Cutting down food costs when you hate cooking

Jami74

Can you down brand? When I shop with family members it's often a case of putting the Walkers, McVities, Heinz, Dolmio, Flora etc back and replacing them with supermarkets own. For example: a pack of dried spaghetti in Tesco can cost between 20p and £1.55 depending on brand, a jar of tomato pasta sauce can vary between 39p for 440g and £2.50 for 350g (they do a nice range of jarred pasta sauces for 66p for 550g), add tinned beans or meatballs for a quick cook meal. Any leftovers shove in a pot in the fridge or freezer and that makes a snack or meal for the next hungry teenager.

Drawingaline

I really hear you on this. I loath cooking. I adore baking though! I have no imagination with cooking, and two children with severe food aversion so separate meals.

What has helped me. 

Accepting an amount of £650 every four weeks for food shopping. This includes milk and bread which is delivered by a milkman. We are a family of six

Online food shop delivered (early, 7-8am slot) every Monday morning (previously tried monthly and fortnightly, but weekly works better).

Sat/sun I go in and amend the order (normally have random stuff in to hold the order when I book the slot) I start at the fridge and work my way around looking to see if regular/stock items need replacing. Then I think of seven meals and shop for them. I have a few meals I know people will eat, or can be adapted for others. One night is always pizza and one night always fish/chicken and rice.

I then go to a different supermarket to bulk buy crisps/squash and the two food items the food averse children will eat that is only available there.

So suggestions for you. 

You pay for school meals. Therefore evening meals can just be packed lunch stuff. If the kids choose not to have a hot meal from school that is their choice. So book an online delivery for fridge stuff, sandwich stuff, crisps, drinks, cereal bars etc. Plan it to last the week. If they eat it all too quick then a jar of jam and bread will have to do. They won't starve. If you eat a sandwich at lunch then add in some tins/pots of soup, a couple of ready meals but make sure the kids know these are for you not them, they have a hot meal at school.aybe make Friday night pizza if you want, we have pizza with salad (literally leaves, chopped cucumber and tomatoes with a French dressing, nothing fancy)

For weekends/holidays, swap it round so lunch is sandwiches/salad and dinner is hot. Steer clear of roast every weekend, once a month and go for a smaller beef joint and add more potatoes and veg. I use frozen roast potatoes (I can make them from scratch but honestly the frozen ones are just as nice) and tinned new potatoes which helps eek the meat out. Tinned and frozen veg keeps it easy. We also have two evenings a week with a pudding, normally a frozen cheesecake or tart of some kind. I will sometimes bake a pie for scratch, much more fun than cooking. 

Get the teens involved. Get them to do the sandwiches some school evenings, make it like a bit of a buffet spread, sandwiches, some cold meats/cheese, crisps in a bowl etc. So you can actually sit together, but everyone has a choice. With this even our two food averse kids will eat with us. And at weekends get them to cook something. They can look up a recipe, maybe once a month expect one of them to cook a new meal. And do it yourself. So each week one person picks a new recipe, makes sure the ingredients are part of the online order and cooks it. Maybe the Saturday. That way you are broadening what people may eat, but the pressure isn't on one person all the time. I have found looking on supermarket websites a good place for some different dishes, not all of them work out, but you will find some dishes to add to your small list. 

Not being a natural cook and hating all the faff around meal planning and shopping is so hard. Some people say they hate cooking, but seem to cope, others (like me) would totally employ a personal chef if I was rich enough, because the whole palava is just so draining and stress inducing. 

Good luck with it all. If you want to change it can happen, but maybe a family meeting to discuss how things will be going forward might be best. Then everyone knows how it is and what responsibilitys different people will be picking up. 

Brie

Any chance you could get the teens to take over completely for a week?  Including doing the shopping?? 

Give them the cash and say "go to Tescos (or wherever), get everything we need for the week. And you'll need to be able to cook it all too." 

