Weekly Wrap-Up Week 1

Well what a week. !!

I proved to myself that it IS actually possible to feed yourself on just $25.00 per week.

I must admit though that I need a bit more variety in meal choices than pasta every day.

I have not starved, in fact I have food left over. I have 9 teabags left , a full bag of pasta, 1/2 bag of mixed vege and 2 slices of cheese. Now that is not necessarily a good thing. It probably means I had too much pasta and not enough vege for each meal.
Each of the meals was 1 cup of each. The Kj count must be ok though as I have not lost any significant weight so I am happy that this week's meal plan is reasonably healthy and most definitely filling.

Being on such a tight budget is definitely a challenge and you do have to be creative.  For the second week I have tried to incorporate some fresh vegetables and some red meat, even if it is only mince. the other challenge is to bring in some spice & herb flavours.  By investigating the sachets in the spice aisle of the supermarket, I have come up with some interesting ideas to use in coming weeks menus.

I have been asked to do a number of variations on this $25 per week theme. More than a few people have suggested a 2 week plan of under $50, as centrelink pensions and benefits are paid fortnightly.

I have made a decision to expand this to include a number of stand alone $25.00 menus for one, which I will price out for 2 people as well.  I will also be creating some under $50 a fortnight stand alone menus, also priced out for 2.

These stand alone menus plans are meant to be just that..Stand Alone.. They do not require any pantry items or bulk pricing.  Just the amount of money allotted.
These menu plans might be useful for people starting from scratch, or even when on holiday and staying in a self contained apartment.

As well as these stand alone menus, I will create some 10-12 week "blocks".  These plans will include some bulk buying, where ingredients will be carried over for use in a following menu.

Thank you to all those who have given me feedback this week.  I look forward to where this journey will take me next :)

Friday - Day 7

Here we are the end of the first week.

On the menu today we have...

Breakfast

2 x poached eggs on toast

Lunch

A cheese and salad sandwich

Dinner 

A "Bacon Burger" made with the crusts of the loaf of bread, cheese egg bacon and a tablespoon or so of tinned tomato.  I should have kept a few salad leaves for this too, but did not think of it.

Thursday - Day 6

On the menu today...
Breakfast 
2 eggs scrambled with a cup of mixed vege that I heated through in the microwave before adding to the pan.  Served on hot buttered toast and a cup of tea.

Lunch
A cheese and salad ( spinach, carrot and cucumber) 
This was a busy lunch at my desk today :(  Not sure I even managed a cup of tea until later in the day.
I keep a bottle of water on my desk so am always sipping away.

Dinner
Pasta with 1 cup of mixed vege and the last of the tin of tomatoes (although I have kept a couple of tablespoons aside for my Bacon sandwich for Friday night's dinner)  I topped the whole lot with most of the bacon I have left, again keeping a few pieces for dinner on Friday,

Wednesday - Day 5

On the menu today we have:

Breakfast;
Bacon and Egg on toast ( the same as Monday hence the copied photo)
and the ever present cup of tea :)

Lunch:
Tuna with pasta, beans and tomato

Dinner:
Chicken,  pasta and vege in soup sauce

Today's cooking prep was easy.  While my breakfast was cooking I boiled up a cup of pasta ready for lunch at work.  Once cooked, I put the pasta in a microwave container along with the second half of my tuna, the last 1/3 of can of bean mix and 1/3 can of tomatoes.  It all got "nuked" at lunchtime.

For dinner
Start with a drumstick cut off the bone and cut into bite size pieces.
In a pan over medium heat, brown the meat off in a bit of butter.
Once browned,take the chicken pieces out of the ban and keep aside
Add 1.5 cups of water and a sachet of soup mix to the pan along with a cup of mixed vege and a cup of dried pasta.
Gently scrape up any chicken bits that are stuck to the pan.
Simmer gently until the pasta is cooked and the soup reduces to a nice thick sauce.
Add the chicken pieces back to the pan and heat through well.
Serve

People have been asking if I am hungry.  
The answer is NO.  If anything I feel a bit bloated. I put this down to the amount of bread and pasta. ( I am not going to be able to eat all the pasta)  
The menu plan for next week (which I will post on Friday after I shop ) has a lot less pasta and more variety of meals.

Tuesday - Day 4

Another work day.

