food budget

[bubbles4920]

if you had very little money to live on per week eg £20 what food, drink would you buy to maintain healthy eating if thats possible. potatoes and mince are out by the way. also any suggestions with less than this figure welcome. wondering if aldi or lidl would be cheap enough to use.

[mccfluff]

RH's suggestion is a very good one but i would go to the market and by loads of veg from there as it tends to be cheaper also get some pasta and as RH says get a joint of meat and roast it then use it as the basis for the rest of the week.
a big fat veggie and pasta soup is a good filler, macaroni cheese.

[bubbles4920]

what would be your shopping list if you went shopping on this amount, could you even do it in a month? im guessing it would get boring after a while with the same food. a chicken and veg sounds good and the soup too, dont want to include carbs which i know fills you up. mash and chips are out and mince as i said ie cant make spag bol, lasagne or chilli con carne!

[ummmm]

Why are carbs out?

[mollykins]

yeah you need carbs for a balanced diet.

[B00]

This forum

http://forums.moneysa....html?f=33&order=desc

Is brilliant, if you read some of the threads you'll find lots of ideas for shaving the £'s off your shopping bill AND eating healthily.

[ummmm]

You don't have to eat meat either which is the most expensive part of the shopping.

[bubbles4920]

thanks for answers. yes a menu would be good, thanks. this is for my poor friend who just lost her job. she doesnt eat carbs at night, only a sandwich or a carb thing at lunchtimes. im trying to help her out as much as i can but not got many good ideas, until reading on here of course! keep them coming, they are great! i also asked would it be possible on £20 per month but even i am thinking thats a no no!

[sunflower68]

hi bubbles; buy value tinned tomatoes, onions, garlic, some breadrolls and some value cheddar or value mozzarella. Put the veg in with the tinned toms, cold, in a small casserole dish. Season and sprinkle grated cheese or mix in the mozz, diced, into the cold toms. Cover with foil and bake/ clingfilm and microwave. Heat roll till crusy and use to dip in the stew. It's one of my faves and cheap, so cheap!

[scotman]

I would also keep an eye on supermarket shelves where they sell items that are on their 'sell by' date. These are usually (much) cheaper. Most items are good for a few days past this date anyway, especially this time of year.
Plenty of rice and pasta for carb.

[ayabrea38]

Dont forget value eggs.Any leftovers can make an interesting omlette or fritatta.I know they are not kind to the chickens,but needs must and living on that ammount is not kind to people is it?

[bizzylizzy]

Pasta is always a very economical buy. Make a cheap sauce with canned tomatoes, bacon bits etc with a sprinkling of cheese. Also try going to supermarkets just before they close or find out what time they begin marking prices of perishables down. Ready cooked chickens are very often reduced substantially at the end of the day. As someone here says, a cooked chicken can provide meals for two or three days. The cheaper shops like Aldi and Lidl are great places to shop for a bargain. The fruit and veggies in particular are much cheaper I find.

[ummmm]

£20 a month?? Are you having a laugh? That's just not possible.

[woozer]

Beans and Lentils are a very good source of protein and soluble fibre - they make a nice addition to most stews and soups and I also like them curried, cold in salad, blitzed with garlic and oil as a dip - hummus is just flavoured chick pea puree - incredibly cheap and filling and tasty - and yes I know some people suffer from wind and so did I at first but I persevered (bad luck to those around me LOL) and found that after a week my system settled down and the wind problem abated.
I usually buy them dried rather than tinned and if you have a slow cooker this is a great way to soak soften and cook them - tinned is a bit more expensive but makes them a bit softer - ethnic shops often sell huge bags of ddried ones cheaper - good luck to your friend I hope her fortunes improve soon.

[zzxxee]

make a huge stew that will last a couple of days you could also make some pasties or pies with the stew filling

[Sandy-Wroe]

Porridge makes a filling, cheap, and nourishing breakfast. I'd add that to any shopping list.

[whitelady]

A nice big baked potato with a tin of baked beans is another great filler, or tuna in the baked potato, if she has a big appetite 2 potates with a large tin of beans would do the trick or another idea is soup and mashed potatoes, wish I had a plate of in front of me now, it;s so cold. She could makes a lot of chiops from a few potatoes and have eggs and beans , a slice of bread or toast and a big mug of tea, what better/ YOU ARE A GOOD FRIEND, HAPPY 2010 to you both.