The R300 challenge: Prepping for the week ahead

With VAT going up, I’ve certainly felt the pinch in my pocket! Prices seem to be rising... but my salary certainly isn’t. 

I’ve set myself an impossible task: Can I feed my family for a week (5 days) on just R300? I’m not one to shy away from a dare. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. 

My first step was to think of relatively healthy meals that I could prepare which could feed both Hubby, myself and Nunu (17 months). Let’s be honest, meat is the most expensive part of any dish, so I went and scoured all of the advertisements to see who had meat on special. I looked at Pick n Pay, Food Lovers Market and Checkers. I am a Woolworths snob, but sadly their over-priced (yet delicious!) meat wouldn’t help me in this particular challenge. After a lot of homework, I decided to buy my meat from Pick ‘n Pay as (a) it’s closer - saving petrol and (b) there is a Woolworths within close proximity- I find their veggies last longer and are actually cheaper!

I also needed to make large dinners so that there would be leftovers for everyone’s lunch the next day. Three meals, three people for five days on R300. Suddenly I feel a little nervous... 

Realistically, on this budget, there would definitely be no free range meats and eggs or organic produce... I also needed to ensure a semi-healthy meal plan. It would be easy to plan meals for R300 if I didn’t take nutrition and variety into plan. But honestly, there’s only so much beans on toast one can eat...

So here goes...

My shopping list at Pick ‘n Pay:

• Mince - beef

• Penne pasta

• Chicken breasts deboned (4)

• Cheese

• Milk (500ml)

• Hot dog rolls (6)

• Boerewors braai pack

• Bananas (2)

• Tuna (1 tin)

• Yogurt 

• Eggs (6)

• Bread 

• Knorr Cook-in-Sauce Thai green curry

• Small tin baby formula 

• Apple juice

• Carrots (bag)

• Frozen vegetables (2 packs)

Pantry items I already had:

• Salt

• Pepper

• Olive oil

• Ina Paarman Potato spice 

• Flour

• Margarine 

• Rice

• Tomato sauce

• Chutney

• Apricot jam

• Chicken stock (1 cube)

• Onion (1)

• Potatoes (4)

Fresh from the garden:

• Spinach leaves 

Watch my Instagram for the next week to see how this challenge unfolds... all recipes will be on my page so follow the hashtag! #r300heartsandhiccupschallenge