shopping cutback 23 December 2017 at 8:54PM in MoneySaving mums 6 replies 3.6K views

shez1987

Hi
i am really struggling financially and looking to cut back my shopping bill.
ive invested in a an extra freezer which is cutting back costs
my ds1 is a really fussy eater and doesnt like most home cooked meals i make very much lives off processed foods.
dd1 and dd2 will eat pretty much everything
hubby is quite fussy but will eat most things cooked.
im cooking at least 3 different meals sometimes 4 and a dd2 who is lactose intolerant
i need to cut back to a reasonable amount to cater for this
any tips
thanks

Ilona

I don't get the logic in buying an extra freezer when you want to cut down on your shopping bill. Won't you need to buy more food to fill it? Surely the answer has to be buy less food to spend less money.
Only buy the food you need to make meals. Don't buy extras like junk snacky things.

Ilona

shez1987

the extra freeser is already almost full its to buy bigger packs of things or yellow stickers

ska_lover

It seems you are cooking several meals per night, did I read that right OP?


If so, I would knock that on the head pronto. Find meals they all like / will tolerate and only serve that up - eat or starve for the fussy eaters


I cant abide a fussy eater though personally, it must make your life a nightmare, and remind them, you aren't running a caf!


Obviously the lactose intolerant one, you cant help that, but fussy eaters would wind me right up lol

Faith177

ska_lover wrote: »

It seems you are cooking several meals per night, did I read that right OP?


If so, I would knock that on the head pronto. Find meals they all like / will tolerate and only serve that up - eat or starve for the fussy eaters


I cant abide a fussy eater though personally, it must make your life a nightmare, and remind them, you aren't running a caf!


Obviously the lactose intolerant one, you cant help that, but fussy eaters would wind me right up lol

With Ska lover on this one I started to become a fussy eater as a kid and was told like or lump it soon learnt to eat what was in front of me as there wouldn't be anything else

How old are your kids? Are they of an age where they could understand budgeting so you can explain why you can't go on the way you are?

Also might help to get the fussy ones to help cook so they get an understanding of nutriton and how much effort you put in

RhiBi

Having a fussy eater in my household, I can empathise with the Op somewhat. I have tried the eat or starve and it was stressful for us all, so whilst it might work for some it didn't for us. What I've found is that there is a good compromise with most meals. For example, she won't eat curry (made from scratch) however she will eat the chicken brushed with a little of the sauce. This is a compromise I'm happy to do as its all things I'm using anyway. She seems to have a real aversion to meals with a sauce or gravy, and I work on the premise that we can't all like everything!

If you list the sort of meals you make, maybe we can give suggestions of an easy adaptation that your fussy eater will eat!

PrettyKittyKat

Batch cooking is your friend! Especially with your extra freezer space.

It also means you can accommodate the fussy eater without having to make various meals (and risk waste) each night as you can just pick out one of the batch cooked meals they like for them to eat that night. I am lactose intolerant but don't find it affects my cooking that much, other than I use soya milk instead of normal milk. My husband has the soya milk too in his food and doesn' t notice any difference (although i do buy normal milk for him to have on his cereal). We rarely have cheese in meals, the only exception being chicken wrapped in bacon stuffed with cheese, I just omit the cheese on mine!

I would suggest asking each person in the house to make a list of meals they like. Also tell them that each week one new meal will be tried. Go for meals you can bulk out with cheap things such as potatoes and pasta. I also find that frozen veg is much cheaper than fresh and less waste.