How can you do a weeks menu on £20 ?

Cyril

I am single and am struggling to get my weekly food bill under £35 per week. I need to cover lunch at work aswell as I don't want to spend money unnecessarily.

The only proviso is that I will not eat cheap meat or unethical eggs.

Any menu help would be greatly appreciated.

Cleosmum

Check out the Old Style board here, you'll find some fab ideas. I dont eat cheap meat and use free range eggs so I understand how you feel. I would rather go without. I find that a decent free range chicken goes further than the cheaper ones as they are nice and plump and seem to stretch further.

gonzo127

general questions.

what do you class as 'cheap' meat? do you eat chicken and turkey and will you eat leg meat etc or does it have to be breast meat? are you willing/able to go to the supermarket later at night to pick up the meats that are due to go passed their sell by date and then freeze/cook that night and freeze that?

do you eat veg? do you have the ability to grow some of your own?

do you have the ability to heat food (microwave) at work or does it have to be sandwiches?

TUS

I feed a family of 4 for £45 per week.Thats breakfasts, lunches (for 3 as the eldest has school dinner) and evening meals. Plus household items and nappies for a 1 year old.

It can be done. Drop brand names for starters. Asda value, for example, is fantastic. I opt for frozen veg which can be steamed in the microwave instead of fresh veg as its easier to cook and lasts longer. I get fruit at the local grocers - about £3-4 worth will last us a week.

Best advice is the plan each meal and ONLY buy specific ingredients you need. Order online for delivery, or go in with a list and DO NOT deviate from it. Go shopping just after you've eaten to avoid impulse buys or only take enough cash to buy your list. I add stuff to my online basket and print it out and then tick off each item as I go around the shop.

Arlen

Value / SmartPrice / Own Brand goods / Aldi / Lidl

It is not exciting eating but my weekly food bill was under £10 usually. Nothing wrong with cheap meats, slow cooking a cheaper cut of beef in a stew for a few hours makes a nice filling dinner.

I know this will sound blunt but when trying to cut costs staying true to fair trade / organic / ethically sourced / humane etc takes a back seat for me. The money saved far outweighs the "feel good factor". The non organic / fair trade items are still being produced so not buying them doesn't help the cause.

Pollycat

Definitely a trip to the Old Style board for menu ideas.

Good questions from Gonzo127, here's a few more:
Do you have a freezer? Lots of savings to be made if you can cook in bulk (although it is a bit harder cooking for one).

Is your £35 per week fixed to each week or can you stretch it some weeks to take advantage of bogof/half price deals?
Its very rare that I apt full price for anything - coffee, tinned tomatoes, wash powder, toilet rolls etc.

Do you have a slow cooker? Great for cheaper cuts of meat and for soups for lunchtime (if you have the means to heat it up, or maybe you could take it in a flask).

My freezer is full of fresh meat that I've bought half price or even 75% off from supermarkets.
It's not only late at night that they do reductions.
Yesterday lunchtime I bought a piece of rolled belly pork for just under £2, it will do 2 of us for 2 meals each.
So with a bit of freah veg, a nice tasty meal.

Firewalker

I have managed to put this under control and although our spend can vary from week to week it is about £60 p.w. for three adults and a growing up boy (three of whom male). The changes that brought down the food bill are:

1) Combining buying high quality meat and free range local eggs with buying basics, and fruit and veg from Aldi - it also happens to be very good (don't mean only cheap here) for cold meats, and chocolates.
2) Cooking everything from scratch. But this is not enough - I have learned to cook meat with sauces, to cook meat stews, and to also to cook soups and vegetable stews. Apart from being cheaper these are much better for you and OH and I have lost quite a bit of weight.
3) I cook in bulk and freeze stuff - so cook during the weekend or overnight (a slow cooker is a God sent) and have cooked meals for the weak. I always freeze meals in little boxes which I take to work.
4) This requires some planning - so I have weekly menues for dinner (and lunch weekends); also I buy only for what I am going to cook which eliminates waste. Have perfected this one so much that now I can look at a recepe and know how much it costs to make.

