OK - I have (approx) £25 to last me until the 29th..........

[TheQueenOfQuotes]

We use

roughly 4 pints milk a day (sometimes less)
1 loaf of bread last 1 1/2 days (we buy Warburtons as it's the only one available in the local shop that the DS's will actually eat )
I'm going to need to buy one tin of baby milk (£6.40)
I can only get away with one vegetarian meal (DH a big meat eater) 2 at a stretch
I'll also need one more box of (48) Wheetabix - DS's go through 5 a day between them!

and I currently have

2 lots of mince, 1 lot of braising steak (2 if you include the lot I'm using today), enough sausages for 2 meals.

All basics (sugar, washing powder, dishwasher tablets, wipes, nappies - although DH buys then anyhow - coffee, sugar, cheese, potatoes already pretty well stocked up.

Can I do it - (well I know I can - I've fed us on £15 in one week - including having to buy nappies - before now) - but how best to do it??

And what else can I do with braising steak other than make a stew type thing with it, and what else with the mince except for bolognaise type meal/meatloaf (there's not enough to make burgers/meatballs).

That should have said "have gone from having 3 full time MINDEES

saltire - DH wouldn't mind having beans on toast.......but he'd be raiding the cupboard 1/2hr later for something else to eat.

Anyhow - they'll be getting nothing for dinner at this rate - have to get that stew/curry on the go (haven't decided which yet) or either a) dinner will be at 9pm or b) the meat will be tough as old boots

Lots of great ideas thankyou

Do you make desserts at all? Things like apple crumble, baked bananas, rice pudding - all filling and cheap.

Soup fills you up for ages, especially if you add potatoes and pulses like CD said - I appreciate the difficulty I really do but I would say it is probably more in their minds that food does not fill them up without meat. My dp even admits it out loud now! I overheard him at a wedding recently spouting the benefits of organic veg boxes and being made to eat stuff you don't like now and again

Good luck with your stew anyway

Beans on top of two enormous jacket spuds would fill him up surely?

BTW if i were you I'd put your meat on a low heat (or in slow cooker) and eat it tomorrow, Have you something else you can do today?

Wisteria - he knows that they can be filling (and yes 2 enormous baked potatoes, complete with baked beans, cheese, cottage cheese..... does fill him up) - but he's also pretty switched on to when I'm trying to "economise"......a few months back I bought some of the smaller (250g) packs of mince (instead of usuall 450g) - I bulked it out lots with veg, beans, etc etc.........his first comments "very nice - but there wasn't much meat in there" .

I tried it a 2nd time bulking out even more....but he still cottoned on. Went back to the usual size packs and made exactly the same quantity of food as with the small packs "oh good you've bought bigger ones again" (he has virtually no input into the shopping so wouldn't have known that I'd bought them) .

Meat is now cooking - I've found this steak takes about 1 1/2-2hrs to cook - so should be ready by 6.30 - phew.

mercy - I'm pretty good at cooking (so main courses as no problem usually) - but baking........not quite so successful - I have made fairy cakes and flapjack before - and bread in the breadmaker - but that's about as far as my talents go (much to mothers horror LOL).

Why are you trying to hide the fact that you're having to economise, 2 DVD's and some choccy aren't wholly responsible surely?
I don't really understand, as he must realise that SMP is hardly the most generous income when you are used to more, and you have an extra mouth to feed albeit a wee one at the moment.

Could you not ask him to get a few bits form the supermarket whilst he buys the SMA

I agree Wisteria. I can't think of a polite way to put it but I'm afraid your dh sounds rather selfish tbh (sorry)

What does he eat during the day? What sort of food did he/you both eat in Zimbabwe?

(btw, I am a crap baker too!)

Im the same way at the moment mate, skint until cheques clear.

Why do cheque take so bloomin long!!

Hoping they are cleared by wedensday, and the transfer from paypal hits by then too, as I piad the deposit on Misdee's holiday, and her tesco online shop with my own money so it was sorted for her.

Lets hope £21 stretches!!!

Babar's Corned Beef Hash

Spuds (as many as you can eat)
1 x onion
1 x tin of corned beef
Salt & Pepper

cut spuds and boil for 20 mins

Open tin and in chop corned beef and place in a large oven proof dish. Roughly chop spuds and mix in with corned beef.

Best to do a thin layer spread out, than a thick pile, as it will go more crispy when cooked.

Put in oven for about 30mins or till it looks done.

Serve with brown or red ketchup or whatever you prefer.

Sorry can't offer much more advice than that.

Cooking apples stewed and things like that, which are cheap for puddings.

why am I trying to hide it? ermm without spilling the whole story - because in the past I've been totally crp with money management - I'm still not great but a lot* better than I was - long story I'd rather not go into here .

