Eat for £12 a week?

misscousinitt

Our spend seems to be about double that at the moment per person, per week, so about £50 per week for 2 of us plus the cat (sometimes less). But that does include all cleaning stuff, toiletries, cat food and wine! etc... We eat really well. I buy free range chicken and eggs out of choice and have an organic veg bag every week.

I'm lucky that I can afford to spend this much on food - but I've got to say that we probably used to spend nearer £40 per week per person:eek: 18 months ago.

Since getting engaged, I have seriously looked at the food budget in order for us to be able to save more towards the wedding. I was also sick and tired of throwing food away.

If I had to cut it down further, I'm sure I could, but we are happy with the current budget and the savings we have made. However, I'm always after OS tips and tricks for meals - just can't help it - its addictive.

Flearoy

We budget £150 a month to buy food, household cleaning products and certain basic toiletries (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, deodorant) for 2 adults. Alcohol (what little we consume) comes from our 'own' pockets rather than the kitty, as do more expensive grooming type products (my razors, my wife's truck load of potions) for ourselves. We largely manage to stick to this budget - if we exceed it, it's not by much.

We like eating healthily. We don't buy processed food with the exception of a few frozen pizzas (invariably those on the best offer) and fish fingers (again with the offer). We do eat meat but not too much.

I take full advantage of reductions, e.g. often getting meat at just 25% of it's normal price. It takes effort but then I am not too well off at the moment. Bread likewise. It's saving on basics that makes the difference. My local coop know me very well!

I grew up in a poor family so there's no way I'm eating poverty rations again, but equally, I won't waste a penny. That said, I'm not tight - what we save at the supermarket might free up cash for a nice meal out somewhere. Despite our relatively low grocery budget, I eat better than people I know who spend twice the amount.

Olliebeak

Hi Reverbe :wave: - does your local supermarket ever have whoopsied veg?

Our Asda always has them from around 4.30 onwards. They're not 'sweaty' or 'mouldy' or anything like that and I find that they have a good few days left in them. Still got a cauli in my fridge that was whoopsied last week but it's fine for using.

Sometimes I find that frozen veg can be cheaper than fresh - but nutrition-wise, it's 'second-best' to using fresh.

For instance, tonight I'm doing a diced turkey stir-fry type of thing. It consists of: garlic (fresh), sliced onions (frozen by me), diced turkey (bought on whoopsie, frozen by me and then defrosted), sliced peppers (bought frozen), sweetcorn (bought frozen) and mushrooms (fresh/whoopsied) with various spices (cayenne/paprika/chilli) PLUS a tin of chopped toms to make a sauce :drool: and served with pasta and/or garlic bread. Talk about veg overload - but left-overs will be frozen to make a topping for jacket spuds at a later date.

Do they have Aldi or Lidl where you live - not sure if they're just a 'northern thing' - they have daily bargains of fruit/veg.

Hope you find a reasonably priced source of f&v soon .

weezl74

we're on £1 a day each for food at the moment. We can do it for 50p at best, but this takes a lot of doing that at 8months pregnant I can't always do! So that's £7 each a day. It's much easier than £3.50.

weezl74

Olliebeak wrote: »

Sometimes I find that frozen veg can be cheaper than fresh - but nutrition-wise, it's 'second-best' to using fresh.

.

Hi olliebeak, not picking at what you said, just genuinely curious, where have you read that frozen veg is second best? It's just that when I try to research it all I come up with is the articles which say that it's the same or better. But I'd be really interested to read the other side of the story, if you can help?

example:

wisegeek wrote:

