Having trouble making groceries stretch

Doom_and_Gloom

RAS wrote: »

You budget is rather too low; the recieved wisdom is £60 per person a month is doable, below that you struggle.

I don't agree with that. My partner and I usually spend £100/month.

That is

• food for us
• toiletries
• cleaning products
• chinchilla food
• chinchilla treats
• chinchilla hay
• chinchilla sand

If you take off chinchilla stuff and cleaning produts I am sure it would come to around £90/month for just food for my partner and I - £45/month each. Believe me that does go a long way. At the moment we are eating through the freezer and spending less. We don't buy a lot of crap.


Main meals that are cheap that I have (not extencive list)

• soups with bread
• chilli with rice
• curry with rice
• shepherdless pie
• beans on toast
• home made veggie pizza (I don't have cheese)
• chinese (home made) such as sweet and sour veg/stir fry veg and rice/rice noodles

Main meals that my partner eats (not extencive list)

• soups with bread
• pizzas (home made or bought)
• spag bol
• mac and cheese
• omlettes
• scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, toast and spaghetti
• chinese - beef chow mein and egg fried rice

We make our own bread in the breadmaker - we do buy it if it is decent bread and cheaper than making though.
My partner only buys free range or organic eggs.
We have porridge or a cheap cereal for breakfast, sometimes pancakes (http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipe-breakfastpancakes.html?opt=p3m1) or the like, I sometimes have smoothies.
My partner takes a pack lunch to work - cheese sandwiches, fruit loaf, crisps (there are always some kind on offer) and cola (decanted into a 500ml bottle from generic 2L).
If you are sensible with what you buy you can make it go a long way. It may mean buying basic/generic rather than premium brands but it is possible.

By the way I agree with the other posters, Iceland is expencive and I wouldn't buy their crap if someone paid me to! Much better off getting a home delievery from Mr A, Mr S etc.

adelight

I know Iceland do some very cheap meat, particularly the raw frozen chicken portions! The only cheap fresh veg/fruit at Iceland is potatoes btw, the rest are far more expensive than other supermarkets and markets. The eggs there are some of the cheapest, with 10% they'll be THE cheapest so definitely try some eggy meals!!
Spanish omelette is effectively potatoes (leave skins on always or save skins for soup! save ALL your veg offcuts like broccoli stalks in the freezer for a blended soup), eggs and onion and is very filling.
Forget about meat everyday, you can get excellent protein from super cheap dried beans! Will you and the kids eat casserole/stew? If so, you're set! You can make an extremely hearty casserole with leftovers for <£2
500g spuds ~20p
300g carrots ~20p
1 onion <10p
150g dried lentils/haricot/butter beans ~25p
stock cube/gravy <10p
8 pack cheap sausages ~70p
Total: £1.55 If you swap 70p on naff sausages for extra veg and spuds it will make twice as much!
AND bang some HM bread in the oven at the same time, roughly 40p for a huge loaf when using Lidl bread flour.

Similarly, spanish omelette:
1.5kg spuds ~60p
3 onions ~30p
8 eggs ~70p
This would be huge!

If you can keep your dinners cheap, say £3 max each day that's £21 a week, leaving you £19 for lunches (cheese and bread cost pennies, also tuna is often v cheap at iceland), fruit and breakfast(PORRIDGE!!)

It's doable Just plan plan plan!

Alwaysthebusybee

I think it can be done with a bit of organising. Here is a website that has taught me a thing or two http://www.ckmhome.co.uk (I hope my link works) - You have about £5.70 a day

As someone has said already if you post what you buy we could help a bit better but it is do-able depending on what your preferences are. For starters what do you eat fruit wise and how much do you spend on toiletries. Can you shop about, we have a few decent butchers in our area, a lot of green grocers, lidl, aldi, asda, morrisons and tesco so I am quite lucky that I can shop about.

We are personally meat eaters and have it for every meal - my DH is fussy and has taken 3 years to change his habits. I have also taught him how to make a decent meal and he is a decent cook now – it isn’t always about skill so do not be afraid to try new things.

