Cheap red ideas?...

Lisaberry

Silver Member
Afternoon everyone!

I'm sorry if this has been asked a million times but my forum searching skills on my phone are rubbish!

I really need to throw myself back into full time red. EE is lovely but I'm struggling to lose. It will certainly be a bigger part of my life when I get to target but I feel for now, it's time to wave EE goodbye.

I always end up spending loads when I do red but for now, keeping the weekly shop to a reasonable cost is a major priority.

Obviously I read the bargain thread but wondered what super cheap red day staples are out there? £2
for 3 slices of ham which I would devour in 2 seconds is crazy!!

Meat that can be cooked from frozen (like the healthy living mince I buy) is a bonus as planning in advance is not one of my strong points!!!
 
Hey hun.

I've always done Red with a few Green days thrown in. EE has always baffled me, a friend of mine looses more on RED then on EE.

Soooo, red days...


I usually have Baked pot with a tin of tuna, blob of light mayo and salad for lunch.

Tuna at the moment is on offer at Asda, so stock up whilst its cheep!
I buy a whole chicken, cook it and cut it up and have it in the fridge for nibble on or to take to work.

Also Bernard Mathews Turkey Slices (not wafer thin, but not uber thick ones) are on offer at Asda about 17 slices for £2!

And usually Asda do a three for £10 on all fresh meat, including Chicken, steak and bacon.

I guess i look out for a bargin and take advantage and stock up

Hope this helps xx
 
I used to buy whole chickens to roast, works as a dinner and then leftovers for sandwiches, salads or other meals. Also the hot meat counters often have cooked chickens or gammon/ham hocks, which are great for soups or salads - if you time it right then they're all half price too!

I also find packs of chicken thighs are good for casseroles, and like the other poster said, the 3 for £10 deals are good too.
 
Tesco Value gammon rounds are £1 for 2 thick steaks and lovely with eggs.

Make a lovely beef stew with lean stewing steak which is always cheap and have with swede and carrot mash for a lovely comfort dish

crabsticks and cooked mussels are always in the fridge for fairly cheap snacks and salads

xxx
 
Thanks for the ideas. I guess what I am going to have to do is sit down and plan. Think I need to eek out stews etc with more veg - just hubs is so anti veg!
Perhaps once the kids are in bed I'll have a look on mysupermarket see what deals are around!

Also, with cod do people use the frozen stuff in a box? I've only bought the fresh smoked stuff of the fish counter so wondered if the plain frozen stuff is ok?
 
Frozen everything from the budget brands - always buy on offers to stockpile!!!

I love Crab/fishsticks and salad and ELF Mayo - half a pack can cost about 80p so its a super cheap lunch!

Bacon as well, if bought on a 2 for £3 offer can make a cheap lunch - either a sandwich or on salad with your HEA of cheese!

I love a SW quiche too - with bacon mushroom and chicken and tomato toppings!!!

Chicken breast fillets, Salmon fillets - usually buy in large packs and freeze. Or get reduced and freeze!

Big bags of lean mince are ideal too!

Quorn?? if you manage to be savvy and get a good deal these are great too!

x
 
Ooh SW quiche, that will be good for lunch at work!

The prob with salad is it goes off so quick and I end up in the supermarket 3 times a week. And once I'm in there I can never ever buy just what I went in for!
 
yeah and a tip for SW quiche is to make them in muffin tins - or Yorkshire pudding tins, so you get individual mini ones....they taste delicious!!!!! :) xxx
 
That is a good idea! Mmmmm, broccoli, bacon, onion, tomato and a hexa of cheese. Sooo scrummy!
 
The cheap plain frozen fish from asda is great - I use it for fish pie, fiskcakes or just cook in a foil parcel with some garlic, lemon and black pepper - lovely!
We also go through loads of the value brand frozen chicken breasts - really versatile and at least half the price of the fresh ones.
 
If you buy lettuce like Romaine or Cos it lasts well over a week, I got that tip in a Women's magazine a few weeks back!!
 
Cherry-pie...I'll give the fish a go, thanks! Yup, I do feel bad for the poor chickens...Hugh Fernly whatsisface would shake his curly head at me but I converted to frozen value chicken too. Soo much cheaper!

Rumbletummy - I forget that there is a world of lettuce beyond iceberg or pretty ready packaged salad! Will def buy some this week!
 
Have to say I love Aldi and Lidl, great for fruit and veg, eat mountains of them :rolleyes:. Got pack with 2 chicken quarters for 99p at Aldi's last week. Made 4 pieces, ate 2 for dinner and took the other 2 to bits and with laughing cow and salad on role for lunch next 2 days. Aldi has also lovely ham (with basil or tomatoe crust), 5 big slices for 99p which last also easily for 2 lunches on a role.
 
Hmmmm, interesting! Been in the 'cheapie' supermarkets a couple of times but never found them cheaper than Asda. That def sounds worth looking into!
 
Jennyonaplate said:
I used to buy whole chickens to roast, works as a dinner and then leftovers for sandwiches, salads or other meals. Also the hot meat counters often have cooked chickens or gammon/ham hocks, which are great for soups or salads - if you time it right then they're all half price too!

I also find packs of chicken thighs are good for casseroles, and like the other poster said, the 3 for £10 deals are good too.

Rotisserie chicken from the hot counters isn't free. You'd need to syn it.

Getting cheaper cuts of meat and using a slow cooker is a great way of saving money too x
 
Hmmmm, interesting! Been in the 'cheapie' supermarkets a couple of times but never found them cheaper than Asda. That def sounds worth looking into!

Sorry, don't have an Asda here so I could not tell the price difference. Although Aldi/Lidl do not have the same variety as the big supermarkets I usually use them for my basics and get only bits and pieces elsewhere.
 
Now Asda do their price promise I generally shop there but they don't compare against Aldi/Lidl prices.
I did see that Lidl have their packs of stewing steak at 1.99 so they might be worth picking up.

On EE I have used smash to thicken my stews - is there a red friendly way to thicken them? If the sauce isn't thick enough then I have to strain in before DH will eat it and so he eats twice as much and it doesn't work out very cost effective!
 
yeah and a tip for SW quiche is to make them in muffin tins - or Yorkshire pudding tins, so you get individual mini ones....they taste delicious!!!!! :) xxx

I got this idea from someone on this forum and it's excellent, much easier for snacking or putting in your lunch box - I use the silicone cake cases.
 
Now Asda do their price promise I generally shop there but they don't compare against Aldi/Lidl prices.
I did see that Lidl have their packs of stewing steak at 1.99 so they might be worth picking up.

On EE I have used smash to thicken my stews - is there a red friendly way to thicken them? If the sauce isn't thick enough then I have to strain in before DH will eat it and so he eats twice as much and it doesn't work out very cost effective!

I use 1 teaspoon of cornflour mixed with a bit of water in with it while it's cooking, which makes it nice and thick. I can't remember how many syns it is, but it's not many
 
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