Well, if I really did only have £5 to spend for the next 5 days, I would have been in trouble today.
I had priced my list using mySupermarket at Asda, so off I went to the Asda in Hailsham.
First hurdle was getting the quantities of carrots and onions I needed – there weren’t any scales! So I ended up skipping to and fro between the veggies and the self service tills, which showed me the weight. The shelf filling staff and the lady at the tills were intriqued as to what I was doing and we had a lovely chat. They wanted to know all about LBL and what I was doing for it.
Having done that, and got most of the other items on my list, I searched in vain for value flour, value jam, cooking bacon and lentils. They had the smallest selection of lentils I have ever seen in a supermarket. So next step was going up the road to a large Tesco, they’ll have them I thought.
Got some flour, hooray. Found some jam too, hooray again. Got some lentils that cost 9p more than budget. Cooking bacon was still an endangered species and nowhere to be seen.
So off back to Heathfield I went and into Sainsbury, where I finally got the bacon. Only trouble is tho, the blighters had put it up to £1.10. No choice, no rummaging amongst the variably priced packets, they were all £1.10, although they weighed 670g
So if I really did have just the budgeted 80p for the bacon, I would have had to have gone without. Plus of course,there is no way I would have been able to drive to Hailsham, 9 miles away. And the whole thing took a couple of hours too.
So to recap, this is what I got
Asda
Tin tomatoes, 31p
Value soft cheese 61p
180g carrots 16p
White cabbage 42p
415g onions 31p
Packet spread 55p
Tesco
Strawberry jam, 29p
Split lentils, 500g £1.09
Bag self raising flour 45p
Sainsbury
670g bacon £1.10, removed the extra 170g, and then another 5g to give me 490g to keep within £5
Total of £4.99
Breakfast was a pancake of flour and mixed veg. Made one large one instead of the planned small ones. It was surprisingly tasty considering I don’t have any salt or any other seasonings.
Lunch was soup made with lentils and veg. Added a little too much water, but made two bowls full. So had one, and a couple of these
I made a batch of 12 small scones to have with jam, two a day and a couple of spares. I had three today and popped the rest in the freezer for the remaining days. They were seriously good.
Then this evening I had planned some lentil dumplings with a sauce of tomatoes, onion and cabbage. Made up the dumplings and completely forgot and added the sauce ingredients too. Steamed them and they were a little bland, would have been tastier with the sauce. Had the 2nd bowl of soup first, and then three of the dumplings. There are loads left, so I may have those tomorrow with some sauce, using ingredients that I would have used for something else.
Have had plenty to eat, with leftovers too. Drunk only water today, and will do until the end. Would LOVE a cup of tea!
All in all, not a bad first day
I agree, a store cupboard is a good buffer for when we need it. Plus, as you say, the know how to make meals cheaply.
When I was at my most broke, I didn’t have a car, and hadn’t learnt how to drive then anyway. It made choices much more difficult. I still remember the sheer weight of carrying shopping home, and having to work out if I could carry that bag of potatoes along with the rest.
The scones were 270g sr flour, 100g spread and enough water to make a soft dough. Pat it out to an oblong shape about half an inch/ 1.5cm high and slice down the long middle, then cut across the two halves to make 12 scones. Bake in a hot oven for about 20 minutes, or until golden. 220C/425F/Gas 7
Or of course, you could do fancy shapes, even smaller, or much bigger. They were really good, especially fresh out of the oven. Just had one of the two allowed for today with some of the jam, still good.
Lesley at least you know this is only for five days and then normal service can resume and you have your cooking skills, cooking facilities and money to pay for the fuel both to buy the food and then to cook it. Think how scary this must be if it is a reality. It reinforces for me the need to build up a store cupboard in times of plenty to give us choice and flexibility when their isn’t enough money.
Please share how you made your scones. Were they just flour, water, spread?