Thrifty Lesley

for fabulously frugal food

  • Home
  • About
    • About me
    • What This Site Is About
  • Thrifty Lesley Recipes
  • How To Use The Meal Plans
    • Thrifty Lesley Meal Plans
  • Shop
    • Basket
    • Checkout
    • Privacy Policy
  • Hints, Tips & Ideas
    • Conversion Charts
    • Herbs
    • Toiletries
  • My Diary
  • News & Media
  • Contact/Subscribe
School packed lunches – the dreaded chore! Can you feed a hulking teenager for 30p a head?

School packed lunches – the dreaded chore! Can you feed a hulking teenager for 30p a head?

by Thrifty Lesley | Aug 6, 2022 | All Recipes, Lunches, Round Up Post

Ideas for school packed lunches – many people with school aged children need them. Packing up a lunch box for children or an adult packed lunch is bad enough. It can be boring, tiresome and a real chore to do. You might be lucky and not mind it too much, but...
Baked Marmalade Sponge

Baked Marmalade Sponge

by Thrifty Lesley | Sep 16, 2021 | All Recipes, Meal Plan 1, Meal Plan 14, Puddings / Desserts

This post was first written in June 2013 and updated in June 2021. Are you following Meal Plan 1? All the recipes in meal plan 1 If so, this baked sponge can be eaten at any time during the week when you need the calories. Would be lovely as a Sunday tea, or maybe...
Fed up with plain cheese sandwiches? How about flavoured potted cheese?

Fed up with plain cheese sandwiches? How about flavoured potted cheese?

by Thrifty Lesley | Aug 29, 2019 | All Recipes, Breakfast, Less than 500 calories, Lunches

Do you have cheese sandwiches for lunch? Are you a little tired of them, or maybe wanting to ring the changes a little? How about making a potted cheese. I have lots of little bits and pieces of cheese stashed away in the freezer, things left over from various events,...
Raw chickpea carrot falafel, 15p. Delicious, with sweet variations too

Raw chickpea carrot falafel, 15p. Delicious, with sweet variations too

by Thrifty Lesley | Mar 11, 2016 | Dinners, Lunches

going through my cook books   I have been looking through a few of my (far too many really! ) cook books recently. I do this every now and again, and note down any recipes I like the look of. One of the books I looked through was The Vegetable Bible by Sophie...
Using up mincemeat – Mince pies, Mincemeat Muffins, Mincemeat Brownies and Mincemeat Ice Cream

Using up mincemeat – Mince pies, Mincemeat Muffins, Mincemeat Brownies and Mincemeat Ice Cream

by Thrifty Lesley | Dec 19, 2015 | Cakes and Bakes, Christmas, Love Your Leftovers

A few days ago, I made some mince pies for the U3A Christmas meeting. I had bought a new large jar of mincemeat, but then remembered I still had 2.5 jars of the same size left from last year. So I dug out one of those and used that. I made some oil pastry, then used...
Hotdog & Blackeye Bean Salad Bowl, 41p – No Power Meal Plan

Hotdog & Blackeye Bean Salad Bowl, 41p – No Power Meal Plan

by Thrifty Lesley | Jul 13, 2015 | No Power Meal Plan, Recipes Using No Power

This is dinner on 2 days on the No Power Meal Plan. Use this same amount on both days, using the tin of blackeye beans on one day and the kidney beans on the other. Serves 2 half a tin hotdogs, Asda 49p, 25p 30ml oil, Asda £1.25/litre, 4p 100g carrot, Asda £1.18/2kg,...
Peanut butter and jam mug cake, mmm, too easy

Peanut butter and jam mug cake, mmm, too easy

by Thrifty Lesley | Apr 9, 2015 | Puddings / Desserts

I was inspired to try this pudding this evening by Skint Mum over on the Skint Dad blog who made a chocolate mug cake. DP is mad on peanut butter on toast at the moment, so I made this peanut butter and jam version. I used a large mug and put into it 2 tbslp sugar 2...
Vegan bean and spicy katjan sauce sandwich paste, 12p a sandwich, LOADS of variations

Vegan bean and spicy katjan sauce sandwich paste, 12p a sandwich, LOADS of variations

by Thrifty Lesley | Apr 5, 2015 | Breakfast, Less than 500 calories, Lunches

Having tried draining and rinsing a can of beans recently for the sardine sandwich paste, I thought I could make lots of different variations of a beany sandwich filler with that same type of bean. So first attempt A can of value baked beans 31p Spicy katjan sauce...
Meal Plan 4 – a scrummy lunch of Butter Bean Pate, carrot sticks & pitta, 18p

Meal Plan 4 – a scrummy lunch of Butter Bean Pate, carrot sticks & pitta, 18p

by Thrifty Lesley | Feb 7, 2015 | Less than 500 calories, Lunches, Meal Plan 4

This was lunch today, after a vigorous gym session.  It didn’t take long to prepare, although I did have a big dish of  butter beans, already cooked, in the fridge.  It was filling, even tho it was less than 300 calories, and 3 hours later, I am not in the least bit...
Bannocks with roasted veg hoummous

Bannocks with roasted veg hoummous

by Thrifty Lesley | Jan 22, 2015 | Cakes and Bakes, Lunches, Meal Plan 10, Meal Plan 14, Meal Plan 8, Meal Plan 9

Made these at tea time. I’ve been working out the recipes for the new meal plan. I need to use up all the groceries on the shopping list, or the people following it wouldn’t have enough calories for the week. I found that I had some oats, oil, onions and...
Muscovado and mixed fruit pudding, with double cream, 32p

Muscovado and mixed fruit pudding, with double cream, 32p

by Thrifty Lesley | Dec 2, 2014 | Christmas, Puddings / Desserts

This is the pudding for the Christmas week 2014 plan. Plump dried fruits, rich muscovado flavours, double cream trickled over. Very naughty at 600+ calories, and very, very nice. I tested one with DP this evening, we shared, as calorific treats like this slip down...

Fruit Trees, Date & Apple Muffins and Sugar Paste Flowers

by Thrifty Lesley | Mar 18, 2014 | All Recipes, Cakes and Bakes, My Diary

Nipped down to Eastbourne this morning to see DD1. Took down a couple of big pots to add to the three already there, and some compost, and we potted up the 5 little fruit trees that were her Christmas present. The plum is already covered in blossom and she should have...
Apple and Spice Muffins, using no egg and my apples, 4p each, 9p if you buy the apples

Apple and Spice Muffins, using no egg and my apples, 4p each, 9p if you buy the apples

by Thrifty Lesley | Nov 9, 2013 | All Recipes, Cakes and Bakes, Meal Plan 12

Just been having a little experiment in the kitchen. Due to budgetry constraints on our plans I have been musing about baking without eggs. I used to do it years and years ago but had completely forgotten what I did, except that it involved a little vinegar. On...
Granola, 8p a serving, 14p including the milk

Granola, 8p a serving, 14p including the milk

by Thrifty Lesley | Nov 1, 2013 | All Recipes, Breakfast, Meal Plan 4

Made some granola this evening. The whole place now smells of vanilla, a delicious smell. The granola is for the 4th meal plan (will be loading it tomorrow) and the entire huge box of it is available for use during the week if required. I shall be having some tomorrow...
« Older Entries
  • Follow
Facebook
  • Follow

Pinterest

  • Follow

YouTube

  • Follow

Twitter

  • Follow

Instagram

best frugal food blog 2020

Visit our sister site Cheap Family Recipes for other creative ways to feed a family on a tight budget.

all content copyright © 2025 thrifty lesley

cookie compliance | privacy policy | site by lemoneye