Grocery help - please

natlie

Hi
I am having some issues with my groceries - hope you can help.

My partner lost his job in November and I am trying to reduce our shopping costs as its the only thing I have taken on that he used to pay all of.

At the moment I am spending about £110 a week for 4 of us 2 adults 2 kids.

My shopping does not contain anything extravagant, I don't buy cakes/biscuits/sweets at all

This weeks shopping was:
bread stuffs (crumpets for brekkie/muffins - stores own)
Fruit for the girls sandwich boxes - school has a healthy eating policy so no crisps, choc or pop
and Veg I am a veggie got bits to make soup and some salad stuff
Shampoo - I use head and shoulders as my scalp is very dry (£5 extra on shopping - don't buy that often on offer 2 for 1)
Chicken - frozen
Salmon - frozen
Sausages
Value beans
5 X 6 pints milk - we use loads of milk (porridge for 2 girls everyday etc)(creamfields £1 a bottle)
chopped tomatoes
hot chocolate - instant I have a cup in work to stop me buying chocolate in the afternoon
yeast for breadmaker
cheese

not a lot for £110 is it? Thats from Tesco- have tried sainsburys but not that much difference

most of the cost there is the fruit and veg

My store cupboard if full of spices, cooking stuff so I don;'t buy much of that just top up when needed. Just never seem to be able to make meals from anything

Am thinking about getting a greenhouse but that won't help me until the summer really - all advice much apreciated
Nat
xxx

sexymouse

Have you got a local farmer's market as they can often be a lot cheaper for fruit and veg? I'm of to mine now, cos I'm also veggie and it saves a lot compared to the supermarkets. I can get 10 large granny smith apples for £1, compared to about 6 small ones, for £1.28 at MrT. I used to get the loose apples in MrT, but the quality of them recently has been awful, so I've given them a miss.

Don't know what your hot chocolate is, but I recently discovered that MrT value hot chocolate (50p) was great for work too.

Bread stuffs - I usually buy most of the bread products when they are reduced and put them in the freezer - late night shopping during the week is usually the best time to get such bargains.

katiesmummy

i've noticed my local fruit & veg stall does pretty good prices on their produce- most things are in bowls and you can get about 10 bananas for £1, 3 huge peppers for £1 (i know this is definitely good as peppers are 80p each in asda).

i dont eat fish, but would it be cheaper to go to a fishmonger? ditto with butchers if its close to you- i've noticed that frozen meat has an awful lot of water in it so although it might be cheaper it won't go so far. ditto with fresh mince- i used to buy value but have realized that its a bit of a false economy. now i buy the good stuff and portion it up.

im sure someone else will be along with much better advice soon!

SunnyGirl

For the fruit and veg have a look at Aldi or Lidl. I use Aldi's Super 6 all the time as the range changes weekly and nothing is more than 69p usually. Last week there were blueberries & melon (I think) so it was great for the snacks/puddings. Have a look at the Aldi website here for up to date offers. It starts on a Sunday so sometimes isn't up on Saturdays though!

Also have a look at the Grocery Challenge which is here for February. There are tons & tons of recipes starting at post number 3. Lots of ideas on stretching the meat in meals to make it go further (healthier too as more veg), how to get 2 meals out of a chicken etc etc.

Good luck and you're certainly in the right place for advice! Hope this helps.

katiesmummy

oops, forgot to mention aldi for fruit and veg- they have different ones on offer each week, and i've never had a problem with quality

seraphina

natlie wrote: »

This weeks shopping was:
bread stuffs (crumpets for brekkie/muffins - stores own)

Never tried to make crumpets but if you mean sweet muffins (not the toasting type ones) then these are a doddle to make - many of them are made with oil not butter so slightly healthier, and you can cram them with fruit and veg.

Fruit for the girls sandwich boxes - school has a healthy eating policy so no crisps, choc or pop

What kind of fruit are you buying? For example, are you buying the Disney shrinkwrapped bananas and not the market value ones? Little oranges at the moment are still good value, but exotic fruits and berries aren't really.


and Veg I am a veggie got bits to make soup and some salad stuff

Salad is more expensive this time of year - cucumbers etc are expensive as they have to be imported. If you're buying bagged lettuce, go for a whole lettuce and wash it yourself, also tomatoes aren't particularly cheap at this time of year. How about looking at cabbages instead of lettuce? You can make really nice coleslaw and Asian type crunchy salads from cabbages, carrots etc. Also I only ever put cheap soup veg in soup, and at this time of year if it's tomato soup the tomatoes come from a tin.

Also I don't mind fruit and veg from Tesco's. We have a farm shop very near us but I don't think it's much cheaper (except for large sacks of potatoes) and the quality can be quite variable).

Shampoo - I use head and shoulders as my scalp is very dry (£5 extra on shopping - don't buy that often on offer 2 for 1)
Chicken - frozen
Salmon - frozen

Chicken - was it frozen portions? Would be cheaper to buy a whole one and joint it, however it depends how much you use it. If you read the Rubber Chicken threads you can get so many meals from one chicken! However if you're veggie and only your OH eats chicken or what have you, it might make more sense to get portions so there's less wasteage - there's no point having stacks of chicken pies/soup if only one person in the house eats meat.

