need help meal planning and shopping

jasperconran

hi all,

Not sure if posting in right place, hope I am!!!

I am struggling with my meal planning (always have:() and end up going to the flipping shops everyday:eek: whether its bread, milk, packed lunch stuff for DD, it goes on and on.

Anyway, just wondered if anyone had any ideas on how to shop cheaply but we can still eat well? there is only me, OH and DD. the main problem I have is that DD is still a fussy eater and shes now 15!:eek: and OH is allergic to cheese. The only seafood he will eat is prawns. I will eat anything!!!!

The pair of them are always moaning there is no food in the house, but I am fed up with going to the shops!!!!

money is tight, so can anyone help with meal plan ideas?? never been organised enough really:(

thanks

vanoonoo

perhaps if you can write up what you have eaten over the past week or so we can make some suggestions for the weeks ahead based on what we know will be acceptable

also write up things that are meals you can eat together as a family.

could you also give an idea of how much you currently spend on your meals each week and what you think you need to get down to.

do you like to cook from scratch? do you have things like a chest freezer, decent fridge, microwave, slocooker or just an oven larder fridge and hob (if that!)

any extra info you can give will help people make suggestions that will work for you.

as a start - I have a very fussy husband so I have compiled a list over the past seven years of things that he will defo eat no matter what (eg roast dinner, spag bol, lasagne, jacket potatoes, stew, pie, curry, sausages, pizza, mash, chips, roasties, yorkies, gravy, peas, carrots, lettuce, rice, chili, fajitas, potato waffles, bacon, eggs ) and things there is no point in trying (cherry tomatoes, cucumber, brocolli, cauliflower, carbonara, mac cheese, quiche, cold pasta or rice salad, no leftovers the next day in the same form) and I meal plan based on what i know he will eat and stock up when those igredients are on offer and then "shop" from my storecupboard and freezer each day/week. get your DD to suggest things that she will defo eat and plan around that, adjusting for what OH can eat eg spag bol but no cheese on top

good luck!

Boodle

Hi I would suggest looking over at the meal plans thread and also Cheap Family Recipes with a meal plan for £100 a month. No seafood in the recipes on the plans (omegas come from plant sources such as walnuts, pumpkin seeds and rapeseed oil) and no recipes based on cheese in planner 1, it is just used as a flavouring, so could be easily left out. In Planner 2 there is no cheese at all. There are plenty of snack options on the plans too.

I would probably also have a trawl through some of the cheapest meal threads on this forum, then draw up your weekly meals from that and cost it up on MySupermarket if you can.

sonastin

Have a look at the grocery challenge thread. The first couple of pages give suggestions on how to get control of your budget and a huge long list of recipe ideas which you can use to help with the meal planning. The rest of the thread is really supportive - I find that it acts like my conscience and keeps me on track, both with sticking to the meals that I've planned and with not shopping for other stuff just because it looks like a "bargain". But if you don't want to join the challenge proper (it can be tough keeping up with the thread) the first few pages are definitely a big help in getting control of the shopping.

maman

Agree with the list of meals. I have about a month's worth of mains that we both enjoy. You could involve your DH and DD in making this list but make it clear that they won't be having the most expensive meals all the time! I found that menu cards from pubs and cafes (available online) are useful for ideas as often they are trying to keep costs to a minimum (sausage and mash, liver and onions, pasta bakes, chilli, curry etc).

When DH and DD says there's nothing to eat, do they really mean no junk/snacks that they can just grab? If that's the case then you're going have to be strict and work on a 'when it's gone it's gone' basis. And also separate the packed lunch foods from home snacks. DH and DD will have to spend their own pocket money if they want any more. I never go shopping more than once a week unless it's for bargains I've seen advertised somewhere.

I think that while the downside is that DH and DD are fussy, the upside is that they are old enough to understand the situation. So, if you have a fixed budget for the week they need to see what can be bought for that and what can't. Share the problem!!

Good luck.