I keep trying but....

beedeedee

I like your thinking fothers365 - I too am one for having veg at breakfastime - lovely with gravy ....Mmm

fothers365

beedeedee wrote: »

I like your thinking fothers365 - I too am one for having veg at breakfastime - lovely with gravy ....Mmm

I have chilli flakes with everything- can't beat some spicy scrambled eggs. I think I may have Mexican in me somewhere hidden amongst the Scottish;)

WantToBeSE

If you are eating a lot of veg, make sure it's in season, as that will make it cheaper.
Also consider frozen and/or tinned veg (and fruit).
Do you buy cheese, as pointed out my another person it's expensive. What about alcohol?

What brands do you buy? As mentioned by 'fothers365', value porridge oats are yummy, and just as good as other brands, but are dirt cheap. Maybe mix some peanut butter (62p for a pot-tesco value) with the porridge and you have a nutritious breakfast.

Can you give us examples of lunches/dinners that you regularly have on your menu, and we could suggest things to change/swap to reduce the overall cost per meal?

elantan

Thanks everyone just woke up ... Will get right on it ... I think Fothers you have probably hit the nail on the head as we are low carb we don't have things like porridge, we have things like omelette, scrambled egg etc for breakfast which costs more ( especially when I have three eggs at a time )

Yes we do eat cheese but not very often, maybe 3 times a week, we will buy two bags of grated mozzarella for £3 and that will last is the week ... Or a block of cheddar which lasts just over a week

tattycath

Hi Hun, didn't want to read and run.
I have to confess that I'm not entirely sure how much we spend a month.
However, when I'm cooking with minced beef I throw a handful off porridge oats (cheap) to make it stretch further and also bulk out with onions and mushrooms.
I buy most of my chicken from butchers-meat deal-and I have been known to buy in bulk from Sunday markets when we go.
I also buy cheap yellow stickered meat when I see it-I got 4 large trays of mince the other week at £1 each-they went straight in the freezer and were fine.
Pls can you give examples of what meals you have?

Honey_Bear

The Grocery Challenge thread is the perfect tool if you want to cut down on your monthly spend - that's what it's for. There are bound to be other people who are in the same position as you, if you ask for their advice. In addition, you might find the first post helpful, which is the accumulated wisdom of various users over the years.

-taff

I see you mentioned buying rocket...I'd suggest growing your own, it's tough as old boots, you won't be able ot stop it growing, and it'll grow in any old window box if you haven't got a garden.

elantan

hi all,

here is a sample menu of what we will eat on any given day

breakfast :

Mr el ... two sausages, bacon and fried egg ... or he will have 3 weetabix if he is in a hurry

me : 3 eggs , 1 onion, 1 garlic clove, handfull of mushrooms, handful of spinach, drop of milk... in an omlette or very occasionally porridge ... in the porridge i will have flax seeds, fibre, sun flower seeds ... no milk

lunch

mr el : salad comprising of rocket, spinach, carrot, onion, tomatoes (1) balsalmic glaze, chicken tikka

me : salad comprising of rocket, spinach, celery, onion, tomatoes ( 4 approx) avacado, olives, quinoa

dinner : chicken breast split in half with cheese, wrapped in bacon, carrots, sweet potatoes, brocolli,

snacks : nuts a mixture of almonds,brazils,cashews,

thats roughly a days worth of food

elantan

tattycath wrote: »

Hi Hun, didn't want to read and run.
I have to confess that I'm not entirely sure how much we spend a month.
However, when I'm cooking with minced beef I throw a handful off porridge oats (cheap) to make it stretch further and also bulk out with onions and mushrooms.
I buy most of my chicken from butchers-meat deal-and I have been known to buy in bulk from Sunday markets when we go.
I also buy cheap yellow stickered meat when I see it-I got 4 large trays of mince the other week at £1 each-they went straight in the freezer and were fine.
Pls can you give examples of what meals you have?

i look for these stickered deals tatty, but we only seem to be getting 20p or so off of the full price, nothing ever good ... it's weird as when i read what people are paying i think why cant i find those deals but when i speak to others that live near me they have the same problem as myself, nothing decent

Honey_Bear wrote: »

The Grocery Challenge thread is the perfect tool if you want to cut down on your monthly spend - that's what it's for. There are bound to be other people who are in the same position as you, if you ask for their advice. In addition, you might find the first post helpful, which is the accumulated wisdom of various users over the years.

i've tried the grocery challenge before both quietly and as part of the online group, it didnt seem to help me at all ... we still spent the same as we still ate the same

-taff wrote: »

I see you mentioned buying rocket...I'd suggest growing your own, it's tough as old boots, you won't be able ot stop it growing, and it'll grow in any old window box if you haven't got a garden.

ohhh if only that were true for us, i have tried to grow rocket and usually i am quite successful, however this year goodness knows whats happened to my garden and polytunnel but nothing is growing, i have even contacted a friend that is in the know about it so that i can try and sort out the problems, i think i need to have a year of green manure or something as my garden is dead this year ... i even have very few weeds which is weird

fothers365

I probably eat fairly similar to you when I am being good so I will be interested to see how you get one.

Last summer (when I wasn't keeping the purse strings so tight) I spent a small fortune on cold meat etc for lunches along with cottage cheese and salad stuff. It was Lidl but it still adds up.