Meals CHEAP?

[WaterFallFairy]

Hi,
Need some help, ive got about £60 for 2 weeks worth of meals for my 4 boys.
I'm coming here hoping you lovely mumsneters will have some good cheap recipes we can try!

What do you already have in? The cheapest meals are going to be ones which mostly use your existing ingredients and just add a few bits.

Dahl
Chickpea and spinach curry

chunky carrot soup and toast

beans on baked potatoes

Pasta with sauce made from tinned tomms.

so…. Carb and root veg heavy. Plus whatever is yellow stickered for variety.

What do you already have in, and are there any food intolerances/absolute no-gos that they won't eat?

It will be tight but doable. Key is to make as many meat free dishes as possible.

I have two go to quick and cheap meals.

Pasta meals. Bag of pasta. Supermarket sauce jar (Sainsbury's are great. I get the sauce with chunky veg or mushrooms). Add any other veg. Cook pasta. Then cook in sauce. Put some in baking dish and layer with grated cheese.

Make enough so some for lunch. Serve with lettuce and garlic bread (frozen is cheapest can get one baguette for 30p)

Jacket potatoes with with cheese and salad (and poss tuna and/coleslaw) or beans.

How many meals and how old are they and do you need to eat as well!?
breakfast lunch and dinner every day?

Also, like another PP said, I second if you can get yellow stickered food (including meat) and put in freezer to reduce costs

Good to go bags alcan be hit and miss. But the Greggs, Costa and sometimes Starbucks bags have about three or four toasties in them for about £3-4. Other times it's been cakes etc. but I've always found the Greggs to be the best. Look at ratings

Title again.
You could have typed cheap meal ideas.
Its a me problem sorry.

If your boys are school age speak to reception - our schools have emergency meal kits for families who need them. You can also try Facebook groups (there’s a place near me that gives out free food donated by supermarkets and local bakeries etc)

Tinned tuna is really cheap. About 50p a tin in Aldi.

Pulses are cheap. If you’ve got the basic spices, then you could make these chickpea burgers. https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables/spicy-corn-chickpea-burgers/ They’re one of the only ways my dc will eat chickpeas.

Eggs are also a cheap protein. Egg fried rice makes them go further. I use this recipe which is also incredibly quick https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/fast-fix-fried-rice

Peanut butter noodles is another quick and super cheap recipe https://healthylivingjames.co.uk/speedy-satay-sauce-noodles/

Spanish omelette - fried onions and sliced cooked potatoes (or slice a tin of them) in a baking tin. Add 6 beaten eggs and bake for 30 minutes. I usually serve with a tomato salad but a tin of baked beans would work too. If you have any left over put it in the fridge and microwave for your lunch the next day.

Risotto made with a stock cube, couple of rashers of bacon, a couple of leeks and a couple of blitzed broccoli stalks - use the florets for a pasta bake. Chuck in some peas or frozen spinach if you have them.

Fish cakes - mashed potato, tin of sweet corn and a couple of tins of sardines in tomato sauce. Shape into patties and bake for 15 minutes, turn over and bake for a further 10. Again serve with salad or baked beans.

Pasta bake - cooked pasta carton of cheap passata any veg you have kicking around and a bit of grated cheese. If you can add some fired sliced onion and a couple of slices of bacon its even better.

Sausages are often yellow stickered at this time of year - cut each sausage into 3 or four and use as meatballs or stew with whatever root veg you can get hold of. If I have left overs I'll mash it up a bit, add a tin of beans or lentils and make a cottage pie.

Veggie chilli - I sometimes make it with the cheap baked beans and just wash the sauce off before cooking. THeyre cheaper than kidney beans and my children preferred them.

Thank you. My boys are aged 7-12. Not worried about me I'll just eat what they don't. Ive managed to work out 6 meals from what ive got already :)
1 child is dairy intolerant but I just swap for an alternative in recipes.
2 that don't like eggs 9/10 can have them in a recipe though.

Spag bol and chicken thighs both go down well in this house, don't cost a lot to make, and freeze really well. Plus using up leftovers is always good too.

So, if you bought one pack of mince, a 6/8 pack of chicken thighs, two tins of tomatoes, two tins of beans, a bag of pasta and a pack of carrots, a pack of potatoes, one cucumber, two big cheap frozen pizzas, and some frozen sweetcorn you could have:

Pasta bolonaise for 2 meals (add carrots to the bolognaise, plus any onion or garlic or stock cubes etc which you have at home: freeze half the bolognaise and have on different days)
Roast chicken with potatoes and carrots for one meal
Chunky chicken soup made with chicken, pots, carrots, sweetcorn. (you don't need much chicken for this - just use the extra one from the day before plus any leftovers - add gravy or stock cube or herbs or anything like that which you have in already)
Jacket potato with beans served with carrots and sweetcorn
Pizza with cucumber and carrot sticks

That gives you 12 meals total including the ones which you from whats in for about £15....

https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/recipe/marcella-hazan-tomato-sauce

sorry long article but recipe is at the bottom. It is hands down the most delicious tomato sauce ever. All you need is an onion and butter and a can of tomatoes, although I do recommend buying the pulped kind, not chopped. My DS and DH love it, with either gnocchi or spaghetti, it’s a really really cheap meal but tastes Italian restaurant quality.

Lemony courgette pasta (with whatever pasta you have in) https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta/lemony-courgette-linguine/

"Throw it all in gnocchi" -
Passata, tin of chopped tomatoes, tin of green lentils, 2 grated carrots, crushed garlic, mixed herbs, paprika, gates cheese , vac packed gnocchi - shove it all in a roasting/oven dish sprinkle extra cheese on top and bake for 35min at 180celcius. Salad on the side.

Shove a whole chicken in a slow cooker, cover with water add some peppercorns, bay leaf, cloves of you have them, an onion/celery sticks/carrot/half a lemon- whatever is kicking about, cook on low for 6-8 hours. Meltingly soft chicken to have with spuds and green veg. Instant stock to use in risotto or turn into soup for another day.

Look to see if you have a community fridge or similar scheme where you live. People who have too much usually fresh fruit, veg, dairy and bread/baked goods can leave them there for others to take. I often take down veg when I have a glut from the garden. Ours in in the community centre in our nearby town. It means you aren’t just relying on beige cupboard food, but can supplement with some free fruit and veg too to bulk out your meals.

Marmite spaghetti. Cook spaghetti, add teaspoon of butter and 1 of Marmite for each adult serving - delish and doesn't taste like marmite! Add any veg you have and meat remenants, mine is often bit beef mince (hardly any needed), fried onion n broccoli 😊

Fry a sliced onion and whatever cheap veg you can get - peppers, mushrooms, sweet potatoes, anything really. Let them soften then add a tin of kidney beans, a tin of baked beans and a tin of tomatoes or chopped tomatoes. Sprinkle in some cumin, a little bit of chilli powder and paprika, and oregano if you've got it. Cook for about 10 mins then add some pasta and boiling water. Let it simmer until the pasta is cooked. Really filling and lots of protein.