I would suggest having a few non meat days to bring your costs down and sit down and meal plan, here is my suggestion with some estimated costings …

Chilli Con Carne - £3.95 (will do 4 decent portions and 2 left over for jacket potatoes)
Egg, Chips & Beans - £1.50 (based on a sack of potatoes at £6)
Spaghetti Bolognese - £3.95 (I have costed the herbs in which last ages so need to be bought just the once)
Toad in the hole - £2.00 (Serve with mash, vegetables you like, gravy)
Pasta Bake - £2.00 - £2.50 I actually like pasta, cheese and ham which costs pennies per person but you can add a cream / milk sauce.
Hash - £2.00 will easily feed 4, serve with Yorkshire puddings or dumplings.
Roast – Chicken £3.50 plus £1.50 extras

Total main meals - £22 (Now my prices are estimate so please don’t shoot me down if I am slightly out!)

If some of your breakfasts are free, then porridge is cheap and very filling if your family will give it ago, drizzled with golden syrup or added fruit is lovely.

I personally find lunches boring and repetitive but it depends on if you have access to a microwave, if the children take pack lunches etc etc. I would attempt making your own snacks and maybe have some cheap suppers if you are still hungry. A lady called blacksaturn posted a decent menu plan on here which is somewhere in the main index under meal planning – granted it was done in 2005 or something but the meals were decent and she did suppers etc. There is also lots of threads on meals for 50p etc which might give you some inspiration. Gill Holcombe also has written a couple of good books which I am sure there is a free version somewhere - I will see if I can find it with a linky

I actually try to make it a game on how I can make things cheaper but still filling and not too unhealthy, sad but works for me. Good Luck, changing your habits are hard but I would firstly suggest you make sure no one is hungry and you are having decent meals - a few frozen pizzas now and again aren't bad for you if you are pushed for time .... Meals can be frozen too for the can't be bothered days.

Busybee

tinktinktinkerbell

adelight wrote: »

The only cheap fresh veg/fruit at Iceland is potatoes btw, the rest are far more expensive than other supermarkets and markets.

but the frozen veg is cheaper than elsewhere

Doom_and_Gloom

tinktinktinkerbell wrote: »

but the frozen veg is cheaper than elsewhere

Not always - it depends what you buy.
Iceland mixed peppers £1 for 750g
Mr S mixed peppers £1.5 for 2X750g (75p/ 750g)

Iceland peas £1 for 1kg
Mr S £1.70 for 1.81kg (works out as 94p/kg)

Iceland mixed veg £1 for 1kg
Mr S 65p for 1kg

Also the range at Iceland is very limited.

tinktinktinkerbell

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

Not always - it depends what you buy.
Iceland mixed peppers £1 for 750g
Mr S mixed peppers £1.5 for 2X750g (75p/ 750g)
Iceland peas £1 for 1kg
Mr S £1.70 for 1.81kg (works out as 94p/kg)
Iceland mixed veg £1 for 1kg
Mr S 65p for 1kg

Also the range at Iceland is very limited.

mr s?

its good for the basics (broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts carrots etc)

Doom_and_Gloom

tinktinktinkerbell wrote: »

mr s?

its good for the basics (broccoli, cauliflower, sprouts carrots etc)

Mr S is Sainsburys.

I could do the same with Mr A (ASDA)

Iceland peas £1 for 1kg
Mr A 85p for 907g (94p/kg)

Iceland mixed veg £1 for 1kg
Mr A 59p for 907g (65p/kg)

Mr A broccoli works out at 95p/kg
Mr A cauliflower works out at 99p/kg
Mr A baby carrots are also £1/kg however you are better off getting fresh basic carrots from a supermarket and cutting them youself and then freezing them.

bullet_2

One thing that I do sometimes is to make a vegetable soup and have that as a starter. This takes the edge off the hunger and means the main meal can then be less. I tend to use soup mix, vegetables and if I'm organised then stock from chicken bones and if not then whatever stockcube flavour I feel like. The soup mix has to be soaked overnight (and you only need about three or four tablespoons). You can add herbs or curry powder or paprika to add some additional flavouring as well.

