Cutting down shopping budget further for family of 3

Chell

Jo_R wrote:

LOL DD would eat bran flakes and raisins every day if I let her too! The reasons I don't are because it visibly (ahem) affects her tummy, and because she eats a fairly fibrous diet anyway, I don't want to go overboard as fibre can be counterproductive when it comes to the body absorbing iron and I don't want her to be losing any.

However, I have found a halfway alternative which I quite like which are similar to bran flakes but made of puffed rice which she seems to like so I might try them, and am hoping to get her onto porridge as I love it anyway and it would save an awful lot on boxes of cereal!

I give the kids some juice as the vitamin C helps the absorbtion of iron.
I read in a veggie cook book to sprinkle desicated coconut on porridge for sweetness and extra goodness. I told my Mum and she is hooked on it now too.

pickle

sophistica wrote:

Have you thought of the following
- shopping in markets/ethnic areas for your fruits and veg.
I live near a big Inidan community and the cost of 1 and 2 kilo bags of beans, rice and cous cous just beggars belief. So cheap - huge bags for a couple of quid. The tomatoes I saw on a stall for 9p a pound and 4 cucumbers for £1. Another thing is to do with meal planning and cooking...have you tried to branch out with your recipes. You could try the library for cook books and then you can cost different recipes.

The Asian and Middle Eastern shops are great for cheap food. I buy a huge jar of tahini at the Middle East Shop for my hummus for £2-3. They have all sorts of things for bargain prices.

Try this Hummus recipe if you want something close to the shop version:

Blend:

1 can Tesco chickpeas (the purple coloured tin) - very picky with this as different brands produce very different tastes (haven't tried the dry ones yet)

1/2 cup of plain yogurt (essential)

1 tsp soya sauce

2 large tbsp of tahini

sprinkle of salt and pinch of cumin

2 cloves of minced garlic (more if you prefer)

Juice of 2-3 fresh lemons (keep adding more if too thick for your taste)

1 tbsp of olive oil

Chill and serve with sprinkle of paprika and olive oil. This makes quite a bit of hummus.You can add extra yogurt if you want it extra creamy or more tahini if you prefer a nuttier taste.

vivaladiva

Regarding children's breakfast cereal - mine will eat almost anything with chocolate milkshake powder sprinkled on it. Lidl's do a really nice one and its cheap too!

Penny-Pincher!!

Have you tried HM muffins for breakfast for you and the children? You can literally throw in what you have (banana, apple, pear etc etc) and you could make a large batch and freeze the excess and pull out a couple when needed.

Our breakfasts are normally toast/jam, cereal with fruit, natural yogurt and honey, porridge, eggs or a bacon sarnie.

Have also had what I call a breakfast quiche with bacon, mushrooms, sausage, onion etc and this can make a nice change but is quite fatty.

PP
xx

Jo_R_2

HM muffins sound gorgeous - I will definitely have to try some of those Penny-Pincher! Freezable as well, I like it!

newleaf

I believe Lidl is great for cheap olive oil. (a couple of quid for a litre of extra virgin).
We grow quite a few veggies in pots on our patio. Carrots do well in a deep pot. Also dwarf green beans, peppers, chillis, tomatoes, spring onions, garlic, and lots of salad leaves & herbs. Ginger is really easy to grow as a pot plant indoors, you just shove a piece of root ginger in some sandy compost mix and off it goes. MIL grows potatoes inside a pile of old tyres filled with compost, as they poke through you have to 'earth them up', so she starts a couple deep and then tops up with another, and so on. You can paint the tyres in nice cheerful colours to make them a bit of a 'feature', and you can usually get them for free from a tyre place they are happy to give them away as it save them the expense of disposal.

lynzpower

Jo_R wrote:

LOL I think DD has been trying to eat more than me and boyfy combioned these last couple of days though!

Seriously, that's a great question! Re: the potaotes thing, we usually buy a 2.5kilo bag, no special jacket ones. Though I have been thinking about buying a huge bag and actually *gasp* washing them myself These things have to be done LOL!

Have been thinking about the veg box as an option, we actually worked out over a period of about six weeks what proportion of our weekly shop went on fruit and veg and it was a significant amount so that may be a more economical option.

Tend to go for the loose fruit/veg and just buy what we need specifically for the week. Sometimes we top-up midweek with more fresh if I know that buying something fresh during our main shop won't last.

We don't buy much meat on top at all. Usually a packet of ham/haslet/etc for sandwiches (boyfy snacks a lot - on top of eating :rolleyes: ), occasionally some tinned tuna, and usually a pepperoni pizza if that counts as meat? :rotfl:

£100 a month is fab lynzpower - can you share maybe a typical weekly shop or a week's worth of meal planning so I can get some ideas?

