living on £10 for a week: 7 days, 21 meals 🍽 | viola helen

[@MrJerrylikes]

Pro tip save the peels of carrots and potatoes along with the outer layer of onions. Boil them with any seasonings you got and bam you got a veggie broth.

[@v.katarzyna6247]

With the brown shell of the onion?

[@laura_ann1583]

@@v.katarzyna6247 yes

[@kimdesilva3569]

Congratulations! You did really well. Amazing how much food you got.. To vary dinner (slightly), you could have had jacket potato instead of rice sometimes. To feel less hungry, you can grate carrot for salad with your lunch and dinner. Spinach leaves are cheap too for salad. Your chips and cookies were interesting. I might try those. Did you have any food left over? I loved watching your video. You made me laugh.

[@sarahharlow172]

Try subbing brown lentils in place of the beef mince. A bag costs next to nothing, can be used in loads of meals over the week and wont go off. Lentils go for miles when you need a meat replacement and full of protein too as well as fibre. Meat is so expensive and would have used a fair bit of your budget.

[@redstarbetty7997]

Yeah that is a good point - I mix a little bit of meat with a mixture of grains ( eg barley) and beans or lentils plus the cheapest veg available like carrots and onion to make a sort of staple stew which is extremely cheap to make and very filling. Mixing plant-based proteins like that makes a complete protein which can stretch or even replace meat in many dishes. The brown lentils are a great replacement for mince, though - what a great idea!

[@violahelen_]

ooh forgot to add in the video that i allowed myself salt, pepper and oil since they’re staples in everyone’s houses! hope you enjoy 😌

[@kellymcfalls1458]

@violahelen . You are wrong ! salt , pepper and oil are NOT staples in everyone’s house ! Many people have high blood pressure like myself and do NOT use salt 🧂 and some people don’t like pepper and sometimes people can be allergic to oil ex corn and do NOT use oil! My grandmother used Crisco and NO salt just pepper !

[@everydaysaschool-day7517]

With the beans, if you cook them for way longer than needed, that sauce will reduce and make it much less runny 👍

[@ConstantiaVerted]

This was great. The chips are more nutritious if you keep the skins on, making skin-on fries or potato wedges. Even less work too- no peeling. :)

[@LucyyWritesVlogs]

Try grated carrot or cinnamon if the budget allowed in your oat cookies xx carrot cake oat cookies xx

[@kimdesilva3569]

Congratulations! You did really well. I'm amazed at how much food you got. To vary the evening meal slightly, you could have had jacket potato instead of rice sometimes. To feel less hungry, you could grate the carrot for salad for lunch and dinner. For some reason, salad fills you up more. Spinach leaves are cheap too. You can grate a tiny bit of onion to jazz it up. I liked your chips and cookies. I might try those. Did you have any food left? Loved your video. You really made me laugh a few times.

[@belbe417]

I think you got a bit stuck in a rut on dinner. If you just had the mince on toast or on a baked potato a couple of nights instead of rice each night I think you will have more interest in the food because of texture changes. Even on top of the chips sans rice. The soup could have been added to some of the meat for a slight variation of flavour and texture too? You gave a good shot and I’ve not seen the cookies before. Great idea!

[@maidsua4208]

Wow! There was a lot of food for £ 10! Had I had so much varied food as a student I would have felt rich!

[@mezriasat]

I love this video! I'd totally try this but maybe I'd only use 1/2 the mince for the chilli and make a shepards pie with the rest so I can have different flavours through the week x

[@AislingG]

This is such a good challenge to do - especially helpful if you're a uni student 😂 I'd love to see you do a video about your 1 month Insta detox or something similar ❤️

[@violahelen_]

glad you enjoyed it!! yes i’m planning a video talking about my time off social media x

[@allyrooh3628]

I love these challenges. I'm sure I could do it. Finding a way to use the same ingredients to make different dishes would help so much with the food fatigue. The food looked really good!

[@ConstantiaVerted]

You could get some sugar fairly cheaply for a bit of sweetness in your baking (or I use Canderel.) There also maybe wasn't much fat in most of the foods, which could be part of why you were craving something nice and so appreciating your chips. :)

[@Biffab223]

Really good video. If your beans are liquidy I find giving them 10 mins on a low hob to thicken the sauce works for me.

[@lauraclark1575]

Wow! Interesting! I’d love to see you easy for £15 a week and try some different things. I think £15 could be really sustainable. You could get some biscuits and maybe cheese or something to jazz up your beans on toast lol❤

[@vaijayanti_prememalcolm8160]

Good haul Did you buy oil?

[@oppa-e1l]

I made something a bit different today and i got one onion and fried it and then i got a can of baked beans with a teaspoon of curry powder and then had basmati rice with it. It was very good it had onion flavour,curry powder flavour and the tomato sauce and all 3 combined to make a tasty cheap meal. I had rice left over and things are tight for me financially so i needed to get thinking, like you did. Great video!

