3adults, two teens, three children - meal ideas?

opps007, Jul 12, 12:10am
On a reduced budget, anyone have any ideas?I've looked up the destitute gourmet site which is helpful, but wow, its still not cheap to feed 6 very activesporting children and two parents!!Any ideas please???
I usually spend $200+ a week on groceries, but this has to at least halve now. i'd appreciate some suggestions

petal1955, Jul 12, 12:19am
bulk out your meat with lots of pasta....also a big pot of home made veggie soup..with either a bacon hock or shin beef..........that fills the hungry tummies

cgvl, Jul 12, 12:44am
Here's what I do.
Look for the cheapest cuts of meat buy in bulk if it is cheaper to do so and divide meat before freezing.
Allow only 100g meat for the teens and adults per meal and about 50g for the children BUT for that size family you could get away with 500g mince for a meal and 750g steak for casseroles or stews. buy 3/3 pieces of Schnitzel and do a stir fry same with chicken use 1 chicken breast or a small pack of chicken thighs. The secret sice it small and use lots of vegies and either noodles or rice.

cgvl, Jul 12, 12:48am
look at farmers markets or roadside stalls to buy your fruit and vegies from and only buy seasonally.
Drop the snacks, biscuits etc from the grocery list and buy if you don't already popping corn which you can pop yourself for in between snacks.
Make your own biscuits and cakes, you may already do so.
I have found that the expensive cereals are not good as full of sugar, so buy the cheaper ones eg weetbix, cornflakes, rice bubbles or rolled oats (not the sachets).
It's not easy but it can be done.

cgvl, Jul 12, 1:00am
A weeks meals could be (Dinner only).
Mince curry served with seasonal vegies and potatoes

Chicken enchilada's (buy the Tortilla packs bulk pack of 15, 2cans mexican tomates, grated cheese, chopped onion, and a chicken breast) serve with Coleslaw.

Hamburgers (mince, onion, garlic, add some grated carrot, burger buns and coleslaw) Serve with homemade wedges.

Stir fryserved on rice ( celery, onion, garlic, ginger, broccoli, cauli, carrots and cabbage, add meat and season and thicken with honey and cornflour)

Casserole: Stewing/blade/rump steak whichever is cheapest, serve with vegies and potatoes.

Buy 2 roasting/broiling fowl, they are considerably cheaper than chicken. Cook by boiling for approx 2 -3hours, take all the meat off the bone and serve with roast vegies, keep enough meat to make a chicken pie for next night

Chicken pie using left over meat from night before, This could be done with pastry or like a cottage pie or even as a casserole, you will need to add chicken stock to it though.
Hope this helps.

mike844, Jul 12, 1:06am
oopsget to stortford dawn meats just opened last week and alot cheaper than supermarkets in town

winnie231, Jul 12, 8:43am
There was a thread running for a long time about feeding a big family for under $200 per week ... I can't find it now ... maybe someone else can help or saved the info....
I think the thread was started by darlingmole?

norse_westie, Jul 12, 8:54am
I've never found the Destitute Groumet cheap at all (nor even particularly economical).
-use your crockpot and fill things out with tinned tomatoes, chickpeas etc.
-couscous, potato, rice, pasta - filling and stretch a meal.
-buy older bread cheap from bakeries, make garlic bread with it (or even bread and butter pudding).
-rice pudding is great if you have hungry teens after a soup meal.
-curry goes a long way
-learn to use all leftovers in a new dish.
-in winter I find frozen vegies can be cheaper (and healthier) than fresh.
-homebake your own treats.
-remember eggs - cheap and filling.
-aim for 2-3 meat free dishes a week.
-2 minute noodles can stretch many meals - put them in heaps of dishes.

gaspodetwd, Jul 12, 9:35am
Stuffed jacket potatoes
Stew - cheapest cuts of beef, plenty of hearty cheap Veges - bulk out with baked beans. Make twice as much as you need and make into a pie the next day.
Tomato and Parmesan pasta with garlic bread ( homemade as it is cheaper)
Beef or pork stroganoff - with lots of mushrooms - on rice.
Toad in the hole and mashed potatoes and homemade gravy
Homemade pizza - just use bread dough or scone dough as the base.

frances1266, Jul 12, 9:45am
Vegetarian food is way cheaper than meat meals.I will bump up the vegetarian thread for you which has many cheap meals. Pulses like split peas, split red lentils are very cheap and make really tasty meals.TVP from the Binn Inn tastes like mince and is very cheap, google for recipes.Pasta is good and filling. To fill teens and big eaters have soup before your main or a main and a cheap pudding.Soup (green split pea is tasty, cheap and filling)
and a baked potato with coleslaw is a good meal.Rice is cheap and can be used in heaps of ways.Baked apples, bread and butter pudding, steam pudding, golden syrup dumplings, crumbles are all good puddings to have with soup.A soup mix with added veg is cheap and good.

genpat, Jul 12, 6:52pm
Eggs,rice,weet bix ,peanut butter,pasta are good staples,tinned tomatoes,frozen veges to bulk out soups and stews,crock pot meals that are filling and can be added to.I buy extra on any specials.Buy spuds by the sack.Dress up cheap meals,a little cream on rice pudding or pumpkin soup.Be on the look out for bargains,the smaller shops have specials too,fill up the freezer with bread and cheaper cuts of meat,try to bulk buy when you can.Teenagers are always hungry,soup is a good filler.Golden syrup for the porridge and steamed puddings.Grow the easy silver beet,parsley etc so you always have a handful of fresh greens to throw in.Make friends with the bakery so they know you will buy the extra bread and rolls at the end of the day.Have fun!

kob, Jul 12, 7:26pm
check out the budgeting thread '' who needs a budget me'' there are 20 meals and 20 dessert on the last few pages that have been costed out at between 3-5 $ per person that includes a main & a dessert pretty good going.

andrea09, Jul 13, 2:14am
-Lasagne or spag bol mixed with heaps of added vege to bulk it up
-Curried mince (blue watties simmer sauce tin) again with the winter veges to bulk it with potato and cheese on top (can try pom poms or has browns for a change too)
-Fish pie-i get the tin of sealord smoked fish fillets and once again add lots of veges and potato/kumara mash
-Devilled sausages
- cook a whole chicken, shread it and make a chicken fricasse casserole or pies out of it-cheaper than using breast meat.

