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Can anyone give me some really cheap meals/recipe ideas please

19 replies

Lottie4 · 20/03/2015 14:13

As the title says, I need ideas for really cheap (ideally under 50p a portion or less) meal or recipe ideas. We have no spare money for food until early May now, so I'm going to have to do what I can with money from cutbacks in other areas. Any ideas welcome, even if they're not home cooked.

OP posts:
MollyMaDurga · 20/03/2015 14:20

Do you know Jack MOnroe? She collected a lot of cheap recipes on het blog, a girl called jack: agirlcalledjack.com/category/recipes-food/
Crap to have so little money, good luck.
She's got things for 30p so you might get some ideas there.

BlueChampagne · 20/03/2015 15:05

Own-brand or home-made soup and baked spuds?

Mostlyjustaluker · 20/03/2015 18:56

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1426/finbars-veggie-spag-bol

nochocolateforlentteacake · 20/03/2015 19:09

Can you buy humungous bags of pasta, lentils, sacks of potatoes and onions etc?

If you have a decent sized freezer then making a little extra and freezing a couple of portions helps a bit too.

Supermarkets often discount at the end of the day. Dont be shy - chat to a friendly member of staff. Find out when this is and stock up on fresh foods and freezeable things.

Never throw anything out - make soups, curries, pies, preserves...

Ohnodisaster · 20/03/2015 19:18

You can buy Turkey legs for a couple of pounds- they are massive and can easily do 6 portions of Turkey curry- we roast one while we're doing the Sunday roast then chop it up and stick it in the slow cooker with some peppers, curry paste and tinned tomatoes.

Ohnodisaster · 20/03/2015 19:19

Dhal is another cheap favourite here

antimatter · 20/03/2015 19:21

Do you have Indian shops nearby?
Spices, lentils, beans and rice are sold cheaply there.

monkeyfacegrace · 20/03/2015 19:29

Okay so not the flashiest of all meals, but when we are stuck we have;

500g bag value pasta-29p
Tin chopped tomatoes-35p
Tin of cheap tuna-50p
Grated cheese-75p
Salt and pepper. Feeds 4.

Jacket potatoes (Home Bargains) 55p for a bag.
Beans-30p x 2 tins
Bacon- £1.50
Cheese- 75p

Places like Morrisons and Aldi are good for fruit, 75p each will get you a bunch of bananas, bag of apples, pears, etc. Have fruit for pudding.

I also buy value rice pudding 16p a tin and use that for a warm pudding and tummy filler with a spoonful of jam and some tinned mandarins or peach slices (50p).

A pizza is £1, value garlic bread 50p, lettuce 50p, cucumber 50p, cherry tomatoes 50p, bag of value chips £1.

It's perfectly doable when you get the hang of it!

Boomf · 20/03/2015 19:31

How much money do you have for food each week?

spilttheteaagain · 20/03/2015 20:32

I am a big fan of beans.

Make tomato/onion/pepper/whatever extra veg bits you have or want pasta sauce with some dried herbs, stock cube, splash of L&P and simmer whilst cooking pasta or spaghetti. A couple of mins before serving add a tin of rinsed kidney beans to the sauce to heat through gently (you don't want the sauce to boil the beans or they will break down, just literally warm them for a couple of mins). Serve sauce on pasta.

Make "risotto" with onion, diced bits of veg (celery/carrot/pepper/frozen green beans), some frozen corn/peas too is nice and some dried thyme, stock cube. Simmer until rice is a couple of mins off cooked and add a tin of rinsed beans (kidney or black eyed are best for this). Simmer for a further min or two and serve.

Not-sausage casserole. Saute in large saucepan chunks of onion, carrot, pepper for a few mins until getting some colour. Add tin of baked beans, tin of tomatoes, squirt tomato puree and a good shake of chilli powder. Simmer for about 10 mins and serve with pasta/rice/potato wedges/new pots/jacket spuds as you prefer. (Growing up my mum used to make this with sausages in too, which obv you could add if budget etc allows - I just don't eat meat anymore and to be fair it is a lot cheaper like this!)

Jambalaya - spicy rice & veg. Basically you need chilli/cayenne, turmeric and cajun spices (I use this recipe for Cajun mix) , and some thyme is nice too. Onion & peppers are a must, but after that add anything you fancy. We like peas, corn, carrots and serve with broccoli on side. Again I add my trusty black eyed or kidney beans to this!

You can also use the cajun mix with the addition of a load of smoked paprika to make fahita spice. You can do spicy veg & beans and serve in homemade flatbreads. For the flatbreads, we make 2 each - allow 60g plain white or wholemeal flour per person. Combine flour with a pinch of salt, a tbsp oil and enough warm water to form a dough. Knead it for a few secs to make a smooth dough then cover and leave to relax for 15 mins. Then flour your surface, divide the dough into enough blobs for the amount of breads you want, roll them out pretty thin. Heat a frying pan until really hot and dry fry (no oil) the breads for a couple of minutes a side - you may need to push them back down with a spatula as they cook as they will bubble up. Put the breads in a clean teatowel to stop them going soggy whilst you cook the rest.

Mixed bean & lentil chilli also a good cheap staple here.

And beany minestrone type soups - chunky veg with pasta and pulses, bit of tinned tomato in the base with some dried basil & thyme, and some garlic and a stock cube. With home made bread.

We like our beans!

Of course - beans on toast, jacket spud & beans, egg, potato wedges & beans...

Lottie4 · 21/03/2015 22:03

Thank you - I'm going to go through them and make notes. We have absolutely no money we can withdraw from the bank for food until early May. Have been going through finances and I reckon with we might save up approx. £6 a week if we cut back on things we already had money marked for. We do have a credit card, but reluctant to use that as we only have so much that we can risk putting on there if we are to pay it at the end of each month - in reality, I know we will have to use it though.

OP posts:
spilttheteaagain · 22/03/2015 08:08

Gosh that sounds very tough & stressful OP. Try searching as well for "StressedHEMum" she has loads of great budget recipes after many years experience feeding a family of 7 (incl teens/young adults) for under £50/week.

How many are you feeding and are you making use of any free school meals etc entitlements?

If you let us know what food you already have in and what types of meals suggested appeal to you I'm sure posters can make further suggestions of things that might suit you.

spilttheteaagain · 22/03/2015 08:11

Have a look on Money Saving Expert Old style too for budget meal ideas.

eg £7 a week menu ideas

April grocery challenge has pages of links to recipes pinned in the top few posts.

nochocolateforlentteacake · 22/03/2015 09:44

You should do an audit of cupboard and freezer contents.

Lottie4 · 23/03/2015 11:00

Just to say thank you so much for your replies, I've made loads of notes and it's got my mind ticking over what present store cupboard items and seasonings could be used for.

OP posts:
trevordd · 24/03/2015 07:57

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Lottie4 · 24/03/2015 11:28

trevpordd - thanks a lot for that. Don't think mine will look as good as that, but does sound yummy - it's on the list to do!

OP posts:
Naicecuppatea · 24/03/2015 11:35

Don't overlook eggs either, they are fantastic nutrition and fairly cheap.

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