Struggling

[eloquencelwt]

i am seriously struggling with trying to make a meal plan for the week , i checked out the topics areas and all the recipes but a lot of them are ones that aren’t in my price range and trying to find and make a meal plan is getting me down because i can’t seem to do it 😔

[Hidden]

What sort of food do you like? Things like mince, chicken ??

Is it just 1 person you are cooking for or a family?

[eloquencelwt in reply to Hidden]

yeah i’m pretty versatile like i’m not a fussy eater in some sens, and it’s for a family

[Hidden in reply to eloquencelwt]

Ok so things like shepherd's pie but using sweet potato as the topping and substitute half of the mince for red lentils is a healthier alternative. It's a little cheaper and (in my opinion) a lot tastier too!!

A big tray of chicken thighs and drumsticks isn't too expensive - these simply roasted in the oven with red peppers, onion, carrots, parsnips, courgettes, sweet potatoed, garlic etc makes for a really quick and easy (and cheap) meal.

If there is any left over chicken, you can shred it up and use for a chicken salad, chicken wrap for the following days lunch. If there is any leftover roasted vegetables you can add these to some cous cous for another lunch.

Vegetable curries - extremely tasty, healthy and inexpensive as no meat is used!! Sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli, chick peas all work well in curries.

A big stew can be relatively cheap if you pack in plenty of veg and a little meat.

As a Sunday roast - a big piece of pork is inexpensive and if there are leftovers is extremely versatile - stir fried with veg is my fave way to use this up.

Any veg you buy and don't use - never throw anything out. Look to turn them into soups and freeze if needed! This save waste, money and means you always have a healthy lunch to hand.

Even little changes in the way you shop / plan can help of money is tight. I often head to the knocked down section in the supermarket, see what meat is reduced and see what veg is reduced and make my food plans around that. It saves a few £'s here and there for sure!

I hope they this helps a little.

[Nowisthetime 2 stone in reply to Hidden]

I know this advice was for eloquencelwt but I am finding it very helpful. Thanks for posting! 😁

[Hidden in reply to Nowisthetime]

That's great 😀

One of my big things when I started out was being worried it would cost a fortune and it wouldn't be sustainable financially for me. What I actually found was I lowered my shopping bill as I became a bit smarter by planning, only buying what I needed and ... Realising veg really isn't expensive!!

[Barcud 48kg]

Hi eloquencelwt , perhaps you should plan little changes around what you currently eat, cut down on carbohydrates, don't buy snacks and have smaller portions and see if this works and perhaps introduce one or two new meals every week (vegetarian are generally lower in calories and cost). I have found I spend less by planning and using less of certain things, for example if I bought 1kilo of mince I used to split it into 4 but now into 5 (for 2 of us).

[eloquencelwt in reply to Barcud]

okay that’s a great idea thank you i think i keep thinking too big and i just need to make smaller goals and stuff first

[Barcud 48kg in reply to eloquencelwt]

Small goals are more achievable and give you the motivation to reach the next one. Have a read of the Daily Diary and see how other folks are planning. Good luck.

[Misslovely]

Awww dont get yourself down over it eloquencelwt

Ive just made mine for tomorrow onwards so ill pop it below and you can see how it works for me and maybe you could gives us an idea of what you like and we can all help

So my week ahead looks like this:

Sat:

B: 2 x crumpets butter jam

L: cheese salad sandwich (have some salad left from this week to use)

D: veggie paella - linda mcartney chorizo sausage, 1/3 bag med veg on rice wit a few spices thrown in, flatbread, last of salad

Snacks: dry roasted peanuts

Sun:

B: scarmbled eggs on toast

D:carbonara (dried pasta from

Cupboard) 1/3 med veg pack cream, dried herbs spices

Snacks: xmas goodies i need to finish off

Mon:

B: weetabix soyamilk

L: homemade soup & roll

D: stirfry last 1/3 med veg, mushrooms broad & butter beans, rice & tofu

Snacks jelly pot & custard

Tues:

B: overnight berry oats

L: homemade soup & flatbread

D: boodles, sesame coated tofu

Snacks: dry roasted peanuts

Weds:

B: overnight berry oats

L: homemade soup & roll

D: stir fry with mushrooms onions broad beans butter beans tofu

Snacks: dry roasted peanuts

Thurs:

B: weetabix soyamilk raisins

L: last of homemade soup & flatbread

D: last of boodles with last of mushrooms onions & veg from freezer

Snacks: jelly pot & custard

Fri:

B: shredded wheat soyamilk raisins

L: Cheese roll

D: tortilla using last of eggs, onion, potato, veg from freezer

Snacks: dry roasted peanuts

Some of what ive planned is using the leftover bits from this week like the salad

I bought a pack of 6 small flatbreads so ill

Use them up, always keep frozen cauli brocoli mixed beans, green beans peas & sweetcorn & berries in and they last me weeks. I have the jelly pots and mini custard pots left from a couple of weeks ago. I always have 2 cereal on the go plus a bag of jumbo oats and they each last me weeks. With what i need to buy this week my shopping will come to approx £15 - £20 - but thats because i prefer to buy organic eggs which are more expensive

I hope this helps and you begin to destress

Have you had a look i the daily diary for ideas?

😍❤️xxxx

[eloquencelwt in reply to Misslovely]

awh thank you! this has defo give me some inspiration for some meals !!! and no i haven’t looked on their yet

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

What about stir fry? You can do loads of vegetables - peppers, leeks, carrots, spring onions or red onion, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms (they're all reasonably priced and look what's on offer) - and a small amount of chicken (I don't think you're vegetarian).

Omelette with a couple of eggs: you could add mushrooms sliced and cooked in butter, cheddar cheese, ham, fried tomatoes, one of two rashers of bacon with some salad.

We can't advertise shops but I'm sure you know the big ones that are generally have the best deals for fruit and veg. The main supermarkets also do deals every week on veg and if you could get into calling in somewhere on your way home from college to see what's been reduced, that could help (I don't know if you're in an area with lots of shops.

You can make really filling soups that will do you a few meals: just freeze some so you don't get bored.

Don't panic and don't get down. You can start making changes bit by bit. You're only just starting

[eloquencelwt in reply to BridgeGirl]

thank you so much i think i’m just getting ahead of myself, i’ll defo pop in the supermarket after college and check out what they have and i’ll defo make soups and stuff they’ll be easy to take to college as left overs and then have for dinner thank you!!

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to eloquencelwt]

I think I've put a spicy carrot soup in Recipes. This is another one I've made: I could hardly fit it in my biggest pan, so you could just do half realfood.tesco.com/recipes/...

[Nuttytart21]

That was a lovely way to help misslovely, helped me too thank you. I find making soup a good way to make food go further, great for lunches.

[9stoneandcounting]

Hi,

It’s definitely possible to eat well and cheaply. Our food usually only comes to £25-£30 for the week between two of us. I usually eat cereal, porridge or toast for breakfast, sandwiches fruit and yoghurt for lunch, then for dinner I just adapted things we’ve always eaten such as jacket potatoes, pasta bake, stir fry, roast chicken etc.

Frozen veg save a lot compared to fresh and have the added advantage they don’t go off. If you cut back on snacks, desserts, fizzy drinks etc. that will cut down the bill considerably.