Weekly Menu Plan?

weezypoos

Afternoon all!

Today I have bitten the bullet and faced my debts! Long over due but better late than never!

I live with my new huuby and our 5 year old daughter and need to head on down to the supermarket, spend as little as possible and feed us for as long as possible!

I was wondering if anyone could provide a cheap weekly meal plan for us? I am hopeless and planning meals and always spend far more than is needed.

Thank you so much in advance!

meanmarie

Welcome Weezypoos,

There is a thread on menus which is very helpful (can't do links) and before you go shopping do an inventory of what you have got in fridge, freezer and cupboards.

Good luck,

Marie

lynzpower

hi weezy

Your best bet is to see what youve got in, then plan for that.

Top tip 1- check out whats going off first. In my fridge theres a bit of cheese, some mushrooms on thier way out aNd a few eggs with only 2 days left on them. to me that screams mushroom omelette, so that will be planned into the meals for the next 2 days ( stick a potato in it make spanish omelette, perfect for a lunch for one person, as one poky omelette between 3 wont work!)

Ill have a dig about adn see what I can find in terms of previous discussions on the menu planners for you x

weezypoos

Thanks so much, I'll keep an eye out!:beer:

lynzpower

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=519687
this is our weekly menu plan thread, where we all list whats on the menus
which reminds me, I havent updated ours!

here is the complete menu planning collection, should keep you nice & busy, what there isnt in this little lot isnt worth knowing!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=346932

Other thing to say, I usually do a grid seven lines down, 4 colums accorss ( just on a bit of paper)

days down the left hand side - breakfast /lunch/ dinner across the top

then as you are turning out your cupbards you can fill in each box with what youve got in, so if you always have cerreal for breakfast, could you have toast for a couple of days to avoid buying another box till next week?

Just a few ideas to get going on it, its a really good way to save money and prevent waste, and also if you are a busy mum then it saves so much time staring and the cupbards :j

MrsTinks

Welcome to the gang weezypoos
Start with making a list fo everything you have in- bet you that with only a few additions of fresh veg and milk we can see you through the month if not longer using just what you already have
If you look about here you'll see that just because you're cutting back on spending you don't have to cut back on treats and good nourishing food

overlykeensaver

I like to take some time, a couple of days before my supermarket day (which is Friday) to have a look at what I have in the cupboards and freezer work out what I can make, then have a look at a couple of cookbooks for the other days.

We always try to have a new dish on a Saturday for instance, so it is fun to spend half an hour thinking of what to have - preferably mostly using things we already have in.

If you don't cook a lot, it may take some time to get your storecupboard set up - you know a few jars of spices, soy sauce etc but you could just buy one thing each week so it isn't too much of a shock to your weekly bill.

hope this helps!

MrsTinks

Oh and home made pies and oven bakes... Absolute life savers! Pies cna be used with any kind of left over meat near enough, oven bakes can be made with pasta or mash on top like a cottage pie, but put in whatever you have to hand. If that is carrots, cabbage, peas and some spuds then chuck it in and make mash with the spuds- maybe add some tinned ham to it too diced up and viola you have dinner! It's a great leftover user upper! And so is pie and quiche Make simple pastry with just butter, flour and a little cold water - tastes lovely! For sweet dishes use unsalted butter

weezypoos

Thanks so much guys, theres a wealth of information you've provided, I'm sifting through as much as I can!

We have worked out that we have £50 to do a shop for myself, hubby and 5 year old daughter as well as feed our dog and cat! Cleaning things are pretty much stocked up so I don't need anything like that. Are there any supermarkets that offer free delivery or will I be better doing the shop online but printing it out and sending the hubby to Asda?

MrsTinks

Well... you can usually find either a £5 off code for Tesco OR a 500/1000 clubcard points for £50 spend. Now remember that the £50 spend is BEFORE you deduct any multi buys and bogofs etc... So it's possible to get your shopping delivered for free (or less than £50 + 500/1000 points which then equates to £20/£40 in voucher deals)
Before you start shopping though - do a store cupboard challenge - post a list here of everything you have in and roughly how much - strike a line through as you use it and people will add meal suggestions you'd never have thought of!
Then you only need to top up a little like fresh milk and maybe veg

weezypoos

Thanks Tine, your a star! I'm at work at the minute so unable post a list of contents!

Can I ask where I can find the discount codes or extra clubcard points?