£50-60pw food budget, odd requirements - meal plan suggestions please!

[fuzzpig]

I posted this in Credit Crunch but was advised to try here too so I've C&Pd:

Two adults, 7 and nearly 5yo, no pets. Teen DSD stays sometimes at weekends. Youngest can be a bit picky.

No access to costco, aldi etc, can't shop around (physically can't), we get two Tesco deliveries a week - as the minimum is now £25 I am hoping to get each shop as close to that as I can. Two smaller shops because it works better for us with having fresh stuff and room to store (tiny kitchen) etc. We could afford more (and spend more like £75 a week ATM) but we are saving as hard as we can so happy to be more frugal.

Keen to reduce meat, although want to keep eating oily fish, trying to use whole/unprocessed foods when possible. Health is a priority... I love lentils for example but sadly the others don't

Don't have much freezer space for bulk cooking (though I freeze ingredients like ginger and am thinking of freezing herbs, garlic etc to save wasting fresh stuff)

DH is coeliac. He gets some stuff prescribed.

Need all my meals (on my own at lunchtimes) and preferably stuff for DH's lunch at work too, to avoid dashes to the nearby Coop. DCs get FSM at the moment so that's not an issue.

Oh and just for added fun our oven doesn't work! Hope to get LLs to fix/replace but will take a while. Grill sort of works, hobs are fine.

We have food processor and stick blender, microwave, and a slow cooker... which I have used precisely once - would love some ideas for that.

So there are the requirements - I know there are fabulous meal planners on MN so any ideas would be welcomed!

I'd also love some suggestions on what basics I could stock up on to add flavour - I've recently got to grips with the soy sauce/ginger/lime etc combinations for stir fries, other than that we only have paprika and cinnamon so far! What else should I get (and freeze if relevant)?

Have you heard of "A Girl Called Jack" : agirlcalledjack.com/
Brilliant book, too - ask library for a copy - she makes very small amounts: she was feeding herself and a toddler on a pittance and similarly, with little access to the cheaper supermarkets.

Soup? Sorry, got no more ideas - the coeliac is really stumping me.

There has to be someone better at this than me - hope they turn up soon.

Thanks I'll check that out! I've heard of her on here but hadn't bothered reading anything by her, I will now :)

Was cooking soup and "Iceland" popped into my head. Do you have one locally? They do good deals and not just on frozen stuff and I am pretty certain they do free delivery over £25.

What will/can you all eat?

What type of meat, fish or other protein
Dairy, cheese, milk, eggs.
rice, potatoes for carbs? Does your DH get gluten free bread & pasta on prescription?

What veg will everyone have?

Jacket potatoes with beans/cheese/coleslaw/tuna
Rice pilau soften an onion add rice and spices like coriander, cumin, turmeric. Stir for a minute then add stock, marigold bouillon is gluten free. According to what you have and like add shredded cooked chicken thighs, vegetables, sultanas, almonds etc.
I think you could make gf fishcakes, so a little fish could be stretched out.
Homemade pizza is easy and really tasty. Not sure with gf flour, maybe try that low carb cauliflower base?
Homemade soups, with bread and butter for you.
Dhal, put a squeeze of lemon in!
Lasagna, meat or veggie using aubergine instead of pasta and cream cheese/mozzarella instead of bechemal.
Omelette or frittata.

To keep the shopping bill down put your ingredients for meals in first, so meat, fish, veg, rice. Will you eat porridge for breakfast? Try it for a week, the taste grows on you. I think eating the same as each other is cheaper and avoiding anything other than fruit as snacks, and things like naice ham.

Sorry I read this earlier and had to go out, I forgot about your oven. So sorry, for the oven utilising suggestions could you deconstruct the components eg lasagna have bolognese or grilled/ sautéed veg with cheese melted on top?

I second A Girl Called Jack. Brilliant, tasty budget recipes. I recommend her penny pizzas, bean burgers, veggie chilli and spanish chicken. There's still lots of her recipes I want to try.

We usually have one pasta meal, a rice meal, potato meal, freezer night, some kind of bake/pie and a pizza/fajita/curry night (Saturday treat!).

For the slow cooker: chilli, sausages, bolognaise, caseroles, chicken and chorizo stew, paprika chicken.

Lunches we usually have sandwiches, wraps, pita, with cheese, tuna, ham. Sometimes we have eggs or beans.

