live too far out to shop locally

mardatha

I cant seem to get my weekly shop under £40 for 2 of us plus a cat. I dont live near any shops so its cheaper to have it delivered than to go. I see that some people save more by shopping at markets and local wee shops, so maybe this is why I'm not doing so well.
But am just wondering whats the best way to do this--Asda online every week and pick only the bargains, or use that comparison site to check the basket prices, or try Aldis/Lidls once a month and online Asda the other 3 weeks....
Confused !!

frugallass

it depends on what you are getting for £40 - do you eat a lot of meat? do you buy the branded products or shop's own? Do you tend to throw food away cos you haven't eaten it?

mardatha

I get meat in bulk from Costco so it isnt meat thats a problem really. I buy own brands usually , some value stuff not exclusively though. I do throw stuff out yes, cos I canny seem to get organized and think of menus like you lot in here

frugallass

we shop on a weekly basis and always go armed with a list (checking the cupboards before we go). Another tip is that we have our tea (Morrisons) before we shop - it's £7 for 2 x fish and chips and 2 x teas, that way we are less inclined to impulse buy all those lovely cakes and sweets !

I try to plan meals for the week and add what I need for each meal to the list - I stick to the list as much as I possibly can

I never buy crisps or biscuits or sweets - unless it's for an occasion (sleepover)

I still end up throwing stuff out - but usually it's because it has gone off earlier than expected, rather than not been eaten.

mardatha

Maybe thats the answer . To just plan one weeks menus, like 6 days. Maybe I was being too ambitious. But when you think there's only 2 of us & we have only porridge for breakfast, dont buy meat and dont buy cleaning materials or bog rolls, £40+ per week seems like a lot.

frugallass

We used to shop monthly but soon realised that I was overbuying and overspending and wasting loads of food. I don't have a freezer (apart from the little box in the fridge) therefore am not tempted to buy big bags of peas and chips haha

what kind of meals do you prefer?

mardatha

Meals, emm we have stuff that I can do in the crockpot or remoska. Nothing fancy at all because I hate cooking. Not much frozen food apart fr fish fingers; no ready meals;I have a very sweet tooth though & like puddings
We always seem stuck for snacks. Things you can grab and eat in a hurry. So I buy pies/sausage rolls and they often get flung out because we get tired of them. I often have good intentions and buy salad stuff, then throw that out as well cos I hate the bloody stuff. But I mean well when I buy it !

plumtreebabe

hi there,

We live very rural, and can't afford the fuel to drive to different farmers markets etc, but either go to Morrisons once a week when I am at work, or use Asda online. Shopping used to be £70 a week, and there's 3 of us and the dog (but I don't count the dog as we buy hers separately). The 3 main things that made a difference (now we're on £30 - £40 per week!) were:

1) Make a meal plan for the week and stick to it. Cannot emphasise how much of a difference this made.

2) Make all bread with breadmaker: 45p for value bread flour makes 3 loaves! Pizza dough makes fab pizza.

3) We got a chest freezer for £10 (from a local paper) and I have started filling it with home made food. I cook double for one meal a week and freeze the second. Any surplus fruit or veg (either from the garden or buying in bulk when the offers are on is frozen too. We had excess french beans which I just topped and tailed , cut in two and dipped in boiling water for 3 minutes. Then plunged in cold water, dried with a tea towel and froze in family portion sized bags. Last year we would have just eaten as much as we could until they went off or given them away. A home cooked frozen meal easily does away with the temptation to buy a ready cooked one when time is tight.

Hope this helps

Plim tree babe

mardatha

Yes Asda online is a life saver... Strict meal plans for 1 week at a time would seem to be the first thing. Been swithering for ages on a bread maker but am scared we would jsut eat and eat and get fat (ter)... Thanks both of you x

Cornishpixie_2

I shop online once a week, using a menu and list. If I need Veg for the first day(monday), I order what's on offer and buy some fruit. I then top up from local greengrocer when I need to. I also use codes to get money of which helps with delivery charge. Seems to be working. Then again there are 6 of us, so someone has to be organised.;) Also I hate shopping esp. supermarkets in town.I enjoy cooking and cook a lot of stuff from scratch:D

rygon

i can never get used to doing a meal plan (mainly due to living on my own and eating when i want and what i want), but have learnt to cook using anything ive got. Dont eat much meat but rely on fresh veg. So omlettes, pasta with pesto and stir fries normally finish off anything not looking its best. Best thing to do is buy a few cookbooks that deal in this (stirfries take 5-10mins to prepare and cook ..very quick and nutritious)

nice easy one i know is:-
fry a diced onion
season (salt + pepper) and add
chilli pepper (1/4 will do if you dont like it too hot) + anything else at hand (peppers cut in small strips, sliced carrots, green beans cut up etc even a couple of tomatoes go well).
Add 2 eggs and a handful of coriander (great to grow herbs in windowsill/garden..always come in handy) and scrabble. Great on toast.

Its all about having a fair few basic recipes and adding things to it.