It is not only doable but it is also tasty and healthy. Good luck.

Firewalker

Pollycat

TUS wrote: »

Best advice is the plan each meal and ONLY buy specific ingredients you need. Order online for delivery, or go in with a list and DO NOT deviate from it. Go shopping just after you've eaten to avoid impulse buys or only take enough cash to buy your list. I add stuff to my online basket and print it out and then tick off each item as I go around the shop.

I actually take a different view to those suggestions.

I menu plan for 3 weeks at a time.
I keep a list of everything that's in my freezer and when it was put in (anal I know but it works for me).
I sit down with a cup of coffee, my freezer list and cookery books and plan a varied menu for the 3 weeks.
I try to include a brand new recipe every time.

By menu planning, you can buy, say, packs of value peppers and use a couple of the best for stuffed peppers, some in a pasta dish, some in a risotto etc.
A value pack of aubergines from Tesco will do 3 different meals.
Buying like this is much cheaper than buying one at a time as you need it.

I don't like to shop online as I like to see what bogof/half price deals there are in store.
I can also have a rummage in the 'reduced' section.

My menus are not 'set in stone'.
If I pick up, say, some reduced veg I might decide to get some meat out of the freezer and make a dinner.

It works for me but I'm lucky in that my grocery budget is not fixed each month.

Another tip is to buy a quantity of mince (or packs of).
They often come in packs of 400gm, 454gm or 500gm.
I open the packs and make them up into 3/4lb or 340gm packs, which is a good quantity for us for shepherd's pie.
So if you buy 3 x 454gm packs, you can get 4 x 340gm out of it.
That's like having an extra meal for 2 for free - with a bit of time and the cost of a few freezer bags.

Tixy

Perhaps have a look at these threads - now I admit not all of these are the healthiest ideas but there are some that are that you can select from.
I agree on the eggs, can you find a small local farmer that will sell you cheap free range eggs or even a farm shop.
As for the meat, you'll find better value at the local butchers than the supermarket but may find it easier if you eat veggie some days.



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Try supermarket own brands, if you look at the ingredients you will find in some product they are the same as the premium brands (or better as they can have less 'stuff' in them).
Try shopping at different supermarkets, including the discount ones.
Try shopping just before closing time, when you might get a loaf of branded wholemeal bread for 12p that will freeze and make half your breakfasts/lunches etc.
Try using things like chickpeas/lentils etc (either to bulk out meat dishes or instead of meat - I'm veggie)

And best advice of all, plan for the week's meals ahead before you shop, if I do this I always spend less, when I don't I always buy more and often don't enjoy the food as much.

zarazara

Aldi do tinned soups for 29p a tin. theres baked beans on toast which is cheap too. You need to cost it out but I think making your own bread is cheaper than buying,ditto cakes. Make meat stretch by adding lentils and/or pearl barley to stews and casseroles.Rubber chicken! free-range chicken ,roast, sandwiches with cold meat, or cold chicken salad,or add chunks and bits to mushrooms in a white sauce and make chicken and mushroom pie, then soup with the carcass.
Porridge is cheap and nutritious. Home made jam from wid fruits in the autumn,eg Blackberry jam. Marmite on toast. Can you keep hens? you will have a supply of free range eggs and maybe some to sell if you can do this. Grow your own salad and veg,lettuce and herbs on a window- sill for example,you can turn your garden over to veg and fruit or put your name down for an allotment.

purpleheather2810

Arlen wrote: »

I know this will sound blunt but when trying to cut costs staying true to fair trade / organic / ethically sourced / humane etc takes a back seat for me. The money saved far outweighs the "feel good factor". The non organic / fair trade items are still being produced so not buying them doesn't help the cause.

I don't agree with this at all, especially the last sentence!

To the OP, I buy free range eggs and chicken and cut corners elsewhere as has already been suggested.