Mum and journalist Abigail Nicholson was set the challenge of feeding her family as many meals as she could by spending just £20 in Iceland and Food Warehouse…
During a cost of living crisis millions of people across the UK are on the hunt to feed their family as well as they can, for the least amount of money possible.
Others might choose to lower their food shop budget with the aim of saving money towards a new home, car or even a holiday. No matter what your reason is, there are plenty of ways to feed your family for less, with many supermarkets having own brand ranges that are cheaper, or having incredibly low prices in general.
One store that is well known for its value for money is Iceland and Food Warehouse, were many people shop due to the vast range of frozen foods, budget items and convenience.
Iceland set me a challenge of feeding my family of three while spending just £20 and seeing what I could make.
After some planning, I went to my local Food Warehouse and set my sights on the best offers I could find for my family, which consists of me, my fiancé and our 2-year-old toddler who can either eat us out of house and home, or survive on air for days at a time.
After entering the store, I was immediately greeted with a deal of 10 items for just £10. The range included everything from Pizzas and battered fish, too chicken dippers and sausages.
For the deal I picked up two packs of the Aunt Bessie’s Skin On Homestyle Chips, which people have described as being nicer than McDonalds, Richmond thick pork sausages, two packs of the chicken and vegetable Pukka Pies, Birds Eye battered fish fillets, Birds Eve breaded Cod fish cakes, some chicken dippers and two Goodfellas pizzas.
I’d chosen to get most of my protein and sides out of the way in this part of the offer and build meals from there. One of the other deals I used was the three items for £5 on frozen vegetables, however, I only bought two – carrots and broccoli – so I could use the extra £1 elsewhere.
From the fridges I bought a cheese mix of cheddar and Mozzarella for £2.50 and I also got a pack of three onions for £1. In the cupboard section I bought a huge pack of tagliatelle for £1.25 along with a packet of Uncle Ben’s long grain rice for £1.
With 50p left, I got a post shopping treat of a 50p chocolate flapjack… delicious! There were a number of other offers that I could have used to complete the challenge, including 10 items for £10 on fresh products, the same offer on cupboard essentials and even £1 frozen ready meals including classics such as cottage pie, lasagne and sweet and sour chicken.
Overall I managed to get 20 different items for £20, and made a total saving of £13 on the items I bought. As part of the challenge I have allowed myself to use some cupboard staples such as flour, spices, eggs and milk – and I believe I can make five separate meals from the items I have bought, making 24 portions in total.
My evening meal ideas include a toad in the hole with chips and vegetables, homemade fish/chicken katsu curry with rice and chips, cheesy broccoli and chicken tagliatelle, pizza night, pie, chips and veg and fishcakes, chips and vegetables.
The meals contain a mix of easy, and quick meals for solo parenting evenings along with nutritious meals filled with vegetables.
Abigail will be cooking and documenting her dinners over the next week to see if they create six dinners with 24 portions. Shop the Iceland 10 for £10 easy dinners offer here.
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