£50 a week to feed family of 6, does anyone do it cheaper??

savingmummy

We are a family of 4 and on a very tight food shop budget right now.
To some we eat very basic but needs must and it is working for us, i set a meal plan for each week
monday - sausages and mash, tues - spag bol, weds - chicken, mash and veg, thursday home made pizza, friday - tuna pasta bake, saturday - what ever is left over to make a meal.
Luckily we eat at my parents on a sunday so that saves a day

I go to Iceland and get a majority there that does us well over the week. eg,
Bag of chicken portions and bag of richmond sausages £2 each. (thats 2 meals lasts 2 weeks as they are big bags)
mixed veg and peas £1 each.
Bread - 2 for £1.50
Large bag of Pasta.
Potatoes £1 a bag

Fruit i get at the market £1 a bowl - only get what we eat otherwise it goes to waste.

Meat i buy when it is on offer and i then freeze to last. Sainsbury had beef on offer so i got one joint and cut it into 3 - done us 3 Fridays.
Tesco does mince 2 for £6 a lot that lasted us a month (1/2 a pack per meal)

I have now started to bulk foods out with veg and found it really helps out.

I also grow my own tomatoes, peppers and herbs to help flavour meals.
Salad leaves are quick to grow and produce loads saving us £8 a week! Can be done on a kitchen windowsill in a nice pot.

Fruball

savingmummy wrote: »

I also grow my own tomatoes, peppers and herbs to help flavour meals.
Salad leaves are quick to grow and produce loads saving us £8 a week! Can be done on a kitchen windowsill in a nice pot.

I saved a fortune too when I grew salads... I am planning a few raised beds in the garden and will get those ready in the next few weeks so they are all ready for growing season next year.

Salad leaves grown at home taste sooooooo much better don't they

Re Feeding 4 for £40...

Mr T do 3 joints of meat for £10... Chicken should do 3 meals each (rubberised obviously!), Gammon can do a main meal, ham and leek pie (with either mash or pastry), spag carbonara and quiche.

If you aren't used to making pies, make a casserole then take some supermarket pastry, cut into squares (round is less economical ) and cook on greaseproof paper... Dish up the casserole and pop a pastry piece on top - easy as Pie :rotfl::rotfl:

I reckon the 3 joints, plus a large bag spuds, veggies (some frozen), rice, etc would feed 4 for a week.

Hope that helps

debtmess

Frugal wrote: »

I saved a fortune too when I grew salads... I am planning a few raised beds in the garden and will get those ready in the next few weeks so they are all ready for growing season next year.

Salad leaves grown at home taste sooooooo much better don't they

Re Feeding 4 for £40...

Mr T do 3 joints of meat for £10... Chicken should do 3 meals each (rubberised obviously!), Gammon can do a main meal, ham and leek pie (with either mash or pastry), spag carbonara and quiche.

If you aren't used to making pies, make a casserole then take some supermarket pastry, cut into squares (round is less economical ) and cook on greaseproof paper... Dish up the casserole and pop a pastry piece on top - easy as Pie :rotfl::rotfl:

I reckon the 3 joints, plus a large bag spuds, veggies (some frozen), rice, etc would feed 4 for a week.

Hope that helps

im going to try that thank you x what 3 joints are most recommended for stretching (i would buy a chicken so need 2 more choices)

Fruball

debtmess wrote: »

im going to try that thank you x what 3 joints are most recommended for stretching (i would buy a chicken so need 2 more choices)

I would get one chicken, one gammon and either another chicken as it seems to stretch further than most things, or pork chops...

All depends what you like and what is inc in the offer. I found the lamb leg steaks didn't stretch much but were lovely and instead of streching them, make beans on toast the next day to make up for the extravagance :rotfl:

Take a look at portion sizes too... Have you ever noticed how little chicken or bacon you get in a pasta dish in a restaurant and yet its still really tasty? You could stretch one chicken breast and 3 slices of bacon into a pasta dish for 4 easily Make a bechamel sauce, add cooked chicken and bacon and throw in a little cheese, or put cheese on the top. These sorts of dishes really benefit from a proper amount of salt and pepper added. Yummy

One tip I realised was saving me money was NOT to cook and eat the whole pack of sausages/bacon etc when I didn't necessarily NEED that much... If I had 2 slices of bacon in a pack i would use it up rather than bother to save it... Now I realise that those 2 slices of bacon along with a few mushrooms can make a lovely pasta dish for 3 of us :T

2 cooked sausages that would usually be nibbled on after dinner are now thinly sliced into a HM tomato sauce which makes a worthy pasta dish too

Got a few mushrooms lying around? Cook up some pasta, fry off your mushrooms in plenty of butter and oil adding some garlic and parsley at the end, stir into the pasta... Lots of S&P, little bit of cheese finely grated on teh top... Yummy

I always cook a whole pack of new potatoes if I buy them, then make them last days by reheating in micro or crushing a little and frying in butter with a couple of roughly chopped rashers and serving up with an egg each Soooooooo tasty and really cheap.

This has also helped my waistline as I am not eating up leftovers rather than turning them into something else.

Luisa1981

Little tips from me...

