cant afford to eat, this is some of the basic shopping any ideas?

[hunnybun1981]

goats milk 4 liters £5.50
normal milk x 7 £7.00
bread x 5 £ 5.00
margarine x1 £1.00
dairy free margarine £1.32
mince x 2 £4.00
apples £1.20
bananas x 2 bags £2.00
snack pack of grapes x 6 £2.00
toilet rolls £2.00
weetabix minis x 1 £1.88
weetos x 1 £1.50
bag of pasta £0.80
chicken dippers x 1 £1.00
shampoo £1.00
bubble bath £1.00
cat food x 7 £3.00
potatoes £2,00
sausages £3.00
peppers £1.00
bol sauce £1.00
onions £0.80
carrots x 2 bags of organice £1.60
SOUP VEG £2,00
SHIN £2.50
YOGHURTS X 28 £4.00
PIZZA X 3 £3.00
SPAGHETTI/BEANS £2.00
PANCAKES £1.00
bacon £2.oo
soap powder £2.00
comfort £1.00
bleach £1.00
coffee £2.00

kids school dinners £ 10.50 bringing it up to in and around 80 quid.

doesnt even include bickies or treats or juice

is this for a week?

What do you want? Recipe ideas? Or ways to cut down on spending?

ok these are things I would cut out or change:

PANCAKES £1.00- make your own? or just don't have
YOGHURTS X 28 £4.00 buy a BIG tub of yoghurt, add stuff to it (fruit, cereal)
SOUP VEG £2,00- make your own
bubble bath £1.00- unnecessary
snack pack of grapes x 6 £2.00 - maybe cheaper to buy a big bag and divide?

things like chicken dippers, and pizzza... although they aren't costing you that much you would be better off buying something like a whole chicken and using it for several meals.

how long is this for? and how many are you buying for? seems like an awful lot of bread and milk

I was going to say pretty much the same as thisisyesterday!

Do you use pulses at all?

Lentils can be added to mince meals like chilli and shepherds pie to bulk it out cheaply.

Or you can have something like bacon and split pea soup, that's nourishing and cheap.

You can search the archives for more fabulous ways to use pulses. They really are worthwhile.

How many people is this for? Seems like loads of milk - 11 litres I make it. Can this be cut down at all?

Buy big bag of grapes and split it into smaller portions.

Weetabix/weetos - buy big bag of economy oats and do porridge for breakfast.

Get economy toilet roll - 75p for 6 in Wilkos.

same for me too thisisyesterday

Firstly, you?re spending £12.50 a week on milk (goats and cows milk) where are you using all this milk?

Also why can?t you all use dairy free spread instead of having to buy one of each (am assuming someone in your household has a dairy allergy)

Buy own brand cereal instead of branded.

Do you eat all that fruit? Or do you end up throwing it away because (esp bananas) don?t keep?

Just some quick thoughts. Could you ditch the cereals and buy porridge oats or make toast for breakfast - that way you're saving both on the cereal and the milk to go on it.

Don't buy Comfort, it really isn't necessary. Same for bleach - use vinegar and bicarb for cleaning purposes. Are yoghurts necessary? If it's for packed lunches, are there any home-made 'treats' you can use instead?

Bubble bath - if money is that tight, I would ditch this. Just have plain soap, unscented if anyone is sensitive to perfume.

What sort of pancakes are they? If they are ordinary ones or Scotch pancakes, they are dead easy to make and very cheap.

Can you make your own bread? Home-made bread costs much less than £1 a loaf, especially if you use fresh yeast. And make the pizza while you're at it.

Don't buy bolognese sauce - use a tin of cheap tomatoes, some herbs, an onion and/or garlic, perhaps a splash of tomato puree or wine if you have any lurking. Will still be cheaper than £1.

You seem to have quite a few meaty meals - could you substitute 1-3 veggie meals in there, that would save a little bit.

here you go - menu plans

bol sauce - buy tins of tomatoes instead.

Have a look on the forums on moneysavingexpert

Lots of threads on there about ultra cheap recipes and ways to cut back your grocery shopping.

sorry, I never realised someone posted about moneysavingexert. The forums on there are fab.

