Tenner Week March 2015: Day One

Tenner Week piggy banks day 1

Time for another Tenner Week, seeing as we’re all so skint right now! Refresh your memory about the rules if you need to.

As is always the tradition with Day 1, it’s time to go through all your food and drink stores and make up a menu for the week. Remember to use up leftovers and avoid food waste if possible as well – you might want to freeze some milk or bread so it doesn’t go off.

Let’s add a new food challenge into the mix this time around: as part of your menu, plan for a winter warmer that you can have half of one day, and heat up for an easy meal the next day too.

You could cook:

  • Stew or casserole
  • Pasta soup
  • Dumplings or gnocchi
  • Curry
  • Chilli

For example, I’m making black bean chilli to have with flour tortillas on one evening, and with baked potato wedges and cheese the next. Might be adding some extra spices on the second night too, to keep it interesting.

I’m also challenging myself to eat more healthily, and will be having one extra portion of fruit with my breakfast every morning. That always sets me up nicely for the day, and after hunting around I’ve found:

  • Frozen home grown raspberries
  • Frozen home grown rhubarb
  • Pears in the fruit bowl
  • Longlife orange juice in the cupboard
  • Tinned peaches in juice in the cupboard

Should be plenty to be getting along with! Join in with that too if you’re in the mood and have enough fruit.

The rest of my menu includes baked fish, roasted pumpkin risotto, spinach and parmesan pasta, bangers and mash, and roast chicken + veggie alternative.

Schedule for the week

What’s happening here

Tonight, in what can only be described as a complete stroke of non-genius, I’ll be meeting up with friends at an event at a cafe. Let’s hope I don’t destroy the entire budget on the very first day…

Are you going to do the optional TV diet as well? I’m rationing myself this week, but can watch telly if I’m on the exercise bike – here’s to getting a little fitter too.

Do you have a menu plan for the week yet? Any idea which winter warmer you’re going to cook?

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8 Comments

  1. I planned r menu 4 the week last nite from stuff I already ave in, altho I did a shop last week & got fresh veggies/spuds from local farm at the weekend. As 4 the winter warmer I’v chilli con carne planned 4 2moro. There’l b enuf 4 another dinner (I make a sweet potato mash topped pie, kinda like cottage pie, & cook in my halogen oven) & 1 or 2 work lunches as well. I managed a no spend day 2day! That nice crisp new tenner is still intact

  2. Well done Alli! And there’s nothing quite as nice as chilli or a cottage pie when it’s cold outside. Will have to take a leaf out of your book and try for a no spend day tomorrow.

    P x

  3. Well,I cooked a roast on Sunday which we all had again tonight! Winter warmer is sheprds pie Tomorrow,made from mince and mash and veg from freezer.
    Wednesday is fish and chips, already in the freezer. Thursday is risotto, Friday is chicken wraps and Saturday pulled pork from the freezer. Any food left over from cooking will either be lunch next day or portioned for the freezer.
    I’m having porridge , yog and frozen fruit for breakfasts and making sarnies for work.
    I’ve had a no spend day too!

  4. I ordered books at work 2 weeks ago and need to pay for them tomorrow….please tell me they don’t come out of my £10 !!!!

  5. I know I can’t make it because of two planed events and a little shop before I read post about tenner week. I decided to start a week late and join in next week.

  6. Hi Nikki – sounds like a good menu to me! Don’t worry about the books, you already technically bought them two weeks ago. Are they for work? If so, it’s a work expense.

    Hello Sam – not much warning for this Tenner Week, sorry about that. It was a spur of the moment thing. Please feel free to join in starting whenever you like, and there will be a whole week’s worth of activities to try out as well.

  7. This looks just like what I need right now. I am playing along, I know I am a little late for this times challenge. But I will be donating whatever is left at the end of the week for my £10 challenge to charity.

    I have linked up your page in my blogpost here

  8. Hi Sarah, that’s great news – don’t forget to tell us how you got on with the challenge.

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