Black-Saturn's Menu Planner

Sweet_Pea_2

I just wanted to say thanks to Black Saturn for starting this thread and for everyone else who has taken the time and trouble to post their own meal plans and recipes.
I started meal planning a couple of months ago, I put it off for ages as I used to keep a basic stock of ingredients for all our favourite meals and just replace what we had eaten, now I buy in for meals we will be eating. I couldnt see how it would save me money but for some reason it does. It also makes you think about how much fruit and veg you eat when you see it written down.
Some of the meals look nice and Ill definately be trying them , (got to give BS cobbler a try after its rave reviews) while some meals not keen on or I know OH wouldnt like. Its individual tastes/dislikes, financial circumstances and also in my case too, time is a big motivating factor in what we eat. This thread has been fascinating, and I would never critisize other peoples choices, just adapt them to suit me and mine.

Spendless

Kimberley wrote:

I would never ever get supermarkets value meat. That Tesco mince 4 for £4 odd??? Thats cheap. I wouldn't buy cheap meat because it's more or less the left over animal waste which is what farmers would give to the pigs..yikes!!

Her recipes sound tasty, but i'd prefer to use proper meat from the butchers

What size is that for Kimberley? I pay £1 a 1lb for mince from the market (butchers stalls). Very little fat comes out of compared to when I have bought mince from the supermarket.

moggins

Kimberley I don't think that's cheap either. I buy 2 kilos (minced in front of me) from my butcher and it costs me £3.98

pawpurrs

I am a newbie, so I do hope this isnt out of place.

BS please do not be upset by peoples opinions, they are only opinions, and from the way I read them not a personal attack, but can understand how emotive, the subject of your children would be, and how it could be minconstrued.
Your thread has helped a lot of people, it will never be right for everyone, and is there so that people can take ideas from it and adapt their menus accordingly.
We are entiltled to express our own views, and there are pieces from BS menu that I can take from, I am in a more fortunate postion perhaps, and wouldnt choose to budget so much, and use different ingredients.
I think Bs must be commended on cooking fresh meals at least for her children, how many children never get unprocessed foods.

In town the other day I saw a lady giving her young baby, cocacola in a bottle! I couldnt believe it.

As some one who has been around a long time, and been a regular poster, you know how helpful and friendly this board is, so please dont have a bad feeling about anything that was said, I am sure it is a sensitive point and therefore has been made to appear worse than it is.

Lets all have a hug and remain friends x

jcr16

my local butcher sell mince 2lb for £4. i thought that was good for fresh mince. i think it said steak mince or something.

i buy the tesco fresh mince £1.20 for 500g if i making a spag bol. but for everything else i buy either iceland big bag for £2 , safeways 1kg bag for £2.29 or tesco 1.75kg for £3.13. depends where i am. and tbh i can't tell the difference in the frozen mince.

kirstyreanne

I agree with Pawpurrs.
Although some of the posts may appear to be personal attacks on BS I think they have been totally misconstrued.

It's very easy to take things the wrong way when they've been written down. If it was a live debate then the tone of the persons voice would make it easier to tell what context it was meant in, whereas when written it all depends on how the person reads it - which shows the conflict in peoples opinions of the posts themselves.

People will always have different opinions on everything & I think it is always good to hear new views on topics as it makes you either realise that you are completely happy with your way or that maybe you ought to change things slightly.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who's posted their plans I've really enjoyed reading through them.

(Hope that makes sense!!!)

Faith_2

I haven't read all the posts in this thread, nor do I plan to if their is a useless quarrel going on. I just want to say that I read the first few posts from Black Saturn and they inspired me to start menu planning for the first time in my life! And boy! did it make my life easier. I've adapted it to my need as my DD has just become a vegetarian and we eat lots and lots of fruit. It didn't take so long to plan the menu once I'd got some vegetarian recipes sorted out and I have spent a whole week not worrying every tea-time about what I could cook that would suit us both. So thanks Black Saturn!

Dora_the_Explorer_5

jcr16 wrote:

my local butcher sell mince 2lb for £4. i thought that was good for fresh mince. i think it said steak mince or something.

i buy the tesco fresh mince £1.20 for 500g if i making a spag bol. but for everything else i buy either iceland big bag for £2 , safeways 1kg bag for £2.29 or tesco 1.75kg for £3.13. depends where i am. and tbh i can't tell the difference in the frozen mince.

