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fresh food on a tight budget. |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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fresh food on a tight budget.
During the discussions on the great 'to chicken or not' debate, it was noted by me and others that the excuse that 'I cant buy free range cos I am on a tight budget ' came up quite often.
Now as a single mother on benefits of two teenaged (13 and 12) boys with big appetites, I can fully appreciate how difficult it can be to feed a family and exercise your conscience, but with a bit of time and effort it is possible. My 'food' budget a week , for meat and fresh veg is £25- 30 so I thought it might be nice to share a few recipes that are well within peoples budgets.All meat is from a local butcher, and veg from local greengrocers. bear in mind any I post feed 3 so adjust amounts accordingly. Today we had beefburgers and wedges. Beefburgers 350 grams beef mince ( british) 1 small onion chopped 2 egg yolks (free range) small bunch of coriander chopped 1 teaspoon dijon mustard 1 tspoon olive oil salt and ground black pepper to taste ( you can also add chopped chillies fresh or dried if you like em spicy) mix all the ingredients together with your hands, until all squished together, shape into 3 equal patties and grill or dry fry until cooked through. top with cheese or tomatoe slices and cucumber and red onion. homemade burger buns ( makes 8 so freeze whats left as fresh bread rolls dont keep for long without going hard) 240 ml warm water 30 grams butter diced small 1 large egg 375 grams strong plain flour 30 grams sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1 packet of quick action yeast ( or equivalent) combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together ( or use a food mixer with dough hooks) nead until you get a soft smooth dough ( it is quite sticky so flour the surface well) place in oiled bowl , cover and leave to rise for an hour. turn out and knead lightly, then divide into 8, slightly flattened balls and place on oven trays. leave for 30-40 minutes to rise again and pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown then turn on to wire racks, cover with a clean teatowel whilst cooling to encourage soft crusts. wedges cut four scrubbed potatoes into wedges leaving the skins on, toss in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper ( or any cajun spice mix you may have) and bake in a hot oven until cooked through. and viola! fresh, healthy, and kid friendly. |
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarf coast.
Posts: 16,527
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Oooh! I must try homemade burgers, they sound lovely.
If you want wedges in a hurry,I sprinkle a bit of water on them and microwave for 5 minutes, then toss in oil and spicesand finish them off in a hot oven. AllI need now is a decent salsa recipie,mine always tastes watery and bland. |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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Quote:
Oooh! I must try homemade burgers, they sound lovely.
If you want wedges in a hurry,I sprinkle a bit of water on them and microwave for 5 minutes, then toss in oil and spicesand finish them off in a hot oven. AllI need now is a decent salsa recipie,mine always tastes watery and bland. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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Today we are having one of my favourites, homemade tomato soup. This is a quick and easy version, nothing gourmet about it.
2 Tins of chopped tomatos ( or peeled plum if you have those instead) carton of baby plum, cherry, or 6 large tomatos 1 onion 30g butter 1 stick of celery ( optional if you dont have one) vegetable stock or stock cube ( about a pint) salt and pepper to taste bunch of fresh basil chopped ( my greengrocer sells bunches of fresh herbs 50p each, in the summer its easy to grow your own on the windowsill) chop the onion and celery add butter to pan and melt on a medium heat, soften the onion and celery but don't fry. when cooked through add the tinned tomatoes and the stock, chuck in the fresh toms and bring to a simmer adding salt and pepper to taste, when the skins have fallen off the toms, then remove soup from heat add the chopped basil and use a liquidiser, or hand whizzer , or even push through sieve ( you dont need to remove the skins , except in the case of the sieve). Return to the heat to keep warm. Top with a swirl of cream, or not ,serve with crusty bread or rolls, or in my case today the leftover burger rolls from yesterday. for a more spicey tatse, add worcester sauce, tabasco, or even a touch of ginger. soup is a lot of fun to play with flavour wise, and a great use of leftovers. |
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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Chicken and sweet potato curry
Or as my children call it 'slushy curry' due to its consistency