Also, about bubble bath, Tesco does value shower gel at 10p a bottle, I use it for hand cleanser at the sink and also as bubble bath.

you can buy 1 kg of tesco value chicken breasts for £4.29, this could be used to create probably two/three meals, stir-fry, pasta, make your own chicken nuggets (cut into pieces and season and dip in breadcrumbs and oven bake).
You can buy a pack of 48 wheat biscuits (wheatabix equivalent) for £2.15 and this should last you a few weeks (you don't need wheatabix - own brand is just the same).

goats milk 4 liters £3.96 ( 99p /litre)
normal milk x 7 £6.30 (80p per litre)
bread x 5 £ 4.00 ( 80p from bread counter sliced for free)
margarine x1 £1.00
dairy free margarine £1.32
frozen mince x 2 £2.75
12 value apples £72p
bananas x 2 bags £2.00
strawberries £1.89
lidl (recycled 10)toilet rolls £1.19
weetabix minis x 1 £1.88
weetos x 1 £1.50
bag of pasta £0.78
chicken dippers x 1 £1.00
shampoo £1.00
bubble bath £1.00
cat food x 7 £3.00
potatoes £1.45
deli counter sausages £3.00
peppers £1.00
tins of value tomatoes £.40
onions £0.80
carrots x 2 bags of organice £1.60
SOUP VEG £2,00
ribs £1.50
YOGHURTS X 28 £4.00
pizza base mix £0.50
cheese :£ 1.67
SPAGHETTI/BEANS £2.00
PANCAKES £1.00
bacon £2.oo
soap powder £2.00
comfort £1.00
bleach £1.00
coffee £2.00

Total:£59.76 based on current online prices at Tesco and lidl

good ideas everyone daughter has autism and reacts better to the goats milk and dairy free products

family of four one on bottles still.

like the idea of buying big tubs of yohurt and mixing with something

fair comment about bubble bath

young daughters eats 2 bananas a day and other eats lots of apples.

i find if i buy the snack packs from asda they have better date and big bags of grapes dont last as long.

my autistic daughter wont eat a lot of things due to the textures although she loves home made bread will have to start making it again but need some equipment.

thanks everyone

rather than buy the same things every week, aim to buy bigger packs that will last longer (as bigger is usually cheaper in the long-term).

rather than buy the same things every week, aim to buy bigger packs that will last longer (as bigger is usually cheaper in the long-term).

cremola foam

where is the goats milk 99p? got i wish i could get it at that price

we pay about 120 or 130

thanks for that very interesting

wannabe i know what u mean however i am buying every 2 days at the minute as i can no afford to go out and even buy the above.

my cupboards are bare at the minute

you don't need equipment - you just need a bit of time and a loaf tin.

Erganagh goats milk currently 99p at Tesco and Asda( maybe only in Northern ireland- sorry )

no i am northern ireland too, i will have to check this out as works out GOOD BIT BETTER

THANKS

WANNABE

HOW TO YOU MIX THE BREAD MIXTURE?

bread - hand knead it. Takes about 5 mins a couple of times between rises.

Re fruit and veg, far cheaper buying from the market. Make sure you meal plan and only buy the amount you actually need.

Have meals such as jacket potatoes and slad/veg. Cheap but nutritious and filling.
Buy less meat and bulk out with pulses and veg. ie if making a shepherds pie, grate two large carrots to bulk out the meat mixture.
If one person needs dairy free then buy it for all of you. Much cheaper.

Make your own biscuits and cakes. Value flour is only 43p for a large bag. Value butter is around 60p per 250g. You can do it far cheaper than buying the finished product.

Get into the habit of batch cooking. Instead of buying bolognaise sauces make a large pot of tomato base once a month, freeze in portions and add in appropriate herbs when you cook a meal.
Invest in a slow cooker if you don't have one already. Buy v cheap cuts of meat, make large pots of stew/soup etc and freeze portions.

You can also buy large blocks of cheese cheaper than the small crappy ones from local markets. Grate half and freeze it, keep the other half in the fridge for sandwiches etc.