£10 for 5 days-Help

[BustyStClaire]

I have £10 for 5days, for 4 of us! Help me please, this includes school packed lunches. In the cupboard there is half a bag of pasta, spaghetti, some lentils, noodles, thats about it. Obvs kids feed first, but I just do not know how I am going to make it stretch!

Cheese sarnies, apples and cheap fromage frais for packed lunches. Spag bol, shepherds pie and chilli for dinner. Perhaps cheese and tomato toasties with soup for one night.

Thanks, I think there are still some apples on the tree!

Do you have any points on loyalty cards you could use? Even Boots would get you a few lunchbox fillers from their food section.

What's in freezer? If you have chips or something similar, than chips, beans (cheapest own brand and plenty of) and afried egg is cheap if not glam.

Use lentils to make chilli, use 30p passage and 40p kidney beans. Have youany rice? If not buy a bag of cheap pots and have with mash. It's tasty!

On school lunch, I'd be tempted to ask school for school dinners and you will pay on so and so date. It isn't nice to have to do it, but I promise they are used to it and will be happy to help. They are there to support families.

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You might find these thread helpful ^

Thats handy!

Tesco sell 6 fromage frais for about 46p, my children seem to like them and looking at the ingredients they don't appear to be any different than the petit filou which are more than 3 times the price!

I think in Iceland they do frozen pizzas for £1 you could get a couple of those and put a slice of them in the lunch boxes, might work out cheaper than cheese sarnies.

I'm sure you could probably make something tasty and filling with the lentils but I haven't got a clue what to do with lentils!

NOTHING In freezer, someone left the door opened friday night, and it was all ruined, what we couldn't eat anyway.

If you have apples and some flour and some spread or butter, you can make crumble. Fab!

Italians often simply eat spaghetti, the starchy water the moisten, garlic and oil. Jamie oliver has a recipe for it. You could add a cheap tin of toms or passata to make a sauce. That's another night done

OK, Looks like I am going to hit Tesco this morning! I will report back on how much I can get fro £10!

Oh that's bad timing

I could def do this, but I don't know what you have lurking in cupboards or what your cooking style is.

Have you got any baking stuff or cereal? Porridge?

Have you got an Aldi nearby? You'll get more for your money there.

For sandwiches for packed lunch, how about own-brand Philadelphia-style cheese spread? I think you can get a tub for about 50p

Just marking place for cheap meal ideas.

OOH, I am also going to bring the penny jar for the CoinStar, there was almost £20 in there last time! I am rich beyond my wildest dreams!!!

I hae stuff to make my own bread, so there is always that, but it was a really bad month, no 'big' shop took place for store cupboard ingredients, so no tins of toms, or stuff like that. Then the freezer took out all the staples, chips, fishy fingers etc that would be end of month fillers, and a whol bag of chicken breasts were ruined! Ay! The kids have a school meal on a wednesday, so its 4 lunches & 4 evening meals, I get paid friday so its ok. I might make a big batch of soup for me, I could do with the weight loss!

I was going to suggest making your own bread. We're pretty skint atm and we've been doing this. DS really enjoys helping.

Do you have a Co,Op nearby?

They have whole chickens for £2, we can stretch this to 2 meals and use the bones for soup.

Asda are doing a big block of nice cheddar (Wyke Valley or whatever it's called) for £2 atm.

Lidl have the same one, with 50% extra for £3. So the same deal basically!

Depends how into cheese you are!

How about baked potatoes?

Yay for penny jars btw! I found £20 in mine too when we hit really skint.

second aldi and lidl for basics.
lots of eggs and spuds/pasta. root veg are in season and cheap too.

Don't go to coinstar! They'll take a percentage. I'd take the coins into the local branch of my bank and pay it in. I don't think they can refuse to, mine have nver done.

They do ike you to bag the coins up separately though

Tinned fish (cheapest you can find, probably sardines or pilchards) will make you a very nice pasta dish and reassure you that the DCs won't die from lack of protein.
Onions and carrots are probably your cheapest veg and quite strong tasting, and versatile - will your DC eat carrot sticks in pack lunch?

How are you for oil and spices?

I think you need to look for a foodbank or ask your bank to extend your overdraft (if you have one). You can't survive on this.

Big sympathy for the ruined freezer - that's really annoying.

have you got a farmers market near your? if yes go half an hour before closing for cheap veg/meat.