Gourmet on a budget: Weeks worth of meals for under £15

I've decided to do a very different blog post today. I am always asked how I survive on about £10-£15 pound a week on food. So I've decided to show my typical weeks shop and the various different recipes and dishes I can make that will do me for lunch and dinner for the next week or so. I wont give the recipes this time but will tell the ingredients I use. Obviously the meals made using the items in this list are supplemented by food everyone would have in their fridge and cupboard at home (pasta, rice, noodles etc.), as well as items I didn't use last week. Basically the purpose of this exercise is to show how, with a bit of imagination and time, anyone can make delicious, healthy meals on a budget.

I do look for deals and special offers as well as items on sale. You don't always have to buy them, but you can use them to compliment your normal shop. So here is what I bought today:

Ingredients:

Mayonnaise £1.27

Sun-dried Tomatoes £2.49

Tin Tomatoes 3 x £0.33

Parmesan Cheese £2.92

Anchovies £0.73

Goat's Cheese £0.99

Beansprouts £0.35 (Sale)

Cooking Bacon £0.75)

Mushrooms 250g x 2 £0.29 (Sale)

Salad Leaves £1.05 (Sale)

Organic Red Onions £0.35 (Sale)

New Potatoes 1kg x 2 £1.35 (Buy 1 get 1 free)

Total Price: £13.82

Okay now that I have my food for the week. This is what I can make:

Method:

1. Using the Anchovies, Mayonnaise, Parmesan, cooking bacon & Cos Lettuce (from last week), I can make a large amount of Caesar Salad that will do you for lunch for 2 or 3 days (depending on the portion size)
2. Using Mushrooms, Red Onion, Stock & Rice, I can make the Mushroom Risotto which, again, will do for both lunch and dinner. 
3. Cook the baby potatoes, chop and pan fry, add to sun dried tomatoes, red onion and goats cheese and mix with the salad to create a gorgeous crispy potato salad. And/Or...
4. Simply cooking the potatoes and mixing with some herbs and the mayonnaise, have a more traditional potato salad.
5. I'd freeze some of the beansprouts for use in stir fries in the future. But you can use some with the red onion, mushrooms & any other vegetables you may have for a quick and easy stir-fry, served with rice or noodles.
6. Use some of the cooking bacon and Parmesan with eggs and pasta to make a traditional Carbonara
7. With the potatoes, Onions and tinned tomatoes you can cook the gorgeous Spanish Patatas Bravas (without the chorizo).
8. Use a tin of tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, garlic & red onion to make a pasta sauce to serve over pasta. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

So there's 8 dished you can make. You can make them for one meal or make a larger amount to do you for a number of meals. It just takes some imagination. Look at recipes online that contain ingredients you have at home. There are more dishes out there than you think. I have just given a few but if you were to search online with these ingredients you could find plenty more.

I really hope I've helped to show you what can be done on such a tight budget. It doesn't have to mean trips to iceland and ready-made meals. It can still be gourmet on a budget.

Enjoy