Feed a family of 4 on £100 for a month.

ALIBOBSY

chickywiggle wrote: »

thanks kahunababy I must get round to my meal planning now I have done a big shop (i know i work backwards).

Have to 2nd Farm Foods - have done 3/4 of my monthly shop in there for £47 this week (and we eat a lot of processed food - golden drummers, chicken steaks, fish fingers).

Just made myself homemade spag bol (for the 1st time EVER)..... a few strands of tesco value spaghetti (verrry cheap - but can't remember exactly as it was bought ages ago) and 400g of Morrisons value fresh mince which I believe was £2.99 or £3.99 for 800g .......... the mince is one of the best I've tasted. (also added a tin of tesco oxtail soup that i had in cupboard,some cherry tomatoes we grew in the garden and are overrun with (do they freeze?) and some tomato puree and dried herbs).

Toms don't freeze very well raw,but cooked into a sauce/soup/passata they freeze really well.

Made some of mine into a soup whilst I did tea so thats tommorrows lunch then.

To the OP it is tight but you just have to work with what you have already-most people have stuff sat in cupboards just waiting to be used up. Most have loads of tinned/frozen veg, flour sugar etc.

Meat tends to cost so stretch it out and either have smaller portions or even replace a few meal with veggies-cheese/eggs/pulses are good protein substitues.

We have bottom of the freezer/fridge teas where you use up those odd bits-stick some rice/pasta/or potato on the side and kids will eat all those odd bits of nuggets/fish fingers/left over chilli.

If I do a lasagne or cottage pie and there is a bit left say around 1 portion not enough for a full meal for all of us I freeze it. This can be a lunch for me at home or OH at work, or even the night when one of kids moans I don't want that for tea!. Or even if a teen gets the munchies.

I would second the call to check that you are getting any tax credits due plus any extras like the healthy start vouchers, free school lunches.

I use Aldi and my local farmshops,plus bits from morrisons I can't get elsewhere.I rarely if even enter Mr T anymore as I found I was spending far far too much.If you shop with kids Aldi is great as so little for them to ask for and you can whip around so quickly.
I find ours has markdowns on tues and fri. They all mark down much earlier than the big supermarkets very often giving you a couple of days, never mind the same day. A couple of weeks ago I got 4 FR chickens all on half price ie £2.50. I cut 3 of them into portions and froze ready to make meals later. One was cooked for a roast dinner then cooled and frozen in portions for further meals.

Just as a little aside we have been on a tight budget this month,and I have been making sure the kids and OH get most of the meat at tea and reduced my portions size.Been fine (guess my eyes are bigger than my belly lol) and have lost 6 pound so bargain :T.

quintwins

one more thing more common sense than anything, but be nice to the people who reduce stuff in supermarkets if you ae they apriciate it more, tonight i managed to talk the man into reducing me stuff i want rather than by being polite and asking, i got a punnet of mushrooms, stirfry,bean sprouts, 2 x 2 bags of brocolli and a bag of parsnips all for 10p each

louise3965

I'd buy a sack of spuds at £5-6 from the market. You never feel like you will go hungry if there's a sack in! and with a bottle of oil, they are so vesatile. jackets, chips, wedges, rositi, roasters, mash. A different tatty can make a can of beans feel like a meal. Good luck xxx

Aesop

Hi Phil

have skim read through the thread and can see as always people have been very helpful.

I would recommend the frugal recipe threads, buying fruit and veg from greengrocers, and when you get to know them, they tend to give you a little extra or drop the price on other things.

Same with butchers, make friends with your local butcher, he may let you have a chicken carcass for free, so you can make stock, chicken soup, etc.

buy the cheaper cuts of meat and slow cook them.

Buy onions and potatoes in large bags from ethnic shops if you have them, as they are cheaper. store in dark, dry places in hessian bags to keep them longer.

buy huge cheap bag of pasta from aldi/lidl/tesco/asda etc - lasts for ages.

Lexxi

Could you get a student cookbook from the library? I found it had some easy and cheap recipes in it. Like topping spaghetti with garlic and toasted bread crumbs, it's so cheap and feels more than a snack yet filling. Plus versatile.
Also aldi has some great british wine for 2.50, cos there will be moments when you need it! Its very nice, or if you manage under budget and feel flush the 3.69 wine is lovely

Phil3822

There are so many useful posts on here and we are so thankful. I am going to try the Farmfood suggestions and also some of the Tesco Value bits. Will be looking forward to using the slow cooker and will be after lots of advice sorrounding this as I dont even know how to make a tomato sauce for a bolognaise for example. Been working lots with overtime etc as well to get through this period so not looked through everything fully yet on the OS board.

