Dh and I did a month's food shopping today and spent ...

[Miaou]

£98.05

Beat that!!

Mr and mrs miaou - I'll bet you're amazed how this thread has taken off! Seems we all want to be more thrifty. Just to plug a rival board, are you subscribes to money saving expert newsletter? Loads of good tips, not just food. I have made your flapjack, which went down very well, and bought a lemon today to try the biscuits.

LOL are you speaking unkindly about my muffins again LGJ ? They tasted fantastic you know, they just ugly

They was bug ugly, you won't get any argument from me on that one.

there you go

£98.05 a month... thats fantastic
a friend told me she spends £120 a week, when I told her I spend about £70, she said "well, mine eat a lot" and she thinks mine don't.... the difference is I don't buy bottles of water, I make my own bread, biscuits... etc... and I menu plan

Shopping at Lidl can also keep the cost down. It always amazes me how much I can get there for so little and the quality is excellent.

nutcracker, this may be forward, we've never met, but your muffins are damn weird!!

ROFL thats ok I know they are. I think i put too much mixture in the cases. They tasted lovely, honest

Just wanted to add my admiration to that of everyone else! Have made your lemon biscuits (with orange though) today.

I've also rececntly invested in a slow cooker which is fab, lots of cheap veggie casseroles which taste great. Tonight we're having mushroom and chestnut casserole, yum. I also agree about shopping at Lidl, I cant' go into Tesco without wincing these days.

ive just read the whole thread - i thought i was the only thrifty one!! But Mr and Mrs Miaou - you are fab!!
ive copy and pasted some of the recipes to a word doc - so i shall be trying them out soon!
I have to say Lidl is my favourite shop - and the quality is really good

Our nearest Lidl is over 80 miles away - but there are plans afoot to develop one in town (much to Morrisons' disgust ). It would make a difference to our bill, that's for sure.

Nutty, lol at your muffins!! I must say, they look like you had fun

Hello to all the new posters! I must say I can't believe how this thread has taken off. I expected about four posts and that was it! It's lovely to be positive about eating on a budget - it's lifting my spirits for sure

blimey, make my nearest Lidl (12 miles away) look positively local!

Don't forget good old Aldi aswell, I prefer some of their own brands to the big names! Even if you don't need to be thrifty who wants to throw money away when they don't have to? Does anyone have any tips on general thrifty-ness as we could do with help in all areas!

Evening everyone. Tonight was Cream of Sweetcorn soup night - and again another hit with DH, who when i first told him about my new found determination to eat better for less pulled a face.

Let me know if you want the recipe - it;s quite easy. But sadly i over loaded my aging blender and it started to smoke so is enroute to the tip - just can;t take the risk. Luckily I still have my Tesco Value hand held, but no I know what to ask for for Christmas .

Tomorrow DD has asked to help cook so it's just choc chip fairy cakes. Oh and if I get the time a home made lasagne from scratch. Not a jar of dolmio in sight. The only thing I wont have made is the pasta sheets.

Everything I have made recently except the shortbread has been half frozen, filling my freezer ready for easy meals when baby arrives.

Once again my thanks to the Miaou's

I agree about Aldi, got loads of stuff for freezer on sat, only spent £40. some cheap wine too

I have to confess that I take Sainsbury's bags to Lidl under the guise of recycling so that my neighbours can't tell where I've been shopping. We live in a very snooty village, everyone knows everyone and noone would shop there. I do feel ashamed of myself for covering it up.

LOL GlassofWine - we used to do that at work, as Aldi was just a 5 minute walk away. We used to see who could have poshest bag with the cheapest shop.

I wonder if the Aldi/Lidl staff look out for such behaviour?

Hi Miaou.

We made the Lemon biscuits yesterday! Very easy to make (as long as you take the butter out of the fridge to get it to room temperature, and have a decent lemon!). Huge success, thank yuo so much!

It's been very interesting reading about life in the Highlands (not the lack of money aspect though ). But tbh, we're in a not dissimilar situation here in London housing wise. But the shopping/food situation etc is fascinating for a city type like me (christ I moan about going down the local shop fgs ). What do you do about shopping for clothes and shoes?

Do you know what the population of your area is? Just for your info. my London Borough has a population of nearly 240,000!

Great ideas, will try some out.
Both DD have packed lunch which I try to keep the cost down.
I can get at least 2 days for both of them by cooking pasta with stir through sauce (which you could make) late at night, chilling then fridge. Next 2 days - serve in a small plastic bowl with fruit and yog in each of their luncboxes. Some left for me too.

I'd rather buy fresh as it always works out cheaper in our local shops and you don't get sucked into 3 for 2 stuff.

Also is it true that most mums shop at Iceland?

Not if that Kerry woman is there!

I have a nice, hearty cheap recipe to add.

Pinto Bean Soup:

500g = 85p and makes 8 adult portions.

for 4 servings use half a bag
soak beans overnight in cold water.

Next day:

Drain beans, add 8 cups (2 Liters) of water and cook until soft (usually about 1.5 hours)

Season with salt and pepper and serve. ( do not add the salt in the beginning as the beans won't go soft).

A variation is to start with a chopped onion, slightly sauteed before cooking the beans.

Just a thought, I notice you do not have alot of wholemeal items, i.e. brown rice etc. what do you use instead?

great thread- we are on a similarly tight budget due to two mortgages and one salary!
Have taken to doing on tesco online shop at the beginning of the month and only topping up if necessary and of course buying extra milk and fresh fruit.

If I spend around £100 I get loads of stuff that lasts the month and more (i.e. one month I'll but 8 tins chopped tomatoes). This includes buying nappies, toiletries, cat food and cleaning products. I buy juice and treats (tesco 6 pack choc mousse only 68p and that's not their value ones!)

If I make casserole/chille etc I freeze the leftovers in small portions for ds (20mths), also freeze small portions of leftover mash which means I always have healthy, cheap, homemade meals for him as he eats his main meal at lunchtime.

I agree with MummyM. Fortunately we're not on as tight a budget as the Miaou household but we were counting the pennies earlier this year due to needing loads of work done on the house. It was then I started shopping at Lidl, meal planning etc We're past the financial pinch point now but I find it really hard to pay full price at normal supermarkets, it seems such a waste to throw money away if you don't have to.

variation on the lemon buscuits - not sure how many of you would use it - I put 4 oz of currents in instead of the lemon, and they're fabby, not quite your fruit shorites and wanted possibly another little bit of suger (say 1/2oz) but perfectly lovely anyways.

next one is to try it with orange as well, or cinamon (sp) any other thoughts would be good - ooh and coconut, all going in my buscuit boxes for the GP's xmas pressie

MrMiaou, Miaou or anyone else who can help, I've posted a thread with next months shopping list.

Also if you have any tried and tested biscuit recipes they would be gratefully received.