Mardathas meal planning thread

mrssnowy_2

victoriaplum1 wrote: »

I really want to swop to food shopping online as I am the worst for browsing instore and spending loads more than necessary, I can pop in for bread and milk and spend £50 on 'bargains'....plus my son tends to put at least £5 extra in the trolley per shop with his cheese strings, chocolate etc that I only spot at the checkout, but I find I never get to the point where I can do a whole food shop online and nowt in between as I run out of essential stuff and then need to go to the supermarket, which starts the whole cycle off again cos I cant resist buyins extra stuff...so how do you get round that??? It must be bad as I am now really worrying about the cost of food and getting agitated having to go the shop and putting all the stuff away all the time but then a few days later seem to need to go again. Doesnt help that I have a teenage foster son who eats loads....he will literally polish off all the stuff for work lunches in a few days...I dont know anyone else who will eat a whole packet of wagon wheels for example, in 2 days flat, a loaf of bread in 2 days and a tub of butter in 3 or 4...drives me up the wall but no amount of telling him stops him and I can't not buy it cos I can't let him go to work with no food! Any suggestions???

Make a shopping list and stick to it
Don't buy wagon wheels every week-
But make a big batch of Twinks/lemon drizzle/muffins
Buy cheap nasty crisps ,they soon go off them:rotfl:
mrss
PS used to have 3 VERY hungry children at home

newlywed

victoriaplum1 wrote: »

Doesnt help that I have a teenage foster son who eats loads....he will literally polish off all the stuff for work lunches in a few days...I dont know anyone else who will eat a whole packet of wagon wheels for example, in 2 days flat, a loaf of bread in 2 days and a tub of butter in 3 or 4...drives me up the wall but no amount of telling him stops him and I can't not buy it cos I can't let him go to work with no food! Any suggestions???

I have box in the cupboard which is strictly for packed lunches - anyone found looking in the box gets the evil look :mad: and a grilling as to what they are looking for!! :rotfl:

I also make up ham rolls/sarnies and freeze them for packed lunches (those are never taken). Or else just freeze the rolls or bread so there's always some stashed.

Other than the packed lunches crips (in said special box) - I rarely buy crisps etc. I make cakes and hide biscuits where they can't find them (that way they can only ever find one pack - sometimes not even that ). Hiding places include, inside saucepans in the cupboard (I have a large wok that's useful even when not stirfrying ), behind the flour and raisins in the baking cupboard, behind part bake bread rolls, and even in my wardrobe :rotfl:I hide half a batch of twinks hobnobs in similar fashion - just to make sure they last more than 1 day

Any BOGOF offers that are likely to be eaten as soon as they are seen go straight into my wardrobe and then magically appears a while after the rest has gone.


As for online orders - sorry can't help - always have the problem that I've forgotten something or OH tells me after the order and so end up in the shop anyway

luckys_mum

Hi Mardatha, I was like you too, buying loads and then it all going into the freezer. One day it came to me, it was as if I was feeding the freezer, instead of the freezer feeding me, after that day I vowed that the freezer would work for me and not the other way about.

[Deleted User]

oh that is me as well but I get myself out of it by taking the exact money only for a paper and then I cycle the 12 mile round trip. A good dose of wind in my face and I get back to being content with what is in my cupboard

I mean today I didn`t do that and I took a £10 so came back with 4 small tins of salmon and 4 tins of chopped tomatoes and I didn`t need them. If I had taken the car I would have bought some ice cream I am sure

The only thing that saves me is taking the right money. I am sure it is sometimes down to getting a change of scene, pathetic really when that involves tesco

victoriaplum1

well... I have just placed an order with Tesco online I had a £10 off coupon for order over £50 so saved on delivery and a few quid extra, I am now off to dig in the freezer to see what I can rustle up instead of going off to get a 'few bits' we do need from the shop but which will probably result in me spending £40!

Just wondering for those of you who are experienced internet food shoppers which do you find the best in terms of delivery charges and savings...tesco, asda or sainsburys and why don't iceland provide online shopping, seems a bit daft to have to go to the store fill the trolley and then either take it home yourself or get them to deliver (thats if I am understanding the process right!)...for me that would defeat the object of trying to stop the impulse buys. I like Iceland food but our store is in middle of a shopping centre so is a pain to carry so the delivery option is good dont get me wrong, but why dont they let you do shopping online from home I wonder???

victoriaplum1

thanks for the replies re the ganet in our house....I do have hiding places but god that infuriates me that I have to hid it. I did try to get him onto using the cheap frozen bread for toast as he will eat half a loaf a day if left to own devices but that didnt last either...thing is he gets up early and raids cupboards before work and does same in night after we go to bed...as soon as head hits the pillow the cupboards start rustling!!! Basically its a case of he grabs whatever is easiest so the bread, snacks, pot noodles and that kind of stuff will all disappear very quickly, hes not fussy though will eat value crisps and all ....I am just so fed up of buying mounds of food esp as he tells me he eats his packed luch and then goes into town and buys a pastie as well...where is he putting all this food???

victoriaplum1

I shoudl try thr drawing out money and using cash approach I think...a friend of mine who used to be single with 2 kids did that she literally used to draw all money out weekly and then divide it to the penny between diff envelopes for bills and what was left was for food and treats etc, seemed to work well for her, though I am not that strict with myself I have little faith that I would stick to it...I need to give myself a stgrict talking too!!!

mardatha

VP, that's the only way I've ever operated, I dont do cards.

marri_lou

jinky67 wrote: »

I have often thought of doing this BUT i would end up with the weirdest combos ever known to man:rolleyes:

sausages and rice anyone????
sausages and pasta????
no no no no

Squeeze sausage meat out of skins and roll into meatballs,

Saucy pork (sausage) meatballs with pasta ??? Yes!
Spicy pork (sausage) meatballs with chilli beans and rice? Yes!
Sausage stew with past and beans all mixed in together like an italian peasant stew?

marri_lou

mardatha wrote: »

I get so tired after the first few aisles that I start to long for sudden death.I tried going one day later per week, but that cracks him up and he starts screaming about his bloody yoghurts.

My hubby is like this. He moans when his favourite yoghurts are not in house, but will not go to shops himself. So I pick them up on way home. Enough for say 20 days at 1 a day. He eats them all inside a week.

Then he moans he has no yoghurts left. He won't go to the shops. I say I'm not going to ahops again. On my own. We BOTH go to the shops. He them mumps and moans his way around the shop to the extent I vow to never go to the shops with him again. I threaten him on occasion with various items around the shop to stop him moaning. We buy in yoghurts. He eats them all inside a week

He moans he has no yoghurts. I go mad. Refuse to go to shops. Husband complains furiously and moans how no-one loves him. Sullks like a petulant child for everytime he opens the fridge.

Yoghurts are now on special. I buy in 40 because he's always wanting yoghurts. Get home with said yoghurts, unpack and proudly display my yoghurty love to husband.

Yoghurts sit in fridge. Husband decides he no-longer likes said yoghurt and switches his allegiance to beetroot. I have to now sit and eat yoghurts for the next 6 weeks solid to make sure they are not a waste of money.

For this scenario substitues yoghurts with beetroot/heinz tomato soup/heinz lentil soup/ fruit pudding/ crisps/ white stilton/ olives.

I swear I would have a simpler life with a toddler.