meal plans for large families

bagpuss38

hi all

I wonder if someone could point me in the direction of a thread with meal plan perhaps aimed at larger families.

There is me, dh and 2 teenagers and 2 little 'uns.

Need some inspiration for cheap food in large quantities:D

We have gone down the whole bolognaise, shepards pie route and need different food

Many thanks in advance

Linda32

Well, I've been thinking about this all afternoon, and all I've come up with is, whatever you fancy, but more of it

Have you considered Pasta type meals, these can be jazzed up and are cheap and very filling.

heavenleigh

Put them up for adoption.....seriously considering this with my 4 and the oh!
On a more serious note i do have some tips, but i'm shattered and will be back in the morning xxxx

bagpuss38

Thanks linda, we do eat a lot of pasta it must be said lol.

Oh heavenleigh you did make me laugh.
Trust me I have thought about it many times!
That's cool, I know the feeling

trish123

Hey Bagpuss im the same 2 big ones and 2 wee ones ive started doing my weekly menus in which everyone in the family choose a dinner and we stick to it. We go from chicken tika homemade to sauge pot and beans

trish123

We have decided that whatever they decide on a thurs we stick to it we usually have a chicken meal a few pastas sausage and a few fish its been great going back to this

[Deleted User]

My DD has four growing boys between 8-16 and they all eat for England at times .She bulks out their food with veg as much as she can even sunday dinner, she will make a plate of sausage rolls to go with the meat,potato,carrots,and green veg with a yorkshire pud as well and it seems to fill'em up quite a bit.None of her boys have an once of fat on them and are very active in sport so they burn it off.
her menu roughly goes like this
Sunday roast
Monday sheps pie
Tues bangers and mash
Wednesday mid week roast chicken
Thursday left over chicken either in a pie or curried
Friday HM pizza with salad and chips
Saturday,usually a stew of some sort with lots of root veg,or a lasagne

She manages to feed 6 of them plus me on Sundays for around £120.00 per week.They all have packed lunches but a proper sit down meal in the evening Her and her OH both work full time so I help out by doing the prep for the meal for the evening when I go around there at lunchtime to let out her two dogs for a run.She is an amazingly well organised lady who worked her socks of to keep the family fed and watered as best she can.

mum26

We have six children between the ages of almost 17 and almost 8 (the almosts are very important don't you know ), the eldest is vegetarian and the next one is highly active doing 5 hours a week football training, plus training and a match at the weekend plus PE etc and she eats as if she is hollow.

We tend to do the already suggested meals such as a big batch of pasta sauce which can then be used for spag bol, lasagne, pasta bake. I also make up big batches of chilli to have with rice or jacket potatoes.

We have toad in the hole as a cheaper alternative to a roast fairly often.

I find things like dumplings (I use atora light as it is veggie, worked really well in roly poly the other day too), stodgy home made puddings etc really help at this time of year to fill the children up. They all walk or bike to school and back every day so work up an appetite so I have a snack ready when they get in to keep them going, scones or crackers something like that.

Shopping in Aldi really helps stretch the pennies but I can still get free range eggs and chicken etc there.

B&M Bargains or Home Bargains are always worth a look for things like granola bars, I have seven lunchboxes to pack every day and find some different bits in there such as Quaker morning bars for 20p each which are like a very stodgy flapjack and the sporty one loves them before training!

Porridge for breakfast or a daytime snack at the weekend.

It's fruit that kills me budget wise in the quantities we need.

pigpen

toad in the hole?
Lasagne?
gammon with pasta or salad?
carbonara?
Meatballs and pasta?
Corned beef hash?
Mash with sausages or HM burgers (or just nice ones)?

Mine love jacket potatoes and we do a jug of beans, a dish of tuna and one of cheese and they help themselves.. simple pleasures!

.. and that is a small family!!! .. We have OH (who is hollow!!) and me (that eats next to nothing), 3 bin-like teens, 3 binlike girl (almost 8, almost 10 and almost 12 ) and 2 hollow toddlers (1 and 2) ... quite often I end up with my oldest 2 and DS1's 3 y/o too..

bagpuss38

Thanks for all the responses, all duly noted:T

Wow pigpen that is a big family, i bow to your majesty:D

i find we really tend to get fed up with mince based dishes, as they are so cheap i tend to rely on that rather that chicken fillets or other cuts of meat.

Last night was a jacket spuds night and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

pinkypig

Can't really think of any meals that haven't been mentioned other than casserole padded out with loads of veg or pulses and pies which we usually make with left overs - cheese and onion made with left over mash is a favorite. We also sometimes have HM soup and HM bread as a starter or a proper pudding like jam sponge, fruit crumble or pie and custard to make meals go further and to fill up our DS (he really has got the hollow legs!). Failing that he fills up on cereal.

Good luck with your lovely brood

PP x