New sahm

smarties84

Hello, i am now a stay at home mum apart from a little part time job but i will now have more time for "cooking" and "bargain" shopping etc. I am looking for ideas/recipes please and what things i can buy that i will use over and over and get lots of meals from if you know what i mean. Any advice and tips would be apprecited. It would be for me, my 21 month old and my partner. Where are the best places to go, bargains on at the moment and how do you budget etc!!!
Smarties

LilacPixie

I swear by aldi/lidl and my local butcher. meal planning is a must. Batch cooking and freezing the surplus portions is also very economical

Trinny

Hi there

We menu plan - a rotation of 14 meals that everyone enjoys - so that i know in advance - "whats for tea". I get what i need out of the freezer the night before so its ready for the next day.

We also take advantage of Whoops reduced items. If there is a big pack of something we eat - reduced to clear then we get it and plan meals around it.

One of the best things i did was to do an inventory of the storecupboard and freezers. it means that i now know exactly what i have. Its stopped me buying more of what i already have, and means that i can see at a glance what i have in - as its pinned up on the sideof the freezer and inside the door of the cupboard.

We buy what is seasonal - sounds obvious really - but sometimes its better to eat salad in the summer - and less pricy to eat carrots in the winter.

All our meals are pretty much HM. Apart from the odd treat takeaway. This means that we save quids - not buying oven chips, ready made dishes etc. I am still learning HM sauces - so we still sometimes rely on jars - but i find B&M bargains and Home Bargains - really good for jars of sauces at a knock down price. We got Seeds of Change organic Jalfrezi curry sauce at 40p per jar - normally at least £1.50.

We also bake - OH is great at making bread - we dont have a breadmaker. and i try to bake a cake or biscuits to snack on during the week

HTH

Trin

purpledreams

hiya

i am a sahm too just recently joined here , im looking for hints and tips too x

Butterfly_Brain

I have a batch cooking day once a week when I really go to town making meals and cakes and freeze them.
I sounds a lot but it saves so much time in the kitchen - one day cooking = 6 Days to do other things

smarties84

Thank you everyone

juliapenguin

Start 2 'nice but cheap' recipe files - print things out from here, or ask friends for good ideas, and put them in one 'need to try this' file - when you've made it, either bin the recipe if it wasn't something you want to eat again, or transfer it to a 'things to make again' file. Every week try to do a mixture of both types of dinners - once you know you love and ones you need to try.

Always make double (perhaps just of dinners you know you like) and freeze for 'instant' ready meals for if you don't feel like cooking.

I did this a couple of years ago when I left work and before I started my MA and we ate like kings. Once I've finished it - 3 more weeks - I'll be doing that again. At the moment I'm working and studying and we've not been eating well at all.....