and 2 adults please.we are now down to one wage and trying to keep food bill down, have just moved so havent started vege garden as yet but are realy keen on homemade food not processed if we can help thank you
duckmoon,
Sep 3, 7:13am
To help your budget, less meat, nor grains and veges
duckmoon,
Sep 3, 7:15am
I purchased 2kg of dry chickpeas, cooked them in bulk in the slow cooker and then freeze in 400g (size of a tin) lots. When I have a casserole, I add a 'tin' of chickpeas.
Cost for a real tin is about $3-$4, cost for my process around $1
darren-j1,
Sep 3, 7:23am
thank you i dont know what to put in miss 5s lunchbox . we dont buy chips or biscuits . and brown bread is so expensive and white is so bad
duckmoon,
Sep 3, 7:30am
White bread isn't evil.
Work out what you would like to put in the box, working out the serving size (e.g. Two slices of bread) and what proportion it is of the product (e.g. Normally twenty two slices of bread in a 750g loaf) . So the sandwich (no butter or filling ) is around 10% of a loaf of bread.We buy bread which is $3.50 per loaf. So a little less than 35 cents plus filling.
Compared to the cost of one roll (1/6th of a bag) or a wrap etc or 2min noodles in a thermos etc
Two sandwiches, one fruit and one home made plain biscuit is a good lunch. All for around one dollar (35 bread, 40 cents apple, 20 cents for biscuit)
strange,
Sep 3, 7:31am
Homemade popcorn put in a little bag or container!
dibble35,
Sep 3, 8:40am
What about the signature range multigrain bread. About $3 - $3.50 a loaf. We buy it all the time and its yummy. Jam, marmite, peanut butter sandwiches. cheap as chips.
hibiscuscoast1,
Sep 3, 9:26am
We buy homebrand wholemeal bread for $1.40 (maybe less) from Countdown.
angel404,
Sep 3, 9:37am
I buy Budget (or some other cheap brand) multigrain for $1.49 a loaf. Its lovely and soft and everyone loves it. I also make my own chicken stock from the carcass from our roast chickens. i only ever buy food that is on special. I try to find fruit that is homegrown, swap with neighbors, friends etc. Been making my own cheese (feta), made 800+gm for $6. Which for that amount from shop is $15+
toadfish,
Sep 3, 5:22pm
I second that one, its made by either tip top or Quality Bakers - Quality bakers by memory. The trick to knowing which one - if it is on a Red Tray (Like I think Homebrand is) its Tip Top, if its on a blue tray its Quality Bakers (LIke I know SIgnature range is and think budget is)
I save the crusts and for a 99c can of spaghetti, an onion and a sprinkling of cheese, we bake them in the oven & have what is known in this family as a "Crust Pizza"
toadfish,
Sep 3, 6:16pm
I have also bumped the budget thread - one day when you have an hour, grab a coffee and have a read - lots of tips and inspiration. Subscribe to simple savings newsletter - you don't need to pay to get the newsletters Get "How to live off the smell of an Oily Rag" book out of the library and another good one is Alison Holst's "Dollars and Sense" Book. And my biggest tip is - treat it like a game, see how much fun you can have for little money. $4 hot chips a loaf of breaf and some sauce - down the beach with a frisbee is a treat the kids will love - especially if you spring it on them and make it fun.A simple vegemite sandwich is great if you can find some ducks to throw the crusts at. Put up an old tent and have dinner in the garden. As I said, treat it like a game not a chore. Aim for a Champagne life on a beer budget.
toadfish,
Sep 3, 6:16pm
I have also bumped the budget thread - one day when you have an hour, grab a coffee and have a read - lots of tips and inspiration. Subscribe to simple savings newsletter - you don't need to pay to get the newsletters Get "How to live off the smell of an Oily Rag" book out of the library and another good one is Alison Holst's "Dollars and Sense" Book. And my biggest tip is - treat it like a game, see how much fun you can have for little money. $4 hot chips or cook up some sausages with a loaf of breaf and some sauce - down the beach with a frisbee is an occaisonal treat the kids will love - especially if you spring it on them and make it fun.A simple vegemite sandwich is great if you can find some ducks to throw the crusts at. Put up an old tent and have dinner in the garden. Another big thing is not to waste food - if you see it starting to bad or limp - plan your next meal around it.If you are not going to use the leftovers freeze them for a simple lunch.I always take a scoop out of our chilli con carne to take to work the next day - is not missed and I have a delcious lunch either on a baked potatoe or in a toasted sandwhich. As I said, treat it like a game not a chore. Aim for a Champagne life on a beer budget.
lythande1,
Sep 3, 10:28pm
I've been on 1 wage for ages. Avoid the supermarket. Loo paper 40 rolls ofr $10, 5kg washing powder $13 Warehouse for instance. Veges and fruit from either markets - Like Onehunga or vege places on side of road, a lot of the asian ones have things like cheap bulk rice, soy sauce $1 litre and so on. Meat, in bulk from butchers, look out for specials. Start the garden, concentrate on what stores well, freeze beans, carrots for instance. Bottle tomatoes or juice for sauces and soups for later and things like that. make everything. Flour $25 25kg from Silverdale - they deliver cheap. It's easy to do here, let Google to the searching for you.
zappi,
Sep 3, 11:51pm
duckmoon, what weight of chickpeas and how long to cook in crockpot. Havent tried this yet but wanted to as we love chickpeas.Would this method be useable for kidney beans etc also.
valentino,
Sep 4, 12:09am
To help you further, it would be nice to know what your family prefer in way of meals, that is, what meats, veges, grains like rice etc.