Salmon - Believe it or not, Marks and Spenser have the best value salmon fillets IMO - they do a big bag of individually wrapped salmon filets for not much. Also check out other fish - haddock, pollock etc, although it depends on what you want to do with it (pie, serve it with sauce, fishcakes etc). I also find that fishmongers are quite expensive and their portion sizes are also enormous - I don't want to pay for enormous portions.

Sausages
Value beans
5 X 6 pints milk - we use loads of milk (porridge for 2 girls everyday etc)(creamfields £1 a bottle)
chopped tomatoes

Check you're buying on offer - Tesco almost always have the good quality Napolina ones on offer.

hot chocolate - instant I have a cup in work to stop me buying chocolate in the afternoon
yeast for breadmaker
cheese

Are you brand loyal on the cheese?
xxx

Also it's worth having a look at the menu planning thread - that can help on the dilemma of lots of shopping but nothing to cook!

natlie

Thanks for all the tips so far!

some answers I buy a frozen joint of chicken and make about 5 meals out of it for partner as the girls aren't fussed - I buy frozen because I shop when the delivery from Tesco is cheaper and cook the chicken on a sunday - their dates can be relly short sometimes

I buy a mix of fruit and veg mostly apples, bananas, pears, blueberries, raisins - things which I can pop into their lunch bag

I have a farm shop about 5 miles away I get my potatos there but not fruit and veg as they aren't cheap unless they have reduced bags - its in a bit of posh area and I think they take advantage of that

I forgot to say too that I do have to be careful what I buy because my 4 yr old has a major egg allergy - she has adrenalin pens she carries with her - so we never eat out really and I try to cook everything from scratch -I don't buy anything if it doesn't have clear ingredients lists as I can't risk it.

I am not brand loyal on the cheese I do like cheese that is strong and veggie

Thanks
Nat
x;)

catlovin_gal11

Hi Natlie. Do hope you have better news on the job front soon. Agree with all that has been said. Not sure where in Wales you are as it does impact on where you can shop. In Swansea the market is good for veg and fruit , tho Aldi can sometimes beat them. A friend of mine swears by Boots Value label shampoo and conditioner and liquid soap, she has dry hair and said the Boots stuff was lovely and quite cheap. Poundstretcher and pound shops are good for some things like sugar, tea and toilet rolls (if on offer) and cheaper on cereal bars. Its just a case of shopping around . Have a look on this forum or BBC good food site or Good Food channel website
for cheap recipies . Keep an eye on local shops which do some offers to bring in shoppers. Soya mince is a good buy as its usually cheaper than beef or lamb mince and you can make a good few meals with that. Keep reading the forum. It is always useful. Good Luck with Money Saving!

NJW69

I'd buy the meat on the 3 for £10 or 3 for £9 and then freeze half of the packs. So if you got pork chops you get 4-5 per pack which should do 4-5 meals if only one person eating meat. A large pack of mince would make at least 2 meals for the three who do eat meat (presume the kids would eat lasagne, spag bol etc) and then a whole cicken should do at least three meals. Sounds like you make your own bread so buy own brand flour it doesn't seem to make much difference. Get the veg and fruit thats on offer Lidl super six etc and then you can ring the changes each week. Make some soups like lentil, pea, sweet potato and use up whatever else you have left. Buy your pulses dried.

Buy own brand cereals or when on offer. Buy jams etc when half price etc. Buy toiletries on BOGOF and then you have one for next time. Buy cordial for diluting.

£100 a week does sound a lot. There are three adults in our house and I'm doing the grocery challenge and have put £300 for the month. In this I include all shopping in supermarkets and top ups in local shops. Don't include eating out (don't do it much) or takeaways again don't do that much. We eat well as I don't have to economise really but am doing it to not be wasteful and for the challenge. Try posting a weeks meals as you might get better suggestions.

foxgloves

I can't really think of anything apart from menu-planning like mad, & maybe doing a month of menus at a time to take advantage of stuff on special offer & leftovers that can be rolled over into another meal or packed lunch. £100 a week does seem a lot. There's only two of us (plus enormous cat) and our groceries come in at £250 a month at the moment. We've slightly changed how we buy though, as I've started doing monthly meal plans, starting with things I've already got in that need using up, then we go & get what we can at Lidl (tinned beans, olive oil, cat food, other storecupboard stuff) then go to our usual supermarket for the rest of it (the stuff that will keep for that month - we use the freezer a lot) then each week, we go to the local market for fruit & veg. Very good value.....i.e 3lbs of pink lady apples for £1.20, 3 avocados for a pound, etc. We do have to get the fresh stuff weekly...milk, yoghurt, etc. It does take more planning, but I find we spend more efficiently if we've looked at the whole month.