As requested, here is my plan for the week. I've organised a shop at Asda for a top up of the items that I can't buy in the local Aldi - the prices are for Asda as I know you have one in your area. You set me the challenge of feeding four hungry people for under £40 for all meals for seven days. Here is my plan for the rest of the week. It's more food than we usually eat so next week's blog will surely be about lower calorie meals! Hey ho, it's cold and we all feel the need to be fed well to keep warm. I will follow this plan too and halve the portions and costs as there are only the two of us.
Tomorrow, I'm off to 'give a talk' or share my testimony, for me it's the latter..........of my story to date. How I got out of debt, how I set goals, how I budget and basically how I live beneath my means. To me, it's just a simpler way of life so I can rid myself of my mortgage before I retire. This simple life gives me peace and of course, saves me money.
Over to you Dear Reader, what would you add to this menu, or remove? What advice would you give to a family who need to feed all four of themselves for under £40 a week? Food prices are so high now that families on benefits, or pensioners on fixed incomes, or families or low incomes supplemented by benefits are making pitiful choices of not what to eat, but who eats in their family.
It's sad indictment of the state of affairs here in the UK that families are faced with the daily dilemma of whether they can eat and whether the heating can go on or not. We've had 100% rain and cold for weeks and weeks and my heart goes out to the families who have sat at home, without enough to eat and without any heating.
I hope you like the ideas and that my offering was of any help to you today. I've included desserts as families need treats and a small sweet dish won't do anyone any harm. So many families are making 'do' and I remember every day how very lucky we are that we both have jobs and can afford to pay all our bills!
I look forward to hearing from you,
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs
OMG I wouldn't have believed this was possible! My favourite is the spinach and butternut lasagne at less than £1 per head and with so many lovely ingredients. I'll definitely be trying this one. I always try to save money on my shopping bill and think your blog provides some great advice x
ReplyDeleteVery nice menu and quite similar to mine. I was going to say that the desserts are not necessary but then I would not go without them either! I use powdered milk in all baking, porridge and so on and then buy 'good' milk just for children to drink (that is full fat and fresh). I also slice leftover cold meatloaf thinly as a sandwich filler, with mustard and gherkins.
ReplyDeleteI have got ours down to £50 a week so far (2 adults and 2 small children)...a little way to go to get to £40. I ventured the 40 minutes drive to Aldi in Liskeard the other day and was very impressed...just have to justify the petrol costs.....
ReplyDeleteWell done! I was in Tesco today as I had lots of vouchers (OH gets diesel for work and uses the loyalty card there). I usually shop in Aldi and I was shocked at some of the prices in Tesco. However, I used the vouchers wisely and stocked up on half price items which I can't buy in Aldi. Home made soup and porridge are really cheap and healthy fillers. I batch cook bolognaise and fill it with onions, lentils, garlic and other veg to make it go further. I make our own loaves and batch bake muffins, cakes etc for the lunch boxes. Yesterday I cooked two legs of lamb which were half price in the Coop - cooked them at the same time and portioned them up into 10 meals for the freezer, so that worked out at £2 of meat per family meal. We never eat out or buy takeaways and buy lots of yellow sticker food and food on offer, but I'm still wondering why our food bill continues to rise! Yes, I too totally sympathise with those sitting in the cold and not even able to look forward to a hot, filling meal. Even if we can't afford to go out anywhere and can't always manage holidays, at least we are warm and eat well. Hope your talk goes well x
ReplyDeleteI love how you broke this all down for people to follow, I've got mine down to about £50 a week now for four, I always shop at Aldi for main shop and there is toilet roll, deodorant etc. included in the £50. I have to get a couple of bits from Asda ( Aldi don't do my decaf earl grey) I noticed you stayed away from box cereal as that soon adds up and doesn't last long. My boys do like it but I have to say it is so much cheaper at Aldi (think wheatos about £2.80 a box, Aldi choco hoops are £1 and my son says they taste the same, I have checked ingredients there is no real difference.)
ReplyDeleteAldi cereals are also fortified with vitamins, iron etc and taste good so I also buy these for breakfasts. Some budget cereals from other stores are not fortified.
DeleteJust some general ideas here--
ReplyDeleteEat less meat. Whatever you normally buy, get half as much and freeze it in small portions. (I used to freeze ground beef in one lb. packages. Now the packages are 1/2 or 1/3 lb. for 3 adults. Eggs are a cheap source of protein. Use half as much cheese in recipes.
Eat beans, lentils, dried peas and other legumes. Although canned beans are cheap, cooking dried beans costs about half as much. (A good use for your pressure cooker or slow cooker). Freeze extras. We had lentil soup yesterday and I am thawing some black beans I cooked two months ago for a salad tomorrow. We are eating more couscous, too.