They may end up getting things you don't like but it would open their eyes hopefully to household management and how their decisions affect it.

Karonher

Some of the suggestions I had have already been taken - ie get the children to make the lunches. You might work long hours, but lunches must be costing you around £100 a month. A rice cooker has been mentioned,  but there is also an air fryer that quickly cooks many things.

Also, you control the purse strings. Why not ask the children for a list of things they like and a list of what they really cannot eat? This way you can buy what they like and avoid things they genuinely can't stand. There is then no excuse for them to say there is nothing for them. If they have to have their second or third choice meal that will be fine. 

Niv

Shop at Lidl / Aldi - it will half your current Waitrose bill. That is the single easiest thing for you to do.

Some other ideas:
- batch cooking does have to mean slaving over a stove making a months worth of meals - make a chilli but just make twice as much, now you have a meal for another day, either the next day or freeze for a future day
- You cook a roast, cook enough to have leftovers and either have (what I call) a quick roast the next next day or bubble and squeak or just use the leftover meat for something even if it s a beef sandwich for your lunch
- If you have a slow cooker that is an easy way to cook a meal that takes away a lot of effort
- You can buy 'ready for the oven' meat i.e. its prepared and has a sauce in a metal tray already - bung it in the oven for 30mins with some chips / homemade wedges (fancy way of saying chopped up potato with some salt and oil sprinkled on top)
- If getting everyone to eat the same thing is a step too far right now, why dont you and the youngster eat the same as one of the teens so that teen cooks for you?
- ask the teens for suggestions - they may surprise you, especially if you subtly threaten to go cold turkey on their fav quick convenience food.

For your coffee fix, why not buy a tin/jar of nice coffee and make it in the office?

Lunch in general ~£3 meal deal in most supermarkets (Morrisons is the best followed by Tesco in my opinion).

Emmia

Niv said:

Shop at Lidl / Aldi - it will half your current Waitrose bill. That is the single easiest thing for you to do.

Some other ideas:
- batch cooking does have to mean slaving over a stove making a months worth of meals - make a chilli but just make twice as much, now you have a meal for another day, either the next day or freeze for a future day
- You cook a roast, cook enough to have leftovers and either have (what I call) a quick roast the next next day or bubble and squeak or just use the leftover meat for something even if it s a beef sandwich for your lunch
- If you have a slow cooker that is an easy way to cook a meal that takes away a lot of effort
- You can buy 'ready for the oven' meat i.e. its prepared and has a sauce in a metal tray already - bung it in the oven for 30mins with some chips / homemade wedges (fancy way of saying chopped up potato with some salt and oil sprinkled on top)
- If getting everyone to eat the same thing is a step too far right now, why dont you and the youngster eat the same as one of the teens so that teen cooks for you?
- ask the teens for suggestions - they may surprise you, especially if you subtly threaten to go cold turkey on their fav quick convenience food.

For your coffee fix, why not buy a tin/jar of nice coffee and make it in the office?

Lunch in general ~£3 meal deal in most supermarkets (Morrisons is the best followed by Tesco in my opinion).

This very much depends on what is near work... Where I am it's a proliferation of pret, nero, leon, and independent sandwich shops - supermarkets with lunch deals less so.

TheAble

Emmia said:

Niv said:

Shop at Lidl / Aldi - it will half your current Waitrose bill. That is the single easiest thing for you to do.

Some other ideas:
- batch cooking does have to mean slaving over a stove making a months worth of meals - make a chilli but just make twice as much, now you have a meal for another day, either the next day or freeze for a future day
- You cook a roast, cook enough to have leftovers and either have (what I call) a quick roast the next next day or bubble and squeak or just use the leftover meat for something even if it s a beef sandwich for your lunch
- If you have a slow cooker that is an easy way to cook a meal that takes away a lot of effort
- You can buy 'ready for the oven' meat i.e. its prepared and has a sauce in a metal tray already - bung it in the oven for 30mins with some chips / homemade wedges (fancy way of saying chopped up potato with some salt and oil sprinkled on top)
- If getting everyone to eat the same thing is a step too far right now, why dont you and the youngster eat the same as one of the teens so that teen cooks for you?
- ask the teens for suggestions - they may surprise you, especially if you subtly threaten to go cold turkey on their fav quick convenience food.

