Food budget reducing tips

Emmala

Definately meal plan and go to the shop with the plan and your list, that way you don't forget what you have planned and buy extras. Also, try to shop once a week - as I have kids at school who take sandwiches, I go on the weekend, but before my eldest started school I used to go first thing Monday morning as the shelves are always really well stocked up after the weekend.

Also, when I was toilet training my youngest, attempt one failed and I started using the Tesco value nappies.....they were brilliant!!!!! Dead cheap, and while they are a bit basic looking compared to the branded ones, they never leaked - same with the Sains basics. Also, I know people who swear by Lidl's own nappies.

Try looking at the website of the baby milk you use - we used Hipp Organic with all three of mine (oh how I love this forum.....I can say I bottle fed my babies without starting an all out war, unlike on certain parenting sites!!! :rotfl:though I mix fed them all, so I have a foot in each camp, breast and bottle) anyway.....it was cheaper to buy a box of four (I think it was 4, might have been 6) direct from the website than to buy them from the supermarkets (though just after I had DD our local Sains reduced the follow on milk from £6 something to 59p a box!!!!! Needless to say I bought the entire stock!!!!!)

Keep looking on here, there are so many good ideas, and everyone is so friendly.....no question is ever laughed at and everyday there is something that makes you think, I can do that!!!!

Good luck!! xx

alamaya

Hi all
wow thanks for all the replies. I will look through properly now . Just wanted to let you know im here and not ignoring u but my baby is being a madam today and not letting me on here lol

quintwins

the problem with baby jars is if you feed them solely on these it's hard to get them onto proper foods, for my twins i used to do about 10 jars a week then the rest of the time they had what we had or leftovers, for my youngest he only ever had 2 jars on his whole life but i found it easier with only one, i would say the sickness was due to lumps or consistancy and keep trying, i used to buy reduced veg like carrots/parsnips, sweet poatoe, cauliflower and cook them and puree them up and i used to feed him for a week on about £1, our cheapest week was 30p (not including breakfasts) i also breastfeed him but when i bottle feed the twins around now i started introducing more water to get them to eat more so hopefully your formula bill will go down soon

things like sheperds pie and stew are cheap and filling, we eat alot of bread as we all have toast or sandwichs in the mornings, porridge is cheap and value cereals are fine and are value spreads and jams, baking your own bread can save money but for somethings we prefer shop bought, i do make my own tho as we have flour and yeast here i might aswell, but only about 2 loves a week

we bake our own buns, so cheap if your using value eggs,flour and marge

it's worth investing in a slow cooker if you think you'll use it i love mine

freeze all your lefovers for another day

pad meals out with cheap puddings-like buns or cake, or value rice pudding/custard and fruit

bulk dinners out with frozen veg, value is cheap and perfect for adding to mince and casaroles (the only fresh veg i buy is onions and carrots everything else is frozen)

shop around for fruit- for me tesco is cheapest for bananas and grapes, the farm shop is cheapest for apples, i keep a tin of value pineapple as a back up

maybe not much use now but value nappies are fine (sainburys include these in there 1/3 off so only £1 for 20 usually £1.50, tescos are slightly dearer) but only start at size 4 so maybe no good to you yet, i use them on my soon who gets awful exzema, when i put him in huggies his bits went mental and he need a fungal cream and antobiotics to clear it up but has never had an issue with value nappies, value wipes are also ok (sainburys include these in the 1/3 off and the 1/2 price so i buy these cheaply aswell) but abit dry, if you want branded nappies or wipes keep and eye on amazon

i buy value cleaning stuff or off amazon when on offer, i buy toilet roll from lidl at 10 rolls for £1.49, i don't use fabric softener but to make up for this i use laundry liquid which i buy from makro when on bogof i buy 4 bottles to last tile the next time it's on bogof so a years supply costs me £20

fairy_bubbles

we feed our 8 month old twins a mix of hm and bought food.its taken a while to get in the habit of making our own but we try to have one jar meal a day and one hm. for a dessert, apples and pears is good-is exactly what it says on the tin. chop apples and pears into small chunks,bung in a pan, add a little water, cook til soft. mash. et voila! tastes really nice,pears give sweetness without adding sugar. also mixes well with yoghurt or cereal.
have you spoken to the doctor over reflux?one of my daughters has it and she is on gaviscon infant with her milk.as for amount of milk,we've been trying to work out the right amount for the girls. we kept having loads left in the bottle at the end of the feed, and as they are doing really well with weaning and eat lots of yoghurts and from frais,we've been slowly adjusting the amounts so they can take what they need but without wasting loads.its saved us a tub a month.
As~a are really good for nappies and wipes. you get 112 size 3 nappies for £10-the cheapest ive found and they work!wipes are £4.50 for box of 6 x 80

hollieinbloom

best thing to do it just buy in bulk when on offer. EG- nappies are in tesco for 2 boxes for £20. they are usually £13 a box each!. or even better, downgrade like i did and go onto the shops own brand. We use Tesco Nappies at £6.50 a pack!

try going to the fruit and veg market at the end of the day (ask around if people know what time they pack up) as they need to sell stock so they arent taking stuff home, so they will usually give bags of the stuff away for around 50p! I got a carrier bag on bananas for £1! there was 24 of them! we are sick of Bananas now...

Grow your own veggies! i grow carrots and spring onions. (the easiest things to do it the world!) i didnt dig out my garden, i just got some large pots, soil and seeds and let them do their own thing! i now have a freezer full of veggies as my OH's grandad owns an allotment and gives us free veggies too!.

ive notice alot of people saying to meal plan, and it is definitely the best thing to do. we have nights dedicated to different food groups and we stick to it every week so our shopping is basically the same these days!

monday: meat, potatoes veg
tuesday: pasta meal
wednesday: casserole/stew dinner
thursday: meat (or pie) mash and beans
friday: something and chips
saturday: soup and fresh bread
sunday: Pasta meal

You could try all sorts of things really! i see alot of people batch bake where they will make dinners and freeze them!
i have done this a few times with meat i have picked up in the reduced sections in the evenings. I'm a vegetarian and my OH and daughter aren't so i do have to make 2 different meals every day! except on pasta nights!. Pasta is the cheapest meal i would say for a family and fills you up a treat! won't help with the losing weight thing!

........................
but its not always about eating fruit and veggies!
In the paper a few weeks back now, it said "dentists are saying 5 a day is bad for your teeth" so don't trust anything you hear at all!. I would say portion sides could be reduced and just make sure you eat a really good breakfast to kick start your metabolism. Just excercising more taking your daughter out in the buggy for fresh air for 30mins each day will help! and you'll hopefully get her off to sleep too! the reason so many people put weight on is because fattier food is 1/3 of the price of healthy! to make a nice healthy dinner for example grilled chicken breast with veggies. 4 types of veggies at £1 a bag, chicken £4 for 3 chicken breasts- £8 (obviously with left overs) but for a quick dinner like chicken nuggets and chips, iceland do a bag of chips for £1 and chicken for £1. so £2 and leftovers!!

I'm rambling on now so i'm going to be quiet so you don't have to sit here reading for 30minutes!