Cost per week of HM packed lunches

Fruball

I am in deep water this month financially

I desperately need to cut ALL my outgoings and as I spend £25 each per week for my two children for school dinners, I wondered what the price comparison would be if I made HM packed lunches.

I can cook/bake etc so hm cakes/biscuits/flapjacks etc is easily do-able.

They do like to take crisps but that wouldn't be every day.

I wouldn't be making my own bread as they hate hm bread, and unless it's same-day fresh, I don't like it either

I have Mr T, Mr S, Ald! all nearby.

Also, any reassurance that things will be ok will be gratefully received as it's really getting me down

Many thanks

mrsd

I cant tell you exact costings but things I do for 2 hungry teens certainly doesnt add up to £25 per week. I always make sure they have fruit and buy whats on offer, they like clementines etc and these are 2 bags for £2 in supermarkets so can have a couple each. Carrot, cucumber sticks and cherry tomatoes are not too dear and doing yourself is much cheaper than the ready prepared. I also try to avoid sandwiches every day and make things like extra pasta, pizza, wraps, quiche when we have them for dinner and they have the next day with HM cake or cookies and a refillable bottle of water, they dont get a long lunch break so dont want too much, and will make themselves some noodles/cheese on toast or the like when they get in. Ald! do some good priced chocolate bar type biscuits and cereal bars and their individual cartons of juice are very good value. They even do their own brand mini cheddars which my fussy DS will eat all as a treat. I also make cheese straws and sausage rolls to put in lunch boxes.

Hope these ideas help, and keep up the good work, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

hilstep2000

When mine were at school and college they always had a packed lunch. I usede to vary it with pitta pockets, and tortilla wraps, or pasta salads or noodles too. HM cake too. rock cakes were a fav with my son and his mates! Pizza or quiche if there weas any left over. Winter they took a food flask with HM soup in it. (leek & potato is my sons' favourite) Usually some fruit a chocolate biscuit and maybe crisps. They always ate it, and it didn't cost that much. I also made ours the night before ( I always took one to work too) and put them in the fridge. They were fine.

[Deleted User]

Would they enjoy some carrot, cucumber and pepper sticks with some hummus in a jar to dip into? also cooked chicken drumsticks are always attractive. Hard boiled eggs and baby tomatoes are easy to eat and most kids like seedless grapes if they are already off the stalk. Mine liked raisins and had a pash for marmite sandwiches. Most of these survive intact in a lunchbox. Hope that helps Cheers Lyn x.

McKneff

Home made mini cornish pasties, make a dozen or so on a weekend
Freeze them for the week.

Get them to make some mini pitzas, again about a dozen and freeze them

Get them involved in what to make and of course making them.

oldtractor

eg sandwiches esp if the bread is home made are cheap. ditto HM flapjacks and cake. HM soup in a flask HM pasites are really cheap as they are mostly pastry or HM little apple pies.

lizzyb1812

Good for you for trying to cut your costs. Might be worth asking the school what can and can't be taken - some schools seem to have some funny ideas about what is OK.

You should be able to get a meal done for well under the £2-50 the school charges - if you can halve it in a (4 week) month that's £50 saved or about £400 a school year :T

Fruball

Thanks all

They will eat almost all of the suggestions above and love hummous and carrots etc.

I hadn't thought of giving them pizza to take in - brilliant

If I think about it, If I took £25 (half my usual dinner money spend) to Ald!, I could get a LOT of lunchbox goodies for that.

Thank you and keep the ideas coming

Fruball

Anybody able to give me a rough estimate on what their child's lunchbox costs them per week? x

ragz_2

Ok here goes...
Children X2 (age 4 and 5) - each week 5 sandwiches, 2 loaves of bread (69p Aldi) plus spread so say £2
Cheese or ham X 1 block and 1 pack £4? (Aldi cheap cheese for £2 and pack of ham £2?)
Fruit £2-3
Yogurt/fromage frais/choc mousse £1.50 max
Bottle water/squash (pennies)

That's the basic, then I may add Babybel/cheesestrings as a treat if on offer or homemade snack like flapjacks. They are only little and prefer to play in their lunchbreak rather than eat, so often the fruit comes home and they eat it when they get back. I send plastic spoons with the yogurts as I kept losing my teaspoons! I had given them cartons of fruit juice but they found it filled them up too much, they prefer a bottle of water.

My eldest loves taking pasta and pesto, that's cheap too.

That looks like I am getting two kids fed for lunches for a week for under a tenner. I could be more adventurous/generous, that's just the basics.
Once a week they have school dinner and I do rather begrudge handing the school £4! But it's swimming day and they need a hot meal as they have a sandwich for tea/dinner.

I won't dare cost up DH's, he insists on meat AND cheese on his two sandwiches, plus 2 bags of crisps and 2 biscuit bars and a yogurt!

meg72

:eek::eek::eek:

I had no idea that school dinners were so expensive, 5 pound a day? What do they get for that? No wonder families are struggling.