For your coffee fix, why not buy a tin/jar of nice coffee and make it in the office?

Lunch in general ~£3 meal deal in most supermarkets (Morrisons is the best followed by Tesco in my opinion).

This very much depends on what is near work... Where I am it's a proliferation of pret, nero, leon, and independent sandwich shops - supermarkets with lunch deals less so.

Still, such places are for occasional treats. If you rely on them for sustenance it's going to be costly.

Emmia

TheAble said:

Emmia said:

Niv said:

Shop at Lidl / Aldi - it will half your current Waitrose bill. That is the single easiest thing for you to do.

Some other ideas:
- batch cooking does have to mean slaving over a stove making a months worth of meals - make a chilli but just make twice as much, now you have a meal for another day, either the next day or freeze for a future day
- You cook a roast, cook enough to have leftovers and either have (what I call) a quick roast the next next day or bubble and squeak or just use the leftover meat for something even if it s a beef sandwich for your lunch
- If you have a slow cooker that is an easy way to cook a meal that takes away a lot of effort
- You can buy 'ready for the oven' meat i.e. its prepared and has a sauce in a metal tray already - bung it in the oven for 30mins with some chips / homemade wedges (fancy way of saying chopped up potato with some salt and oil sprinkled on top)
- If getting everyone to eat the same thing is a step too far right now, why dont you and the youngster eat the same as one of the teens so that teen cooks for you?
- ask the teens for suggestions - they may surprise you, especially if you subtly threaten to go cold turkey on their fav quick convenience food.

For your coffee fix, why not buy a tin/jar of nice coffee and make it in the office?

Lunch in general ~£3 meal deal in most supermarkets (Morrisons is the best followed by Tesco in my opinion).

This very much depends on what is near work... Where I am it's a proliferation of pret, nero, leon, and independent sandwich shops - supermarkets with lunch deals less so.

Still, such places are for occasional treats. If you rely on them for sustenance it's going to be costly.

People spend their money on different things - some on pret sandwiches, some on their hobbies, some on wine or whisky... some save hard and invest for a retirement they never see or enjoy.

I like a daily pret sandwich (I have no interest in packed lunch), but I don't have a car (I walk everywhere) or kids. 

Niv

Emmia said:

TheAble said:

Emmia said:

Niv said:

Shop at Lidl / Aldi - it will half your current Waitrose bill. That is the single easiest thing for you to do.

Some other ideas:
- batch cooking does have to mean slaving over a stove making a months worth of meals - make a chilli but just make twice as much, now you have a meal for another day, either the next day or freeze for a future day
- You cook a roast, cook enough to have leftovers and either have (what I call) a quick roast the next next day or bubble and squeak or just use the leftover meat for something even if it s a beef sandwich for your lunch
- If you have a slow cooker that is an easy way to cook a meal that takes away a lot of effort
- You can buy 'ready for the oven' meat i.e. its prepared and has a sauce in a metal tray already - bung it in the oven for 30mins with some chips / homemade wedges (fancy way of saying chopped up potato with some salt and oil sprinkled on top)
- If getting everyone to eat the same thing is a step too far right now, why dont you and the youngster eat the same as one of the teens so that teen cooks for you?
- ask the teens for suggestions - they may surprise you, especially if you subtly threaten to go cold turkey on their fav quick convenience food.

For your coffee fix, why not buy a tin/jar of nice coffee and make it in the office?

Lunch in general ~£3 meal deal in most supermarkets (Morrisons is the best followed by Tesco in my opinion).