When I cook winter squash, I cook the whole thing and freeze what we don't eat in meal-size packages. Butternut squash, seeded and cooked in one inch thick rounds, cooks in 5 minutes in the pressure cooker at 10 lbs. pressure.
Tiny bits of leftovers that aren't enough for a lunch get scraped into a jar in the freezer. Doesn't matter what they are--rice, veggies, tomato sauce, whatever. When the jar is full, make soup with bouillon cubes/soup base. Mashed potatoes dissolve in the liquid. Do not refer to this as garbage soup in front of children or partner. It's always different--and always good.
Leftover produce can go into salads, soups, meatloaf, etc. Don't waste anything.
Homemade salad dressings (recipes all over the net) cost a fraction of bottled and only take a few minutes to make.
Make stock with meat bones. I used ham stock that I made and froze a month ago for the lentil soup. If you don't have time to make the stock today (don't forget slow cooker), freeze the bones until you do (or get enough bones).
When you have a roast, freeze leftover meat in packages of the same size that you use for recipes--or skimp a little on the amount to get an extra package.
> garbage soup
DeleteWe call it "mongrel soup" :)
Growing up in the American South I can say without hesitation that beans and cornbread is a good way to go. Many times when money was tight growing up that's what we had and had often. Usually its pinto beans cooked in some sort of seasoning such as a ham hock or the like but sometimes we had yellow eyes or black - eyed peas, usually coleslaw { cabbage is cheap} or greens on the side with whatever seasonal vegetable there was to be had from the garden. The beans are often topped with chopped onion and/or chow - chow, a type of pickle relish. Sometimes hot sauce is passed at the table.
ReplyDeleteEven today, this meal is often served at church suppers as a fund raiser and is known as the "poor man's supper". It matters not to me. I grew up on this meal and to this day serve it often. In fact, were had it last night and will have the leftovers tonight!
Again, thank you Froogs for all that you do!
I grew up in the South and still live in Alabama. Black-eyed peas and cornbread with coleslaw is a meal fit for a king. Navy beans are so tasty. Even when money was not tight, we ate these meals. I cook this just because I love it.
DeleteLentils are great as well
ReplyDeleteOne product I recently found in asda was smart price mild curry sauce at 20p a jar. It's got some sugar and sweetners in it but I have to say it's ok. We usually make our own curries but this made a very decent butternut squash and chickpea curry and I got some more.
ReplyDeleteMy son used to love a pud with custard when he was little. I used to buy cheap sponge mixes and then use whatever was in the cupboard to ring the changes. A dollop of jam, maybe dried fruit, syrup, apple or marmalade. Spongemixes are still available and cost pennies for supermarket basic ranges.
ReplyDeleteWe had lots of good cheap nourishing meals all called "if it" if it's on your plate, eat it. No room for fussy eaters in our house.
I noticed one thing that is very different from what we are advised in the states, and that is to include protein with breakfast. It helps get the total protein needed for the day and helps maintain the feeling of fullness longer than carbs.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous list. It is sad that there are those who have to make decisions such as heat or food. Devastating really.
ReplyDeleteI love to use carrots and cabbage to make a really nice side salad with apple cider vinegar and mayo. It is really tasty. I also found a cabbage and carrot casserole that I have to yet make but imagine you can have some nice leftovers with that as well. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cabbage-Carrot-Casserole/Detail.aspx
Lentils and beans hands down win for being filling and healthy. Chili with a side of biscuits or cornbread is just perfect and freezes well.
This really is incredible.
ReplyDeleteIt often costs me over $40 for groceries for 1 meal here in Australia. My sister has been with out hot water and heat because of a gas pipe problem for ages in London. I cannot imagine.
I admire how disciplined and focussed you are. x
How many pancakes of what size does your recipe make? 3/4 c flour sounds like not enough for four people, even with the milk and egg added.
ReplyDeleteYour plans are very inspiring. It's good to have an example, either to use "as is", or as a guide, and put in the meals one's family prefers.
Hi Froogs, great menu planner, I rarely eat desserts so I would use the money that you put into desserts to do away with tinned corned beef. I feel it is not that healthy, full of fat and so dry. I know it makes a decent meatloaf but I detest it. I would probably go with a bit more minced meat to do mine. Everything else looks great. I do a pumpkin and chickpea curry with tinned tomatoes and a pinch of cumin 1/2 an onion sweated 1 clove of garlic and 1/2 cinnamon stick. Yum!
ReplyDeleteJo in Auckland, NZ
I'm always amazed that people don't meal plan. I always do but I never look at budget per meal. We do budget but not in that much detail. I know how much I want to spend and work around that. My parents spend £100 a week on their food shop and I wonder how they manage that.
ReplyDeleteI think your meal plan is more diverse than most peoples without a budget.
