Autumn meal plan

 

My Autumn meal plan for this week is all about eating from the fridge, cupboards and garden whilst providing hearty meals.  The temperature has dropped dramatically and it is starting to feel chilly.  I made a big batch of what I call Pauper’s stew in the slow cooker yesterday. This is basically all the veg and fridge gravel that I have hanging around, thrown into the crock pot and cooked all day with Moroccan spices in it.

Sometimes I will make it with Indian spices, like a Goulash, or with mixed herbs in it.  I had enough home grown tomatoes to throw into it this week but sometimes I will add a tin of tomatoes.  I also add rice, orzo, bits of smash spaghetti or pulses to thicken it, depending what I have the most of, and add tomato puree.  If we have lots of meat I will add mince and lentils or chick peas like the one in the main picture.

We only wanted to spend a few pounds this week but the discounted pork loin joint was too good a bargain to turn down.  I was able to mince it and make 10 apple and pork burgers which worked out at 40p each.  They are about £1 each at a butchers.  When I sorted my cupboards out last week, I found that I had 7 jars of mince meat.  These were bought after Christmas last year, some for 25p each.  They will be fine to use this Christmas but I will try to use some over the next few months as well.  A couple are gingerbread flavoured which will be interesting.  I will use some to make compote with some foraged apples next week.  I expect Mr S won’t say “No” to some mince pies, either.

Luckily I managed to get some luxuries at the Community Fridge which have improved the meals that I can make for us and added joy and nutrition.   I have plenty of preserved fruit and vegetables in the freezer from the garden, but not a lot of meat or fish left.   It is a balance between keeping the freezer full for winter, whilst trying to save as much of the rest of my annual food budget as possible for any meat or fish reductions that usually occur around the festive season.  This helps us enjoy some meat and fish throughout the year.  I also don’t want to run my basics down too far in case there are shortages later in the year.  There have been a lot of poor harvests in lots of countries this year.

Here is what my plan is.

Taken from freezer

1 bag of part cooked carrots

2 home made spicy sausages

1 chicken breast

Hand full of prawns

 

Received from the community fridge (cost for all 70p)

Strawberries, a mango, broccoli, a bag of carrots, 3 potatoes, a bunch of spring onions, pack of deli pork balls, 4 bread cakes, bananas, lemons, Chelsea buns and Danish pastries

Bought from the shop and market (cost £6.20)

milk, a reduced joint of pork, a pineapple

 

Things preserved, or added back to the freezer

8 pork and apple burgers

4 jars of fridge pickles (2 sliced onion and 2 cucumber.  They last up to a couple of months)

A box of ice cream

Half a loaf of bread

8 mince meat cup cakes

Pickled beetroot

4 beetroot burgers

 

Food prep for the week

A batch of yoghurt

Pauper’s stew (made with veg from the garden, including tomatoes with Moroccan spices and bits of whole meal spaghetti added)

Apple, rhubarb and ginger compote

Ice cream

Mince meat cup cakes

Loaf of Spelt bread

Beetroot burgers

8 wraps

Hummus

 

Meals planned

Breakfast

Porridge and compote or jam x 2

Yoghurt, compote and granola x 2

Stretched beans on toast

Poached egg on toast

Banana or apple pancakes with yoghurt and rosehip syrup

 

Light meals

Moroccan soup with bread

Beetroot burger in a bun with salad

Vegetable omelette with salad

Hummus, crudities, flatbreads

Wrap pizza and salad

Cheese on toast

Home made chicken strips with salad in a wrap

 

Main meals

Home made pork and apple burgers in buns, chips, and salad

Moroccan stew with pork deli balls in it with flat bread

Prawn stir fry made from garden and frozen vegetables served with home made noodles

Veggie curry with rice

Moroccan stew with cheesy mash on top served with carrots and broccoli (beans in it provide the protein)

Sausage stuffed butternut squash with mini roast potatoes

Potato, veg and onion cheesy bake served with carrots

 

Snacks and desserts

Home made malt loaf from last week

Mince meat cup cakes

Jam or hummus on toast

Fruit salad

Compote and ice cream

 

It is still fairly easy at this time of year to live cheaply.  The beetroot burgers will be made from beetroot pulled from the garden yesterday, and the fridge is still full of harvested and foraged fruit and vegetables.  Food in the freezer and cupboards will start running down now until hopefully I can find some bargains nearer Christmas.  I am not worried though, as I have the ingredients that I need for Christmas (except for the meat) and I still have over a quarter of my annual food budget left.

Planning is the key to living on a small budget.  We plan when to go foraging, what to preserve, what to grow, what to eat, what to cook, what to buy, and when to buy it (when in season). Although prices have risen in the shops, we are still managing on the same budget due to better planning, eating less meat, and an odd visit to the Community fridge.  This year I gave back to the community fridge by taking some of my spare produce, mainly courgette.  Once, I could easily manage to make meals from the shops that cost £1 a day, but this is nearly impossible now as the basics like flour, eggs, and potatoes have risen.  I therefore try to use these sparingly, though not too much as eggs, especially, have lots of nutrition in them, and the other ingredients help fill us up or stretch out fresh food.

How are you managing with your Autumn food plans?