This very much depends on what is near work... Where I am it's a proliferation of pret, nero, leon, and independent sandwich shops - supermarkets with lunch deals less so.

Still, such places are for occasional treats. If you rely on them for sustenance it's going to be costly.

People spend their money on different things - some on pret sandwiches, some on their hobbies, some on wine or whisky... some save hard and invest for a retirement they never see or enjoy.

I like a daily pret sandwich (I have no interest in packed lunch), but I don't have a car (I walk everywhere) or kids. 

I quite agree, but I was responding to someone that wants to cut costs. I have no issue with someone using pret on a daily basis for their lunch etc but if you ask me how to cut the cost of lunch then I would say what I said. Your reply reads as someone that doesn't know what board they are on or what the OP is asking about.

Emmia

Niv said:

Emmia said:

TheAble said:

Emmia said:

Niv said:

Shop at Lidl / Aldi - it will half your current Waitrose bill. That is the single easiest thing for you to do.

Some other ideas:
- batch cooking does have to mean slaving over a stove making a months worth of meals - make a chilli but just make twice as much, now you have a meal for another day, either the next day or freeze for a future day
- You cook a roast, cook enough to have leftovers and either have (what I call) a quick roast the next next day or bubble and squeak or just use the leftover meat for something even if it s a beef sandwich for your lunch
- If you have a slow cooker that is an easy way to cook a meal that takes away a lot of effort
- You can buy 'ready for the oven' meat i.e. its prepared and has a sauce in a metal tray already - bung it in the oven for 30mins with some chips / homemade wedges (fancy way of saying chopped up potato with some salt and oil sprinkled on top)
- If getting everyone to eat the same thing is a step too far right now, why dont you and the youngster eat the same as one of the teens so that teen cooks for you?
- ask the teens for suggestions - they may surprise you, especially if you subtly threaten to go cold turkey on their fav quick convenience food.

For your coffee fix, why not buy a tin/jar of nice coffee and make it in the office?

Lunch in general ~£3 meal deal in most supermarkets (Morrisons is the best followed by Tesco in my opinion).

This very much depends on what is near work... Where I am it's a proliferation of pret, nero, leon, and independent sandwich shops - supermarkets with lunch deals less so.

Still, such places are for occasional treats. If you rely on them for sustenance it's going to be costly.

People spend their money on different things - some on pret sandwiches, some on their hobbies, some on wine or whisky... some save hard and invest for a retirement they never see or enjoy.

I like a daily pret sandwich (I have no interest in packed lunch), but I don't have a car (I walk everywhere) or kids. 

I quite agree, but I was responding to someone that wants to cut costs. I have no issue with someone using pret on a daily basis for their lunch etc but if you ask me how to cut the cost of lunch then I would say what I said. Your reply reads as someone that doesn't know what board they are on or what the OP is asking about.

This thread is clearly about someone who wants to cut costs and hates cooking / has created a rod for their back by pandering to the different culinary preferences in the household. 

My first post was advising to tackle the dinner arrangements - the point about spending choices (e.g. pret lunches)  was in response to someone who is probably in more of the hard core group of MSE members... which is an ethos that not everyone around here subscribes to.

I can't recall whether the OP said they were in debt, but the purpose of the thread (as it came across to me) was that they wanted to cut costs / save more ££ or time etc. all of which are good things... To do that though, choices need to be made. 

The OP could save £30 - £40 a week by taking a packed lunch + whatever they're spending on coffee out, by having a jar of instant / tea bags.

If it were me, I'd resent this a bit if dinner arrangements remain untackled - so I'm not sure this is the first step the OP should take, as the resentment probably makes it unsustainable. 

The OP could do batch cooking and/or insist every one eats the same... this is hard, but likely to have a bigger impact on the grocery bills

The OP could trade down supermarkets and/or brands to save money on their shop... but if you're still doing multiple meals, it probably also doesn't offer bang for buck they're seeking, and doesn't really tackle the central issue.