Wanting to lower our food spend, any tips? And toying with idea of a slow cooker.....

krlyr

My slowcooker was a freebie from Freecycle, about a mile down the road from work, so I agree with the suggestion to look out on there.
I imagine you could do plenty of stews, casseroles, etc. as well as bologneses and things - veggie minces (might taste better cooked for 8 hours?) or lentils etc.

ginger_tony

Have you a farmfoods near you, they do quorn in different varieties very cheap(cheaper than top supermarkets) and you can get loads of frozen veg. I also wait till im going to fill the freezer and use their money off vouchers (that are posted through the door) £2.50 off £25, £5 off £50 and £10 off £100. They also sell cheap milk bread its good value for money.

cheeswright

Oh I forgot to say
25kg bag of spuds for around £5 ( farmstore or greengrocers price) will last a large family at least a month
we find it a major saving
cuts shopping too as instead of the supermarket run and £20 quid gone
its jacket spuds and then jacket wedges the next day too....
at our poorest we have undertaken the 'potatoe challenge' more than once and had potatoes cooked a different way each day for weeks
( avoid the one we tried with blue food colouring though...its just not right)

BitterAndTwisted

Make the most of Aldi's Super Six veggies every week. Most can be kept for longer than you think if you've a cold, dark cupboard or pantry. I've got bargain swede (20 pence) sitting in mine and it's been there for a fortnight still in top condition.

Check out the cheap-family-recipes.org website for fantastic economical recipes. Visit the Approved Food website often for really cheap and good juice-cartons and those wholegrain biscuity things for packed lunches. Also really good at the moment for soup and broth mixes (2 kilos for 99 pence) from M0rris0ns and Sainsbugs. Plus some really nice Itallian ones at 1 kilo for 99 pence or a pound. I'm a non-meat-eating type and I buy cooking ingredients, not any of the processed food from there and it's truly bargainacious.

For meals I never buy those quorn pieces or imitation meats as I have chosen not to eat meat so don't really fancy stuff that's like it but not it, iyswim. I can make all sorts of decent food without those things quite easily. Discover the joys of cooking with lentils, beans and pulses. Spuds can be your friend, too..

Get acquainted with the times your supermarkets do the keen reductions on fresh foods and try to always shop at that time.

YORKSHIRELASS

Hi,

I am maybe not the best person to help because we dont eat veggie meals very often but have you ever tried mealplanning? I found it difficult to begin with but now its essential for me and I am sure it saves me money as I dont waste food.

The way I work it is that I plan each evening meal a fortnight in advance. I then make a list of the ingredients I need and do a big shop, only buying exactly what I need.

I never go to the supermarket in between my fortnightly shops, although I might go into local shops for bread, milk or fruit.

I have downgraded to value ranges for a lot of things, its trial and error to find out what you like but its worth a try.

As for the slow cooker, I have tried to make soup in it but it wasnt very successful and other than that have only made meat dishes. My sister is a vegetarian and she bought a slow cooker but didnt like the consistency of a lot of the dishes she tried. Maybe others will have a different opinion though.

It really is worth making an effort with your grocery bills though. I have reduced mine from £400 to £250-£300 a month for a family of four with older kids and none of us have noticed any difference.

Good luck with it.

kim107

cheeswright wrote: »

Oh I forgot to say
25kg bag of spuds for around £5 ( farmstore or greengrocers price) will last a large family at least a month
we find it a major saving
cuts shopping too as instead of the supermarket run and £20 quid gone
its jacket spuds and then jacket wedges the next day too....
at our poorest we have undertaken the 'potatoe challenge' more than once and had potatoes cooked a different way each day for weeks
( avoid the one we tried with blue food colouring though...its just not right)

Great tip about buying the spuds in bulk. My mum used to do this (and for sacks of carrots) but I'd forgotten. Of course I had to try googling the blue potato thing... Apparently dying your food blue can act as an appetite suppressant (I guess you experienced this ). Shame it is no use to us moneysavers

http://www.colormatters.com/color-and-the-body/color-and-appetite-matters

SmlSave

I like soup and very chunky veg stews done in the slow cooker, you cant leave it on all day though as the veg goes mushy. 3-5hrs is fine. Savoury steamed puddings are lovely like tomato and olive or the other day i layered aubergine, pepper, cheese with tomato sauce. I make the pastry with flour, oil and water and squish it into the bowl.

Hope u find this helpful

Rummer

We are a smaller family with 2 adults and 1 child ( + cats) and we spend approx £60 a week on our shopping and that covers breakfasts, dinners and lunches for a week. Our costs are kept low as we eat a mainly vegetarian diet and almost everything I buy is on offer or in season so lower in cost.

I find meal planning and shopping line saves us a fortune as we can see the bargains quickly and we are not tempted to buy things that we pass by. We rarely buy ready meals or premade veggie burgers etc and quorn products are rarely eaten as well.

Pasta, couscous, rissotto, baked potatoes, stews, stir-fries and many other things are eaten here weekly and our diet is varied and satisfying. In fact we would struggle to spend more than £80 a week even if we tried really hard :rotfl:

DundeeDoll

I'm with Kim107. Lentils and soaked dried beans beat all SM meat substitutes hands down and are way cheaper. (beans cook quicker if soaked, and remember to boil them for 10 minutes before simmering). You can freeze beans, so why not do a big batch and freeze portions?

rinabean

Meat substitutes are really, really expensive. Find the own-brand ones you like and stick to those. I only have them once or twice a week. The rest of the time is either homemade substitutes or meals that don't need them. I think you can get into a rut of fake meat based meals very easily.

I have a small slow cooker (someone was giving it away). I have never found a vegetarian slow cooker recipe that doesn't just look like mush (tasty mush, but still, I'm perfectly capable of cooking unidentifiable mushes without help...). I use it for soaking and cooking beans - frees up hob space, and the long low heat is good for even cooking if the beans aren't very fresh.

Try making your own meat loafs, they are cheap and you can use those for sandwiches. I'm guessing it's meat slices you're buying for the kids?

But mostly look into meals which are more naturally vegetarian. A lot of British and European food only has meat as an afterthought and it's easily left out, or replaced with a reduced amount of substitutes. Indian food is great if you don't know what to do with lentils and beans. SE Asian food often uses meat sparingly. Learning how to cook with tofu saves a lot of money, especially if you make it yourself

Oh, and cheese. Do you eat a lot of cheese? It's not cheap at all! Vegetarians can easily eat so much of it. Look for vegan recipes for cheese-free vegetarian ideas.