Extra Easy SW on a low budget????

Ryansmummy

Full Member
Hi
I am doing SW from home because money is tight ATM and I cant afford class until after Xmas, or whenever my hubby's broken hand recovers and we can both go out to work!

Anyway, I am really trying to budget our outgoings and have earmarked £40 per week shopping budget for food, this is for 2 adults, a five year old boy and a 6 month old boy.

Do you think it's doable? OH is following the plan with me so there is no need for seperate meals, My boys eat the same as us too, one thing about OH is he likes everything cooked from scratch, he usually does the cooking but cant at the moment.

Anyway! enough of my rambling, what do you think?
My main concern is mince! extra lean mince is so expensive! I'm going to give the turkey mince a go, we used it for chilli the other day and it was quite nice.
 
Hey hun, it can be done! I am also on a tight budget, i go to meetings though not just to wi but to also get out!

If you do EE or Green days it works out alot cheaper, red days is what i do, it can be expensive, i prob do about £60 a week shopping, then i go pick up other bits and bobs too :( ...

Perhaps if you sort out a menu for the week ahead and go to the cheapest supermarket, or an actual market ?

You can do it :)
 
I'm quite sure it is. Stick to green days and look for offers - for example, Morries have bags of spuds, carrots, onions, apples, oranges and cabbage on offer at 30p atm. Unbelievable! You can make leek and potato soup, bubble and squeak cakes (with the cabbage), jacket spuds, carrot and coriander soup etc etc all so cheaply.
Pasta dishes are so filling and a bag of pasta will go along way.

Have you tried the "downward shift" in the supermarket where you drop everything you buy down a level? I used to buy expensive pasta, dropped to own brand and recently bought the value brand - okay it's not the same but it's not bad and smothered in a sauce it's good!
 
Im in the same situation...
I bought myself a slow cooker and I buy the cheapest cuts of meat that I can, and make stews and casseroles, and they taste great... and do us for 2 days....
 
I tend to make a shopping list on Friday night or Saturday morning, and head over to our local market on Saturday morning to get most of my fruit and veg and some of my meat.

However, before I go, I first go onto my local supermarkets' webpages and look up the prices of things - for example, carrots are cheaper in my local Sainsbury's than the market, so I don't waste money there. It also gives you a chance to look at special offers as well, and maybe pick some things that week based on reduced price meat, etc.

I'd recommend looking at a couple of non-SW cookbooks too for ideas - I've got both the BBC Economy Gastronomy book and one called Kitchen Revolution from the local library - they encourage buying foods that are in season (therefore at their cheapest), and cooking one big meals that generates one or two other meals using leftovers. Great for saving waste, reducing cost and they're mostly-SW compliant or just need a few tweaks.
 
Hey hun, it can be done! I am also on a tight budget, i go to meetings though not just to wi but to also get out!

If you do EE or Green days it works out alot cheaper, red days is what i do, it can be expensive, i prob do about £60 a week shopping, then i go pick up other bits and bobs too :( ...

Perhaps if you sort out a menu for the week ahead and go to the cheapest supermarket, or an actual market ?

You can do it :)
Thanks, I'm following EE but I guess I could do that and green days for a bit of variety.
I'm doing me inventory but already have about 4 meals planned from what I know I've got in there.
I'm quite sure it is. Stick to green days and look for offers - for example, Morries have bags of spuds, carrots, onions, apples, oranges and cabbage on offer at 30p atm. Unbelievable! You can make leek and potato soup, bubble and squeak cakes (with the cabbage), jacket spuds, carrot and coriander soup etc etc all so cheaply.
Pasta dishes are so filling and a bag of pasta will go along way.

Have you tried the "downward shift" in the supermarket where you drop everything you buy down a level? I used to buy expensive pasta, dropped to own brand and recently bought the value brand - okay it's not the same but it's not bad and smothered in a sauce it's good!
I've done the whole downward shift thing, I'm not someone who needs brands, I buy value pasta and dried spag already, as well as tinned toms/corn etc.


I tend to make a shopping list on Friday night or Saturday morning, and head over to our local market on Saturday morning to get most of my fruit and veg and some of my meat.

However, before I go, I first go onto my local supermarkets' webpages and look up the prices of things - for example, carrots are cheaper in my local Sainsbury's than the market, so I don't waste money there. It also gives you a chance to look at special offers as well, and maybe pick some things that week based on reduced price meat, etc.

