Fresh food is so much cheaper!

Bella79

Hello all,

Well after all the festivites ive cleared out all the cr*p and done a meal plan been to mr A, omg i forgot how much cheaper it is to eat fresh, got loads of fruit and veg bit meat came to £40 which for me for 3 of us for the week is good.

I dont understand when ppl say they cant afford to eat fresh food, surely homecooking, batch cooking etc with fresh ingredients is much cheaper than pre-packed processed?, i know when i put the odd couple of readymeals in and crisps, chocolate etc it costs so much more!

Does anyone else find this ?

lil_me

Sounds like you're doing well, if you'd like to share your meal plan and what you bought I'm sure many would appreciate it

Rummer

Bella79 wrote: »

Hello all,

Well after all the festivites ive cleared out all the cr*p and done a meal plan been to mr A, omg i forgot how much cheaper it is to eat fresh, got loads of fruit and veg bit meat came to £40 which for me for 3 of us for the week is good.

I dont understand when ppl say they cant afford to eat fresh food, surely homecooking, batch cooking etc with fresh ingredients is much cheaper than pre-packed processed?, i know when i put the odd couple of readymeals in and crisps, chocolate etc it costs so much more!

Does anyone else find this ?

Well said

Pee

I'd be interested in seeing the meal plan, too. I cook a lot from scratch and am not a fan of ready meals, but I find it hard to produce meals from fresh ingredients for the same price as the ready meals that are available. I don't mind as the cooking from scratch tastes better, but I don't see the cost benefit...

MoneyQueen

I agree, it's always the junk that costs more. Nice post. I am trying to use up all the food in my store cupboard so only buying fresh fold at the moment. My grocery bill is so lower at the moment

MQ

Bella79

Ok meal plan:

Sunday- rst pork vegies and mash
Monday - leftover pork with hm sweet n sour sauce, and stirfryed peppers,muchrooms
tue- Shep pi 1/2 pack mince veggies
Wed- other half of pack mince made into burgers wth hm wedges any left over peppers
Thur- Soup n pudding night all hm and hm bread buns
fri- mini cocktail sausages (from Xmas) made into toad in holes , veggies , mash
Sat- pasta, hm cheese sauce, chopped ham peas, sweetcorn, and salad

Pee

Sounds yummy, and great use of leftovers.

Big_Graeme

Bella79 wrote: »

Ok meal plan:

Sunday- rst pork vegies and mash
Monday - leftover pork with hm sweet n sour sauce, and stirfryed peppers,muchrooms
tue- Shep pi 1/2 pack mince veggies
Wed- other half of pack mince made into burgers wth hm wedges any left over peppers
Thur- Soup n pudding night all hm and hm bread buns
fri- mini cocktail sausages (from Xmas) made into toad in holes , veggies , mash
Sat- pasta, hm cheese sauce, chopped ham peas, sweetcorn, and salad

Ah seven dinners then, over £5.50 a meal, add in breakfasts and lunches like many do here and that £40 doesn't last too long.

JulieGeorgiana

Totally agree with you! I feed a family of 3 (and buy cat and rabbit food for 4 animals which uses about £5 a week) on £50 a week (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks) and it's just sooooo much cheaper! I have a lot of meals which cost less then 50p a head! And all full of the right amount of proteins and fats etc!

Add to that I have health conditions which dictates a Low GI/GL diet to control it (so I have to eat Rye Bread, Granary Bread, Wholewheat Pasta and Rice all of which cost a lot more) and we are still keeping our costs VERY low!

And if people think that eating on so little means we are not eating well... I am Dr monitored for my health conditions and the Dr says the food I eat is excellent and my bloodwork proves that I am eating very well!

It really is so much cheaper!

VfM4meplse

Big_Graeme wrote: »

Ah seven dinners then, over £5.50 a meal, add in breakfasts and lunches like many do here and that £40 doesn't last too long.

The meals don't sound over £5.50 ea - I guess it's the other fruit and veg and essentials that go into the trolley that makes the cost up.

I agree that fruit and veg is so much cheaper, but probably not from a big 4 supermarket, which tends to be under-ripe and tasteless. Lidl / Aldi / local fruit stall are much better bets.

Was watching Steve Miller's Fat Families at 4.30am and couldn't believe the family's way of eating - there was nothing green on the week's food table :eek:. Apart from the obvious health risks, I dread to think of the the cost of the takeaways - not MSE, esp with 4 children, mother on maternity leave and father made redundant. The whole lifestyle made no sense but to their credit they lost the weight fast.

VfM4meplse

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Add to that I have health conditions which dictates a Low GI/GL diet to control it (so I have to eat Rye Bread, Granary Bread, Wholewheat Pasta and Rice all of which cost a lot more) and we are still keeping our costs VERY low!

Try bulgar wheat, there's nothing like it for pushing your contentment button! Don't buy the small packs from the supermarket though, find a Mediterranean supermarket and buy a big bag, it will last for ages!