The menu today is:

Breakfast:
2 x poached eggs on hot buttered toast
and of course the ever present cup of Tea :)
( I am MOST impressed with myself that I managed to get my eggs onto the toast without breaking them.  I was expecting to destroy them because I needed to take a picture :)

Lunch:
1 x Cheese sandwich (which I toasted)
Cup of Soup.  
(I am actually pleasantly surprised with this home brand soup.  I would not ordinarily buy this as they have been, in the past, far to salty and without flavour for me.  I was planning on using some of my milk to add to the cup, but have not needed to.  Don't get me wrong they are still a sachet of artificial colours and flavouring, but they are adequate for a "sometimes" food and are quite satisfying.)

Snack
2 x Wafer biscuits  
Cup of Tea with milk

Dinner
Pasta boiled with a cup of mixed vege, stir through 1/3 can of diced tomato, top with cheese and grill until the cheese is melted.   Who doesn't LOVE melty cheese  mmmmm :-)

Monday - Day 3

Back to work today :(

The fact that I remembered to take my lunch to work is a miracle in itself. We have a well stocked kitchen at work  with a lot of leftover meals in the freezer. So lunch is usua;;y "something" from the freezer heated through in the microwave.

On the menu today we had:
Breakfast
Bacon and eggs fried in a little butter. Serve on top of buttered toast
Sprinkle with a little bit of chopped spinach leaves to make it look pretty !!
Team with a cuppa and you have the perfect start to the day 

Lunch:
1 x Salad sandwich
1 x Cheese sandwich (which I toasted)
Cup of Tea with milk

Snack
2 x Wafer biscuits 
Cup of Tea with milk

Dinner
Chicken on a bed of beans and tomato

Chicken on a bed of beans and tomato
In a pan, heat some butter and gently fry a piece of chicken until cooked through and golden brown. ( I removed the bone from one of my drumsticks and made a "fillet")
Remove chicken from the pan and keep warm
Pour 1/3 can of diced tomato into the pan the chicken was cooked in.
Stir well scraping up all the " chickeny" bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add 1/3 can 3 bean mix and simmer until everything is hot and the sauce reduces slightly.
Slice the chicken into pieces and place on top of the tomato and bean mix.

Sunday - Day 2

Woke up to grey skies, so a lazy Sunday is in order today.

Breakfast is two eggs scrambled on top of hot buttered toast. ( I added a couple of spinach leaves just to "MasterChef" it up.  :)   Along with a cup of tea, it is a good start to the day.

Simple lunch of "Pizza" and a cup-a-soup.
"Pizza" is a piece of bread toasted on one side only to create crisp base.  If your toaster cannot take a double piece of toast, you can toast the bread on one side in a frying pan.

A smear of tomato from my tinned tomatoes for a sauce base add some diced bacon, top with cheese and grill to brown, bubbly deliciousness.    A cup-a-soup sachet created a nice warm drink to round out this meal.

We were actually out for the afternoon, so no afternoon tea today.  

Dinner was a quick mix of pasta and mixed veges (cook the mixed veges in with the pasta for a one pot meal)  When the pasta and veges are cooked, add 1/2 tin of tuna and 1/3 can of diced tomato. Stir through and serve.

Saturday.. Day 1

Today is the beginning the meal plan.  I am excited :)

I have made a couple of decisions to aid me in making sure everything lasts the week.

I will measure out out 300ml of milk to use each day.  Now, my math tells me that 7 x 300ml is 2.1L and of course I only have 2L, so the sneaky plan is to take out 100ml of milk from the carton, top it back up with 100ml of water.  Voila!! 2.Ll of milk that you cannot taste any difference with.

I have put 7 teabags out near the kettle and will keep track of how many cups of tea I have.

I have put my block of butter in a separate tub and my husband is under instructions that it is MINE!!!    I chose to use salted butter over margarine for a couple of reasons.  Firstly margarine is just a horrid chemical filled concoction that I cannot justify putting into my body if I have a choice.  Secondly, I can use butter to cook with as well as using as just a sandwich spread. Thirdly, I chose to use salted butter as I do not have any added salt to add to my meals, so this will help add a little more flavour. (not that I use a lot of salt anyway)

Here is the outcome of today's meals...