This is such a brilliant post Froogs. When I was feeding 6 of us on very little money my menu plan was very similar. I agree with some desserts especially for growing hungry boys and girls. This is all "proper food" unlike the processed unhealthy snacks I see piled up in the supermarket trolleys that are feeding young families. Access to internet and blogs were not around when my family were growing up but I am so pleased that we have this tool to encourage and support each other to eat well on low budgets. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, what great ideas!
ReplyDeleteWe tend to buy in sales and then use up what we have - our budget is also $40/week, feeding 3. It works well but there are sometimes unusual food combinations as we eat out the freezer :)
this is great, you did such a good job!
ReplyDeletewe spend 30£ a week max for the two of us, but toilet paper, washing up liquid, paper for the printer,freezer bags, baking paper, and so on are included.
My man is a (very skinny) landscape gardener/architect. He is currently building a dry stone wall with those arms. He really needs a lot of calories, so I cook/bake everything wholewheat and a lot of peas/lentils, nuts, and once a month or when we feel like it, some meat. Lentils, eggs and canned tuna is our usual source for protein.
I buy oatmeal, olive oil, ww pasta, and all I can in bulk.
The only thing that occurs to me is that you are used to small breakfasts. Which is great if you try to control your calories intake for the day (so my sister says) but for us that is almost the biggest meal of the day.
Breakfast like a king
lunch like a farmer
dinner like a poor
We shop at aldi most of the time and although there is only two of us ,but we love our meat dishes and eat meat in one form or another about 4 times a week the no meat days are made up with meals like jacket potato & oven chips with egg & beans or beans and cheese and gray peas and crusty bread ( a black country delicacy ) just lately i have discovered farm foods have some great fresh meat , minced beef , stewing beef , and really large chicken breasts which one breast can make a stir fry with lots of vegetables for two , we tend to have toast a lot for breakfast which i buy reduced loaves for around 25p put them in the freezer which can be toasted straight from the freezer , topped with an egg boiled , scrambled or poached , or marmalade /jam , i will have to have a go and see how much i can do a plan with eating more meat , xxx
ReplyDeleteFroogs, you have really inspired me to start cutting down and actually start saving. I really wouldn't have thought this could be done. Thank you so much
ReplyDeleteVery incredible!
ReplyDeletehttp://duecuoriinpadella.blogspot.com/
Very incredible!
ReplyDeletehttp://duecuoriinpadella.blogspot.com/
Froogs you are a star. Even those of us fortunate enough not to HAVE to budget as tightly as this will find inspiration for good eating and money saving.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. We are a family of four, and counting only food I feed us for around £40 a week. Toiletries aperçu do bring the price up, but just for food we do well. We just keep it simple - cornflakes or porridge at breakfast, a sandwich and fruit at lunch, and then I vary the tea time meal - tonight it's lean pork tenderloins, carrots, cabbage and new potatoes. I find that by keeping breakfast and lunch simple, it means I can afford to eat meat more often at tea time. When I can at tea I make extra portions which makes lunch the next day too.
ReplyDeleteXxx
I spent $29 at the store this week to feed 4 adults and 2 toddlers. Breakfast is toast, eggs, grits or oatmeal. Lunch is often leftovers, but I did pick up some sliced ham for sandwiches. Menus for the evening meals are as follows:
ReplyDeleteLentil curry
Macaroni and cheese (homemade) with broccoli
baked potatoes topped with a bit of leftover chili and cheese
fried rice
baked sweet potatoes, spinach salad with homemade honey mustard dressing, cornbread muffins
I only plan 5 meals per week because I won't be home on Wednesdays (church) so they eat leftovers. I also find that one night per week I have a fridge full of leftover bits of food so we eat them up or have soup. Mikemax is right, don't refer to it as Garbage Soup out loud. It gets a better reception of you call it Surprise Soup.
I simply do not have time to cook desserts right now so we serve fruits as snacks/treats/desserts. I made some homemade oatmeal cookies about 3 weeks ago, the family thought they were in heaven. Some weeks I have meat to serve, this week I didn't. No problem. Next week my grocery budget will be $60, in addition to restocking the oatmeal and flour I'll be able to afford at least one type of meat.
That's incredible but still tasty and healthy. You never cease to amaze.
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant resource for folk to print out, refer to and tinker with depending on what ingredients they have that need using up.
ReplyDeleteA shopping list of the items bought would be a brilliant addition to this post, if you have the time, and I realise that these sort of posts do take lots of time.
Wow love your spread sheet. And such a frugal meal plan too! definitely going to be looking at this again when I get home and copying some ideas! Can't believe how little you spent over the whole week. However, your breakfasts just wouldn't fill me up enough. I would have to have a mid morning snack or eat a bigger quantity.
ReplyDeleteJenni x
The Thrifty Magpies Nest