Meal Planned... From Scratch... But still £60?!?!

hereigoagain22

arbroath_lass wrote: »

You don't "need" baby wipes although I appreciate they are convenient. Could you use muslin cloths in the house and save the wipes for when you are out? Might bump up the washing costs though.

Value veg is fine although the bigger packs may bump up the price the first week. Veg like carrots, onions etc will keep longer than a week.

Would custard powder be cheaper than ready made? You could make it up using long life milk which is chepaer.

You're not far off your target - don't lose hope.

Baby wipes are my weakness. I usually go through 3 nice thick branded packs a week. I'm cutting down to 2 value packs. I don't have any muslin clothes as I never used them with DD and DS has adopted the 3 I bought as "sookie" cloths so not really suitable for bum wiping ;-)

I have managed to knock a fiver off so far using the changes already suggested so will now change the veg to value packs meaning that will drop next week's shopping price.

I guess custard powder would be much cheaper than ready made. I did buy value custard for this week and it's usually DDs favourite treat but she tasted it (I didn't tell her it was different) and refused more than one spoonful! Can I just make one serving at a time of custard powder or does it keep if made with longlife milk?

Milk is a weakness of mine too - I drink over a pint a day and with DD using it too we go through around 8-10 pints a week! I always buy Tescos own fresh milk as not keen on longlife milk but if I was using it for cooking I'd happily use longlife.

I'm gaining hope with the tips!!

VanyaHargreeves

Pasta is pasta! It's the same stuff, just different packaging

mummybearx

If you find the value tomatoes a bit bitter, add a sprinkling of sugar to counteract it

VanyaHargreeves

Instead of getting 2 Tesco finely chopped tomatoes for £1.38, you could get 4 Napolina chopped tomatoes for £2 as they're on offer at the moment.

arbroath_lass

I don't know about the custard, sorry. I have powdered in the cupboard as I only use it occasionally.

You could try some sugar over the value tomatoes to counteract the bitterness?

I'd say give cheaper stuff a try but don't force yourself if you really don't like it. You'll only get disheartened and give up. Do what you can then try cheaper stuff again in a few months. Don't change everything at once!

VanyaHargreeves

Also, with the kids - a lot of the time, it's less to do with the taste and more to do with the fact that they may know that it's less expensive. So try not telling them for a while and see if they notice the difference?

Poppy9

I never use stock cubes in my cooking. I keep veg stock and freeze in ice cube trays.

When I make a chilli or bol. sauce I make enough for 3 meals and freeze one portion and use the other 2 with different topping i.e. might do chilli with potatoes and cheese as a bake and another day with rice.

Medium cheddar is cheaper than mature usually and children often prefer milder taste.

The value mozzarella is great and add to a pizza base uses up left over sauces.

Agree sugar over tomatoes also you can buy frozen garlic cubes for less than £1 to keep in your freezer.

Get in the habit of freezing left overs, even if only small portions as they are ideal for the children.

esmy

As I can't sleep (and can't resist a challenge!) I've played around with your list a bit and got £6.37 off it. So..

Instant custard powder makes 3/4 pint 38
Chicken thigh fillets 500g 3.50
Tesco Rice cakes 69
Value Chocolate Spread (it's fine) 88
Value Orange Squash 42
Value stock cubes x2 20
Loose bananas x5 71
Value chopped tomatoes x2 (add a bit of sugar) 70

Some things (eg the frozen berries, lentils) are cheaper per kilo but in bigger quantities so would cost a bit more initially but would save for other meals.

I have a brand loyal OH so I have some sympathy with you, but I have got him eating Aldi's baked beans! Top tip is to not let him know what you're buying and NEVER take him food shopping with you. HTH

esmy

hereigoagain22 wrote: »

Does anyone have any cheaper snack ideas? I'll take the pom bear crisps off for DD as she has plenty of rice cakes, fruit etc. for snacking. I usually buy raisins and apricots etc. as well but they seem so expensive!

Little plastic pots are your friend, usually in the Pound shops. Buy a bag of raisins in the baking section, not the little snack boxes, and give her a little pot full. They keep along time so you won't need to worry about dates.

msb5262

hereigoagain22 wrote: »

The snacks are for a hollow 2 year old and OH who never stop eating!!...Does anyone have any cheaper snack ideas? I'll take the pom bear crisps off for DD as she has plenty of rice cakes, fruit etc. for snacking. I usually buy raisins and apricots etc. as well but they seem so expensive!

Toast or bread makes a pretty good snack, as do homemade biscuits, muffins, flapjacks or cake. If your DD likes dried fruit, you could make fruit cake; my recipe includes half white and half brown flour and is a fairly healthy choice. We also use old stale bread to make bread pudding...like a deliciously soggy fruit cake. The other obvious healthy snack is fruit, especially bananas - filling and good for you.
Crisps are not a good habit to start with a small child; if your daughter is keen on savoury things, how about carrot sticks or toast soldiers with hummus or cream cheese for dipping?
HTH
MsB
PS Well done on all the effort and thought you are putting into this - your family are really going to benefit :T