Spec me: cheap meals

Mr Jack

Mr Jack

Mr Jack

Caporegime
Joined
19 May 2004
Posts
32,981
Location
Nordfriesland, Germany
I'm going to be rather poor for the next year and one of the major places savings need to come from is my food budget. I need ideas for cheap meals.

I'm allergic to beef, not fond of tuna and don't like raw tomatoes (cooked is fine); other than that I'll eat - or at least try - pretty much anything and I'm a reasonably competent cook.

Share your knowledge!
 
£3/day. My standard breakfast costs about 30p. That leaves £2.70 for lunch and supper, lunch should be about 70p-£1.20. So about £1.50-£2 for each supper.

I have a decent amount of freezer space.
 
That's good you have freezer space.

Buy in bulk and make meals with at least 4 servings.
Things like chicken legs/thighs are dirt cheap and can be used for most things. Stew, chicken in sauce, curries, marinaded meat,to a full on roast.
It's nit hard spending so little, however discipline is. Planning meals in advance and not buying junk when walking around the shop.

But also planning different meals in the week with an over lap of ingredients. Like if you buy a pack of sausages you get two different meals out of it. Or if you decide you want potatoes you get 3 or 4 meals out of it. Although with decent sized freezer you ca spread things around more.

I'll try to do something with a cost later.

And don't be shy of cheaper cuts, often far more flavour. Why use expensive fish when mackerel tastes a. Million times better and it's cheap. Same with meat, look at the cheap cuts, more flavour.

Rice of meat and seafood/fish is all about what's popular and nothing to do with what it tastes like.
 
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Get yourself a decent quality big pot and make your curries / stews in bulk so you can freeze extra portions. As above, chicken thighs and stuff like lamb shanks and scrag end of neck are cheaper and work brilliantly in long, slow cooked meals. If you have a local butcher rather than a supermarket ask him if he has anything he wants to get rid of or if you can get a deal on some of the cheaper stuff.

Just reminded myself, I haven't had a scrag stew in aaaages. My Nan used to make one with barley and dumplings etc in it so thick you could stand a spoon up in it.
 
My wife and I go to the smithfield meat market in early mornings to get meat. Last Friday we bought about 20Kg of chicken thighs for £24 and 6.5Kg of Pork fillet for £15, oh and 1.5Kg of cumberland sausages for £4 :)
DOn't know where you are based but probably best to find out some place like that?
 
One tip - cheap instant noodles can be made much more tasty with the addition of extra bits and bobs. I often sling some fried bacon in. I think the noodle packs are usually about 10p a go or something silly.
 
smoked haddock and mash - chaep and lovely
French onion soup - work out about 75p a portion
Meatballs and rice

waygu fillet with white truffles.

all dead cheap and delicious
 
:(

did a 30 day menu, figured out ingredients just about to finish tapping them into tesco and comp crashed. Lost most of it.. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
 
Not sure this is cheap enough, but one of our household fave dishes....

Creamy Pasta Bacon...
Bring pasta to the boil then add peas and bring to the boil again.
Cut up and fry some bacon.
Drain pasta/peas and add bacon and single cream while stirring.
Serve

Feeds quite a few and tastes incredible. Not the healthiest meal, but could be worse and it's pretty cheap + goes a long way.
 
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