Food spend won't reduce no matter how I try!

illusio

I've saved about 25-30% on my weekly shop by:
- doing a meal planner and ONLY buying what I need/what I don't have in the kitchen already
- going to the local market each week for fresh food, and then doing a monthly online shop for the jars, packets, etc
- buying a large slow cooker and cooking large batches of meals and freezing them in saved chinese takeaway containers (currently cooking 6 x lamb shanks (£2 each at the market) in red wine and garlic, which will make about 10 portions to go in the freezer, and is delish!). Got some cracking recipes from recipezaar.com - american but easy to find receipes without weird US ingredients. Search on OAMC (Once A Month Cooking) for good bulk recipes.

dealwithdebtdot

SAV3R wrote: »

Many foods used to make him gag and I am convinced some of it is psychological - can't get any medical help though, everyone just says "he'll grow out of it" or "he looks healthy enough".

Go and lay it on really thick...say he is anxious at mealtimes and it is causing him problems at school and at home and with his peers, and that you want a refferal to CAMHS! You need to convience the GP beacuse they know there is a waiting list (probably) you have the right to be seen by psychology, go and fight for it!

SAV3R

dealwithdebtdot wrote: »

Go and lay it on really thick...say he is anxious at mealtimes and it is causing him problems at school and at home and with his peers, and that you want a refferal to CAMHS! You need to convience the GP beacuse they know there is a waiting list (probably) you have the right to be seen by psychology, go and fight for it!

What is CAMHS please?

sorry - just googled it?

In a couple of months his class will be going away with school, I am unsure what will happen - if he goes the food issue will be a big deal. If he doesn't go, he will miss out big time on both the activities and the whole experience of being away from home without us.

lilac_lady

My grownup fussy eater son never tried pizza till he was on his first holiday away with his friends. He liked the ham and pineapple one which surprised me because he'd never put a piece of pineapple near his mouth before. Peer pressure, I assume. When he was 3 all he would eat was sausages, weetabix and toast, no matter what I tried, so I bought the best sausages, made sure there was plenty of milk on his cereal and gave him fresh orange juice to drink. It didn't do him any harm but he's still a fussy eater even though he's in his 30s. I leave it to his wife to moan about it now!

dealwithdebtdot

SAV3R wrote: »

What is CAMHS please?

sorry - just googled it?

In a couple of months his class will be going away with school, I am unsure what will happen - if he goes the food issue will be a big deal. If he doesn't go, he will miss out big time on both the activities and the whole experience of being away from home without us.

CAMHS= child and adolescent mental health service.

If you want to go, tell the GP about the about the trip and really play it up! PM me if you want, about what to say if they won't listen, but generally just make a nusicne of yourself!

Reverbe

dealwithdebtdot wrote: »

Sorry to hear that you felt embarrassed. Just wondering if he went to bed hungry, or did you give him food that he really wanted when you got home?

"He just refuses to try something new, he knows if he misses a meal he can try at the next." -not sure what you mean by this, the 'if he misses a meal' thing? Are there times when he goes without food due to his refusal?

TBH if you give in to them you will never get them to eat properly. If you stick to your guns and do'nt always give him what he wants, he will get hungry eventually and he won't be so fussy what he eats then...

PasturesNew

If you are spending £420/month for 4, that is £3.45 per person per day. One thing you might like to try to to become aware (REALLY aware) of the cost of everything you're buying. Spend an extra few seconds per purchase double-checking you're getting the best value per 100g that you can.

Then, each day, as you're cooking anything, really add up the cost of the ingredients - and see where the main money is disappearing. e.g. If I were to follow a formal recipe for chilli con carne I might be using wine and peppers, neither of which are needed - leaving them out could slice 1/4 off the cost. Looking deeper into that dish, I'd make sure I bought the best value mince - e.g. only having chilli when the mince I like is on special offer/half price. Also, tomatoes, these can be pricey things - double check the price and compare other cans of tomatoes.

By inspecting every item you're slipping into your cooking you will start to identify the pricey parts that you hadn't realised really added up.

£3.45/person/day every day is a LOT to spend. You should be able to halve that over the next 6 months.

Try focussing per ingredient, per meal and per day... perhaps just looking at the total spend you've missed some tricks.

phunkles

SAV3R wrote: »

In a couple of months his class will be going away with school, I am unsure what will happen - if he goes the food issue will be a big deal. If he doesn't go, he will miss out big time on both the activities and the whole experience of being away from home without us.

I used to work for a company that did childrens activity holidays as a cook.
And about a week or 2 prior to that group arriving we would recieve a food requirements sheet from the school or group arriving. Some of the requirements where standard ie no nuts not wheat but some times it was will not eat fish, gravy, any dark meat, doesnt like tomatos, only eats ham on a sandwich, no margarine or butter substitues etc the lists each week were varied and it was the short lists that we all feared the most - because more than likely group would arrive and annouce they had a severe nut allergy and a vegan and a whole host of other requirements that we hadnt budgetted for or previously bought for cue a drive to tesco and petty cash being raided.
My point is that prior to the trip you should be asked about medical, food, contact numbers etc and i would use that as a basis to let the school and the holiday place know the extent of his limitations. They should cater for him and provide him with 3 meals every day. Even if it means he has bread and butter sandwichs for lunch without any fillings.
So yeah my ramble is basically saying let the school know and the holiday centre if possible in advance so they are prepared fully for him - they might talk to him when he arrives to discuss the meal options for the next few days to make sure he would be able to find something to eat at each meal! i know we did. and the food issue will only be a big deal if you let it be one - a letter to the school which can be emailed or posted to the holiday centre basically stating only the food he eats (and the forms he will eat it in ( eg will eat scrambled egg but not boiled) will probably be gratefully recieved by the centre (who can start compiling meal plans and ordering in food which will include your son) and the school staff will be aware of it before so wont pressure him to eat anything he doesnt want to.
And you might be surprised - he might discover a food all his friends like is actually not that bad when hes eating it in a peer environment as a grown up away from home!:rotfl:

And most of his friends to some degree will have some items they just wont eat - i know the school staff food requirement lists where often longer than some of the childrens - once had a teacher who asked us instead of a healthy dinner (i forget what we had planned) for him at tea could we sneak him some chips and chicken nuggets and he wouldnt tell the children lol

Teapartymum

Ive found this thread very interesting as Im struggling as well.
Fab ideas, please keep them coming.