Is my food shopping too much?

Airthrey

MortgageMamma wrote: »

Hi there


Lunch boxes are just sandwiches (wafer thin meats, cheese, tuna), bag of crisps, still water (£1.79 for 12 from Aldi and I also drink these during the day as our tap water tastes metallic).

I'm lucky as I live in an area where the tap water tastes fine, but when we go away to places where it doesn't, I sometimes buy the big bottles of still water (17p?) and then decant it into the smaller 'lunch box size' bottles for taking out and about with us. Would the family notice if you reused the Aldi water bottles?

MallyGirl

MortgageMamma wrote: »

the dog has chicken wings, lambs liver, chicken liver, beef mince, turkey mince and sardines. Thinking about it she probably eats better than we do...

I raw feed my 2 dogs and it is worth the effort to shop around. I buy frozen green tripe and mince - sometimes it includes 10% bone and 10% offal - but also supplement with supermarket bargains. If there is a load of liver/kidney/heart or plain meat in the reduced section I buy all of it and freeze in portions. This week whole turkey legs were on special offer so the dogs had that for a couple of days. My dogs are 36kg each so there is a lot of food involved.
They get veg trimmings but it is not a huge part of their diet.

littlegreenparrot

I'm one of 5 and we would scoff everything very rapidly as children.

The most effective thing mum did was take 5 tubs and write our names on them. Then she counted out 7 packets of crisps and 7 wrapped chocolate biscuits into each. Then it was up to us what we did, if we'd scoffed it all by Tuesday, that was fine. But there would be no more crisps or chocolate until the following week.
There was always plenty stuff for sandwiches, salad, plain biscuits, fruit etc.

We had considered what was in the cupboard as just available, and while it was topped up it was. As soon as we had to take responsibility we started seeing it a bit differently.

I'd also get them involved in making something for the week, a batch of flapjack or muffins can be any flavour you like and don't take long.

MortgageMamma

Hi Thanks all


Regarding raw feeding the dog - yes she gets bit of veg and she does have a food free 12 hours twice a week, I currently feed her twice a day, I sometimes get hearts, reduced prices sprats and sardines/oily fish and she gets those too. I don't buy veg specifically for her I just share my food with her (after I've finished of course). There is a raw feeding specialist 8 miles from here but I don't have enough room in the freezer to buy £15 which is the minimum order, so I took to buying the dogs food from supermarkets which is a shame as she was loving the lung chunks, turkey necks and chicken feet.


The idea about each child having a box and when it runs out its gone is a brilliant one, I am going to try that in the coming week.


Tonight I invented "pizza omelettes" out of leftovers and they were loving it to be honest.


The idea of filling the bottles up would work with the older ones but not the youngest as she chews the cap but I could give that a try too, they probably wouldn't notice. I actually use the cheap 17p water for the dog but I'd never thought to split it.


I've done a list and I think I've got next weeks shopping down to £79 - its food shopping day tomorrow so fingers crossed I can do it, that's a whopping £50 off our normal shop and into my savings

milasavesmoney

Good for you >>making a list. Now your challenge is to stick to that list. No putting extras in the basket.

Meal planning is a great way to cut food costs. I am trying to cook out of my very overstocked pantry. Also when you are able to stock up on sale meats, that helps tremendously. I just found boneless skinless chicken thighs for 70% off normal price and got ten packs for my freezer. I use chicken a lot and these are sooo easy to cook with!

Some fabulous ideas on here. :T:T Really enjoying all the great info! I love learning from all the knowledge MSE people have to share.

One other thing to look at is what are you throwing away? That is actually where I started. I have made it my mission to quit throwing out wrinkly veggies and leftovers that have been in the fridge too long. I was embarrassed at how much I was wasting. . It has been amazing how much my food bill has come down from being hyper aware of what I have in my refrigerator/freezers and pantry and using it up. I have made stews/soups, omelettes, casseroles and reinvented uses for leftovers. Remember to cook extra and freeze. Very cost effective and fabulous when you have a time crunch. I am actively trying to cook from what I already have.

If you look at the July grocery challenge on OS, the beginning has a big list of recipes and links to other money saving recipe threads. It might give you ideas and help you learn how to cut down. I like to look through there when I have time, and even though a lot of the recipes are a bit out of my wheel well (I'm American) I am loving learning new recipes andd trying them on my husband.

As you incorporate something new into your money saving strategy, stay with it until it is comfortable and then add something else. That way it won't get overwhelming and help you continue instead of falling back into old ways.

You haven't mentioned take aways...or carry outs as we say in the States. I don't know if this has been a money drain for you, but I had let it become a big one for us. :eek: Meal planning and having prepared entrees frozen and ready to use has saved me a ton of money. :A

celtic_moon

Check out the 'Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2016' thread on here.

On the first page of this thread there is also a link to the original one started in 2015 with LOADS of recipe ideas etc.

I have cut our spend down to around £60 per month for 2 adults and 1 fussy cat. I will say that this is an average figure as we do a LOT of multi buys and stock piling - especially with yellow stickers!!!!!

It includes all cleaning materials and ALL meals - we work away a lot at weekends so take ALL our meals, snacks and drinks (hot & cold) with us.

Good luck!

jenando999

A good way to cut back is to reduce the meat content in meals (also good for the waistline). As someone else stated a small amount of meat in a curry or stir fry goes a long way when it's bulked out with tasty veg. Don't feel the need to be traditional and start using up what you have. One of my daughter's favourite meals came out of this exact situation. Mexican cottage pie which uses half the normal amount of mince, a tin of beans, peppers, onions, mushrooms and whatever else you have with a wee bit of spice. My daughter is now 22 and still regularly asks for this!

I also have fussy cats who will only eat one specific premium brand, I now use Zooplus.co.uk and buy in bulk. Over £29.00 it will be delivered FOC from Germany much cheaper than I can buy in the supermarkets.

Denando

One of the best ways I found to save is not to buy chicken portions, but to buy the whole bird. I watched a youtube video on how to portion it, and it only takes a couple of minutes, then I bag and freeze the excess. I got an extra large chicken for £5 last week - 1 breast (can I say that here?) alone did 3 portions.

se_ren

Biggest thing that helps me is meal planning. I also eat alot of veggie stuff....quorn mince in chilli etc... which helps. Stopping my OH putting stuff in the trolley that isn't on the list also helps keep to my budget!

If you can get 2 freezers that can help with cooking and freezing meals/fruit/meat etc... which can help cut costs. Oh, and growing your own....salad and herbs are high value items which can be grown in the garden/window boxes, and its always nice cuttings stuff fresh to use.

I think its not just about finding the bargains, its the whole process...storing food to use and making the time to bulk cook and storing/freezing to use. Good luck!

kboss2010

HM chicken pie is a fave with my veggie-loathing OH and it's full of veg!

6 diced chicken breasts
3 medium onions (diced)
7 large carrots (diced)
1/2 bag each of frozen peas & sweetcorn
500mls chicken/veg stock
Generous sprinkle of mixed herbs
Salt & pepper
3 heaped tbsp cornflour (or normal flour if you don't have cornflour) to thicken the sauce

- will make 3 pies big enough to feed a family of 5.

Basic shortcrust pastry is 50% flour, 50% butter + enough cold water to bind the rubbed together butter & flour + salt for seasoning and I generally find that 100g of each is enough pastry for 1 pie lid (I don't bother with bases, too much faff blind baking them and it's fewer calories without the extra pastry!)