I also sometimes make Yorkshire puddings to add to the meal. These can be made by putting half a pint of milk into a jug or bowl, adding four heaped tablespoons of milk, two beaten eggs and a pinch of salt (though the salt is optional and I leave it out myself). Mix all together and then put it all in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Now, technically you are supposed to then put the mixture into a pan of oil so hot that it's smoking, but this has always scared the hell out of me so I've never bothered and putting it straight into a cold dish and then into the oven works fine as well.

It is also very quick and easy to make shortcrust pastry, which is then the base for many pies. You need some flour (plain is best but really almost any sort will do) and then you have the choice of butter, baking margarine, oil or suet, or a combination. Basically some sort of fat. The butter or margarine will give you the richest taste, the oil or suet is the most economical. You get a thinner pastry with the suet one, but of course you can also add suet to another fat to give a more soft pastry. Rub the flour and fat between your fingers if using butter/marge to make bread crumbs. With the oil or suet you can just stir together. Add enough water to form a dough, it should be quite sticky but not soaking and you can add more flour or water until the consistency is right. Best to add a splash of water at a time, rather than pouring a load in. Put in the fridge for half an hour and then dust a surface with flour and roll out.

You can do a variation of this with pizza bases. Get bread flour or plain flour. Get some dried yeast (if Allisons it's with the baking stuff and comes in small yellow tubs and is the most economical. Place a teaspoon of the yeast with a teaspoon of sugar in 150 ml of warm water and leave for about 15 minutes. In the meantime get 20 heaped tablespoons of the flour, a large heaped tablespoon of butter and rub butter into the flour. Add a pinch of salt, then the yeast mixture once it has frothed. Get the dough then knead for ten minutes, place into bowl, cover and put somewhere warm to rise. Once risen, you then have enough dough for two or three large pizza bases, so divide up and roll out. After that if eating immediately, spread with tomato paste, some dried herbs, some grated cheese and whatever savoury topping you want. The one I did today had Asda Smartprice frozen veg (cooked) and some tuna.

You can bulk up mince with a handful of oats and some chopped onion.

When using a whole chicken, buy a large one, cook it, then divide up as follows:

1: Half to three quarters of the breast meat with vegetables, potatoes and Yorkshire pudding.

2: The remaining breast meat in a pie with mushrooms and gravy.

3: The meat from the legs and wings into a bolognaise.

4: Now pick the remaining meat off the carcass and put into a curry or risotto.

5: Now boil the bones and use the resultant stock to make soup or a base for risotto.

If you bulk up with vegetables, rice, pasta, etc, you don't need a great deal of meat.


If using sausages, cut them up and put them into a casserole with mixed beans, potatoes, tomatoes or anything else you want, or add them to a bolognaise or curry, rather than having whole sausages.

tinktinktinkerbell

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

Mr S is Sainsburys.

I could do the same with Mr A (ASDA)

Iceland peas £1 for 1kg
Mr A 85p for 907g (94p/kg)

Iceland mixed veg £1 for 1kg
Mr A 59p for 907g (65p/kg)

Mr A broccoli works out at 95p/kg
Mr A cauliflower works out at 99p/kg
Mr A baby carrots are also £1/kg however you are better off getting fresh basic carrots from a supermarket and cutting them youself and then freezing them.

the broccoli and asda is £1.30 per kg (well it was when i just looked on the site)

Doom_and_Gloom

tinktinktinkerbell wrote: »

the broccoli and asda is £1.30 per kg (well it was when i just looked on the site)

It's called buying smart price/basic/value. Mr A smart price broccoli is 86p for 907g.
Most of what we buy is the cheapest - although my partner would never buy the cheap barn eggs.
Try the downshift challenge TTTB. You will see that Iceland really isn't as cheap as you think.