[@davidedwards3361]

I think the most important part of this challenge is learning to cut back on what you eat. I can buy meat for $12.00 and it would do me for 3 meals. If I was to cut back on the meat it would do me for 6 meals. I could substitute frozen vegetables which are cheaper and easy to cook. It all comes down to ME cutting my serving size back.

[@theresaduffy8222]

I wonder if you could mix beans with corn starch or pasta water to thicken it up?

[@andrewgreenwood2884]

With your porridge use water instead of milk. If you leave it in the water soaking over night it ends up creamy in consistency anyway. Add a teaspoon of you Peanut butter for an extra crunch. With water the porridge it will get into your system quicker for a extra energy in the morning

[@charlotte241000]

You could have made jacket potatoes with your beef instead of rice or boiled roast or mashed potatoes

[@franciscarockey1476]

I’m going to try this for the next few weeks until SFE drops

soft bread, tuna sandwich and orange juice can cost me 5 euro plus, so, i bought 2 kgs of oats and 1 kg of sugar, since I have blueberries left, and bananars!!! for only 2 euros!

and, mind you, i have 2.5 liters of green juice/week on 5 euros: 2.5 kg of apples and 2 heads of celery!

[@katrionaraffan9159]

well done! this must have been so hard to do, I know I could never have done it!

[@violahelen_]

omg i was craving sugar and nice treats so much the entire week!! honestly got to the stage where i’d watch food KZbinrs religiously and try and eat vicariously through them hahaha and then i planned all the nice foods i would buy as soon as the week was done 😂

[@Ayanna953]

Loved this video. The chips looked delicious, best way to have potatoes!

[@violahelen_]

they were divine!! honestly so good

[@housewife1543]

Could have had the chilli on wedges, just as easy to make as chips.

[@ShellyArkon]

You could've grated in some carrot into your cookies.

[@nadjahorvat-marcovic1370]

Here is 2023 and seeing how much this has all gone up in price xxx

[@rexyzvent5864]

You did great! Good meals! The chips looked banging

[@leannejayne3545]

Such a great challenge! You did so well. Quick question, I thought you could only keep cooked meat up to 3 days in the fridge? Game changer if I can make it last a week! X

[@donatellag635]

I don t know if I would be able but I normally eat similar food, probably more fresh fruit/veggie, that's why 10 are not enough.but I bulk cook and freeze for the week.Like the cookies recipe, I coud put raisins which are cheap if I don't have bananas..tx

I buy "tomatoe paste"; they're cheap! Instead of buying cans of prepaped tomatoe sauces!!! I freeze the rest! I've always been very keen with what I buy! I always make a list! Before, I would buy "unnecessary" stuff, but I put it in mind, that, I won't use my thousand euro! I also set this appartment goal!!! FOOD can be very expensive, as you allow it!

[@lynnoorman2144]

Add a pinch of salt to your cookies, if you have no sugar-type substance

[@danijohnson1038]

Can you share the recipe for the chips/fries? Lol! I can't eat fast food restaurant fries anymore

[@skierra]

honestly this is exciting. i'm gonna study in uol for abt 6 mo (scholarship abroad student), and this would def help me save money!!

[@mayalobo6137]

What's the recipe for the beef dish?

[@sofiag.4968]

what the- how did you get all of that for £9.94 🤕 just the bread, meat, sauce, and potatoes would be like $10 or $11 in the us 😭😭😭

[@violahelen_]

i’m sure there’s a way to do something similar in the US!! maybe i’ll try it next time i’m in the States ;)

[@julesmbc]

So true 🥺 Here on the W. Coast, we have discount outlets (no Aldi)... So,well done on this haul 🤗 not sure I could do this here.

[@MyrinaKR]

This can be done at some Aldi's in North Carolina in the USA.

[@GlitterFool]

Also £9.94 is approximately $14

[@ratiaftab9146]

What do you do for the fries!! Mine never turn out crispy

[@susanwood4770]

Watching this now, think you felt unwell from sugar rush and withdrawal. So much sugar in our diet it’s like a drug. It’s the cause of your craving something sweet. I’m not a health foodie or anything but a type 2 diabetic. Withdrawal from sugary food can make you feel unwell until you kind of get used to it. A week or fortnight would see to it. It’s horrible how much sugar is in processed food. So making your own stews and soups is a great achievement in your budget. You can get so many more meals when you start them from scratch.well done is what I’m meaning to say

[@polonamedvesek3542]

What are prices nowadays?