I like bulking out my food with things like beans and chickpeas. I've found that these items, as well as spices that make everything taste good, can be found more cheaply in the 'ethnic' aisles of the big supermarkets. I got a 250g bag of chilli flakes for £1, when the tiny jars you get cost £1.50. The big bags of spices last months. Not seen any mixed herbs on the cheap in these aisles, but Sainsburys do them for 15p for a little pot.

If the children want pop, just get a normal bottle of squash and fizz it up with the 10p bottles of fizzy water. This also makes the value fresh orange juice taste a bit nicer as well if they need vitamins.

NEVER BUY CHICKEN BREASTS THEY ARE A RIP OFF. Thighs only in my house! And the meat's more filling.

Frozen peas are cheap (Tesco value ones are NO different from the full price ones) and go with everything. I chuck them into most dishes (pasta sauce, curry, stew, anything) to bulk them out.

The value ranges aren't that different to the normal supermarket own label things.

I hope my little tips have helped!

paddedjohn

mince/veg/spuds=homemade shepherds pie about £4.50 feeds 3 adults easily
chicken breasts/stock cube/carrots/spuds=pan fried chicken and carrot mash, again about £4.50 for the three of us. it is cheaper than people think it is to cook from scratch instead of buying budget readymeals. just use your imagination and you could save cash and eat healthier

Penny-Pincher!!

paddedjohn wrote: »

mince/veg/spuds=homemade shepherds pie about £4.50 feeds 3 adults easily
chicken breasts/stock cube/carrots/spuds=pan fried chicken and carrot mash, again about £4.50 for the three of us. it is cheaper than people think it is to cook from scratch instead of buying budget readymeals. just use your imagination and you could save cash and eat healthier

£4.50 is too expensive for 3 people for Shepherds Pie!

Shepherds Pie (3-4 portions)

250g Minced Lamb (£1)
Baked Beans (29p)
Onion (5p)
Few Spuds (20p)
Oxo Cube (4p)
Half cabbage (18p)
3 Carrots (12p)

Total £1.86.....enough for 4 portions

Roast Chicken Meal

Chicken (£2.50 1.7kg-enough left to make a small curry)
Yorkies x 4 (20p)
Spuds (25p)
Half Cabbage (18p)
Sprouts (19p)
Carrots (15p)

Total £3.47.....enough for 3-4 portions plus enough chicken for a curry and soup.

HTH

PP
xx

OrkneyStar

Luisa1981 wrote: »

NEVER BUY CHICKEN BREASTS THEY ARE A RIP OFF. Thighs only in my house! And the meat's more filling.

We hate thighs, far too greasy.........bleurgh! (and don't say it is the way I cook them, believe me I have tried them cooked by me and others in more than one way!).
If we have a roast me and DS have breast, DH has leg.

Luisa1981 wrote: »

Frozen peas are cheap (Tesco value ones are NO different from the full price ones) and go with everything. I chuck them into most dishes (pasta sauce, curry, stew, anything) to bulk them out.

Myself and several others think they taste like bullets lol. We stock up on Birds Eye when on offer! Or even better pea pods when in season!

Luisa1981 wrote: »

The value ranges aren't that different to the normal supermarket own label things.

The carrots are weeny and too faffy to prep imho!

Just some comments, not meaning to pick on you, just that some OS'ers have different ideas lol. I do think it is trial and error and different people will have different tastes!
TBH while I like to get bargains and not waste food I also look at quality as well as price/kg! I would rather spend a bit more on decent ingredients for my home cooking, each to their own!

OrkneyStar

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

£4.50 is too expensive for 3 people for Shepherds Pie!

Shepherds Pie (3-4 portions)

250g Minced Lamb (£1)
Baked Beans (29p)
Onion (5p)
Few Spuds (20p)
Oxo Cube (4p)
Half cabbage (18p)
3 Carrots (12p)

Total £1.86.....enough for 4 portions

Roast Chicken Meal

Chicken (£2.50 1.7kg-enough left to make a small curry)
Yorkies x 4 (20p)
Spuds (25p)
Half Cabbage (18p)
Sprouts (19p)
Carrots (15p)

Total £3.47.....enough for 3-4 portions plus enough chicken for a curry and soup.

HTH

PP
xx

I don't think we could get the things you mention for those prices up here, even buying some Tesco value things!
As for £4.50 being too expensive, that is subjective really don't you think ?

paddedjohn

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

£4.50 is too expensive for 3 people for Shepherds Pie!

Shepherds Pie (3-4 portions)

250g Minced Lamb (£1)
Baked Beans (29p)
Onion (5p)
Few Spuds (20p)
Oxo Cube (4p)
Half cabbage (18p)
3 Carrots (12p)

Total £1.86.....enough for 4 portions

i must be eating too much, i use 400g packs extra lean scottish mince £3ish spuds+veg+3oxo about £1.50
Roast Chicken Meal

Chicken (£2.50 1.7kg-enough left to make a small curry)
Yorkies x 4 (20p)
Spuds (25p)
Half Cabbage (18p)
Sprouts (19p)
Carrots (15p)

Total £3.47.....enough for 3-4 portions plus enough chicken for a curry and soup.

HTH

PP
xx

its good to see other people cooking fom scratch, well done you:T:T:T