Recession and weekly food menus

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Forum -> Household Management -> Kosher Kitchen

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rainbow baby

Sat, Oct 25 2008, 6:33 pm

Ok, with the world on or in a recession and people cutting back on their weekly shopping spend does anyone have a weekly menu that they have adopted. Basically I need to save money but obviously with a family of 5 and another on the way BH I need to have filling menus for everyone that has all the vitamins and minerals, etc.. in. So please can people put down what they make for their evening meals that is cheap and filling. Thanks.

btMOMtoFFBs

Sat, Oct 25 2008, 8:47 pm

Not a whole menu, but basic money saving tips are the use leftovers wisely, make it from scratch if you can and to choose local, in-season fruits and veggies over imports (when possible).

We eat our leftover whole wheat challah as french toast often as a "breakfast for dinner" treat on Sundays. Economical and healthy.

Quinoa is a really wholesome and nutrient packed grain that we started eating instead of rice as a side dish.

Home-made lentil veggie burgers (mash cooked lentils with some seasoned bread crumbs, mix with eggs to hold it together) and fry in a pan 7-10 mins each side.

Stretch your meats. I use leftover meats and chicken in casseroles, ditto with leftover veggies. (store in freezer until there is enough for a whole casserole).

Stews and meat sauces are cheaper than roasts and meatloafs.

HTH, Hatzlacha and B'Shaa Tova! : )

Mrs Bissli

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 9:10 am

I've been basically trying to buy less processed foods (which are more expensive) and make my own.
Things like apple sauce, pasta sauce, even simple thing like buying plain yogurt and adding jams instead of buying the flavoured ones in pots.

Also I buy lots of basic things on Tesco.com, stock up on non-perishable when they're on promotion.
I like ordering things on-line because I can have more discipline in not buying things if it exceeds budgets, also like they can deliver to your home. They even have some kosher items (though I'd
rather buy from jewish stores if the price is comparable).

DH LOVES Costco (esp lots of imported things with US hechsherim, also good value on detergents, washing-up liquids, disposable plates/silverware) though I don't like driving all the way to Watford and trying to find space to store them.

Mrs Bissli

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 9:16 am

Menu-wise, I would like to use more beans during the week but noone in my family is fond of it.
Since we usually don't eat meaty during the week, I began using quorn (frozen ones are cheaper
than the refrigerated ones). I marinate "chicken" pieces and use it for stir-fry/casserole, "mince"
is good for making shephard pie or bologna sauce but too crumbly for foaming into meatballs.

I cut back on more expensive fish, sticking to basic salmon during the week. Also tried economising
by trying turkey schnitzel instead of chicken but this didn't work as turkey came out rubber-hard.
We also like lamb chop/cutlet for shabbat but it's more expensive so using more roasted chickens
and meatballs/mince these days.

ShakleeMom

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 10:04 am

I love this post, thank you!

When I make French toast, I add lots of milk to the egg mixture. It makes it softer and stretches the egg supply.

YALT

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 11:14 am

I find the best supper that everyone likes and stretches the furthest is meat sauce. Serve on rice or pasta, or even in tacos or burger buns.

I make 1 big pot of soup on Sunday to last for the week. Serve soup as a first course. It's healthy, gets some more veges into the kids (and DH) and is filling! When I serve soup first, DH eats less by the next course.

Ruchel

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 11:18 am

No change here. Food is about the last thing I'll cut on.

But I see people buying the kind of steaks like in hamburgers (more greasy, etc) instead of good "butcher" meat, or even half meat half (can't remember if it's soy or quinoa), or fake meat.

Fabulous

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 11:20 am

What's your recipe for meat sauce? sounds interesting. TIA

NativeMom

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 11:23 am

I've been buying less meat more chicken, I make all my cakes, cookies, pizza etc from scratch and I go to the farmers market. I always find great deals and the fruits and veggies are fresh

YALT

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 11:36 am

My meat sauce ALWAYS comes out different.
Basically, I sautee onion and garlic. Add meat, and brown it. Sometimes I'll add other veges (peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, etc) Add ketchup, tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes (I try to use fresh, otherwise canned) and anything else red in the house (hot sauce, chili sauce, marinara, crushed red pepper) add some other spices, sometimes a bit of wine,
If it's a bit thinner than you like, let it boil out.
If I put it on buns or tacos I let it get thicker.
If I want it on pasta, I leave it more saucy.

DH says meat is supposed to be red. Since you make the meat brown, you need to color it red. That's why he puts in all the red stuff. So I copied him, and now I just dump in anything red from my fridge.
I could never figure out how I did it last. Normally it comes out good. Sometimes, my 2 left hands get in the way.

spinkles

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 11:57 am

Our weekday protein comes mostly from eggs, legumes, peanut butter and tofu. We've cut out a lot of the cheese we used to eat.

