not2old

from about Jack blog, anything or everything is possible

http://agirlcalledjack.com/2015/05/0...he-whole-week/


"I started writing my blog, A Girl Called Jack, in February 2012, in response to a local councillor who claimed that ‘druggies, drunks and single mums are ruining the High Street.’

What started as a local politics blog developed into budget food and recipes, which were picked up with interest by the national press as I detailed living with my son on a food budget of just £10 a week due to delays in unemployment benefits, and sometimes they weren’t paid at all.

Housing Benefit seems to be exceptionally messy, especially if you lose your job or move house, or both."

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Shard

I don't think £10 a week is possible. Unless you have another source of food.

not2old

Live Below The Line: The Whole Week | JACK MONROE

I wasn't aware of Jack or her blog till Bristol posted it on BE

And a yes from me, '£10 a week is possible'

I need to cut back further after reading some of what 'jack' has posted.

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Shard

Quite an eye-opener. I best go buy some barley.

not2old

I know you're probably poking fun at this ....

In a huge pot of goodness (basic basic)

-1 lb bag of pot barley
- 2lb+ Carrots
- large celery
- 1 to 2 lb onions
- large cabbage (optional) navy beans/pinto beans (optional)
- 2lb+ potaotes
- Chicken carcass (after they cut off the chicken breasts & legs) usually sells here for $1.00 for a 5lb bag. Makes stock & has about 1 lb of chicken from the boil off (alternate fish ends as a substitute for the chicken)

- spices to taste

Cook & simmer for a few hours, can feed a family of two for a whole week

A bowl or two per serving, with bread on the side if not full

One dozen eggs to the weekly menu for alternate substitute meals or use in making other food items

Day old /end of day, or marked down grocery shelf items, bread, meat, fish, produce.

Its all doable when & if folks need or want to do it

Breakfast

Tea & toast, with one fruit item, yogurt also if you have the money

Lunch

Mixed bag, leftovers, scraps, as long as its around $0.50/ person

No take out food, minimal processed foods, make & bake from raw ingredients.

I'l stop at that

not2old

No frills supermarket has the following special this week

$1.87 for each of the following

10 lb white potatoes

10 lb bag carrots

10 lb bag onions

5 lb Turnips

Better still, at Freshco, the same items as above are $1.44 with the addition of

10 lb Beets

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scrubbedexpat091

You always seem to have the cheapest food prices in Canada it seems....

5lb carrots 4.99 (no 10 pound, just 3 and 5)

White Potatoes $2.84/kg

5lb yellow potatoes 5.99

Russets you can get 20lbs for 5.99

3lb of onions 3.99

Turnips Unit Price: $4.39/kg



From your other post, they sell chicken carcass at the grocery stores where you are? They don't even cut meat in the store anymore at the local store where I am, everything comes into the store pre-packaged ready to sell.

Oink

Our local butcher does this, necks and backs and other bits, I buy them by the caseload for crab bait.

not2old

Outside of the supermarkets, the point made by oink above - do you not have a butcher or deli in your part of the world, cos if you do they likely would have meat or chicken ends & scraps, including deli end cuts. You may need to ask the guy in the back that hacks it all up

scrubbedexpat091

We don't have a butcher in town anymore. I don't need a carcass, just wasn't something I have ever seen here in stores before, but guess you need to go to a proper butcher shop.

caretaker

No, you can start with a whole chicken and after you remove the breast, legs, thighs, and wings the carcass is all that's left. If you only like eating chicken breast (which I deduce from your previous posts) and you don't want to make chicken soup then you don't need it. If you want to make soup or chicken stock you can get a package of necks and backs or legs with back attached when you go to Vancouver (wait till you're out of them and buy carrots and onions and potatoes too).. If you want turkey in your freezing compartment make room for it then cook one and eat roast turkey, turkey sandwiches next day and then make soup or freeze the rest. I don't mind turkey but don't like it enough to bother. Turkey salad sandwiches are nice, and I like stuffing and gravy and the crispy roasted skin best.

Shard

Actually, a friend recently pointed out that I could make a decent spicy lentil soup for pennies, compared to the £1.50 tin of Baxters I was waxing lyrical about. And the blog has reminded me of how the supermarkets and food industry has brainwashed many of us to constantly expect prepared or high cost ingredient meals. So I will try to add a dash of frugality to meals now and then.

BristolUK

Both Sobeys and Superstore flyers (from tomorrow) are advertising Prime Rib Premium Roast @$7.99/$6.88 - half it's 'normal' cost. Less than half in Superstore's case.

There goes our meat embargo. We will make space at that price.

Daft thing is the same Superstore flyer has Eye of Round @$6.99, minimally reduced if at all.

Why would anyone pay pay more than the prime rib?

scrubbedexpat091

A lot of people think Superstore = lowest price... I can often find better pricing and better quality at Save On, same happens in this town, people swear Extra Foods is cheapest, but if you flyer shop, they rarely are and their sale prices are reduced very little.

Last time I went to Save On, everything was on sale except for a few small items, we save 50 dollars vs normal prices.

BristolUK

Unfortunately they were all big ones. All around $40 or $60 each.

I bought one for $40 and I'll split it. Maybe one piece for roasting and the other for steaks.