Do I really spend to much on food?

cornishlady

does your total include cleaning products,toileries & pet food ?i find these all add to supermarket bills.stock up when stores have decent special offers .shop around for the good offers alot of the shops have on fruit n' veg.

Fire_Fox

crux wrote: »

I thought I was doing good by cutting our household groceries bill from 750 a month to 500 for the three of us. However I see that most people here are aiming hugely lower than that.

Ok, I don't understand how.

We eat healthy, I cook everything, I plan meals for the week and shop for those ingredients. Huge amounts of fresh fruit/veg and fresh meat/fish, very little processed food, lowish carbs so no cheap bulk. I shop at Morrison's as it's much cheaper than our local Tesco's, we are not overweight so our portion control is quite good.

When I look at my shop even if I go and buy value everything, the price will only drop maybe £50 a month. The majority of cost is in the meat/fish and fresh veg/salad.

How on earth do people manage on £1/meal?? Tonight I'm cooking pork loin for three that alone cost £3 for 440gm's let alone the other ingredients. Do I need to change the way I eat healthy to drop my food cost or am I missing something?

How can I get my meat/fish and fresh stuff cheaper than at a supermarket?

crux wrote: »

Both adults in the house work out a lot, eat a relatively low carb diet, so the sticky pork will be served with only shredded cabbage, even allowing 150gm of meat the total calories are quite low. Maybe that's my problem, too much meat not enough potatoes :P

I'm going to check out frozen meat, never considered it, but I do end up freezing extra fresh meat so I don't have a problem with that. Already use as many frozen veggies as poss., because they are often better than so called fresh ones.

I have only been tracking our food shop since Monday, suppose I could post up the weekly shop I did on Monday. I will dig it out later when I'm at home.

Your menu sounds delicious, like you eat in a restaurant daily. I am a qualified personal trainer, currently in the middle of a degree in my subject. Why are you eating low carb if you are exercising regularly? :huh: That is against government/ NHS health guidelines (based on scientific research) and contrary to sports science research as well.

I would suggest basing your diet around: seven to nine portions of fruit and vegetables per day (pulses count), three portions of dairy products per day (some days you only have one), three portions of oily fish per week (tinned tuna does not count), meat no more than five times per week, low glycaemic index wholegrain carbs with every meal. :cool:

You are consuming a lot of expensive seafood and red meat, which supply amino acids but little else in the way of nutrition (a little zinc and iron). I see comparatively little oily fish which is beneficial to all the family - omega-3 EFAs are 'brain food' for your twelve year old, key nutrient for tissue repair, reducing inflammation (DOMS), cardiovascular health, weight management AND hypertrophy. :T Tinned pilchards in tomato sauce or tinned salmon are cost effective and would fit well in your diet, boosting your calcium intake to make up for the missing dairy. Evening meal do something foody with fresh sardines, sprats or trout.

I see some evidence of pulses in your diet but I'd like to see more - slow cooked lamb (tiny portion of meat) with apricots and chick peas for example. Also I don't see any meat-free days: how about lentil, vegetable and coconut curry served with brown basmati rice? There is a fair bit of bacon and ham in your meal plan - not only is that expensive, high in salt but also contain nitrates/ nitrites which *may* be carcinogenic.

Carbs are essential for anyone serious about their training - athletes do not eat a low carb diet. Glycogen is the fuel used for weight training, exclusively for the first twenty minutes or so of a cardio workout and as the 'firelighter' for fat burning thereafter. :j I find clients on a low carb diet cannot work at as high intensities as the same person on a more balanced diet is able to and I am far from the only instructor to report this. Try 'Power Eating' by Susan Kleiner (Human Kinetics, arguably the top sports science publisher) for a textbook on the subject.

I advocate low glycaemic index carbohydrates to almost all my clients regardless of health, fitness or weight management goals. So I am not suggesting you fill your boots with tasteless empty calories but mineral rich wholefoods - steel cut/ jumbo oats, pot barley, brown basmati rice, new potatoes in skins, sweet potatoes, stoneground wholemeal or granary bread, Ryvita, wholemeal pasta, brown rice or wholemeal noodles, all beans and lentils. Some of these I can see you include, but this should be at each meal and preferably each snack too.

floss2

And I take it you never have any leftovers from things like your slow-cooked lamb?

crux

ceridwen wrote: »

If you dont have to cut down - then dont bother. If you DO have to - then you are eating expensive types of meat and fish from what I can see - so perhaps you could look at cheaper types - or, of course, turning vegetarian:D

What you COULD do is use cheaper protein foods - pine nuts, salmon, parma ham and crab are the things that struck me that you could substitute - and, of course, those Quavers. Apart from that - I dont think you are eating excessively expensive food at all - so hopefully it wont be necessary to try and cut back any further than that.

Agreed on the expensive ingredients, one thing I can do is explore buying a bigger un-cut piece of meat and cutting into what I need rather than getting a pre packed 300gm of braising steak etc.