300g diced chicken ( i checked with my butcher about this, its from their own free range chickens, but more importantly its cheaper than buying the breasts and cutting them up yourself) 1 large onion sliced 6 mushrooms sliced 2 cloves of garlic ( chopped) 2 sweet potatoes ( small or 1 large) 2 medium potatoes 1/2 cup of red split lentils 1/4 jar of pataks madras paste 2 bay leaves 1 stick of cinnamon fry off the garlic, mushrooms, onions and chicken until the chicken is golden, then add the curry paste. add about 3/4 pint of boiling water ( you can always add more later if it looks like being too dry) and bring to a slow simmer. peel the potatos and sweet potatos , cube, and add into the mix with the lentils, stirring occassionally at first to prevent the lentils from sticking, then just leave to simmer add the bay and cinnamon ( remember to remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick before serving). there are two ways to serve this, you can either serve it as soon as the potatos are soft, which means there is more juice, on a bed of rice, or as we have it , simmer for longer till everything breaks down, and most of the juice is absorbed, then just serve in a bowl without rice, and accompany with homemade naan bread and poppadums. naan bread 250 g strong white flour 5 g salt 1 6/7 g sachet fast yeast 15ml olive oil 160ml warm water you can also add 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed 1/2 teaspoon caraway seed or 1/2 handful chopped fresh coriander 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules mix all the ingredients together for the dough by hand or in a mixer with dough hooks. knead the dough for 5 minutes, then pop into a bowl to rise for an hour. take dough out of bowl onto a floured surface and knock back by kneading for a couple of minutes then divide into 3, use a rolling pin to flatten into rounds or ovals, then rest for a further 5 minutes. to cook , either fry each one on a medium heat with a splash of olive oil, turning once, until browned on both sides, or brush with olive oil and pop under a hot grill till the surface bubbles and then turn and do the same. let cool slightly before serving. |
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,060
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BrideXIII, you are very inspiring. I have decided this week to start going through the freezer and eating all the stuff that gets shoved in there for later. Has made an enormous difference to my food bills, and I am freeing up space as well. I still have a long way to go, so may continue this next week. Then there is the freezer in the cellar to empty!!!
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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Quote:
BrideXIII, you are very inspiring. I have decided this week to start going through the freezer and eating all the stuff that gets shoved in there for later. Has made an enormous difference to my food bills, and I am freeing up space as well. I still have a long way to go, so may continue this next week. Then there is the freezer in the cellar to empty!!!
I have to freezers, one fridge freezer and one small chest freezer, when the chest freezer get low, i make up bags of ice cubes to fill the space, this stops the freezer having to work too hard to keep the right tempreture. |
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,060
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Your freezers sound the same as mine, my chest freezer is small, and again full at present, but I will use your trick of ice cubes once I start emptying it. Thanks for the tip.
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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Addendum
Just discovered the brats have eaten all the bread,so despite having already cooked tonights curry, I have to head off back to the kitchen, seeing as baking my own bread comes into the weekly budget i though I would put the recipe up
. now, I have one child that likes brown, and one that likes white, and i like seeded granary, so we compromise.150g hovis seeded brown bread flour 150g hovis malted granary flour 200g strong white flour 270ml warm water mixed with: 60 ml milk a dash of olive oil A pinch of salt sachet of quick yeast mix all the ingredients together in a bowl (do not add yeast on top of the salt) or in a food mixer with a dough hook, turn out on to a floured surface and knead until you have a smooth springy dough ( it can be sticky so add in flour if required). This recipe, due to the quick yeast only needs proving once, so pop it into a greased 1lb bread tin and cover ( I just use a carrier bag over the top so its not touching the dough) leave for 30 minutes to rise then slash the top with a razor blade, leave for a further 30 minutes whilst pre-heating the oven to 220 degrees, bake for 25-35 minutes. there is a cool trick to get a crustier loaf, whilst pre-heating the oven pop a tray full of ice cubes into the bottom to create steam, get the loaf in quick to stop it all escaping, and after ten mnutes open the oven door and pray inside with a water sprayer. |
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Derbyshire
Posts: 13,041
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Oooooh, I love baking bread - I don't do it often enough, becuase I never manage to eat it all before it goes off (I only really like bread when it's warm and fresh, and it tends to make me feel ill...)
Tonight I was REALLY tired, had NOTHING in, and wasn't going to cook. I was THIS close to going to the chip shop. But I'm really proud of myself - I knocked up some pasta stuff. Fried one chopped onion, added chopped green pepper, then a tin of tomatoes, left that to simmer with some herbs while I cooked some pasta... Then stirred in half a bag of spinach that was nearly ready to throw away (I bought too much) until it was just wilted, and then stirred the cooked pasta into the sauce. One large portion for me tonight, then seconds, some in my lunchbox for tomorrow, and a bowl full for dinner tomorrow night. Low cost, and I reckon about five portions of veg in the whole thing. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,060
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Bride XIII what's on the menu for tonight, I love hearing your ideas. You put me to shame by making all your own bread. I have a breadmaker and yet I still go out and buy it.
