diet AND frugal food? is it possible?

[Redorwhitejusthaveboth]

I am doing slimming world - does anyone have any views on whether i can continue the SW diet and do a frugal money saving meal plan? anyone done this? I am a single mum with 3 boys who aren't on the diet (!)

[MrsMushroom]

we eat on a tiny budget and in my opinion it's probably not the best thing for you to attempt slimming world on a smaller budget...

Because of our tiny budget, we've cut out almost all meat...we have one roast chicken a week...all other meals are vegatarian...we eat a lot of fruit too.

I have lost a stone doing this over a month....I have a treat day on a Friday...that's when I get fish and chips for tea...or a chinese....I might have a bar of choc too.

But for 6 days a week it's porrige or toast and fruit for brekky, lunch is salad with hummus or maybe tuna....dinner is vegy chilli and a baked potato or stir fry with veggies....or sometimes pasta bake...with veggies.

I bake muffins and we make all our own bread...eat lots of salads with red kidney beans and lentils or chick peas....olive oil, balsamic vinegar and maybe garlic.

I feel very healthy...I still have coffee,

[specialsubject]

previous poster just described an excellent healthy diet. Sounds like you can ditch SW and save more cash!

[HalfSpamHalfBrisket]

Soup! I make a big pot on Sunday and it lasts half the week. It's warming, healthy and vv cheap if you make it with leftover or reduced veg.

[MrsMushroom]

Yy to soup....we made an amazing vegatable one the other day. OP if you use herbs and spices, veggie food is amazing. We put garlic, chilli (not much) corriander, salt and pepper...use cracked black pepper and sea salt...much nicer.

[MrsMushroom]

Plus...when you eat as we do, you can have butter on your baked potato and sugar in your coffee...it's ok...because there's no processed food in your diet at all so no sugar is hiding in your cereal or in other meals.

[Redorwhitejusthaveboth]

thats a good point - if im not buying the crap then i can allow a few more other bits cant i....
loving the soup idea

thank-you x

[Chubfuddler]

Funny I was just going to recommend SW as a good way to lose weight on a budget - SW is not Atkins, you don't need to eat lots of meat

Veggie curries/chillis
Pasta
Rice
Jacket potatoes
Cous cous

All cheap, bulky and free foods on SW.

[MrsMushroom]

What's "SW" Chub?

OP I won't lie...it took me a while to get into eating this way...at first it felt like there was nothing to eat in the house...our fridge is always full and the freezer is always empty...I see that as a good sign now. it means we only eat fresh food...the store cupboard is full of pulses etc....and herbs...we also grow herbs so we have fresh.

But you get used to the way...you feel full and I don't really crave much now...sometimes I think God I need a can of coke so I have one but the cravings aren't really there now and it's because Ive retrained my brain.

Once you cut the sugar and fat out, your body gets used to that and the messages don't come through any more...

[MrsMushroom]

My sister does SW and she never eats things like that chub! She eats bacon and eggs....and not much else it seems to me!

[Chubfuddler]

She's not doing it properly then mrs mushroom.

[CanIHaveAPetGiraffePlease]

Mrs mushroom - I'm trying to eat more like your family at the moment. We had veggie chilli and jackets last night and was filling and yummy!

Any advice or hints on making the change? I saw your list of shopping on the other thread. Would you post a weeks sample meals that a simple person like me could follow? Obviously only if you've got time etc. . .

We're thinking of getting a chicken from the butcher once a week and maybe some sausages but otherwise eating veggie. . But need inspiration. I end up googling and forgetting! We want to get back into making bread too.

[MrsMushroom]

Giraffe...

I'll just try to remember...

Veggie chilli and baked potato with salad

Bean Burgers Nice recipe served with potato wedges and salad

Vegetable soup....using the stock I made with last weeks' chicken...with home made bread...google jamie Oliver bread recipe...if that's not filling enough, you can add this to the bean burger meal and have a two course dinner!

Roast chicken with roast potato, roast carrots, roast onion and roast garlic...

Chicken stir fry from the remaining meat...with rice and vegetables

Salad with red kidney beans and chick peas...add pasta to the bowl, throw in rinsed tins of kidney and chick peas, add grated carrots, cucumber, pepper, avocado....anything you like....make dressing from olive oil, balsamic and finely chopped garlic. Eat with home made bread

Cheese and veggy pasta bake...very easy loads of recpies online.

[MrsMushroom]

Get some herbs and spices if you've not got any Giraffe....chilli powder, curry powder, chinese 5 spice, cumin, good cracked black pepper and sea salt in proper grinders, and good virgin olive oil...it makes a difference.

[MrsMushroom]

Ooh and corriander and basil fresh in pots...gorgeous in soup and salad.

[CanIHaveAPetGiraffePlease]

Ooh lovely :-) thankyou :-) I do have spices, just learning what goes with what!

Will try the beanburger recipe too.

Will sit down and write some of this down tonight to get myself organised.

[MrsMushroom]

I still struggle knowing what spices and herbs to use...if all else fails I use garlic and sometimes mixed herbs....I know that cumin and paprika are for chilli (I think!)

and that tarragon is for fish...maybe chicken too.

Basil...tomatoes, salad, cheese

And with the beanburger defo corriander. When I made them I could not imagine them sticking together well but they do...they're lovely actually.

[chocolatespiders]

Single parent here doing WW.

This week I cooked a chick pea curry on Monday and I have had it every night this week with rice of jacket potato which has saved money.

Or I have vege sausages with a mass of cabbage, sprouts and carrots.

I also bake at the weekends with the kids and my lunches are home made soup normally butternut squash with carrot or leek served with a pitta bread or WW nann bread

[applepudding]

Hi - I know its a couple of weeks since the OP but I just wanted to add to this to say I've been following slimming world since last November and have lost a stone. I do the extra easy plan and find this fits in perfectly with food my family will eat and it can be as frugal as you like. Its all about cooking food from scratch, no added fat and cutting fat off your meat ( if you use).

So, if you have basic store cupboard of stock cubes, tinned tomatoes, passata, tomato puree, herbs, spices (e.g. curry powder, chilli powder, garlic), soy sauce, worcester sauce, and make gravy from granules. Also fat free salad dressing & oil spray rather than oil.

We eat: roast chicken (left overs go to a curry or stirfry), use extra-lean mince for home made chilli, cottage pie, spag bol, casseroles from stewing beef or skinless chicken thighs. You can add as much vegetables, lentils, beans etc to bulk that out as you want, and you can eat as much of it as you need.

Lunches I have omelette, baked potato or home made soup (use any veg going past their best) or if I'm going to work I make a salad from pasta, rice, cous cous, tinned beans, tuna etc. DS & DH normally take sandwiches.

Breakfast is Aldi's weetabix or porridge with fat free yogurt and chopped fruit.

I still buy biscuits, crumpet, scones for DS snack but I just don't eat them myself, I have fruit, soup or leftovers from the meals.

If you're a SW member there are lots of tips on the website about how you can eat on a budget and recipes.

Hope that's helpful.

[Bosgrove]

I have a new favourite SW lunch and it's really cheap.

Tinned Potatoes (17p a tin in Tesco's)
Onions
Lean bacon
Chop and fry in frylight
Serve with salad and tomatoes

It's really yummy and feels really naughty.