£11 a week food shop

[Novynu]

Looking for very cheap meal ideas. I do eat meat but meat is probably out of budget.

I have around £11 per week for one persons food for the next 5 weeks.

So far I have spaghetti and sauce
Cous cous with a few vegetables thrown in
Batch cook salad to eat over few days lunch

TIA ☺️

Soaking is free, last time I checked. Take 45 minutes to an hour to cook. And my point was about nutrition. Yes potatoes are cheap and a great idea for eating on a budget but beans/legumes are also cheap and actually hold some nutritional value, which if this is a long term thing, is something I thought was worth considering.

This basket comes to £11.24 and this is what I'd make with the contents

Breakfasts:
Porridge (with apple or jam)
Toast & jam

Lunches:
Ham sandwich
Beans on toast

Teas:
Tuna pasta & veg
Tomato rice with beans/lentils & veg
Lentil spag bol

Snacks:
Biscuits
Apples

Use the stock cubes salt and pepper for flavour.

Here are the remaining screenshots of the basket:

I really do think the food bank is the answer though OP. If you call them to explain your struggle they might be able to get some supplies to you.

I have done this for families as a professional before when there's been no other way.

I used to work for a major high St charity who spunked a lot of money on inflated manager salaries and away days/ conferences in nice hotels

Big charities are the worst.

This is a fabulous post.

Admiral's pies are £1.75 now!! I was so shocked!

If you can get to tescos, these ‘Tesco Perfectly Imperfect Frozen Mixed Berry 1Kg’ -£2.99

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/295653714

Then make pancakes (1egg, 1cup flour, 1 cup milk - will make about 8 ) and have with Greek yogurt and these Berries warmed for breakfast. Or warm and add to basic porridge or just with plain yogurt and granola.

Do you have a Foodcycle in reach? It's a free 3 course veggie meal once a week.I think you register but there's is no referral needed, just turn up.
If they have surplus food it will be given to guests but it can be very random depending what has come in.

In terms of the milk - use Whole milk, and also whilst in most supermarkets 2 pints is £1.25, 4pints is only 30/40p more - so 4 pints for £1.55/£1.65

That's a lot more nutrition for not much more money. You can also freeze milk (in ice cube trays if you want the right amount for a cup of tea) - will need to freeze in tray them then decant into a bag, sealed tight for best results.

Pasta/curry sauces from tesco - their Hearty meals range are about 45p each - cheaper than making your own (not as good nutritionally though) - you can start with them and then add more passata/ tomato puree to expand them a bit.

Potatoes - baked, mashed, wedges, chips, spanish omelette, potato bread, boiled, roast, patatas bravas - or just add beans, cheese, bacon scraps, curry sauce, tom sauce, whatever you have to make meal.

You can buy cheap rice pudding for 25p at Tesco - add a dollop of 40p stockwell jam and it will fill you up.

Porridge 1kg 70p , Cornflakes 76p - use with the extra milk above - for lunch, breakfast or just when you're hungry.

Get some cheap biscuits - just for morale.

The posts people are making about trying to earn a bit more cash are good. Are you able to consider switching banks? Obviously some give you a switching bonus (always handy but would give you chance to stock up on some spices and store cupboard foods), but my main thought was that I’m with Santander and I get cashback on my bills. I get a couple of quid a month, which isn’t huge but if it bumps up your shopping budget from 11 quid to 13-14, that could be roughly an extra 20% for you!

A large portion of vegetable chilli, filled with tinned mixed beans and tinned tomatoes. Garlic and seasoning. Throw in ang left over over veg you need to use up.

A slow cooker batch would make 5-6 portions that you can freeze

Echoing the dhal suggestions.
Kilo of onions
kilo of carrots
couple of teaspoons of curry powder
two tins of chopped tomatoes
Bag of lentils
Bag of rice
Tastes pretty good (better with a tin of coconut milk, but I don't think budget will stretch). Will last all week, easily.

If you have access to a blender, curried parsnip soup is extremely cheap and filling. If no blender, can achieve a still ok soup with a potato masher - mash everything together extremely vigorously before adding any water!!
1-2 onions
bag of parsnips
couple of stock cubes (or just salt)
couple of teaspoons of curry powder
It's a lovely, creamy soup. Again, will last for lunches/small dinners all week. Pitta bread is good for dipping.

I also like spaghetti with frozen mixed veg, butter and salt.

Follow irishbudgeting account on instagram. She does a meal for 5 for 5 Euros (I do think she adds store cupboard basics like oil though). Looks like she shops at Aldi or similar

Cereal for breakfast. (Buy supermarket own brand, Tesco cornflakes are 69p a box or something like that)

Beans on toast for lunch. (Cheap beans and cheap loaf)

Baked potato for tea with tuna & a piece of fruit and a yoghurt.

Do you have a herons near you? I always pop in for yogurts / cereal bars and bits like that, although I wouldn’t buy boxes cereal / bread / beans from there. I’d go to Tesco for those and buy the cheapest Tesco versions.

Sorry you don’t have a lot of money, hope your situation improves soon x

some absolutely great suggestions here. Thank you so much everyone! I was so overwhelmed I couldn’t even begin to think of what I was going to buy so it’s a real help.

In regards to the poster offering PayPal, I have messaged them to say how kind they are but I cannot accept. So I hope that puts people’s worries to rest. ☺️

Honestly the Qmee surveys recommended upthread are great for paying out I made £10 really easily in a few days. If you have some decent spare time. That tenner could go a long way.

Where abouts are you? @novynu

I always make sure I have porridge oats and milk, 55p for a bag, 500g I think? I sometimes use water to make and add a bit of milk after.
Add a banana and its filling and tastes nice.

Lentil and veg stew? If you dont have oil use water to cook onions and garlic.

The trouble with the food bank is usually someone has to make a referral for you and in my arms at least there's rules like you can have 3 days of food (can make it stretch to 5-6 if needed, especially if you've got a few bits in the cupboard already) every 3 weeks. OP is in this situation she's in for 5 weeks. She can't live exclusively on food bank for this time, it wouldn't be given.

OP's budget was my budget 20 years ago and it was for 2 people (one had dinner at work though) but also had to include toiletries, so probably roughly comparable to her one person and not including toiletries, at today's prices. It's tough but it's doable, although it's stressful and no fun whatsoever because of that.

Arms lol, *area

I think with a bit of menu planning and a willingness to cook from scratch this is doable, assuming you have a freezer of course. I bought a packet of chicken thighs from Sainsbury's yesterday for £1.40, half price because of the sell buy date. I individually froze all eight of them. A whole chicken can be roasted and enjoyed with a few veggies and eaten cold within a salad or sandwich..and picked off for soup (with noodles) for less than a fiver..divided by 4 meals. You do need the right store cupboard ingredients to help...onions garlic, tins of beans and tomatoes etc.