I'd recommend looking at a couple of non-SW cookbooks too for ideas - I've got both the BBC Economy Gastronomy book and one called Kitchen Revolution from the local library - they encourage buying foods that are in season (therefore at their cheapest), and cooking one big meals that generates one or two other meals using leftovers. Great for saving waste, reducing cost and they're mostly-SW compliant or just need a few tweaks.
Thanks for that, i'll borrow some books from the library x
 
Im on a budget too hun and it can be done. Just do as the others have suggested and you will be laughing!
 
Babe, if making anything with sauce and turkey mince, crumble 2 chicken stock cubes into the turkey before adding the passata. I swear, you'll never use beef mince again!! xxx
 
Things like risotto and paella are pretty cheap to make as well, you can make a huge dish to feed everyone for pennies, practically! Sainsbury's arborio and paella rice are both 95p for a 500g box. Their own brand stock cubes are really good and again under a quid for a box of 10. Add in some veggies etc, you have a huge and very filling meal for very little money. If you look in the recipe thread there's one for a chilli risotto made with passata and kidney beans, again cheap as anything and absolutely delicious.

Homemade soups are easy to make and so cheap, especially made with pulses - as an example, I buy a 500g bag of yellow split peas from Sainsburys for 49p, and out of that I can get three massive pots of soup, which can then be split into smaller portions and frozen if you like. Ditto red lentils and broth mix - so cheap, so good for you, and very easy to do.

I've always done Green days and I find it very reasonable in cost terms.
 
Babe, if making anything with sauce and turkey mince, crumble 2 chicken stock cubes into the turkey before adding the passata. I swear, you'll never use beef mince again!! xxx
Do the stock bubes need to be synned?

Things like risotto and paella are pretty cheap to make as well, you can make a huge dish to feed everyone for pennies, practically! Sainsbury's arborio and paella rice are both 95p for a 500g box. Their own brand stock cubes are really good and again under a quid for a box of 10. Add in some veggies etc, you have a huge and very filling meal for very little money. If you look in the recipe thread there's one for a chilli risotto made with passata and kidney beans, again cheap as anything and absolutely delicious.

Homemade soups are easy to make and so cheap, especially made with pulses - as an example, I buy a 500g bag of yellow split peas from Sainsburys for 49p, and out of that I can get three massive pots of soup, which can then be split into smaller portions and frozen if you like. Ditto red lentils and broth mix - so cheap, so good for you, and very easy to do.

I've always done Green days and I find it very reasonable in cost terms.
Thanks, I dont like beans/pulses much, can I blend them, will it hide the textre?:eek:
 
Thanks, I dont like beans/pulses much, can I blend them, will it hide the textre?:eek:

Yes you can blend the split peas, lentils and dried peas (Batchelors Quick Soak Peas are 33p a box and make a huge and gorgeous pot of soup). I've never tried blending broth mix as I love it just the way it is, but I'd imagine you can blend that too.

Pulses are absolutely invaluable on Green days, I've found - they have the same filling power as pasta and rice, but are generally cheaper and have more actual nutrition.
 
Oh, and AFAIK all stock cubes are now free.

Have a look in the recipe section of the board - some seriously great ideas from the members here, tried and tested. :)
 
All stock cubes are indeed now free. I use good old Oxo, which you can often get half price in places like Home Bargains and B&M Bargains. :D
 
This thread has given me a lot of inspiration, I'm currently living on a low budget, I had to stop working in Sept as i couldn't find after school care for my 11 year old who has just started comprehensive school :'(
I was tending to live off eggs in every shape and form but can quickly see myself sickening to these. I'm a processed food girl and its taking me a little while to get out of this habit and start cooking from scratch, but I am getting there. Thanks so much for all the helpful advise I can certainly see myself having a very fulfilling and varied diet from now on.

Ps. This is my facebook if anyone wants to keep in touch with me...i need some friendly support :)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500169817&ref=name
 
Ooh wow glad stock cubes are now free, bovril concentrate costs a bomb!
xjox I've added you on FB.

I'm thinking of doing a chicken in my slow cooker one day this week!
 
Don't forget places like B&M, home bargains and herons etc. Some amazing bargains to be had in there.
Soups are cheap easy and usually free. Batch cooking is good too buy whats cheap and freeze some so you have something when money is tight.
 
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