Grocery Crisis - Please help !!!

daysieblue

thriftlady wrote: »

Prepare to be inspired

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1648750#post1648750

Thanks for posting this link Thriftylady, and thanks to Black-Saturn for the original thread. I think I will be spending a lot of time referring to it!

just before the easter hols when you need extra money for treats for the kids not less money!

I know! This was the "discussion" we had last night. The good thing is that I have agreement from him now that he doesn't go near a shop for at least the next month, and there will be no supermarket snobbery when I bring home food in Asda carrier bags!

mummysdragon

Try shopping at Aldo, Nettos or Lidi, they are so much cheaper than Sainbury's.
Try batch cooking too, not only saves time but money as well. For eg
cook your mince....divide into 3 saucepans, add chopped onions and mushroom to them all.

Add tinned tomatoes, puree, and dried basil and garlic to one...spag bol

Add baked beans and cheap chilli mis to another...chilli

Add chopped carrots to the last one and some gravy......serve with mash

Your brasing steak could be done in your slow cooker and again divide into 3
make a
cottage pie with a difference with one,
add veg and make a stew with the other,
add a cheap curry mix to the last one and make a beefy curry.

The chicken, poach 2 chicken brests, allow to cool. chop up. mix jar cheap mayo 2 teasp of apricot jam and 4 teasp of curry paste, add chopped chicken, and serve with jacket pots..coronation chicken. That will serve 4 with only 2 chicken brests

poach 2 chicken brests until cooked, dice . Get 1 tin of campbels chicken soup and one tin of campbells mushroom soup, add 1/2 cup of milk and add to diced chicken. add salt pepper and garlic if you wish, serve with rice, for a chicken mushroom supreme. This will serve 4

This will leave 5 chicken brests, which would be nice to have as a sunday dinner meat...also allowing for an extra person.

Try this for lunches and can also be added to pasta for a meal, this amount will serve 8.

2 tins chopped tomatoes ..50p
1 jar passata ...59p from nettos
2 tbsp tomato puree ...29p nettos
bunch fresh basil....79p asda
3 cloves garlic
salt and black pepper
i onion...what about 20p
1 veg stock cube
250gr pot of low fat natural yog ...30p
This works out to £2.67 serves 8 and 33p a serving excluding salt pepper garlic and stock cube


chop onion, basil, peel garlic,
put EVERYTHING in pan and bring to boil, simmer for 25 mins. Put through a blender.....done!!!
If you want to make soup after you have blended add 1 carton 125grm of low fat natural yoghurt. The end result knocks spots of Heniz tomato soup!!! This can also be added to pasta to make a wicked tomato pasta.

Hope you manage to get this sorted.

shelovestobuystuff

thriftlady wrote: »

Prepare to be inspired

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1648750#post1648750

Excellent!!!Thanks for the link thriftlady and thanks black-saturn for the info.I have been trying to plan and rotate menus for a while now and the family are starting to get really fed up with the same old things so I am going to use your first shopping list for the groceries next week to give them a nice change.Really looking forward to trying out the dessert recipes as I am the subject of some ridicule in my family for my total lack of baking skills, but those recipes look so simple.THANK YOU!!!:T

jollymummy

Naughty hubby !!! Anyway some top tips on here so far. I've got a few we're on a tight budget, one wage and a baby. Years ago when we'd just bought our house I was made redundant arghhhh - and we managed to save heaps of money on groceries.
Make a menu for each week, and stick to it, I do this now and it's amazing how much less you buy and more importantly don't end up throwing away. Veggie mince form Holland & Barrett goes a long way and can be used for Spal Bol, Shepherds Pie (add some worcester sauce for flavour) and chillis. Don't buy alcohol. Use home brand or value stuff wherever you can. don't buy wet wipes from supermarkets, they are so expensive. I usually pay £1.09 from Tesco, but have just bought some BOGOF packs from Wilkinsons for 89p.
Like other posters have mentioned, eat more pulses, beans, pasta etc, we have pasta at least twice a week. I'm doing a cheap recipe tonight.
Pasta with chopped bacon and peas with cheese, sounds gross tastes lovely.
Good luck !!!

