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

idtcs thanks for those tips might nip down and get some fruit now from the market as we have a local one and have never been before mainly bcus couldnt take daughter to any where crowded.

i have tried the kids on baked potatoes they wont eat them.

fussy eaters esp the autistic one

will keep trying but

Look for the massive sacks of rice and pasta - they're cheaper and if you get through it quite fast you'll use it all. Turkish/chinese/indian food shops often have massive sacks of rice, lentils etc much cheaper than buying small packets at the supermarket. And the basics/value ranges can be great for fruit and veg - things like a big bag of apples for 50p.

if you have one child still on bottles and one who is dairy free, how are you and your dh using 7 litres of milk a week?

I would second buying fruit/veg as you need it - how much do you waste at the moment?

A couple of thoughts:

• might be worth asking on freecycle if anyone has a breadmaker going spare - its the sort of thing people sometimes buy, use twice and then it sits around taking up space

• v large packs of potatoes can be good value - our local farm shop sells 25 kilos for 6 and they'll last for months if you can put them somewhere dark and cool. Use for roasts, chips, mash, boils. Although I appreciate this needs having £6.

• second the ethnic supermarkets - ones near to me are far cheaper for fruit/veg/spices etc

A couple of thoughts:

• might be worth asking on freecycle if anyone has a breadmaker going spare - its the sort of thing people sometimes buy, use twice and then it sits around taking up space

• v large packs of potatoes can be good value - our local farm shop sells 25 kilos for 6 and they'll last for months if you can put them somewhere dark and cool. Use for roasts, chips, mash, boils. Although I appreciate this needs having £6.

• second the ethnic supermarkets - ones near to me are far cheaper for fruit/veg/spices etc

WANNABE SHE ISNT DAIRY FREE WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO TRY GOATS MILK AS IT HAS MORE A2 MILK IN IT, AND HAS A PROFOUND EFFECT ON CHILDREN WITH AUTISM
(SORRY CAPS ON)

my younger child would drink half a liter easy a day and then cereal and my older daughter uses the 4 liters of goats milk over a week.

we dont drink milk mostly just for coffee and tea and the odd bit for sauces etc or scrambled egg

we dont wast fruit at all r kids love it which is great

any bananas on there way out go into banana bread same with blue berries.

there is never any apples left as these are sliced up with lunch.

axisofevil

thats a great idea i will go on freecycle and do that.
thanks for the idea will try and get to a ethnic supermarket

we would use a lot of potatoes for stews etc so would be worth the 6 quid at the start of the week.

axisofevil

thats a great idea i will go on freecycle and do that.
thanks for the idea will try and get to a ethnic supermarket

we would use a lot of potatoes for stews etc so would be worth the 6 quid at the start of the week.

I wouldn't be buying blueberries or grapes on your budget, or any out of season fruits.

Definitely ditch stuff like bubblebath, fabric conditioner, and agree buylots of pulses & big bags of rice from Indian shops.

I buy the Asda smartprice porridge oats which are less than half the Scotts price and are actually nicer, more creamy.

well i dont buy treats at the minute for kids so i buy plenty of fruit as they enjoy it and its better than plying them with junk and we also make blueberry bread so it does snack time at school

and grapes are not dear on offer 3 packs for 1 £ at asda these also do snacks at school and home

fabric conditoner and bubble bath will go from shopping list for a while

porridge is an idea and a great winter warmer but again will be made with the milk?

You can make porridge all milk/half milk and half water/ or all water - it doesn't really affect the taste.

I bought two chickens at the weekend, as we had a friend over for Sunday lunch. Used then Sunday for lunch for 4, sandwiches for ds on Monday; reheated chicken and leftover veg and bisto gravy for Monday supper for 3; ds had another sandwich off them for yesterday; made 'fridge' pasta with the remaining meat for 4 last night, and also have two huge bowls of stock in my fridge ready to make soup with from the carcasses and some veg lurking in the fridge.

Don't buy bol sauce - make your own, it's easy, and I pad out my shepherds pie with carrots and leeks to reduce the meat content.

Use the sausages in a risotto with veg, and you'll need less sausages.

hunnybun - I make my porridge with water it is ok. I find that if I put the oats to soak with the water the night before it plumps them up and you seem to get more!

If you do manage to get hold of a bread machine you could also make your own pizzas (in fact you can make them anyway without a machine)

What's the spaghetti/beans? Is it that tinned stuff?

yes it is tinned stuff i have it in the cupboard just incase for a quick tea with chicken dippers and potatoes.

once a week jobby maybe

i have porridge in house i will try it however my autistic 5 year old likes routine and she likes the same cereal weetos or weetabix minis, so it will be a challenge

thanks everyone off out to lidl get sumthing for tea

'need some equipment' to make bread - one measuring jug, one mixing bowl, one pair of hands, and clingfilm or a plazzie bag to cover dough whilst proving.

You could switch to ordinary (own brand) Weetabix rather than pay extra to have them already cut up small for you! Could you cut them to the right size for your DD?

Porridge made with water is easier to make as it sticks less to the pan.

I add milk on top, and DS like brown sugar and a spot of longlife cream (lasts ages, so no waste and a touch of luxury).

For speed, you can make up a big Master Pancake Mix:
6 cups flour
1Tbsp salt
6Tbsp baking powder
6 Tbsp sugar

Keep this in an airtight container, and to use, take:
1.5 cups pancake mix
1 egg
2 Tbsp melted butter
1 cup milk

This makes loads of pancakes, but you nan keep the liquid mix covered in the fridge for a few days.

You can use powdered milk in the main mix (cheaper), in which case use water not milk when you make them up.

Thes are thick American style pancakes.

katch, thank you thats a great idea to make the pancake mix like that .

will do that
is it 6 cups like mugs or cups like half size ones?

prov lady

its not the plain weetabix minis its the ones with the chop chips through them mind u there is very few of them anyway.

i find weetabix very expensive too and the cheap alternatives r not the same

honeybun- where about are you? I might be able to organise a breadmaker for you...if you are interested and it would make a difference to you.

bangor cremolafoam

will Cat you now and we can talk more on the subject of breadmakers!

ok thanks

Re. pancake mix: the cup is the American cup size, equivalent to 250ml in volume.
A mug should be fine.

In the meantime here is my pizza base recipe:
700g plain flour
1 sachet of yeast
50g butter
pinch each of salt, pepper and sugar.
warm water to bind
some extra flour for kneading and rolling .

put the yeast and the flour in a wide bowl
rub in the butter like you would for crumble
add the salt pepper and sugar . stir with a knife. slowly add the warm water and combine with the knife.do this bit by bit until the mixture holds together.Get your hand in to the bowl to finsh this.if it becomes too wet/slimy add a little extra flour.
tip onto a floured board and knead together by hand.
place back in the bowl and cover with a tea towel while you prepare the toppings/grate cheese etc.
after 20 minutes knead again.then leave for another 10 minutes under the teatowel. It should expand and puff up.
divide the pizza dough into fist size blobs and roll out to the required size.top as you wish.