For supper I've been making:

1. lentil-veggie soup and cornbread
2. tofu-veggie stirfry with brown rice
3. shakshuka and parmesan noodles
4. split pea soup (I make with lots of veggies) and baked potatoes
5. veggie quiche (made w/very little cheese), salad, some sort of starchy side dish like mashed potatoes or couscous

For breakfast we have multigrain toast (homemade) with peanut butter and jelly, and milk.

Lunch is just me and the baby, so we usually have supper leftovers.

Snacks are the cheaper fruits (apples, oranges, etc.), homemade popcorn, carrot sticks.

Mrs Bissli

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 12:10 pm

I also like adding very finely grated carrots (best done on food processor) to meat sauce.
You sautee them at the same time as onion. Red peppers work nicely.
Not only it helps to stretch the meat, it's a less threatening way to feed more veggies.

sbs

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 1:30 pm

ShakleeMom wrote:

I love this post, thank you!

When I make French toast, I add lots of milk to the egg mixture. It makes it softer and stretches the egg supply.

I think nowadays milk is more expensive than eggs

ShakleeMom

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 1:33 pm

sbs wrote:

ShakleeMom wrote:

I love this post, thank you!

When I make French toast, I add lots of milk to the egg mixture. It makes it softer and stretches the egg supply.

I think nowadays milk is more expensive than eggs

it’s about 15 cents an egg, and a cup of milk in lieu of 5 eggs is about 20 cents.

Tamiri

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 1:37 pm

I make my own bread: Honey Whole Wheat for sandwiches, sourdough for the rest of the time, challa for Shabbat.

Beauty and the Beast

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 1:56 pm

Yesterday: frozen tilapia made sweet and spicy style, with creamed spinach. The frozen fish is cheaper than fresh.
today: franks and potatoes. with leftover butternut squash soup from y't.
Tomorrow: probably ground meat ( make meat sauce with noodles)

I agree about the soup. soup is filling, and canbe very cheap. I like to put beans and barley into my soups to make them more filling, and protien. soup can be a meal in itself. I make garlic bread from leftover challah or bread, have a big salad, and delicious homemade soup. that is a delicious, filling dinner.

Mrs Bissli

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 2:02 pm

Looking at the lunch menu at my children's school (schnitzel, fish fingers, side veggies), and hearing
how little they ate actually (pasta, pasta, just plain pasta) , I am seriously thinking of calling the lunch
lady and asking for a doggie bag... Wink

rainbow baby

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 3:37 pm

Mrs Bissli wrote:

LOL!!!!! That's a good one. Thanks everyone for your replies I'am glad that I've managed to spark a discussion on food during these hard economic times. Food has become so expensive here in the UK it's crazy. When I went shopping on sunday I brought a huge bag of potatos, rice and pasta and thought that this can be the basis of any meal. The other thing I invested in was a bread machine a few months ago, it's amazing. Bread here is very expensive and my kids do not get school meals so they need to take sandwiches. So this saves me a fortune and the kids eat the bread better. they all asked for more yesterday.

So Sunday was cubed meat with a sweet and sour sauce.
Monday I was worried about this one am I giving them enough will everyone be full, etc... It turned out to be a huge success and everyone was happy. Veg soup with lentils, freshly baked bread yummy and cheese on top.
Today was stew and besides for my middle son who is ill everyone had three helpings.
Tomorrow I think it is pizza again the dough I'll make in the bread machine, toppping tinned tomato with sweetner, salt, herbs in with a topping of mushroom, sweet corn, pepper and cheese. Everyone loves this too.
Thursday probably pasta and cheese with a big salad and fruit, always goes down well.
Shabbos BH going away to in laws so a good rest for Mummy and children can do what they want when they want LOL because they can do no wrong!!!!!

So what do you all think of my menu?

gryp

Tue, Oct 28 2008, 3:44 pm

Minestrone soup
Homemade Chummus with ww bread and vegetables to dip.

chiyahr

Sat, Nov 15 2008, 10:30 pm

I stretch chicken.
The first meal is baked chicken.... then leftovers I make chicken salad with celery and onion....the third is to use the bones and any meat for soup.

It only my daughter and myslelf now, but when all 4 kids and DH were around, it would be baked chicken, then soup....
I also make a lot of home made soups for us.
Crockpots are great for that....potato soup... broccoli and cheese soup...hearty veg soup...french onion soup...
Very filling, inexpensive, and great on cool nights

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