[@traveller2478]

War im Aldi Süd in Sydney Australien einkaufen. Haben sie gut gemacht. Überall waren Plakate. 98 % proudly Australien products. Kam bei den Australiern die ich kannte richtig gut an.

[@ourfrugallife]

I love cheap baked beans, i like lidls own brand, cold from the tin, lovely.

[@hillarygroundwell2807]

Well done. This is fantastic for anyone to watch on a tight budget and those who say they can't cook watch this now

[@karenmendes5867]

I hope I don’t get bored. Think about it tho the boredom is what motivates creativity. Just that gosh I don’t want to eat the same things over and over feeling forces you to think outside the box. I have to say you can get cheap food in the UK. Here in the states that would have been at the very least 4 times more expensive. I’m actually shocked to see such a huge difference

[@anne-luciebugain5298]

5:52 do I hear Ali Abdaal? 🙂

[@petechambers541]

Those chips look divine ... Impressed with it all but oh lordy those chips.. Nom nom nom

[@shazanakhan9807]

Great to save money if you can't afford other healthy meals. However if your a diabetic eating carbs and starchy vegetables, it will definitely lead to other complications.

[@jennifreesjourney9817]

The reason you are hungry and craving sweet things is BECAUSE you had the sweet donut. FATAL error 😀

[@MasterOfNone13]

You're not in Portugal anymore?

[@Notsofunnychef]

Is it safe to eat something you've cooked after 3 days? I'm sure cooked food only last 3 days. 😬

[@Truecrimeresearcher224]

This would be almost impossible in America due to tax. Unless you get for assistance like SNAP you get taxed. So a 5 dollar thing could be 5.60 unless you have a SNAP/EBT card

[@sh-ot3dg]

i love you voice - i know strange but it sounds soo nice

[@JudeRedling]

Great vid, I’m going to give this a go 🤗

[@Danieljamespainteranddecorator]

That takes discipline. Well done

[@MySaga_Youtube]

can you please make more videos, like this one?

[@yollybored]

Try banana fritters.

[@Asma-og4tx]

Might do this one day looks fun my budget will probably be £15-20

[@markwhite5983]

Atomic shrimp would have been your saviour

[@kellymcfalls1458]

@markwhite5983 JESUS is MY savior !

[@JVSwailesBoudicca]

8:40 why is she peeling carrots & potatoes? All the vitaminC in just under the surface of the vegetables - if you just SCRUB them you retain the vitamins AND flavour .

[@minifoodies9448]

awesome I enjoyed ur videos 👍 Happy to see u friend and good luck

[@Mamadoyle]

Your meat dish looked nice 😋

[@sheenamaclean8324]

Those aren't french fries, they are chips!

[@elgrantiburonasesino8940]

"Yup thats me, you are probably wondering how i got here", well it all started when i decided to take a student loan

[@fxrnlxy]

tea is a waste of money. Drink water. Quite litereally free. Buy discounted foods, boil them up in a soup should last you about 3-4 days. Pro tip: use the stuff you would normally throw away (onions, carrot skin, etc etc) in a broth.

[@theresaduffy8222]

I would obsess about something sweet if it wasn’t available too. Also, I think you are too hard on yourself in reference to how you look. Your looks and personality are lovely.

[@benrouse5305]

You sound exactly like my sister 😆😂 it's so weird watching this video

[@cheedevulan8547]

I could not ever last on £10 a week!

[@denise7067]

Well done to you for managing this challenge did you lose any weight though not that you was doing it to lose weight I’m just curious

[@abbeyroberts817]

It's interesting but like me who's gf sf df and I have gerd that's a challenge lol but still interesting to see what meals u can make from it :)

[@101yayo]

Next challenge- a week with out eating.

[@hayambangkok]

OMG... You live so frugally. ❤️❤️❤️

[@billijomaynard8924]

I think you may be always hungry because of the amount simple carbs, the potatoes and white rice are carb heavy, Our bodies convert simple carbs into sugar very quickly, crashes and afterwards the body craves more carbs.

[@TeresaSvk]

Why is food in UK so cheap?? im crying..

[@randomtree7295]

This was two years ago, it's a lot worse nowdays

[@VICKY9O]

😳🤦🏻

[@itzlink_]

That amount of food is worth 50€ in Ireland around 45£

[@sippinlean277]

Please turn to Jesus he loves you so much and died on the cross for you and your family and friends ❤❤❤❤

[@JHJHJHJHJH]

Do you want to talk or do you want to play music? I had to abandon as I have a sensory processing issue and you can't decide what kind of video you want to make.

[@khagendradahal2586]

I think u r not 20's

i'm splurging on food, 'coz i wanna buy an appartment!!! ... i can save up to 1,000 euros a month, and that's 100,000 euros in ten years, 200,000 euros in twenty years....and if I would lend from the bank, i got myself an appartment!!!yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy