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Our Family Meal Plan For School Holidays Week 1 - £70

Sunday 31 March 2013
It is the Easter school holidays here so my 3 girls will be off school for 2 weeks.  That means our grocery bill will be slightly higher than normal.  I try not to make sure that we have 3 main meals and 2 snacks each day otherwise my daughters tend to graze on and off throughout the day.  Keeping them busy helps too so they are not eating because they're bored and making sure they have plenty of drinks keeps them hydrated and happy.  I usually have a jug of water in the fridge for drinks, sometimes we add some homemade cordial or slices of lemon/orange to it.  

Breakfast will be porridge this week to fuel our holiday fun.  The wraps and bread/rolls for lunches will be homemade to keep the kids occupied and save money.  Snacks will be fruit with homemade yoghurt in the morning and a small baked treat, popcorn or Scroggin in the afternoon.  I have deliberately kept dinners low faff as I am bound to be exhausted from keeping all 3 girls amused and busy all day every day.  Holidays are always lots of fun and I love loads of time with my 3 girls but they do rather wear me out sometimes.  

Our grocery shopping this week cost £70.02 from Asda on 30/03/2013 and would've cost £84.10 from Tesco or £89.78 from Sainsbury's according to the My Supermarket price comparison website.

Dinners

We're taking advantage of the 2 for £10 Meat Offer from Asda again this week so our menu is slightly more meat-heavy than usual.

Lentil and Mince Bolognese – Monday with pasta and Tuesday with baked potatoes

675g minced beef
2 large onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 peppers, deseeded and finely diced
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 x 400g tins lentils, drained
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil

Heat a little in a frying-pan and sauté the onion, garlic and peppers together until softened.  Add the minced beef and brown well, breaking up the mince as it browns.

Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, lentils, and dried herbs.  Stir well to combine and let simmer for at least 20 – 30 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta according to pack instructions.  Serve over the pasta with steamed greens or vegetables on the side.


Thrifty Sausage, Vegetable and Pearl Barley Hotpot  - Wednesday and Thursday (using 10 sausages)

Meatball Minestrone - Friday

12 meatballs
1 onion, finely diced
2 peppers, deseeded and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely sliced
2 stalks celery, finely sliced
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups vegetable stock
400g tin cannellini beans, drained
400g tin kidney beans, drained
1 cup dried pasta
1 tsp dried basil
200g spinach leaves

In a large saucepan, sauté the onion, peppers and garlic over a low heat until softened.  Add the carrots, celery, and frankly any other veggies you have on hand that may need using up.  Make sure all the vegetables are cut the same size so they cook evenly.

Cook the vegetables over a moderate heat until the carrots start to soften.  Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste and stock then bring everything to a gentle simmer.  Add cannellinni beans, kidney beans and pasta then simmer gently for at least 20 minutes or until the pasta has softened.

Fry meatballs in a little olive oil until lightly browned all over.  When the pasta has softened, add the meatballs and spinach.  Simmer for another 5 – 10 minutes then serve.

Fish Pilaf - Saturday

Spaghetti and Meatballs - Sunday


Lunches

We'll have crudites along with Savoury Scone Swirls or falafel and salad wraps for lunches.  One day this week we'll have baked potatoes with baked beans and cheese, probably mini frittatas (using ingredients on hand) at some point during the week and I might make some rice pudding using the basmati rice too.

Baking

There will of course be lots of baking to keep my 3 daughters both busy and fed. I've supplies to make fruit scones, flapjacks, muffins/cupcakes and cookies.  We'll be using cereals to bake with (cornflakes and rice crispies) which should also help quell hunger pangs.

Shopping List

45 items: £70.02                                                                             

Packets and Cereals                                                                   
                                                                                                          
1x   Mornflake Superfast Oats (2Kg)                                £1.88 
1x   ASDA Smartprice Cornflakes (750g)                        46p    
1x   ASDA Smartprice Crispy Rice Cereal (440g)          77p    
1x   ASDA Chosen by You Fusilli Twists (500g)           50p     was 95p
1x   ASDA Smartprice Spaghetti (500g)                          19p    
1x   Allinson Strong Wholemeal Bread Flour (1.5Kg)     £1.27    was £1.50
1x   Silver Spoon Granulated Sugar (1Kg)                     88p    
2x   Asda Wholefoods White Bread Flour (1.5Kg)       £1.60   
1x   ASDA Basmati White Rice (1Kg)                              £1.48 
1x   Great Scot Pearl Barley (500g)                                  58p    
1x   Asda Home Baking Easy Bake Yeast (6 pack - 42g)  65p      
1x   Allinson Wholemeal Self Raising Flour (1.5Kg)    £1.60 

Tins, Jars and Cooking                                                              
                                                                                                          
1x   Loyd Grossman Bolognese Sauce (425g)              £1.00  was £1.98
1x   ASDA Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce (4x410g)    £1.24 
3x   ASDA Smartprice Chopped Tomatoes (400g)        93p    
1x   ASDA Cannellini Beans in Water (300g)                64p    
1x   ASDA Smartprice Red Kidney Beans  (400g)          27p      
2x   ASDA Chick Peas in Water (400g)                           £1.40 
2x   ASDA Chosen by You Green Lentils  (400g)           £1.24   
1x   ASDA Double Concentrated Tomato Puree (200g)      55p      

Frozen                                                                                             
                                                                                                          
2x   ASDA Smartprice Mixed Vegetables (1Kg)             £1.50 
1x   ASDA Whitefish Fillets (500g)                                   £2.00 

Dairy and Eggs                                                                             
                                                                                                          
6x   ASDA British Semi Skimmed Milk 4 Pints (2.27L) £6.00 
1x   Stork (1Kg)                                                              £2.00 
2x   Cathedral City Extra Mature Cheddar (350g)          £4.00 
1x   ASDA Smartprice Low Fat Natural Yogurt (500g)  45p    
2x   Suffolk Farm Medium Free Range Eggs (6)           £2.00 

Fruit and Vegetables                                                                   
                                                                                                          
1x   ASDA Chosen by You Pitted Dried Dates (500g)  £1.00  was £1.20
1x   ASDA Smartprice Sultanas (500g)                           98p    
20  ASDA Smartprice Apples by Weight (100g)            £2.36 
20  ASDA Bananas by Weight (100g)                            £1.36 
2x   ASDA White Potatoes (2.5Kg)                                £3.50  2 FOR £3.50
3x   ASDA Whole Cucumber                                          £1.50 
2x   ASDA Round Lettuce                                                £1.00 
1x   ASDA Celery                                                              89p    
2x   ASDA Garlic Loose                                                   60p    
2x   ASDA Smartprice Peppers (700g)                            £3.50 
1x   ASDA Spring Onions                                                  75p    
1x   ASDA Spinach (350g)                                                 £1.50 
1x   ASDA Plums (500g)                                                    £1.00 
2x   ASDA Brown Onions (1Kg)                                        £1.00 
2x   ASDA Carrots (1.2Kg)                                                 £2.00 

Meat, Fish and Poultry                                                                
                                                                                                          
1x   ASDA Extra Special Pork Sausages (10 per pack - 756g) £3.33  any 3 FOR £10.00
1x   ASDA Butcher's Selection Beef Meatballs (730g)            £3.33  any 3 FOR £10.00
1x   ASDA Butcher's Selection Lean Beef Mince (675g)         £3.33    any 3 FOR £10.00

Prices and special offers reflect those of the online grocery website My Supermarket and are correct as of 29 March 2013.  Prices may vary in different in-store locations.


Check out the Meal Planning Monday linky on At Home With Mrs M



8 comments:

  1. The holiday is always a little more expensive for us too due to baking supplies and snacks.

    The fruit scones sound good! X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks :o) Our grocery bill is always higher in the holidays as kids snack more than when they are at school and fresh fruit and vegetables are quite expensive. I shall be stalking the local greengrocer tomorrow when we go out to a craft session. Fruit scones are quick, easy and fairly filling. My girls make them themselves, with the eldest using the oven.

      Delete
  2. Always more expensive for us to during the holidays...But it hasn't been too bad for this weeks shopping...
    Great meal plan...As always!
    Have a fab week!! x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kim, I hope you have a fab week too :o)

      Delete
  3. The sausage vegetable hot pot sounds good, I'll have to try making that. There's only my husband, me and our 4 month old baby but our food bills always seem to be over our budget so I'm always looking for thrifty tasty meals to try.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The meatball minestrone sounds great for using up leftovers. Annoyingly, my OH moans at meatballs (no idea why), but they'd be so handy for things like this

    ReplyDelete
  5. The hotpot sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi, great menu & recipes! how do you do your homemade yoghurt? I've considered purchasing the easiyo but not sure whether its any good or not. Leigh.

    ReplyDelete

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