I suppose the difference might be that with some mince you get the moo, knees, tail and nose and with other mince you don't

black-saturn

HOLsale wrote:

ok, i'm not judging and i hope i'm not being dim but do you do this SAME meal plan EVERY week?

or do you do other stuff too but you've just shared one weeks meal plan and recipes with us (very kind of you, thank you)

I do do other stuff but I just gave you an example of one week.

black-saturn

rowantoad wrote:

I haven't read all the thread but am trying to cut down the amount of money I waste at the supermarket. I read someone say how much would black-saturns shop cost, so i've calculated for tesco. Her list is actually not that different from what I buy anyway, I don't buy the value stuff and if i added some brocolli, apples, more eggs etc it would match. My tesco bill is over £100 a week for 2 bigs and 2 littleuns. Someone mentions £16 I don't know where that came from.

1 week worth

1 Tesco Value Sliced White Bread 800g 0.28
4 Tesco Onions Loose Class 2 0.44
1 Tesco Soup & Broth Mix 500g 0.65
1 Tesco Carrots 500g Pack Class 1 0.27
1 White Potatoes 2.5kg Pack 0.93
1 Pork Boneless Leg Joint Small 0.8kg - 1.3kg 3.45
1 Tesco Healthy Eating Semi- Skimmed Milk 3.408ltr/6 Pints 1.69
1 Tesco Evaporated Milk 170g 0.32
1 Tesco Strawberry Jelly 135g 0.30
1 Tesco American Long Grain Rice 500g 0.38
1 Tesco Value Eggsminimum Weight Box Of 6 0.54
1 Tesco Value Lasagne Sheets 250g 0.27
4 Tesco Value Mince 750g 4.24
2 Tesco Value Chopped Tomatoes 400g 0.30
1 Tesco Value Mild White Cheese Small 0.97
1 Tesco Value Fruit Cocktail In Syrup 410g 0.22
1 Tesco Value Cheese & Tomato Pizza 268g 0.49
1 Tesco Healthy Living 2 Cod Loins 3.39
1 John West Prawns In Brine 200g 1.49
1 Tesco Fresh Single Cream 568ml 0.74
1 Tesco Value Plain Chocolate 200g 0.50
1 Tesco Value Breaded Scampi 300g 1.86
1 Tesco Value Spaghetti 500g 0.16
1 Tesco Strawberries 400g Class I 1.49

£25.37

more than a weeks worth

1 Tesco Healthy Living Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets 500g 2.48
1 Tesco Value Mixed Herbs 18g 0.25
1 Tesco Value Gravy Granules 170g 0.38
1 Tesco Value Plain Flour 1.5kg 0.27
1 Tesco Value Self Raising Flour 1.5kg 0.27
1 Tesco Value Medium Curry Powder 50g 0.35
1 Miscellaneous Granulated Sugar1kg Packet 0.72
1 Tesco Value 80 Teabags 250g 0.31
1 Tesco Value Sunflower Spread500g 0.38
1 Tesco Tomato Puree Tube 200g 0.26
1 Tesco Cornflour 250g 0.35
1 Saxa White Pepper 25g 0.58
1 Tesco Table Salt 500g 0.27
1 Tesco Value Wheat Biscuits 550g 0.64
1 Tesco Californian Seedless Raisins 500g 0.58
1 Tesco Value Peas 1kg 0.52

£8.61 when needed

Total guide price £33.98

The tinned prawns over priced, cod maybe too, carrots and potatoes prob last more than a week.

Also thanks to black-saturn for the recipes. I love fish pie!

I think shopping at Tescos is far much more expensive than shopping around several other stores for the best bargains.

For example - bread is 16p in Lidl's rather than 28p, tins of tomatos are 8p, Iceland value scampi is £1 for a huge bag etc etc. You have to shop arond, not stick to the same places. Theres no way I spend £33.98 per week on shopping. I do my shopping once every 6 weeks and go around with a calculator. I get most of my stuff from Iceland.