On the menu today is..
Breakfast
2 egg omelette with bacon
Cup of tea with milk
Lunch
Cheese and Salad sandwich on multi grain bread
Cup of tea with milk
Snack
2 Wafer biscuits
Cup of tea with milk.
Dinner
Pasta with Tomato, beans and cheese.
Cup of tea with milk

2 Egg and Bacon Soufflé Omelette

• 2 Eggs (Separated)
• Small Rasher of Bacon Diced
• Butter for frying.

In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.

Meanwhile, lightly fry the bacon until just cooked.  In a separate bowl combine the egg yolks and lightly cooked bacon.  

Gently fold the egg yolk and bacon mixture into the egg whites, being careful not to knock out too much air.
Fry gently in butter to each side until golden brown and the egg it set.

Lunch time saw me portioning out my salad veges in preparation for salad sandwiches through the week.  I thought to get the most from the little cucumber and carrot, I made strips of cucumber with a potato peeler and grate the carrot.  Mixed with the spinach leaves it certainly did provide a more than adequate filling for my sandwich.

Afternoon tea was a surprisingly good snack of two chocolate wafer biscuits and a cup of tea.  

Dinner was a lovely satisfying mix on boiled pasta mixed with kidney beans and mixed
through with a 1/3 tin of my diced tomato.  A slice of cheese on top and under the grill until the cheese was all nice and bubbly .   I am most certainly not hungry, and am now more excited to keep going.

Week 1 shop...Under Budget :-)

Here is the update of my shop.

You may notice the column labeled "Actual (Deemed)"  If a price is in RED, that indicates an item that I have not actually bought because I have the same product already at home.

I had budgeted for Tea Bags @ $2.57, but I took advantage of the special on Nerada tea at $1.99  I have Liptons currently at home, but only because they were on sale a few weeks ago.  My tea varies between Liptons, Bushells and Nerada depending on what is the best special on the day.  So I am happy to deem $1.99 for 50 teabags.

I had also originally budgeted for chicken thighs from the deli ( they had been advertised at $4.99kg)  When I got to the store, I noticed the drumsticks were only $3.98kg so bought 2 of them instead.

I was disappointed to see just how expensive fresh produce is in the supermarket.  :(
There was no Lettuce mix left so I have had to substitute baby spinach leaves to get some fresh green leafy vege into to meals.  I will have to get creative with some vege next week.

Looking around Woolworths I took note of a few options for next weeks shop.   I am hoping to get some Mince to get some red meat into the diet.  I also noticed a Home Brand Lasagne for just $2.27 which might make cheap lunches for 3 days.

I am happy that I have come in under budget. Now the fun begins with actually eating the menu plan.  I now have $25.15 for my budget next week

 

We start with breakfast tomorrow. 

Item	Budget	Actual (Deemed)
1 Dozen Eggs	$   2.79	$    2.79
2L Full Fat Milk	$      2.00	$      2.00
250g Butter	$      1.39	$      1.39
12pk Cheese slices	$      1.99	$      1.99
Multi Grain Bread	$      1.50	$      1.50
2 x Tinned Diced Tomatoes	$      1.18	$      1.18
3 Bean Mix	$      0.75	$      0.75
Frozen Mixed Vege 1kg	$      1.59	$      1.59
Tuna in springwater (185g)	$      1.15	$      1.15
Chicken Drumsticks from Deli 205g	$      1.30	$      0.95	Sorry forgot to take a pic :(
Bacon 250g	$      2.69	$      2.69
Fresh Carrot	$      0.20	$      0.34
Fresh Cucumber	$      0.40	$      0.69
Lettuce Mix	$      0.50	$      0.88
2 x Dried Pasta (500g)	$      1.30	$      1.30
Cup of Soup (4pk)	$      1.10	$      1.10
Cream Wafer Biscuits	$      0.57	$      0.57
Tea Bags 50pk	$      2.57	$      1.99
Total	$    24.97	$    24.85

Week 1....Shopping List and Menu Plan

Week 1....Shopping List and Menu Plan

After spending the morning on the Woolworth's Online site to gather pricing information, I have come up with this shopping list and Menu Plan.  

I will update this with actual prices and photos of purchases tomorrow after I have actually done the shop.

Shopping List

Menu Plan 

Loading the entire shopping list into Calorie King produced the following nutrition report.

It shows that the kJ count is slightly OVER my ideal.  (52984 vs 50666 ideal) I must admit that sort of surprised me.  I don't think I will eat all the pasta though, so I am going to guesstimate that my kJ will be pretty close to spot on.   

Stay tuned for the next installment  :-)