Cutting Your Food Bill

engineer_amy

Agree with the earlier poster about adding lentils to soups, stews casseroles, anything containing mince. It bulks it out, adds texture and is a good source of protein. Just throw a couple of handfuls in during cooking, they soak up and expand.
if you have an Asian supermarket in your town, you will find 5kg or 10kg bags of various types of lentils for about a quarter of the price of Tesco.
And if you have the freezer space, I always make double or triple and freeze my extra portions. saving money and time later on.

EssexHebridean

You can lob a big handful of porridge oats of oatmeal into stews as they're cooking too - gives a nice creamy texture and helps with the thickening too as well as helping to bulk it out a bit.

mcpitman

Towser wrote: »

Budget Shopping List - Can you show me a more frugal way?

Fresh, frozen & chilled
Chicken breast pieces - buy whole chicken and portion
White fish fillets
Bacon
Chicken wings/thighs/legs (depending on preference and price) - buy whole chicken and portion
625g cheddar cheese
2 x 1% fat/semi skimmed milk 4pts
8 Pork sausages - look at bigger packs (price per sausage) and freeze remaining
Sunflower spread
2 x 6 pack fromage frais
Vanilla ice cream - make your own
Frozen mixed veg
Coleslaw - make your own

Dried goods
1 kg rice
Pizza base mix - make your own, cost of flour etc will make you many for the price of a "mix"
Cornflakes
Porridge oats
Variety pack biscuits (remove from list and bake your own if you have biscuit ingredients at home)
12 pack crisps - look at box deals, or make your own to use up potatoes
Jelly

Tins, cartons & bottles
500g dried pasta
Tin of sweetcorn
Creamed tomatoes/passata - just blitz some peeled plum/chopped toms down to a sauce
Tomato puree
Tin of red kidney beans
Tin of green lentils
2 x tins of baked beans
Tin of haricot beans
2 x tins chopped tomatoes
2 x bottles high juice squash - why not just drink water?
4 x 1 litre cartons pure fruit juice
1 tin tuna

Bakery
1 large baguette - make your own
2 x 8 pack crumpets - make your own
3 x sliced wholemeal/white loaves - make your own
2 x 6 pack pitta bread
12 pack scones (remove from list and bake your own if you have scone ingredients at home)

Fresh Fruit & Vegetables
Bag of of mixed peppers - remember to dice and freeze before going off
Bag of onions- remember to dice and freeze before going off
Bag potatoes- remember to dice - par boil and freeze before going off
Broccoli (for fish pie)- remember to dice and freeze before going off
2 leeks - remember to dice and freeze before going off
Bag of carrots - remember to dice and freeze before going off
Garlic - keep one part of the bulb and plant, free garlic forever
Bag of apples
Basics bananas
Basics pears
Mushrooms
2 x lemons

Always shop in Aldi making the most of Super Six offers and meat offers, cooking from scratch.

I have seriously cut down my bill on everything just by switching supermarket.

Other things like when out for a walk take some carrier bags and have some blackberries etc.


Just some quick thought above of how I have "saved" in the past. The advantage with baking your own bread is the "free" warmth from the oven etc in winter.


The trick to all of it is using what you have and thinking forward to eliminate any food waste, meaning you buy less next time etc etc.


The cost of a 2nd hand, cheap freezer could pay for itself quite quickly, my friends to this day are still amazed I can just knock up a quick meal without any visits to the shops at short notice.

Happierdays

Another fan here of growing your own, making your own (eg coleslaw and making meals from scratch),and picking free stuff eg blackberries! I realise space is often needed for growing - we have an allotment which helps but I had most productive year ever this year by being more committed and really putting the effort in (started most of it from seed on my not- ideal windowsills! ). I have hardly had to buy veg all summer and have frozen some leftover from the glut.
However I do think the biggest thing that saves money is the one that I constantly struggle with and need to improve-meal planning (and sticking to it and the grocery budget!!)
Good luck!

skint_chick

I make everything from scratch now due to following a paleo diet and not eating processed crap. I meal plan every meal including breakfast and snacks (when I'm in work I seem to get hungrier than at home) and try to eat meals using the same ingredients. Going meat free a couple of days a week has helped a lot, as has making soups and stews in the slow cooker. I do a shop once a week then prep everything when I get home, make my work lunches and put into lunch boxes and freeze as necessary, cook whole chicken and cut up into portions, then make bone broth and gravy. I make my own coleslaw, and my own date and nut snack bars for about 1/5 of what they cost ready made and with a decent food processor it takes about 10 mins including washing up afterwards.

