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

Chell

justsaawwah wrote: »

Im not an active member here but seeing this,and being a mum of two and on a budget i wanted to respond
Well done for managing to feed a family of 6 for £50 a week..ok,not all fresh fruit and veg but not everyone likes to eat like that..plus bit of everything does you the world of good lol

Like i said,i am also on a budget and over the last few weeks i have been visiting my local fruit and veg market(Birminghams famous rag market)
i have been amazed at the prices of fruit and veg,along with fresh meat
for example..on Friday i got
2 caulis for £1
5lb carrots 60p
1lb cherries £1
10lb spuds for £1.50
large punnet strawberries for £1.10
whole cucumber 30p
mushrroms 2lb for 70p
12 free range eggs £1
7 nectarines for £1
red onions 9 for 70p
10 kiwis for £1

I am so jealous, I wish we had a decent market. We only have one veg stall, since there is no competition the prices aren't cheap and the quality is often poor, fruit/veg just doesn't last long enough (even less time than from the supermarket).

Last week we were in Leicester, their market is fab for fruit and veg. I got three corn on the cobs for £1 whereas in Asda they were 2 for £2. :eek:

mum2many

MUMOF4:T

I wish i could manage £50 a week. I have a hubby and 4 kids (5, 9, 11, 15) but the 2 eldest eat as much as adults, so more like 4 adults and 2 kids.

We eat meat thats organic (Riverfords) and couldnt go back to supermarket meat. We have a veg box from them too. Kids mainly eat apples and bananas.

I will be stocking up on the cheap noodles, sounds like a great snack.

gunsandbanjos

Trow wrote: »

(as well as other chorleywood process-made bread) is made with preservatives, is comparably high in yeast, fat and salt and is much less healthy (google the chorleywood process to find out about why).

EEK! glad i make my own bread now:eek:

MUMOF4_2

justsaawwah I dont suppose you fancy setting up a nationwide delivery scheme do you. I would be in heaven buying this many items for £8, minus the meat mind. Our local market does things like 3 grapefruits for 1.20!or 2 punnets of strawberries for £1.50. You could take our orders, go to the market, box it all up and post it on by courier next day delivery!!!!I think thats a fantastic business plan!!LOL
After spending 20 minutes planning my meals for next week, im looking at my cupboards, thinking that they are still pretty full of basic staples, and i still have 2 drawers full in the fridge of vegetables, im seriously considering, cancelling the shopping for sunday and just buying milk, eggs, yogurts, then going to lidls and having a restock of vegetables and fruit. I have managed like this before, and i think its a good challenge.Make a bit of hm coleslaw, potato salad, carrot soup, bread, houmous, yes i think i have convinced myself this is the way to go!
Let me know your:rotfl: thoughts about my business plan!!!

mum2many

do you prefer lidl to aldi mumof4?

mumtoomany

Hi all,
not posted on here for a while (the site doesn't seem to like my windows 98!). Have now been given a new (to us ) computer with xp.

You asked if anyone spends less, not quite. I have just totalled our food spends for the year so far.

Total for 2008 is £1560.43 which I think is about £51 per week. I have been aiming for £1 per head per day but have not got there yet (£1.05ish).
This is for food only, not toilet rolls, soap powder, etc. It incudes all meals and packed lunches.

July spends were only £178.64. I am trying to empty the freezer and cupboards a little before we go away in August, so the next 2 weeks will be (I hope quite low).

We are a family of 7. Me, DH, 4 daughters and one son. The DD1 has just bought her own house so we now feed her less often. But sons GF eats all her meals here and DD2's BF starts new job locally so will be moving in permenantly (till they can buy a house) in 2 weeks. Add to this DD3's BF having occasional meals, DD4's friends, and extended family calling round, I rarely feed fewer than 7.

I think you are doing very well on £50 per week MUMOF4, especially as you seem to shop from mainly Tesco. To achieve the above I shop at around 30 different shops, supermarkets, market stalls etc each month. I bulk buy anthing that is cheap and any bargains I find. I also buy lots of RFQS items. As I only work part time I have a lot of time to shop and cook from scratch. We are not vegetarian, but eat little meat compared to others.

Mumtoomany.

MUMOF4_2

hi mumtoomany and mum2many!!! Well done mumtoomany for your budget and the huge amount of places you buy it all from. That must take up a lot of time, trailing around all the shops to pick up all the bargains. Mum2many, do I prefer lidls or aldi, I would have to say lidls, but thats only because my husband used to work there and got to recognise what products were good sellers and feedback from customers. I also prefer it as it is only a 5minute drive from the house, where as aldi is 25 minutes. We only have one car which is main reason why i do online shopping, and it stops me from impulse buying as I really am the worse impulse buyer.When i walk past something that says buy one get one free, in it goes, i end up with loads of biscuits and cakes,which i dont need and cant make a single meal out of! Now im sure the kids would love it if i served up a main meal of chocolate biscuits, ginger cake, angel cake, they would probably hand me back empty plates.
Im off to sort my daughter out, her horse is being disobedient(on the wii!) and my goodness what a racket she is making!!!imagine if she had a real one and it wouldnt go the right way!

mum2many

MUMOF4 wrote: »

Mum2many, do I prefer lidls or aldi, I would have to say lidls, When i walk past something that says buy one get one free, in it goes, i end up with loads of biscuits and cakes,which i dont need and cant make a single meal out of! Now im sure the kids would love it if i served up a main meal of chocolate biscuits, ginger cake, angel cake, they would probably hand me back empty plates.

now my kids would love that kind of tea:rotfl: and ask for more. so whats good at lidl that i should try?

sammy_kaye18

Pennylane and Chameleon

Whilst I get that both of you have your points about what to feed your animals , please dont post negative comments towards each other on someone elses thread, please continue it privately if you feel the need to do so. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and views.

Also yes i agree sodium is a part of an animals needed diet but again an animal can get seriously ill very quickly and many symptoms can occur at once and an owner can be clueless to the cause unless themselves a vet/veterinary nurse. So feeding a dog tuna may worsen a condition in an unhealthy dog because of the added sodium in the product.

It is recommended that dry dog foods contain at least 0.3% and dry cat foods contain at least 0.2% sodium for both bodily maintenance and to support normal growth and development. These are minimum recommended levels. While high sodium intake may cause increased thirst and water consumption, the extra sodium is excreted in the urine of dogs and cats. Healthy dogs are able to consume diets with higher sodium levels than found in most commercial pet foods without increased blood pressure or gain in body water.

A veterinarian may recommend decreasing a dog or cat’s sodium intake if the animal has some types of kidney, liver, or heart disease, in order to help decrease high blood pressure or the accumulation of excessive body fluid.
Although older dogs and cats may be more likely to develop these diseases.

But like I said how would you know you animal had these conditions unless you were a trained professional with the correct tests? so personally i would think it was best to avoid it as a daily thing, just incase your animal has started to develope these diseases without your knowing.

boospurgeon_2

someone wanted a recipe for jam - my dad gave me one that is foolproof

whatever your weight of fruit, add same weight of jam sugar and leave to soak overnight. mash the fruit first if you want. bring to slow boil, turn heat down to simmer then periodically check for setting point (when you put a bit on a plate, wait a few mins and then poke it with a finger. if it wrinkles, then it's prob ready. pour into jars that have been preheated (on low heat) in oven,along with lids, then put lids on tight and leave to cool. totally infallible in my experience! enjoy!and works for every fruit or mix of fruits have ever tried. have used dried fruit like this too, tho have soaked it first to plump it up.