Serve your meals with a salad and bread-breads always good to fill you up!

evorotorua, Jul 13, 6:17pm
Well, I take my hat off to you. First, that's a lot of people to feed happily every day and secondly, not a lot of dollars to do it. I would suggest looking at base foods that can be economically made and then adapted to suit different styles of meal. I make a big pot of chilli mince using mince, tinned tomatoes and kidney beans. Simmer for an hour to make the beans a bit softer if you don't like the firmer texture. From there you can add a packet of taco seasoning or your own concoction to make it hotter. Depending on your budget, you can serve this on spaghetti, rice, nachos, wraps etc. Grated cheese and sour cream are optional. I have been know to stir a little cream through the mix if I don't have the funds for the grated cheese and sour cream. Serve in bowls so that the meal looks 'piled up' and fills the 'eye' first. That way the serves can actually be a little smaller. You can use this to make pies, toasted sandwiches, lasagna. Sometimes I can get away with using the smallest amount of this mixture and toss through cooked macaroni and top with a cheese sauce. A bit like a mac'n'cheese/chilli combo.
I have also used the idea of making a dessert to follow the meal which helps fill the teens a bit more. Pancakes are filling and cheap.
All the best. Keep smiling. Erica

evorotorua, Jul 13, 6:20pm
If you want to make soup, use chicken bones from a roast chicken instead of a bacon hock. Basically it is free once you have eaten the chicken and gives a good stock. Use all the bones, skin, pan juices, fat and simmer in the pot, Strain into an ice cream container and place in the fridge overnight. The fat will set on the surface and you can take that off (don't throw it away). The stock is ready to use. (your choice of flavours from there.) Use the fat instead of butter or oil for roast potatoes. You don't need much and make the potatoes so tasty and crispy and it's free too!

willyow, Jul 13, 8:01pm
Big pots of soup are cheap and go down a treatat this time of year- pumpkin, buttercup, barley, lentil versions - key ingredients like carrots and celery are cheap at this time of year too. To keep costs down - use theMaggi type- chicken/beef stocks. If you have a pressure cookeryou knock them up is half an hour - saving power too.

A Nice Lentil Soup

1 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons oil ( oilive is best)
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1cupchopped celery
2 teaspoonssalt
400g yellow lentils,rinsed
1 can tomatoes
1100 ml water
2/3 chicken stock cubes( or a chicken leg or a couple of chicken wings out of the freezer - or a lefteover chicken carcass)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground toasted cumin
Handful of chopped parsley if you have some.

Place theoil into a largeheavy pot over a medium heat.
Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and stir a little until the onions are translucent, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, water, chicken cubes or chicken, coriander, cumin andstir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, -about 45 minutes. Throw in a handful ofchopped parsley if you have some. If you'veuseda chicken carcass, remove it. Using a stick blender, puree and serve immediately.

We sometimes serve it with a big dollop of Greek yoghurt if we have some.

We sometimesalso serve it with garlic bread slices.

vashti, Jul 13, 8:11pm
Great ideas there, theywould begreat in a little recipe book.

angela137, Jul 13, 9:41pm
If your main meal is small try to have some simple savory scones on hand to heat up and serve with it - the scones will only need a little mixed herbs, or ham scraps or a handful of cheese and onions - with teenagers you may want to keep these on hand regularly - add fibre where you can to fill them up, ie grated carrot or cabbage into dishes etc,
Day old sweet bread from a bakery goes down fine it toasted up under the grill or covered in custard.
When the main meal is small try to supplement(as others have said) with a soup to start -acup of soup serve with even a small main meal can be very, very filling especailly when its thick with lentils and barley etc, and a cheap dessert - stewed fruit and custard or rice pudding, or puff pastry squares with a little dot of jam in the middle or a teaspoon of stewed fruit and then drizzle and icing onver the top when they are cooked - they take about 15 mins max to prepare and cook.Semolina and stewed fruit and a thin swirl of chocolate sauce or cream.Look at sprinkles, chopped nuts, icingto jazz up desserts - good luck.Use all leftovers as fillings in toasted sandies for lunches or in a pie with mashed potatoe topping. Keep veg scraps and boil up for vege stock for soups.good luck, and have fun - I know it will be hard but there are great ideas on the various threads here - have a cuppa tea and a good read, I'm sure you will have many ideas of your own stimulated from this thread alone.Cheers.

rainrain1, Jul 13, 10:42pm
Someone posted this recipe once

Rissotto Patties
Cook a packet of your favourite rice rissotto as per the packet instructions. When cool mix with a tube of sausagemeat. (By hand works best)then form into pattie shapes & fry till meat is cooked. Yummee!!!! Serve with favourite veges and sauce!!!!

korbo, Jul 13, 11:03pm
..

is this place the old richmonds meats.....

pickles7, Jul 14, 12:46am
Have you got shares???
I walked in, around and out.
What did you find, cheap????

pickles7, Jul 14, 12:47am
yes it is, ....korbo