What did we eat in Zimbabwe - gawd I can't remember what we used to cook before - I know lots of meat was involved. We didn't really get much time of "normal" living in Zim as when we first go together we were both living on the school grounds (both worked there) and got fed there - meat available at ALL meals (as well more cabbage than I can bare to think about - put us both of cabbage for life). Then we had a short time of me doing a different job and as it was the height of summer we had braii's (bbq's) most nights (partly due to the fact that we didn't have a cooker to start with).

I know there was LOTS of chicken and a fair bit of mince thrown in. Only had a few months of that when we got married (I'd left the job - it was awful and my renewed work visa didn't come through in time for the end of my probation) and then every last resource was thrown into paying for flights and visa costs for coming to the UK - I do remember that for about 2 months we had black coffee (couldn't afford the milk) with no sugar (also too expensive LOL) to drink, 2 slices of bread for breakfast (didn' have a grill/toaster), Wedding Cake for lunch (Should have been DS1's Christening cake - the top tier of it), and Mince and Rice (with stock to make it more palatable) for dinner EVERY day.

No it wasn't a lot - and by the time we came back to the UK DH was incredibly thin (too much so.

As for what DH eats in the day. On a work day he'll have a huge bowl of cereal (usually a mixture of Fruit'n'Fibre, some extra mixed dried fruit and other flakes thrown on top). Then he'll have a sandwich before he leaves for work around lunchtime, and takes another sandwich to eat later (typically has egg and sliced meat and salad or sausages in it). Plus fruit and a few "Elevenses" and bars of chocolate thrown in to keep him going until he gets hom and has dinner around 10pm. Then he'll usually have some more fruit and a yoghurt before he goes to bed.

Weekends he usually has Sausages for lunch (4 thick ones) (normal breakfast) and dinner at similar time to us, plus lots of fruit and a yoghurt before bed.

and as for being selfish - he most certainly isn't - he rarely buys himself any little extras - atm most of the extra goes to family back home - which I don't begrudge AT ALL. and it's end of the month for him too - so he's not exactly loaded either. He has to leave enough money in his account to pay for his petrol for work (he gets it back later thankfully).

Anyhow - I don't see how it's DH being selfish if DS2 doesn't get filled up on most vegetarian (pulse) meals - he's not even 4 yet so I can hardly accuse DH of manipulating him . And if stuff doesn't agree with him (and trust me if something doesn't agree with him you know it when you enter the bathroom after him TMI I know but it's a fact) I can hardly expect him to eat it (plus I wouldn't want to - it's bad enough having the DS's farting around the house without adding an extra one LOL).

QoQ, I didn't mean to offend - just being nosey. Will get back after I have fed my lot!

QoQ I have catted you I think.

We use braising steak in a chilli with veg, then sue tos tuff wraps- kids (and especially DH) love it

You can do it, Q of Q, I remember you advising enough other people how to do it!

Sausages chopped up in a casserole (sausages, tin tomatoes, rice, peas) go a lot further ime

(also sympathies, broke until student rgant day next mnth- sigh... ah well, thats life)

Mercy - don't worry - I was offended at the time I read the post - but not anymore - I guess I'm just one of those (un)lucky women that not only managed to marry a man with an appetite twice the size of most men, but produce children with the same size appetities .

UCM - no CAT (as yet)

Peachy - I know I can - I just panicked earlier (especially with the CC thing too - thankfully now sorted).

Now what I do need help with is this

Is there anything that I can do to DH's portion of Beef Curry (which is already served up on a plate covered with clingfilm) to make it less spicy??? I've just eaten mine and I think I went a bit OTT with the curry powder - it's only mild powder - but it's a pretty strong flavour and DH won't be too impressed (although will probably say nothing and just smother it with lots of tomato sauce .

natural yoghurt will bring it down a treat

what sort of "sprinkled" on the top??? (bare/bear?) in mind it's already served up so I can't mix it in (without making it look like the DS's attacked it LOL).

you can sirt of stir it through with a cocktail stick on the palte (can you tell i've done this many times? LOL)

Or chop up soem cucumber, mix it with the yoghurt and serve alongside as as a side dish, for him to add as he feels necessary

super thanks Peachy - as soon as he steps through the door I'll tell him I'm just dashing down the shop (I genuinely do need to buy bread and milk).....and see if they have any natural yoghurt in

Ah you see i am much experienced with ishoos of thsi kind (heavy handed with the tabasco LOL....)

I can't remember if it's a potato or a lemon which is meant to decrease the heat from a curry. Actually I think it's a raw potato which does the trick. And yoghurt obviously!

I think what I meant by selfish is that when you are short of money that your dh shouldn't expect meat at practically every meal; there are other, cheaper and healthier ways of filling up however hungry you are. Including breakfast cereal, lunch etc.

Meat doesn't actually fill you up. I'm just concerned that he eats so much meat (and chocolate) - by the time you hit your 40s your diet has already affected your long-term health