Asian supermarket for rice, all kinds of noodles, specialist flours for breads, massive cans of fruit. Make your own rolls for sandwiches, use cheaper cuts of meat for stews in the slow cooker, puree some fruit (preferably reduced because it's going out of date that day then it's nice and ripe) and freeze into ice cube trays for adding to tap water instead of buying squash and fizzy drinks.

Don't buy anything pre-made invest in the ingredients to make your own as it's cheaper in the long run. If you don't have a slow cooker/food processor put one on your Christmas list

Make extra portions of everything and freeze to save even more money on cooking! If you like a bit of a treat check our an M&S food store up to an hour before closing to get fancy food for 20p- £1, check if it can be frozen/cook it then eat the next day or freeze

datlex

One thing I have notice no one has suggested is portion control. Where you can reducing portion sizes makes food go further and thus cut down costs.

EitherWalnut

Thanks for all the replies so far!

Will defo have to try making my own coleslaw - I LOVE coleslaw! Seem ludicrous that I haven't tried to do it before!

Am also a fan of making own pizza - easiest recipe ever is mix self-raising flour and natural yoghurt in a 2:1 ratio, knead to a dough and roll out. Add your desired toppings and shove in the oven! Same recipe also works for a great home-made naan bread - just put dough in griddle pan and finish off in the oven.

Think I'll also have to get some lentils and try throwing them into everything!

Am intrigued for any lunch ideas anyone might have too? I have access to a microwave and kettle, but only get half an hour for lunch everyday, so needs to be fairly quick. Anything to stop me from spending £3 a day on a Tesco special...

MrsPorridge

Ideas for lunches homemade soups using up odd bits of veggies etc., At night I cook for 3 DH and me and DH's lunch the next day (that being a slightly smaller portion than the evening meal).

skint_chick

nicmalauren wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies so far!

Will defo have to try making my own coleslaw - I LOVE coleslaw! Seem ludicrous that I haven't tried to do it before!

Am intrigued for any lunch ideas anyone might have too? I have access to a microwave and kettle, but only get half an hour for lunch everyday, so needs to be fairly quick. Anything to stop me from spending £3 a day on a Tesco special...

Leftovers from the night before, definitely heating up leftovers or batch cooked food is cheaper than £3, you could be saving at least £2 of that which is £10 a week towards debt busting! Try adding different things to coleslaw, I'm currently adding apple to mine - £2 should cover for red cabbage, white cabbage, bag of carrots, and an apple or two to make a massive batch that you can keep in sealed containers in the fridge and add dressing when you're ready to eat. I have coleslaw with homemade lasagna, sweet potato wedges, chicken breasts, anything really! I have Ikea glasses kilner jars that I keep my cut veggies sealed in, they keep for around a week after cut so you get a chance to use it all up.

Jacket potatoes are great for lunches with cheese, coleslaw, tuna etc - put your topping in a little storage pot and you can either cook your potatoes on a Sunday evening in the oven and reheat in the microwave or do them from scratch in the microwave. If you buy the loose jackets it's cheaper than getting a bag of them per kg, same with all veggies unless they're on special offer.

El_Debster

For fromage frais I buy Quark low fat cheese and add a teaspoon of jam to flavour. You can buy for less than a quid for 500g
Make your own bread, easy, healthier (much less salt).
Frozen sweetcorn instead of tinned.
One chicken jointed is at least third less than joints, go to YouTube for step by step vids on how to do it.
However, be sure not compromise on health - check your cheaper foods don't have more salt and sugar and even Lidl is now doing organic eggs and milk.
Pearl barley is fab in stews and bulks it up, also has same cholesterol reducing qualities as oats.
Cous cous is cheap, quick to prepare, use to accompany foods instead of rice.
For dessert try semolina pudding, you can make in the microwave or on stove top.
Make your own yoghurt. Can do it in the oven or buy a maker. It will pay for itself within months.
Shop seasonal veg, I am growing my own when I get the patch dug over!:j