Adapt this pizza recipe? pan pizza

I think a lot of Jamie Oliver 30 and 15 minute meals are oven free. I'm not sure how cheaply they work out but they might be worth a look.

Think of all the money you are saving not heating up and running a knackered oven.

What about curries without lentils. Saag paneer and rice is v tasty. Aloo Gobi is nice too. Curried veg skewers.

What about gluten free polenta with tomatoey veggie stew. Hfw does a good dish called polenta wedges with chilli tom sauce though i dont bother to wedge the polenta and it is quick and tasty.

Minestrone soup, pea and mint soup and leek and potato are all cheap and tasty.

We slice an onion lengthwise and fry very slowly in olive oil. Then peel and dice potatoes into approx 1cm squares. Fry these in a separate pan slowly, preferably in olive oil.

When the potatoes are golden add them to the onions with chopped parsley.

Fry some streaky bacon, not much between two or thee rashers per person. Chop this into approx 1cm pieces and add it to the onion, potato and parsley mix.

Serve with a poached or fried egg on top and salt and black pepper.

I would eat this for any meal.

delias salmon fishcakes are good. uses tinned salmon.

tesco does a good gluten free spagghetti

Also rice noodles are delish look up some vietnamese recipes.
paella style rice? chicken thighs, tinned toms, etc?

You could also do a big load of coleslaw, cabbage, carrot, and dress it with a yoghurt dressing made of yoghurt, olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, dash of suga, salt and pepper. will last for days and yummy with wraps etc.

sweet potato chips?

I have used tesco frozen value white fish and value instant mash (nothing bad in it ) to make fish pie-make gluten free bechamel sauce with corn flour and add any veg you like such as peas snd value tinned sweetcorn, bit of grated cheese on top.to make without oven I would just poach fish in microwave, mix in fish and veg into sauce on hob, put in dish add pototoes and grill to melt cheese.
love homemade fish cakes, but find white fish a bit bland-frozen smoked haddock is cheap and nice in them.
girl called jack persuaded me to try tinned potatoes-we now like them with tinned chickpeas and frozen spinach in a cheap curry.

I would make myself lovely cheap lentil soup for lunch at home and could dh have prescribed gf bread sanwiches for pack lunvh?

I also like to have a soup when by myself...those quick noodle ones are great with some thai red curry paste added (it lasts for ever) and grated carrots, spring onions, green beans, any veg basically. fresh herbs if to hand!

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions! Lots here I've never tried. I am a reasonable cook but my repertoire is quite small really, so I look forward to increasing it.

Android I will post a list of all the stuff we eat tomorrow, my brain is too sleepy today :o

Okay, your dietary restrictions sound a bit like ours -- not exactly, but whole foods, lots of greens, limited meat (and we also don't do pasta/bread), and we're on a budget too.

Here are some I make a lot. Anything in these recipes that calls for drizzling or garnishing or fancy herbs or wine, I just leave out. Anything expensive, I leave out. Basically I make cheaper versions of these that can be tripled, portioned out for freezing, or grabbed from the fridge and reheated. They come out great, so don't be afraid to cut out the finicky or pricy stuff!

I should also say, some of these look tiresomely complicated. I swear to you, they are not; I am very lazy and would not make them if they required fussing.

Vegetarian chili: allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-vegetarian-chili-in-the-world/ I add millet to this, and leave out the TVP, and it's great.

Chard, carrot, and white bean stew (can also make with kale or even spinach) smittenkitchen.com/blog/2011/01/chard-and-white-bean-stew/

Broccoli soup www.101cookbooks.com/archives/broccoli-cheddar-soup-recipe.html I add cauliflower to this. I will say, good stone-ground mustard is essential here.

Triple-lentil stew ohsheglows.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6011418 I add lots of chopped carrots to this. Saw that your family is not into lentils, but this is really good. I guess you could make it just for you

In case you can stretch to chicken, this is excellent and cheap recipes.womenshealthmag.com/Recipe/moroccan-stewed-chicken.aspx

Fritters www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/millet-fritters-with-feta-spinach-and-golden-raisins/ I leave out the raisins b/c eww.

And here's a terrific way to make vegetarian broth/stock with only dried herbs. I never have everything on this list (lemon pepper? "summery savory"? hahahaha) but I throw whatever I do have together, and sometimes add spices not on here, e.g., sesame seeds, and it's always great. www.food.com/recipe/vegetable-seasoning-or-broth-mix-24613

Hope these help!