Sunflower1227

Hi Phil, check out the discounts and vouchers thread. There are coupons on there that you can print out and save some money. HTHs

katelu

I hope you don't mind but I thought I'd have a go at this - having 2 children of a similar age really made this post hit home to me. I have planned a two week menu and tried to make sure the 5 a day are there. I also presume a packed lunch is needed for your 8 year old so lunches are packed lunchable. Yoghurts are just for the kids in this menu.

Monday
Breakfast - Wheat discs and milk
Lunch - Ham sandwiches, carrot sticks, yeo squeezy yoghurt (kids only) and an apple.
afternoon snack - 2 cookies and milk
Tea - Sausage casserole (sausages, sweetcorn, peas, brocolli, beans) (1/2 goes on the freezer) and mash

Tuesday
Breakfast - Porridge and Jam
Lunch - Cream cheese and tomato sandwiches, yeo yoghurt, banana
afternoon snack - toast and milk
Tea - Shepherds pie (mince, peas, carrots) (1/2 goes in the freezer) and brocolli

Wednesday
Breakfast - Wheat discs and milk
Lunch - Ham pasta salad (Pasta, cream cheese, Ham, tomato), Cheese chunks, carrot sticks, cookie
afternoon snack - banana dipped in chocolate
tea - Veg + cheese omlette,home made oven chips and beans

Thursday
Breakfast - Porridge + Jam
Lunch - see Monday
afternoon snack - cookies and milk
Tea - Beef + bean crumble (mince, beans, gratted carrots and gravy topped with oats, cheese and flour mix) and brocolli

Friday
Breakfast - Wheat discs and milk
Lunch - see tue
Afternoon snack - toast and milk
Tea - Bacon and pea pasta in cream cheese style sauce

Saturday
Breakfast - Porridge and banana
Lunch - Eggs on toast, apple
Afternoon snack - tinned fruit salad and yoghurts
Tea - Veg curry and rice

Sunday
Breakfast - Wheat discs
Lunch - Cheese on toast, jelly
Afternoon snack - apple slices in chocolate.
Tea - Roast Pork, roast potatoes and veg

Monday
Breakfast - Porridge and Jam
Lunch - Cream cheese and tomato sandwiches, yeo yoghurt, banana
Afternoon tea - toast and milk
Tea - Pork and apple casserole and mash.

Tuesday
Breakfast - Toast and jam
Lunch - mini "pizzas" on rolls (ham, tomatoes and melted cheese), yeo yoghurt, carrot sticks and apple.
Afternoon snack - cookie and milk
Tea - Cauliflower and brocolli and pasta in cheese sauce and bread

Wednesday
Breakfast - Porridge and Jam
Lunch - Cream cheese and tomato sandwiches, yeo yoghurt, banana
Afternoon snack - toast and milk
Tea - corned beef hash and beans

Thursday
Breakfast - Wheat discs and milk
Lunch - Ham sandwiches, yeo yoghurt, apple, carrot sticks
Afternoon snack - toast and milk
Tea - Sausage stew from the freezer and jacket potato.

Friday
Breakfast - Porridge and Jam
Lunch - Cream cheese and tomato sandwiches, yeo yoghurt, banana
Afternoon snack - toast and milk
Tea - Shepherds pie from the freezer and veg.

Saturday
Breakfast - toast and jam
Lunch - Cheese on toast
Afternoon snack - Jelly
Tea - Sausage, mash and beans

Sunday
Breakfast - Porridge
Lunch - Roast Chicken
Afternoon snack - jam sandwich
Tea - scrambled egg and toast


Shopping at asda you would need ...

2 x pk wheat discs £2
2 x 6lt milk £3.48
2 x wafer thin ham £2
2 x sliced loaf £1.20
Pk of freezer rolls (24) £1.87
Carrots 0.76
Yeo squeezy yogurts x3 £3.00
2x asda sm price choc chip cookies 0.64
Frozen sm price sausages £1
frozen sweetcorn 0.94
frozen peas 0.85
frozen brocolli 0.86
frozen cauliflower 0.90
2 x potatoes 2.00
porridge 0.75
Jam 0.35
cream cheese 0.50
tomatoes 0.78
mince x 2 £5
cheese 1.34
milk choc 0.30
eggs (15) 2.00
beans x 4 1.27
bacon pieces 0.75
tinned fruit salad 0.57
rice 0.77
jelly 0.28
pork joint £4
gravy 0.20
marg £1
pasta 0.78
Cheese sauce 0.30
corned beef £2
roast chicken £4
3 x apples £3
3 x bananas £3
cordial £1.50


Its over slightly at £55.94 but I'd be happy serving this to my family (and do so fairly regularly!):D Hope it helps someone!

Phil3822

Bless you all, you have all been so helpful. With working all hours god sends this has saved me loads of time as we have been able to make a shopping list now. Also the meal plans have been so helpful.

Flibsey

baking your own bread is not cheaper if you factor in time, cooking power/fuel and any mistakes you make while learning.
Aldi's cheapish bread is really nice and 65p per loaf.