I don't know if you noticed earlier on in the thread I mentioned there are a few things I am particular about, that I knew if I wasn't so fussy we could definitely cut our costs on - eg we use olive oil, prefer to buy wholmeal/granary where poss, no artificial sweeteners/gelatine/etc etc, that sort of thing which does tend to mean we buy the next level up as the cheaper options often are not "acceptable" for want of a better word. It may well be that but still, £100 is great!

Hi there, completely understood, IM the same with my finest meat, and also OH has v high cholestrol so anything with transfats in, and infact pretty much animal fats is out, so only in min moderation. Heres a excerpt from my DF diary, I posted the other day, so maybe this might help. Also to note this was a storecupbard week pretty much, but gives you an idea of our menu.

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Ok, as many of you know I fell off the menu planning wagon last week, and spent £43 about. The meals we had this week gone were pretty pants ( chaotic frame of mind i think I burned a lot of stuff, never mind) this is a new week so Ive turned out my cupboards & freezer to see whats what. We are away this weekend, so menu planngin as of today

Im not at work,and not really eating much, but if I do, Ill have beans on toast, or a toasted sandwich or something for lunch. Along with loads of crisps (need to buy )

Fri lunch OH took sandwiches as he always does
Fri tea - Chicken Enchiladas, rice, beans & sour cream
Chicken reduced defrosting now, pepper that needs using, passata in, wraps I have in & need using chilli poder, bit of BBQ powder, bit cumin,
*NEED TO BUY sour cream/ mushrooms/ value butter & cream for the cake filling ( cost £2)

Sat/ sun/ mon away, but for Monday tea we are having sausages, gravy mash & peas from freezer, need potatoes (£1) & carrots-organic ( 60p)

Tues PM Vegetable lattices IN ( from farmfoods for a quid for 2) , jacket & salad bits ( using other potatoes, so need to buy lettuce as mine havent grown enough yet!) lettuce 40p, onions we have, carrot, dont like tomoatoes!

Weds tea, Chilli, using passata in, rice in, veggie mince for me in, meat mince for oh in freezer, need bake at home french sticks (35p) got butter & garlic, mushrooms, onions, pepper got in.

Thurs tea thai Fishes in the freezer ( tesco R&R) with lemon thai rice ( got creamed coconut, that'll do! Might do some chinese style veg with it, beansprouts onions, carrots etc with 5 spice & honey.

Fri tea, Chinese. Turkey from freezer with chinese veg from freezer, oyster sauce ( in) fry some P crackers (in) mini spring rolls ( in) Maybe if theres any reduced duck we will have that with pancakes ( got the pancakes) If not we wont bother lol .

this is an unusual week obv as we are eating from the cupbards, But I reckon this week we will be looking at spending no more than a tenner, as we'll also need oil, crisps, tuna & cheese & bread & milk on top of whats already listed which adds up to 4.35. Unless theres duck legs which are about £2 if reduced, or 3 if not reduced - stuff it, were having them

Hope this helps you Annie!

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hope this helps you love

debbym

"Ainsley packet cous cous" - may taste fab but works out about 2-3 times more expensive weight for weight.
Buy the plain stuff - soak in just enough boiling water to cover for 5 mins then pop in the microwave for 30 seconds and fluff with a fork. How difficult is that?
Add some flavourings such as -
lemon/lime/orange juice - with or without rind (i.e. from a carton will do at a pinch!)
pesto
herb oil
olive oil
butter
harissa
soy sauce
tomato puree or sundried tomato paste
garlic puree


and if the storecupboard/fridge allows
pine nuts or other nuts (although obviously not for a preschooler!)
dried fruit (allow to soak with the couscous don't add at the last minute)
tomatoes, fresh or sundried
chopped peppers
chopped mushrooms
chopped herbs
etc

don't forget that couscous is actually made from wheat.
Leftovers can be eaten cold as a salad - unlike leftover rice with the bacteria thing it is safe to eat without reheating/recooking.

Jo_R_2

Lynzpower - thanks, thats really insightful. Have been looking through and I like how you've worked that particular week storecupboard-wise. I have been tending to "make" something for both lunch and tea which is something I have noticed and as well as it costing more, DD (2.5 yrs) isn't always impressed at me spending loads of time in the kitchen when I'm at home with her. So I am now looking at a lighter lunch option.

Jo_R_2

Debbym - was saying earlier on in the thread about how I used to make up cous cous from scratch for me + others but is no fun cooking nice food if it's just for me! Also with it being made from wheat it is something I tend to only eat for myself just because DD already eats plenty of wheaty cereals, and bread/toast, and I am trying to use more non-wheat foods in her diet. But cous cous with sundried tomatoes is a real winner for me!