Time to pull in belts again....

aliasojo

Just in case anyone doesn't know (which would be surprising as I've moaned about it all over the forum ), my roof is leaking.

For all I'm joking, I'm actually worried sick as we just dont have the money for big repair bills. So.......I need to reign in our ever increasing food budget. I've broached this subject before but never really sorted the situation out which is why its still a regular problem. (So, sorry if you have a sense of deja-vu about this.)

My issue is mostly the fact that no-one will eat the same things.

OH: Will not eat pasta of any kind, nor eggs.

Eldest: Will not eat any kind of fish

Middle one: Will only eat 'healthy things'...loads of salad/fruit/veg/baked potatoes. Wont eat things like sausages, chips etc.

Youngest: Wont eat anything highly spiced. Loves simple things like mince & tatties.

Me: Will eat anything.

The eldest 2 are 6' adults btw and one of them and my OH have physical jobs and require good size portions so I can't get away with cutting portion size otherwise they'll be starving an hour later.

I have no idea how to cut down on my food budget when there's so many variables to consider.

We have Tesco and Morrisons and that's it......even then they are a car trip away into neighbouring towns. We dont have an independent butcher or fishmonger here but could buy from there during occasional trips into other towns.

Small garden, house refurb still going on, dont have space, time or energy to consider growing anything at the moment (although we're coming into winter anyway so it wouldn't really apply).

Give me some ideas please? I can't see how having to cater for different taste is ever going to be cheap.

KittyBoo_2

It's a nightmare when you've so many different tastes.
I always buy a sack of potatoes and alot of meals are based around that.
It needs to be filling so that they are not looking for something else half an hour later.
Will they eat things like shepherds pie served with seasonal veg (carrots and cabbage are always cheap at Morrisons) and even do some extra roasties.
A large chicken would feed all of you especially if you do mash and roasties with it.
Stew and dumplings is another favourite with homemade bread (or cheapest shop one) and it smells great when they are coming home.
There's a recipe collection on here somewhere and people put their weekly meal plans on, so you might pick up some good ideas from there.
Good luck

ubamother

what about rice based meals - not pasta or eggs, healthy and you can bulk out rice with loads of veg. home made potato wedges can be done very healthily and served with just about anything.

lynzpower

What about cous cous?

cuddlymarm

Hi

What about roasted veg. I cut into big chunks peppers, onions, carrots, parsnips, potatoes etc (basically whatever you've got) and par boil the more solid ones first and then just throw on a baking tray and squirt with fry lightspray a couple of times when cooking. Then serve with whatever I've got (Leftovers can be added to stock and whizzed to make soup)

I found that a big plate of bread and butter also fills gaps. Homemade scone and muffins cost pennies to make (but costs lots at the shops)

I hope this has helped a bit
Cuddles:rotfl:

aliasojo

Thanks all. We have done the roasted veg thing...but not too often as I've found it expensive to buy the veg. It's a real shame that we dont have the kind of markets that are found down south. The nearest large town to us has one a month I think and even then it's a 50 mile round trip so ok if you're going there anyway but not so good if you just wanna buy veg. Also, given that the supermarkets are out of town, it's not practical to be there at the end of the day when they start to reduce stuff. I do buy extra veg when I see reduced tags though and use that to bulk meals out a bit.

We do eat rice and cous cous, all of us will eat those, it's really the main parts of the meal that I'm struggling with a bit.

I was advised to meal plan a while ago and did it once and then not again. I'm going to try again and write up a plan tonight for the rest of the week, so any more suggestions would be welcome.

It's actually not very easy being frugal when you're used to buying whatever takes your fancy and also catering for everyone's tastes. It's a whole new mindset really, isn't it?

spandles

Two different trains of thought spring to mind.

1. Tough (for them). If they are hungry they will have to eat what you provide. If your eldest two are adults do they pay rent? If so, increase the rent if they want specific meals. Or get them to cook their own meals. You are not a restaurant.