When most people talk about fresh vegetables, they mean vegetables purchased at their nearby supermarket, an aisle or two away from the frozen vegetables. These vegetables aren’t nearly as fresh as those from your own garden. In many cases they’ve spent days or weeks in transit, and then some time in the produce aisle. Over that time, vitamins and minerals have leeched out, and by the time you buy them and prepare them, they are far from their peak ripeness.
Frozen vegetables have been picked at the peak of their ripeness, and immediately flash frozen. As a result, all of the minerals and vitamins are locked in, ready for your benefit. This means that in some cases, frozen vegetables might be more nutritious than vegetables purchased from the produce aisle which have been sitting for weeks. Frozen vegetables may also have the outer cellulose layer already broken as a result of the freezing, making it easier for your body to digest the vegetables.
There are some things that may make frozen vegetables less nutritious than fresh vegetables. Avoid frozen vegetables that have sugar or salt added — good frozen vegetables should just have the vegetables listed in the ingredients. Also take care that you don’t leech out the good nutrients by boiling the frozen vegetables for a long time — the less the vegetables are boiled, in general, the more vital ingredients they will retain.

Olliebeak

Oooops sorry weezl, my mistake - must have just been an impression I'd picked up and held onto.

Of course, when I think about it a little more, veg that's been 'picked and frozen within a couple of hours' has to have a higher nutritional value than things that have been picked, stored, delivered, stored, sold, stored, cooked.

Thanks for pointing that out - you can tell that I didn't do cookery/DomSc/Food Technology at school can't you . Mind you, even if I had done one, or all of them, I'd probably have forgotten most of it by now - the old grey cells are definitely 'old AND grey' these days.

weezl74

Olliebeak wrote: »

Thanks for pointing that out - you can tell that I didn't do cookery/DomSc/Food Technology at school can't you . Mind you, even if I had done one, or all of them, I'd probably have forgotten most of it by now - the old grey cells are definitely 'old AND grey' these days.

I did woodwork rather than home ec:rotfl:

my grey cells are a bit hormone addled at the mo so I know what you mean

Reverbe

Olliebeak wrote: »

Hi Reverbe :wave: - does your local supermarket ever have whoopsied veg?

Do they have Aldi or Lidl where you live - not sure if they're just a 'northern thing' - they have daily bargains of fruit/veg.

Hope you find a reasonably priced source of f&v soon .

Our Tescos does occasionally but I admit I am not pleased with their idea of what a whoopsie is,. Most YS things are still at least £1.

We do have Aldi and Lidl down south but nowhere near here and we do not have use of a car nor do I know anyone who can drive.I tend to visit a Lidl once every 6 months or more when I get my hair cut but it is 2 bus rides ( or in my case one incredibly long walk away) I have never been happy with the quality of the veg in there(ie this branch) when I have visited tho and tend to not be much of a bargain unless you need a load.

I will keep searching tho.:)

ksmum

Reverbe wrote: »

Our Tescos does occasionally but I admit I am not pleased with their idea of what a whoopsie is,. Most YS things are still at least £1.

We do have Aldi and Lidl down south but nowhere near here and we do not have use of a car nor do I know anyone who can drive.I tend to visit a Lidl once every 6 months or more when I get my hair cut but it is 2 bus rides ( or in my case one incredibly long walk away) I have never been happy with the quality of the veg in there(ie this branch) when I have visited tho and tend to not be much of a bargain unless you need a load.

I will keep searching tho.:)

somerfields do whoopsies and i always buy things i would use anyway, they are cheeper after about 4.30/5pm. i find them a decent quality

Hardup_Hester

My meal plan for next week
Sunday Roast Chicken, roast pots, stuffing balls, veg
Monday Spag bol with salad
Tuesday Chicken Pie with mash & veg
Wednesday Cottage pie with veg
Thursday Pasta bake
Friday Special fried rice
Saturday Brunch & then beans or pate on toast

Breakfast for me is porridge 10p x 6 = .60
For hubby every day & me on Saturdays bacon egg & mushrooms 55p x 8 = £4.40
Lunch soup or salad with HM bread
Chicken £3
Potatoes 60p
Carrots, broccoli, frozen peas, onions £1.26
Salad £1.70
Pasta 12p
Minced beef £1.20
Rice 15p
Pate 15p
Butter 40p
Milk 37p
Pearl barley 3p
Lentils 4p
Flour 18p
Herbs/spices etc 10p
This is based on Tesco prices, I actually shop mostly at Lidls, I think it comes out at less than £14. Have I missed anything?