Photo credit (sadly mine came out blurry!)
Depending on the season of life you’re in, you need to approach most things with a serving of flexibility! Today brought another migraine (in truth it never really left) and so I decided I needed to add some extra caffeine into the mix – resulting in a grand total of £4.20 in things I wouldn’t normally purchase! On top of that I purchased an ice-cube tray so I can make ice packs and even with more than £5 in non-essentials, I still came in on budget!
Here’s what I bought:
- Mince meat (organic)
- Broccoli (organic)
- Sweet potatoes (organic)
- Red onion
- Grapes
- Organic courgette (aka zucchini)
- Rocket
- Yoghurt
- Chocolate yoghurt
- Praline chocolate
- Oats
- Golden Syrup
- Stem ginger
- Dried apricots (would normally buy organic but none of the shops had it!)
- Lemon juice
- Grapefruit
- Canned peaches
- Wholemeal pita bread
- Lemon Juice
- Olive oil
- Hot chocolate
Total Cost: £18.67 out of £20.00
+ £1 left over from last week = £2.33 to next week’s £20 budget!
I already had:
- organic brussel sprouts
- organic carrots
- organic cucumber
- spaghetti carbonara (cooked and ready in the freezer)
- frozen peas
- 4 Food Dr Bagels
- Pasta sauces
- Pasta
- Falafel
- Rice
- Cous Cous
- Chickpeas
- Red kidney beans
- Lentils
- Fish cake
- Tuna
- Almond Butter
- Peanut Butter
- Crackers
And the menu plan for this week is:
Breakfasts
- Smoothie with a healthy ginger & flax seed flapjack x 2
- Yogurt with dried fruit, flax seeds, cut up grapes, grapefruit, almond butter x 4
- Food Dr bagel with peanut butter, orange juice x 1
Lunches
- Tuna, rocket, grapes on a pita bread with carrot sticks x 2
- Red Kidney bean, cucumber, rocket, lentil & grapefruit salad with yoghurt
- Falafel with brown rice salad – brown rice, chickpeas, dried apricots, cucumber, grated carrot
- Marmite on crackers, lemonnny chickpea salad, peach slices
- Leftovers
- Fish cake with chick pea & roasted veg tagine
Dinners
- Sfeeha (Nadia Sawalha’s middle eastern pizza) with roasted sweet potato, rocket & courgette salad x2
- Spaghetti carbonara with peas and salad
- Falafel with cous cous & roasted courgettes
- Tomato penne with broccoli salad
- Veggie stir fry with lentils
- Rocket and Courgette soup with pita bread & homemade hummus on the side!
Whew! And now I’m off to make middle eastern pizza!
What are you eating this week? Did you come in on budget?
Your menu sounds delicious! And you got that pizza in the end
Tonight I’m having lasagne with roasted root veg.
Budget wise, we went through the pantry the other day and came up with about 12 evening meals, needing only £4 of ‘extras!
So not too bad!!
That is absolutely brilliant Sarah!!! Well done you!
Hey, why don’t you make your yogurt? With a gallon of organic milk cost me the same as a large container of organic yogurt, it makes sense dollars and pennies wise.
I just use half a small container of organic yogurt for my month’s worth of starter. Heat the milk to a boil, let it cool to luke warm (till you can keep your pinkie in it for ten seconds), then add the starter. Wrap in a towel or something to keep warm, and set in a warm place for a couple of hours or until taste.
And yogurt salad, made with that stuff and lemon juice, cucumber, and garlic? YUM.
Just a thought, since I saw organic yogurt twice on your shopping list!
Great suggestion! Thank you!!!
I initially thought that £20 was a bit low for one person, but then, I thought about it and realised that the two of us generally eat on about £22-25 a week each. We do get staff discount at the supermarket (10%) which helps a lot but we eat more meat than you; my husband can’t eat cheese, cows milk or cow dairy products, plus we also both have to avoid wheat as much as possible. So well done on your budget! You prove that it’s entirely possible and so healthy too; junk food is “cheap” but not satisfying, so costs more in the long run. I think we save most by cooking practically everyything from scratch.
well done! bargains all around! and what a yummy menu list
xx
Prayers for your migraine to be gone! I know you don’t have much room in the freezer, but an alternative to ice pack is a tube sock filled with uncooked rice and tied closed with twine. Store it in the freezer in a plastic bag, and you will always have a nice soft cooling pad handy that conforms to forehead, elbow, knee, etc. And the nice part of this is that you can also microwave it for a couple of minutes to use as a heat pack on sore muscles etc. I’ve kept two in my freezer for years, using them both cold and warm, and they are still fine for this purpose.
Also good are Aid Fast cooling pads you can buy a box of 4 for £1 in the Pound Shops country wide. Careful though some branches put the cooling pads next to the hot pads on the shelf and as they are in the same boxes can be confusing.
i am sorry that you suffer with your health. it makes everything tinged. hope you get better soon. bloody marvellous menu though.
meals this week
porridge or toast every day
lunch – sandwish or either beetroot or marmite/peanut butter , piece of fruit and yoghurt
supper
today faggots, cabbage, carrots boiled potatoes
mon – steak and kidney pie cabbage, carrots boiled potatoes
Tuesday – as monday
wednesday – egg, chips, bean
thursday – veggie burgers chips salad
friday – salmon caesar salad
sat – chicken casserole, rice, peas and carrots
sun – ?
all homemade and mostly ready in the freezer
Pingback: Reclaimed Simple Sunday « Notes From The Frugal Trenches – A Downshifting Journey
I’m definitely going to use some of your tips. I always use the excuse that eating healthily costs a lot, but you’ve proved it really doesnt!
hey FT!!
glad to see you’re settling in well … can’t wait to hear about all the new stuff!
love your food plans … i’m beginning to realize you get all your variety by making small one-serving portions (mainly) of meals. i tend to make larger recipes (using simple ingredients) that i have over 2 or sometimes even three days of the week.
i might try your idea, too. i like the idea of more variety even though i love the way i cook because on some days it means i don’t have to cook at all.
as always, thanks for sharing your menu plans!
Hey Karen
I do cook several portions at a time, so have two servings of that pizza, for example and three meals from falafel – but I tend to freeze, so that I get more varety and have meals ready! Hope that makes sense!
You are doing awesome and eating so well! And you got your pizza after all. Way to go.
Pingback: Creating Energy – Revitalize Yourself! « Notes From The Frugal Trenches – A Downshifting Journey