Also the fish could be cheaper types for sure.

vandanfc wrote: »

Do you really NEED to eat meat every day ? I spend around the £300 mark for 3 of us, including some shopping at M & S. I only buy organic milk and lots of other stuff onganic too. I buy meat from my local farmer's market, usually once a month or so. I try to alternate meat based dish one night, something else the next. I think you may need to look at your veg. consumption with each meal, doesn't seem much to me.

He-he, we used to be vegi, both of us, just two years ago we turned and now it is a bit meat overload :P

In summer we tend to eat a lot of salad and little cooked veg, vise versa in winter.

There is also always fruit in the bowl on the coffee table, 5 a day is not a problem.

se999 wrote: »

OK to keep your meat/fish levels up but cut the cost, I tend to buy things on special offer or when whoopsied and use the freezer.

Also look at cheaper options, like frozen bags of salmon filllets instead of the fresh, admittedly Tesco's quite often do the whole salmon at good prices, so I sometimes buy a whole one for the freezer for when we have visitors, especially impressive for buffet's and another filleted at the counter, which I cut into portions when I get home and freeze..

For fruit/veg, if near an Aldi/Lidl I buy whatever's the mega cheap special, and plan meals around it.

The only question I have for you is have you monitored how much food gets wasted. It might not be a problem you have. I revise my menu's around what needs using first, and go through the fridge regularly and have a space to put the things that need eating up first. For meals, using serving dishes, so that leftovers can be reused also reduces waste.

I think others have said about including vegetarian meals in the menu.

One thought on portion size is you say there's 3 people in the house, lots of things are sold in 2's or 4's not 3's, so it's very easy to split the extra portion and eat it so as not to waste it, rather than freeze it or use it for something else.

You mentioned your wife going Tesco's. Our routine is to first go to all the whoopsie's sections, then shop from the list, revising according to what's on special offer or whoopsie's already bought, then revisit the whoopsie's in case anything new is added, or things have been marked down further.

Much better on food waste these days, not much at all. Will be keeping an eye out for offers to freeze.

I guess I have been a bit of a food snob, time to start looking in the reduced section too

MrsBartolozzi wrote: »

Sorry to be a bit dense:o but I'm a bit confused by the food list you provided. While I agree with the others it all sounds healthy and yummy, if a little expensive;) could you split it into breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks please? Some of the days are a little confusing - several different salads for instance, are they lunches for 3 different people?
I don't mean to be demending but thought it might make things a bit clearer.:)

I eat 5-6 meals a day plus a few snacks

My list pretty much breaks down to:

breakfast
Snack
Lunch
home time meal
Dinner
Snack
supper

Don't worry I still only eat about 2500 cals per day, in fact I have been loosing a bit recently so could do with eating more not less :j

Fire_Fox

flying_fresian wrote: »

As someone who is currently in calorie-counting hell.....Quavers are as close as you get to healthy crisps without wandering into Snackajack territory. Although they have a reasonable amount of fat in them for the size of the bag they are only 87 calories per pack, and 2.5g less fat (from memory) than my personal crisp of choice, the mighty HulaHoop.

*relurks*

Sorry but I disagree, low calorie does not necessarily equate to healthy in fact it often equates to high GI, which means you may as well eat the same weight in table sugar. :eek: Quavers are highly processed, not sure if all these are still produced but the best of the bunch are probably:

M&S low fat baked crisps (actual sliced potato not reformed potato starch), any brand of vegetable crisps, Riceworks tortilla chips (brown rice and lower fat), Nairns Oat Bakes, Ryvita Minis, Wakers Sunbites. Some are higher in fat and salt than the others, depends what your goal is which you go for.

stroppyjock

crux, sorry for going off thread abit, but what is the recipe for halloumi and lentil salad? Thanks

zippychick

Hi Crux

The question you have asked is an interesting one - how much can you afford to spend on food is more the question?

I must say I am quite amazed by your diet. It sounds lovely but filled with expensive ingredients - which are all fantastic and lovely but I guess it comes down to one more thing. You said about cutting to value ranges

crux wrote: »

.

When I look at my shop even if I go and buy value everything, the price will only drop maybe £50 a month.

But to a lot of people, £50 a month is not an only - it's quite a lot

It really comes down to how much you want to save money on food - you simply won't be able to eat an identical diet and save a small fortune - so sacrifices have to be made.

Example is your meat consumption - I'm sure you know you eat a lot. I buy meat less often, only from the butchers and eat it less often - and when I do i stretch it . I always say to my brother, eating meat in a chunk (steak/chicklen breast/salmon fillet) is a rich mans way to eat food - so I am trying to encourage him to incorporate meat into meals, rather than focusing on it. So rather than Salmon steak, why not try incorporating it into a meal. The more times you do things like this - the more you will save, so you could start with gradual changes

A very useful tool is keeping your receipts for one month - including top ups, and you NEED to get your wife on board! If you explain to her by cutting the budget by £150 a month, this time next year you have a good chunk (£1800) towards a family holiday? Or what ever would incentivise her - but if she is doing last minute shops at £50 a go, your attempts will be futile.

