You may have seen that last week, prompted by the Live Below the Line challenge to live on pound a day, I put together a weeks menu plan for £20 – a pound a head every night for the five weekday evenings.
Here’s how it went:
Monday : Mini quiches, carrots, cabbage and new potatoes £3.39
Everyone always likes mini-quiches so they were an easy win.
Family rating: ★★★★★
Preparation time: 90 minutes
Tuesday: Mushroom Carbonara with salad £4.02
This turned into Mushroom Carbonara, mainly at the request of my son who wanted to help cook it.
Family rating: ★★★★ (but then if you call anything ‘carbonara’ they like it)
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Wednesday: Sausage casserole with mashed potatoes £4.11
Easy, filling and always popular.
Family rating: ★★★★
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Thursday: (was supposed to be) Tuna fishcakes with vegetables …
…but in the end we were all out for supper.
Friday: Fritatta Courgette Fritters with salad £4.68
This wasn’t so successful as I decided at last moment to make Courgette Fritters as they sounded tastier. And they were, but they were also over-budget, the recipe made LOTS, and they were a bit like marmite (those who loved them really, really loved them…)
Family rating: Varied from ★ to ★★★★★
Preparation time: 35 minutes
So overall, not bad I thought – £16.20 for 4 meals.
Putting together a meal for a pound a head is difficult with today’s prices (I can’t imagine how difficult it will be trying to live on £1 for THREE meals). I have got in a bit of a rut with the products I buy, but trying to stick to a budget forced me to look for cheaper options – either different brands or different ways of processing (eg frozen vs fresh). Interestingly, the rest of the family don’t seem to have noticed a great difference in quality using some cheaper brands, so that’s a change that will stay!
Anyway – this week’s menu planning is back to ‘normal’…
Monday:
Roast pork fillet with roast potatoes and carrots
Tuesday:
Frittata and salad
(I’m really going to make it this time – I have all those eggs to use up)
Wednesday:
Lentil curry with rice
(I need to try this out before the Live Below the Line challenge. It’s about the only thing I can find – apart from baked beans – that is cheap enough: about 38p a portion)
Thursday: Trout fillet with warm Potato Salad with yoghurt, lemon and chive dressing and rocket salad
Trout fillet with new potato and rocket salad
Friday:
Lamb Meatballs with roast vegetables
Lamb meatballs with roast vegetables
Have a good week!
If you want more menu planning ideas have a look at all the other lovely menus at Mrs M’s Meal Planning Monday
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