SW on a Low Income?

[Mr_Wombat]

Is this possible, or will the major influx of new foods completely cripple the shopping budget?

I have to admit I am a little curious about giving SW a try, but my family and I aren't in the greatest financial situation at present. Also, with regards cooking for the whole family, we have a very fussy teenager in the house who seems to have defective tastebuds which dislike a lot of foods. :sigh:

 

[Taz]

I'm with you on that one! Luckily I do green days so I use pasta and potatoes as the base ingredients for most things

 

[MsJMC]

When I did SW i used todo pasta and dice an onion with a table spoon of tomato puree and cook it and mix it in , very filling and cheap

 

[Gemma1986]

sounds very nice to me

 

[MsJMC]

yes and me better than these shakes lol but soon , soon lol

 

[Lindam]

can be as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be really - as for fussy teenagers i have 2 of them. SW chips are a favourite with them, with baked beans you cannot go wrong. Veg near its end date and reduced can be cooked into pasta sauces (I always liquidise mine then the kids have no idea whats in it!) - cheap beef stewed with veg. Minced turkey made into burgers. pizza made with a potatoe base ....... the list goes on......

 

[Emerald]

I have a fussy husband who isn't keen on veg, so like lindam I use my blender a lot to serve sauces to him with hidden veg in, it does work particularly well on pasta. He also doesn't really need to lose weight so he will generally eat the same low fat low syn meal as me but I will add more fat to his, or give him regular high fat sausages whilst I have quorn sausages etc, meaning he's got a more normal meal.
We're on quite a low food budget as well and I am really struggling to not spend loads of money on food. I'm allowing myself this first few weeks though to over spend and really get my head around what I should and shouldn't be buying, and it takes a while to get out of the habit of buying food that is really unhealthy for me.
Another expense is buying things that are low fat, I've found. Like before I would have bought a tesco value pack of chocolate mousses, now I have to buy instead the low fat chocolate mousses at double or triple the price! But then again I'm 'happy' to pay £4.50 a week for the SW club so I just have to accept that in order to diet successfully and lose this weight it is going to cost more.
Do you do your shopping online? I tend to, I like to write up a menu for 2 weeks, or a month, depending on how much shopping I'm getting (would depend on your freezer/fridge/cupboard space) and write out what I need and only order that. It makes it easier to see the special offers but also you only end up buying what you need rather than adding loads of stuff that you fancy as you walk past it.

Emerald
X

 

[Fatty_no_more]

Hiya dont you have to pay for online shopping?

Mr wombat, the best thing to do is stock up on tinned tomatoe (19p per tin from Asda) I make a bulk pasta sauce that HUBBY loves and when you say fussy? this is a 25 year old man who doesnt eat fruit OR veg and has been told by docs to eat it but still wont, but i make a sauce which is to dye for...
Tinned tomatoes,
Chopped Peppers (x2)
1 sliced onion
Garlic depends how much you like it but i add 2
3 fresh tomatoes
a bit of sweetner.

Frylight the peppers garlic and onion.
Cook the ingrediants together and add 2 tablespoons of Sweetner and blend!
Its made 6 servings for us and thats MASSIVE servings too and we love it. Ihave frozen some pots of it and therefore we have some left to just defreeze in the microwave for a quick meal.

Again as others have said the SW chips are LUSH and hubby had just a whole plate of them last night with Beans on top!

This diet is so easy and trust me i have tried practiaclly EVERYTHING on the market.

Good luck.
xx

 

[xkarina24]

I've found my shopping bill has incresed since me and my OH started this diet but we aren't buying take-aways anymore so it will even out. I think once we get into it, the shopping bill will reduce, I hope.

 

[Mr_Wombat]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I might pop along to the next local SW meet and see what it's all about.

 

[Fatty_no_more]

do it you wont regret it!
x

 

[Ariana]

If you shop around that can really help keep costs down, I get nearly all my veg and some fruit from Aldi who are much cheaper than a normal supermarket, they also do meat cheaper too. Then I just get any extras from the supermarket to try and keep costs low as we are on a budget too.

 

[Taz]

Hiya dont you have to pay for online shopping?

Yes you do but I found that the £4.50 saved me so much more! Had I actually gone to Tesco and wandered round the aisles with a trolley I would have bought loads more than I actually wanted or needed and would have spent twice as much as I did. It was also a lot more convenient

 

[Tinkerbell1987]

if ya go on www.hotukdeals.com and search for supermarket ur using u can often get a free delivery discount code i always do with asda

xxx

 

[Taz]

Great tip Stacey!

 

[Louise24]

Also - always stock up on Muller Lights when they are on offer, as they are really expensive the rest of the time, same with Alpen light bars. x

 

[MrsAH]

Cheap recipe

Baked bean and tomato lasagna (adapted from recipe found online)
Made this the other day and loved it, my OH did too and he's quite fussy about SW food. Really cheap and filling too!
1.) Fry off onions, as much as you want in Frylight.
2.) Add sliced peppers I used frozen as I was in a hurry! Fry for a couple of minutes
3.) Add a tin of baked beans, a tin of Mean Beanz Italian beans and a tin of chopped tomatoes and stir.
4.) Add soy sauce and worcestershire sauce and mixed herbs. Heat through.
5.) In a dish layer a layer of the bean sauce followed by a layer of dried lasagna sheets, layer up alternating layers of bean sauce and lasagna. Finish with a layer of bean sauce.
6.) Put in oven 200 c for 1 hour (or less depending on your oven). 20 mins before end sprinkle on 28g cheese per person (HE).
Totally free using cheese as Healthy Extra A or B.

 

[vickydink]

when i was on slimming world i lost 2 stone. I didnt want the expense of it but i lived on Jacket potatoes, pasta, free chips lasagne etc and didnt find it too bad. The main expense is going to the meetings ad i did find that i lost a stone there and it stuck and i stopped going and lost another just goin it alone.

Oce you know what its all about your fine

 

[abigail09]

theres so much food you can eat on SW that you can do it the cheap or expensive way. green days are cheaper and i get my fruit and veg at green grocer so its always a lot cheaper than supermarkets, often about half price