Don't know where to start with threads for you!:o

Ummm

Grocery challenge budget thread

April Grocery challenge

Meal plans beginning 19th april - to see how others eat

It's great that you're so very into cooking - even better a challenge to make your more expensive ingredients go further, and taste hopefully as good?:A

I need to think of more threads - my brain is behind me today

I'll merge your thread with another later when it drops down the board

Zip

is76

Its great that you are reviewing you spending. I totally get the idea of decent protein and lots of lovely veg - I follow that nutrition plan too.

Here are some ideas:
keep a hold of all your shopping recipts to see how often you go and purchases
shop around, no one supermarket deserves your loyalty
check out bbc good food website for some new recipes (i love to cook too)
make big batches of stews, soups, chillis (put in freezer)
maybe consider frozen fish, tinned fish - handy and quick
grow your own veg, a few containers in the garden?
set yourself a challenge to not "pop" to the shops - I am working on this one!
only take cash (and calculator!) to supermarket - makes you think about exactly what goes in the trolley
check out lidl and aldi for veg offers and other random things

Hey, just try some different things. Thats what I am doing....nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Keep us posted.

crux

Wow I have never been on a forum that moves this fast :rotfl:

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Your menu sounds delicious, like you eat in a restaurant daily. I am a qualified personal trainer, currently in the middle of a degree in my subject. Why are you eating low carb if you are exercising regularly? :huh: That is against government/ NHS health guidelines (based on scientific research) and contrary to sports science research as well.

I would suggest basing your diet around: seven to nine portions of fruit and vegetables per day (pulses count), three portions of dairy products per day (some days you only have one), three portions of oily fish per week (tinned tuna does not count), meat no more than five times per week, low glycaemic index wholegrain carbs with every meal. :cool:

You are consuming a lot of expensive seafood and red meat, which supply amino acids but little else in the way of nutrition (a little zinc and iron). I see comparatively little oily fish which is beneficial to all the family - omega-3 EFAs are 'brain food' for your twelve year old, key nutrient for tissue repair, reducing inflammation (DOMS), cardiovascular health, weight management AND hypertrophy. :T Tinned pilchards in tomato sauce or tinned salmon are cost effective and would fit well in your diet, boosting your calcium intake to make up for the missing dairy. Evening meal do something foody with fresh sardines, sprats or trout.

I see some evidence of pulses in your diet but I'd like to see more - slow cooked lamb (tiny portion of meat) with apricots and chick peas for example. Also I don't see any meat-free days: how about lentil, vegetable and coconut curry served with brown basmati rice? There is a fair bit of bacon and ham in your meal plan - not only is that expensive, high in salt but also contain nitrates/ nitrites which *may* be carcinogenic.

Carbs are essential for anyone serious about their training - athletes do not eat a low carb diet. Glycogen is the fuel used for weight training, exclusively for the first twenty minutes or so of a cardio workout and as the 'firelighter' for fat burning thereafter. :j I find clients on a low carb diet cannot work at as high intensities as the same person on a more balanced diet is able to and I am far from the only instructor to report this. Try 'Power Eating' by Susan Kleiner (Human Kinetics, arguably the top sports science publisher) for a textbook on the subject.

I advocate low glycaemic index carbohydrates to almost all my clients regardless of health, fitness or weight management goals. So I am not suggesting you fill your boots with tasteless empty calories but mineral rich wholefoods - steel cut/ jumbo oats, pot barley, brown basmati rice, new potatoes in skins, sweet potatoes, stoneground wholemeal or granary bread, Ryvita, wholemeal pasta, brown rice or wholemeal noodles, all beans and lentils. Some of these I can see you include, but this should be at each meal and preferably each snack too.

Wifey wants to lose 10 stubborn pounds and her dodgy thyroid makes it difficult. She wants to eat reduced carbs for a while. Personally I think she is fine but what the woman wants and all that... :P

I don't mind a lower carb diet for a month or two, it does not overly affect me, I lose a bit of bady fat and even though I don;t need to lose weight, less fat when your pushing 40 is not often a bad thing :rotfl:

As long as I eat before and after, I don't bonk and the only thing effected is a bit of endurance/stamina but it's marginal.

I love pulses but wifey hates them :mad:

This week we will have had, Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel.. that's enough oily fish for me

Having been a bit defensive I want to say I do appreciate your post, diet is always an evolving thing for us, and I do/will take into account what you say for future decisions.

baby_fuzz

zippychick wrote: »

I buy meat less often, only from the butchers and eat it less often - and when I do i stretch it . I always say to my brother, eating meat in a chunk (steak/chicklen breast/salmon fillet) is a rich mans way to eat food - so I am trying to encourage him to incorporate meat into meals, rather than focusing on it.

Agreed! For example, Chinese dishes manage to make a little meat go a lot further by cutting into small pieces and stir-frying with plenty of vegetables.:)