice cream and mince pies for pudding

As a side note, apparently most of the supermarkets will be selling veg for 15p from Mon 16th Dec, so I'd hold off at least the veg shopping till then.
What would you all normally eat at this time of year?

What is a DTS? Dear ........ son?

I'm guessing you are looking for more general suggestions not just Christmas.

Quick and cheap food ideas.

Vegetable soup. What ever is in the fridge, carrots courgettes, broccoli etc etc. Fry an onion then add the chopped veg and fry for 2 minutes. Add plenty of garlic, salt and pepper and a stock cube and cover with water. Cook until the veg is soft then add cream/cream cheese for richness. This can do 6-10 meals depending on how thick you like it.

Breakfast, pancakes once a week, otherwise toast, natural yoghurt with half a banana and muesli.

Lunch, either the above soup plus bread or sandwiches or beans on toast.

Dinner

Pasta with tinned tomato, garlic and a little cheese is very cheap.

Dhal

Fried rice with whatever is in the fridge. You just need soy sauce, garlic. Meat for the meat eaters of affordable.

For Christmas Day get a chicken or just a tray of 8 chicken pieces, enough for 2 days, 2 for your dh and one for each child for 2 days. Alternatively a shoulder of pork, pretty forgiving so it will be good (dry then sprinkle salt on the skin to make crackling, cook at 180 for 50 mins per kg, they usually put the cooking mins on the packs in Lidl at least). Then it is just roast potatoes, roast carrots, whatever green vegetables you can get the family to eat, use gravy granules (it's fine honestly we always have them and the Lidl "beef" ones are actually vegetarian so one for everyone), something for you - the portabello mushroom pies from Lidl (frozen) and good, pack of 2.

For Boxing Day you have your leftover meat, fry up any leftover veg as bubble and squeak and/or serve whatever makes your family happy - beans and oven chips, mash and peas whatever!

Other meals - not sure how restrictive your beige food lover is but I'd be offering things like wraps with spicy beans (a can of mixed beans, can chopped tomatoes, sachet of Lidl taco mix) grated cheese, salad and chopped leftover meat. A big vegetable lasagne to serve 2 meals (keeps 3 days in the fridge so you can space it), simple curries like a coconut dal, roasted turmeric cauliflower, any leftover meat for fussy types, rice and get the kids helping to make homemade chapattis (it's just wholemeal flour, salt and water)

Iceland are doing a Christmas dinner in a box for £25 apparently. It has good reviews. Still a bit spendy and not veggie but might be worth a look.