angelatgraceland

One thing that works for me is to have at least one "no spend" day each week. If you shop on a Fri for instance, you could ban spending on Sunday and Monday. It leaves much better chance of your budget lasting the week if t=you can stop your spending half-way through. Make sure that you dont have to pop out for milk or bread on these days as that spells trouble.

daysieblue

HI, thanks again for all your advice. SO far I have managed to spend just £1.19 on some suet to go with the beef stew in my slow cooker. Using stuff I already had I have a malt loaf in the oven now, and plans to make a banana loaf before the weekend is out. We have friends coming over for lunch today and are having jacket spuds with fillings from the larder and fridge.

I'm having a bit of trouble doing my menu planner for the coming week as we have taken the week off work to do some fun things with the kiddies. As we haven't actually planned all our activities yet, it's difficut to know what meals we're going to be home for. I've already said to DH that whatever happens, only the children will be eating out this week! I'll pack sandwiches etc for us, but I don't think the kids should miss out on their treat happy meals.

I'm going to pop to Asda tomorrow for my curry ingredients, and to top up on milk and fruit, so I don't see that I should spend anymore than £20, absolute tops! From that I will get tomorrow's dinner (with some of the chicken) and a batch of curry sauce for the freezer.

db xx

angelatgraceland

Menu plan but don't put days to the meals. Go through your cupboard and write down just 4 or 5 meals and do those during the week. My menuplan does not haves specific days-a bit like a restaurant menu. This is what the choice is-what would you like? I choose which one suits me for the day-chop and change-it takes time and planning and sometimes its difficult.

lynzpower

I agree with Ang, we too have a list but not sure which day, all depends on what we are doing that week ( working late etc)

I like to have a few things batched in the freezer just in case, so if you could do that its a good idea over the hols, as you can just take out a tupperware in the monring. eg, casserole, spag bol, enchilada filling, chunky soups. We have a lazy tea option in the freezer of oven chips and fish fingers if we get double desperate or v knackered!

JillD_2

Glad things are going well for you, and well done for jumping in at the deep end or should I say jumping into your store cupboard

Having said previously dont deviate from the list I must admit that ours is a "flexible" list and I do chop and change the days dinners.

What we do where kids eating out is concerned is, during the week we have picnics and we are a bit more lenient and have happy meals or whatever at the weekend. we have had some very chilly damp picnics!!! Or eaten them in the car. In fact quite often one of us fees the bits of bap or whatever to the kids on the move in the car - also has the benefit of being able to fit more into the day! Picnics are much healthier as well. And my kids are only 3 and 2 and a happy meal doesnt fill them up whereas a couple of small baps with a piece of fruit and/or yoghurt and/or crisps and/or choccy biccy seems to do the trick!

Jill

scubaleopard

I know this may sound drastic but just dont go shopping. We are all in such a habit of going into the big supermarket, getting a trolley and filling it up!!!!

Take an ingredient from your freezer or cupboard and come back on to this website put in a search and hundreds of recipes will come up. Honestly it works.

When you get used to this suddenly you realise you can just shop for the fresh things you need. Dont get a trolley, dont browse just go to the local shop, market Lidls etc for fresh fruit and verg.

The biggest problem is that when you really get the hang of this your freezer gets fuller not emptier because of all the goodies you make.

Always keep some powdered milk in the house make it up and add it to the milk as you are rumnnig low -- no-one will notice.

Always have tinned fruit in natural juice so that everyone stays healthy.

Have a yogurt maker on the go.

Make your own bread.

Grow lettuces and herbs in pots

All these thing stop you thinking you have to go to the supermarket.

My husband was really scep[tical about all this but is now so happy because the money we have saved has really given us loads of other treats we enjoy doing together.