Feeding a family on a budget

[Heather moneypenny]

Please post any of your ideas for food budgets here

[earnsomecash]

Try bulking your meals up with vegetables

[del]

Good idea! I prefer more veg to meat anyway!

If you have a baby, make your own food for them! It's healthier, cheaper and you know exactly what is in it! There are loads of great baby food recipe books available and you can find loads of great recipes on the internet too!

[Heather moneypenny]

I've found since leaving the Midlands and moving to rural Norfolk the local grown veg has a wonderful flavour and is a lot cheaper than in the West Midlands.  Also Pheasant and Grouse are so cheap here, both cost £2.00 each and one pheasant is more than enough for two.  Venison is also cheaper than I ever imagined.  So if you are out and about it could be worth investigating the smaller markets outside of the big cities

[del]

Your right! The veg in the midlands doesn't taste as good as some other places! Don't think I could eat grouse and pheasant though! I wouldn't know how to cook it for a start!

Another way to save money on food is to do your own baking! It's lots cheaper, fun for the kids to help with, contains no preservatives and I think home baked cakes taste better than boxed, shop bought ones! I'm thinking of getting a bread machine because I think a loaf of decent bread is a ridiculous price!

[maverickangel]

Buy nothing which has more than one ingredient in it! Seriously, anything "made" is already over priced coz of the cost of making it. Like squash / cordial - cheapest brand squash is about 80p or more for a litre - I can make really nice, "proper" tasting cordial using fruit, sugar, water and citric acid for about 30p for 2 pints (over a litre).

[Heather moneypenny]

Can you share the receipe please Maverick Angel

[maverickangel]

Can you share the receipe please Maverick Angel

Of course..my pleasure. k, couple of lemons (or oranges, or some blackcurrants, or any other fruit u think might make a reasonable cordial - limes would be good i guess), 2 pints water, 1 pound sugar and 1 level tsp citric acid. You can get citric acid by asking for it at the chemists. They keep it under the counter coz it's a white powder and is often used to cut illegal substances with! Sadly (!) citric acid has no narcotic, hallucinatory or energising properties that i'm aware of!
1. Quarter the lemons and mush then in a liquidiser with half a pint of the water for 10 secs, or bash about abit.
2. put lemon and water mix, sugar, rest of water and citric acid in a saucepan (don't use a cast iron one like i did first time round, or it will taste pants), bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
3. Leave to cool, strain and bottle.
Will keep in fridge for about 3 weeks. Dilute to taste.
Tastes delish, and has same ingredients list as the expensive cordials which cost about £1.99 a bottle or something daft.

[del]

That sounds great! I shall make some at half term with the kids! Couple of questions though (don't laugh!) when you use citrus fruits do you need to peel them first? I made lemonade a while ago and everything went in (including pips) then we strained it afterwards. Also what type of sugar do you use?