There are some real nice meals that can be achieved but also nice to know what you had before to what or how far that budgeted food bill has been reduced, not talking about moneywise but say percentage wise and yes - you are on the right track at looking to do homemade meals as dinners out or takeaways can more than double what one can be spent doing it oneself even without your budget being cut.
Hopes this helps, Cheers.
duckmoon,
Sep 4, 12:20am
Found the recipe in Alison Holsts crockpot cookbook
nauru,
Sep 4, 7:07am
I add brown lentils and barley to premium mince (my choice but you can use the cheaper mince) when making mince dishes.It makes the meat go much further and tastes great.You can't really tell there are lentils in there and the barleygoes unnoticed too by the littlies. My Grandies love my Sheperds pie and bolognaise sauce. I also make lasagna, moussaka, and mince stews that way too, sometimes small meat pies with some of the leftover meat mix. A good way to cut down your food bill is to have a couple of vegetarian meals in the week, some great recipes out there.Also make everything from scratch, way cheaper than buying it.Soups also make a great meal with some homemade bread.I make my own stock from chicken leftovers,sometimes from chicken frames which are very cheap from the supermarket, making them in my CPot. I also keep all the peelings from well washed veges and freeze until I have a bagful and make vege stock, these I freeze in portions to use later. Look at the frugal websites, there are some great tips in them for cutting your costs.
frances1266,
Sep 4, 8:22am
All pulses canbe cooked in a crockpot without soaking apart from kidney beans which need to be soaked, hard boiled and water discarded before they are cooked in the crockpot.It is really convenient to be able to cook chickpeas etc by just putting them in the crockpot raw, adding water and cooking until soft. I then freeze them.
kob,
Sep 4, 8:29pm
yes definately check out the budget thread over a period of time I develop quite a few shopping list fordifferent people with the meal lists and recipes to go along with the list, so its all in there but it is huge as it has so much great information so you will def have to tackle it when you have some time, and dont feel bashfel about asking any question we all lurk in there on and off so you should get a pretty good response quick as and thats the whole idea of the thread to help out, but derf mae a list of all foods on hand straight away in a small notebook so you have it on you we waste so much unneccassary monewy buying stuff we already have, that way you keep track when my kids were small we had a great system i had a whiteboard on the inside of pantry with tin and cereal levels on it, so at a glance I knew what i had and waht to buy and there were only one tantrum cause if they used the 2 min noodles or finished the weetbix and didnt right it on I didnt buy it, a fast lesson but it was one the worked, we are all busy mums and a system is soemthing that everyone has to indulge in, good lick ill look out for any questions thourhg the week
Lunch box ideas: cheese/crackers, popcorn, celery/carrot sticks, homemade muffins/scones/cakes/meusili bars (have easy recipe if you'd like it).
Soups are your friend~!Limited only by your imagination - use herbs to flavour and add dough boys/dumplings.With summer coming on use your bbq - sausages cut into pieces and then thread on zuchinni/mushrooms/onions etc - looks impressive, tastes good, is cheap and thrifty!
Don't always think you need to fill up on the evening meal.A stuffed baked potato (or capsicum as it gets more Summery) filled with leftover rice, chili, beans, corn, cheese etc then followed by a fruit crumble with custard or icecream is more than acceptable.
Try the homebrands (budget, Pams etc) as they are often as good as the leading brands.If possible go in halves with someone on bulk products (rice, sugar, flour, cleaning products) to save more money.And if you have a freezer don't be shy of freezing your tomato/silverbeet/zuchinni harvet to add to stews/casseroles/curries over the cooler months.
It's a constant juggling act but look at it as a challenge that you CAN win!
aasha,
Sep 6, 6:06am
Tried to download the cook book you suggest annie.nz , link isn't working any more ;-(
I also have been on a low budget and have found some basic ways, but things like.
Kings soup, 1 packet of kings soup mix, add 1 onion, and cheap soup bones and boil.Really nice and will last a few meals. For more vegetable orientated soup take out the meat and add onion carrot and any left over veges such as leeks, pumpkin etc that might be a bit wilted in fridge.
Toasted sandwiches, Use half amount of cheese, then add a little onion, relish and any fillers left over in fridge such as roast vege.I keep veges not eaten on plates, pop them in fridge and use them for this type of thing.
Crustless quiche, add left over cooked veges, add a couple of eggs spoon ful of flour, teaspn of bp, salt and pepper, some cheese, milk and bake.Nutritious and great at using left overs.
$1 packet soups make a meal for two people with toast.
Make scones, pikelets and bake where possible a couple of bakings a week to fill up the tins.
Crock pot bolar roasts, topside roasts and use liquid to add for gravy.Cheaper meats made more succulent via crockpot, you can then use cold meat for lunches or reheat with gravy for next night.
lotsagiggles,
Sep 7, 11:10am
Crock pots to me are the best they make cheap pieces of meat yummy and a stew can have lots of stuff in it. We live off these in winter.
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