2. Tough (for you). Sadly, if like me you want them to have a good meal that they enjoy I think you will just have to put up with the inconvenience and look for cost cutting else where. Do you batch cook and freeze?, then you can just get different meals out each morning to defrost without having to 'cook' each night.

Now, what will my two want for breakfast........

valk_scot

Two words: Family Conference.

Then explain the situation, show them the budget and point out that while in the past you've managed to cater to them just eating their favourite foods, you just can't afford it any more. You will make a small range of options availible within a meal ie serve plenty of bread and salad when you make spaghetti bolganaise, for example, but you just can't afford to make seperate meals from now on.

They will moan. Ask them then to suggest alternatives. Perhaps they could give you some of their clothes or entertainment budget so you can buy them specific foods? I can see that going down well, lol. So basically, they're going to have to go with what you suggest.

Then you stop talking about it, go away and make a menu plan based on a list of foods you know the majority will eat, cook it, place on table and let them moan. They will. And? TBH if you'd listened to their fussy moaning less when younger they wouldn't be like this now. I always point out that just because it isn't their favourite that doesn't mean it's poison! But I also don't mind if a child only eats part of a meal ie the plain pasta with a bit of cheese on top rather than being forced to eat the sauce, or whatever.

Anyway, draw up a list of any ingredient three or more people will eat. If they'll all eat rice, potatoes and vegetables, bread, cheese and most meats then actually, you've got a good solid base for a lot of meals. Beans, pulses, lentils, chicken, bacon? OH not eating pasta or eggs is annoying though. Why not? Does he not eat cake or baking?

aliasojo

Actually the eldest two pay a very reasonable amount of digs, I can't fault them for that. They also buy bits for the house themselves if they are in Tesco buying a cd or whatever.

They really aren't fussy as such, it's just those certain foods above that they individually have problems with.

I dont feel it's right for me to tell them ok, you're paying your way but I'm not going to take your tastes into account, they are 26 and 20, they are entitled to their own likes and dislikes, as is my OH.

As for being fussy when they were younger......they weren't. They have just developed their own tastes as adults...as we all do. I dont think it's fair to expect us all to like the same things.

Normally it's not a problem, it's just that our expenses have increased hugely because of the ongoing refurb and roof problem. The eldest two are actually trying to be supportive by telling me to cut their portion. :rolleyes: That's not practical though, no matter how well intentioned. One of them in particular is skin and bone as it is.

OH hates the texture of the egg or pasta, it makes him gag. I suspect this is in part down to a bullying parent when he was younger though. He can eat eggs in baking, it's just when they are standalone iyswim.

Should add...the one that wont eat chips or sausages etc has a skin problem that is made worse by his diet. It's taken years of tweaking to find out what sets it off...that's why he only wants to stick to certain things now, so it's not just a case of beng fussy.

Olliebeak

I like the Family Conference idea - at least if they're old enough to understand that the 'condition of the family home' has to be of paramount importance at the moment. Let's face it, at some time in the future, the house (or another one) will form the basis of their own inheritance .

Do you remember that TV programme, quite a few years back, where Lorne Spicer helped families to raise large amounts of money over a period of about a [STRIKE]week[/STRIKE] month (oops) by getting them all to pull together to save money, spend less and sell stuff to get what they needed? I think it was called 'Money Spinners' - maybe you could all come up with similar strategies .

Good Luck to you all.

Mrs_Thrify

Hiya, as you live far from the shops a home delivery might be a good idea.
My lot eat diffrent foods at diffrent times. We get around this as they are now all adults by just leaving things in the fridge and freezer for them and thoose not in at dinner time make their own.Things left in the fridge might be a cottage pie and a seperate bowl of mash for veggie DD. Ginsters pasties when BOGOF for DS. Always bread, cheese and cold meats for sandwiches. 6 hard boiled eggs in the fridge always vanish too.
Sometimes the adult kids eat out or @ work so if I cook and they are not in sometimes it is not wanted.