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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patience, I have to go shopping yet
![]() pork belly with homeade barbeque sauce tonight, recipe wil go up later. |
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,060
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I m amazed how you manage to only spend £30 per week, amazing.
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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well thats only only on meat and veg as I explained in an earlier thread, tinned and dry gets bought once a month along with cleaning stuff and animal feed, with adds another £60 , still not bad though. anyway onto todays menu which is :
Pork belly strips in barbeque sauce with jacket potatos. Pork belly from the buthcers does contain a little bit of bone unlick the anemic looking ones from the supermarket, but they are much thicker and tastier, one each is not quite enough , two is too much so i do 4 and divide one up between us ![]() 4 strips of pork bell 3 medium sized white potatos sauce 1 small onion chopped 3 cloves of garlic crushed dash of olive oil 1 red chilli finely chopped 1 tsp fennel seeds crushed 50g dark brown sugar 50ml dark soy sauce 300ml tomato ketchup salt and pepper to taste fry the onion and garlic in olive oil with the chilli and fennel seeds and sugar add the soy sauce and ketchup with salt and pepper. bring slowly to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. the pour over as much as you need to coat the pork belly ( any you dont need decant into a jar and freeze) leave to marinade, or if short on time pop straight into the oven, you can cover with foil this stops the sauce drying out too much . wipe the potatos all over with olive oil and pop in the oven for 1 1/2 hours on 150 degrees the porkbelly can go in for the last 45 minutes enjoy |
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#15 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,060
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ooooh, that sounds lovely
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 371
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bride can i come live with you? your food sounds great
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#17 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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Quote:
bride can i come live with you? your food sounds great
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#18 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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Easy one today its cooks day off so the brats take over.
Nice and simple takes 15 minutes Pasta with tuna and sweetcorn 1 cup pasta per person 1 tin of tuna 1 tin sweetcorn 2 dessert spoons mayonanaise cook the pasta, drain add tuna and sweetcorn along with the mayo stir in, and eat whilst warm, leftovers can be kept in fridge for lunches and eaten cold. I love fridays
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#19 |
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: South East London
Posts: 1,050
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I hadn't realised it was £30 a week on meat and veg alone
I really wouldn't call that a small budget! I suppose it's tight if you buy ethically but I can pretty much do a full week's groceries for 3 people on that. That was pretty much all I had to spend not too long ago. |
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#20 |
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Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,060
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I reckon that £30 for meat and veg is a tight budget. There are 3 of us here during the week, one extra at weekends and I generally spend a lot more. Not this week however as we have been eating out of the freezer. BrideIII puts me to shame and I am going to try harder to budget in future.
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#21 |
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Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southwick, Sussex
Posts: 782
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Quote:
I hadn't realised it was £30 a week on meat and veg alone
I really wouldn't call that a small budget! I suppose it's tight if you buy ethically but I can pretty much do a full week's groceries for 3 people on that. That was pretty much all I had to spend not too long ago. and to be frank anyone spending less than that on food a week is spending too much on other things, and I think that is part of the problem, these days when people want a new mobile phone contract or television package etc, the place they take the money from to do it always seems to be the food budget, rather than making a saving from another area. some weeks I can do the meat and veg on £20, some its £25 and others its £30, either way I consider that to be a lot less than some spend who still buy all processed foods and moan about the cost. all I am showing is that it can be done, cheaply and healthily on a small budget. |
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#22 |
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Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 1,060
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Quote:
well i consider it to be an adequate budget, being on benefits with 2 children, I just get cross when people say they cant afford to buy fresh fruit and veg and buy ethically, its a nonsense.
and to be frank anyone spending less than that on food a week is spending too much on other things, and I think that is part of the problem, these days when people want a new mobile phone contract or television package etc, the place they take the money from to do it always seems to be the food budget, rather than making a saving from another area. some weeks I can do the meat and veg on £20, some its £25 and others its £30, either way I consider that to be a lot less than some spend who still buy all processed foods and moan about the cost. all I am showing is that it can be done, cheaply and healthily on a small budget. Well said. |
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#23 |
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 38
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Although some people actually work, and cant afford to spend that amount on food. But thats a whole different topic...
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#24 |
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Join Date: May 2006
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Quote:
Although some people actually work, and cant afford to spend that amount on food. But thats a whole different topic...
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#25 |
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 38
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Apolgies then (wasn't meant bad), back to the good work of the recipes
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. now, I have one child that likes brown, and one that likes white, and i like seeded granary, so we compromise.