Shopping & Cooking on a Low Budget

chrisb1357

Hi all,

Was not sure where to post this but wanted to know how much does people spend a week on shopping and how many cook on a low budget.

Also any ideas on good meals for low budgets

We here are 2 Adults and only budget for £40 a week shopping

Chris

craftdaft

Sorry can't post links but if you click on Indexed Collections under Old Style Links you'll find lots of suggestions. Am currently trying to solve the same problem so have spent some time reading different threads and got lots of great ideas.:j

Pitlanepiglet

LOL...prepare for lots of people to tell you that £160 a month for two isn't a low budget

Up until a year ago I fed the two of us on £200 a month and we ate well, meat as the main point of every meal and some alcohol as well.

Surf around the forum, look at the grocery challenge and read some of the bulk cooking threads. You'll be fine on that budget x

esio_trot

we spend about £35-40 a week on food for two adults and it is workable. Here are some of the favourite and cheapest meals I usually cook - it all very much depends what kind of food you like to eat.

stew/casserole - chicken/beef/sausage
cottage pie
fajitas
stuffed chicken
curry
chorizo pasta
sausage and mash
toad in the hole
lasagne
spag bol

lunch is usually sandwiches/soup/salad/leftovers from the previous night's tea

everything is served with some mixed veg/potatoes/rice and as much as possible is bulked out with leftovers/things which are going out of date. i.e. chicken fajitas can seem expensive, but if you only use one chicken breast between two and bulk it out with onion/pepper, you can almost half the cost of the meal. You can also bulk out mince with lentils and veg - I can get three meals for two out of one 400g pack of value mince.

if you have a trawl about some of the threads you should find some of these tips (and a whole lot more besides!)

[Deleted User]

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

LOL...prepare for lots of people to tell you that £160 a month for two isn't a low budget

Like me . Me and my other half spend £15 - £30 a week on food and household items as well as feeding the cat.
A typical menu for us is:
Soup and sandwiches
jacket potatoes
veggie cottage pie
chilli
leek and blue cheese crumble
veggie lasagne
pasta bake

Plan the menu in advanced and try to buy value brands where possible.

lisa26_2

Leek & Blue cheese crumble sounds scrummy.....any chance you could share the recipe please?

[Deleted User]

Leek and blue cheese crumble:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=26976193&postcount=129

From complete veggie recipe collection:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=25240019&postcount=1

mi_jardin

I spend between £15 and £30 a week for two of us but that includes feeding 5 dogs on dry food.

chrisb1357

Some good reply's so far.

Chris

Rebekah24

I dont spend £40 a month..hehe..that is plenty for two

Check out the slowcooking/grocery challenge threads

Cooking in batches on a Sunday- soups, lasagne's, pasta sauce etc this time of year

Also shifting to the value/basics ranges

Oh and checking out the shops at the end of the days for reduced whoopsies..are a godsend!! 30p bread/eggs..worth making a trip for..stock up the freezer

Get reading, fantastic resources on here

chrisb1357

Well we have the £40 a week and we struggle so i think we are buying the wrong stuff in someware. We have to take the cat food etc out of this also and any household cleaning items

Chris