Dreaded food shop family of 6 🤦‍♀️

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I always think it is difficult to compare Food Shops with other people because it is difficult to compare appetites/food preferences etc. I think we eat pretty well but my food shop is supplemented by home grown fruit and veg which is preserved in some form to cover the, current, lean months before the new crops are ready for harvesting. I also gather wild rasps/brambles/cherry plums/rose hips/Chantrelle mushrooms etc. Lack of time and growing space might be a problem for other people.

 

You also didn't say if your total spend included toiletries and cleaning materials. I could probaly trim my food budget if I cut my coffee habit!

Our nearest large supermarket is 12 miles away and I tend to shop once a week but can sometimes fit in an extra visit if I have to do business banking or have an appointment in town.

I usually shop in Lidl and have their Lidl Plus App which gives me offers and discounts and "Freebies" when I have spent a certain amount. If I have spent £250 in a month I get 10% off my next shop which is when I stock up on dry and tinned goods. 

I also sometimes get one of their Fruit/Veg boxes for £1.50. They tend to have these after the checkout so it is worth trying to see if there are any there before you shop. My last box contained ( most in perfect condition) 2 aubergines, 1 baking potato, I head of celery,1 cauliflower 2 carrots, 8 clementines, 1 pomegranite, 6 perfect bananas, 6 over ripe bananas, 1 lemon, 2 limes, 1 orange, 3 red apples, 2 green apples and some little gem lettuce (used in sandwiches for packed lunches). The over ripe bananas I made into muffins and froze them. I made a lemon and lime cake. I made a veg curry with most of the veg. Most of the fruit was eaten as snacks and the peel from the citrus fruit I shredded up and froze to make "Misers Marmalade" at a later date for eating or giving as gifts. Nothing was wasted.

Lidl have an offer on just now that you "win" an item of fruit everytime you shop. So far I have had a pineapple, grapes, bananas ( I could have had avocados but wasn't going to be back in store) and I will pick up some chillies this week.

Lidl will also sometimes have boxes of eggs near their use by date which are free, again these are usually after the check out.

When our son was young we used to have " new thing night" . Never on a night when he was going to be very tired and reject something unfamiliar and also teamed with something he liked for "afters". A lot of economical dishes were introduced this way!

Yorkshire puddings pad out meat meals or become the star attraction with roasted veg and gravy. I make sweet and savoury scones for snacks and to serve with food.  Homemade bread/ pizzas/ flat breads/ rolls are all filling. Double up items for the freezer for use when Family life is "full on". I make tray bakes and freeze them portioned up so that they can't all be devoured at once! Sweet and savoury pancakes(crepes) and Scotch Pancakes ( drop scones) are quick and fairly cheap to make.

We don't have any Takeaways near by, so, no temptation there. Sometimes you don't have the energy or time to cook and I have instant dishes that I make with flavoured noodles ( supermarket own brand Super Noodles) and bits pieces I have frozen as leftovers.

JES_F1

Do UK Harvest or something similar operate near you?

https://www.ukharvest.org.uk

You take along a bag and they fill it with assorted groceries for a donation of £5.

weenancyinAmerica

If you start by making the pie with the chicken rather than eating the parts separately, you could easily do the pie, risotto, and soup thing. My roommate boils up a chicken, then starts by using the chicken in a casserole or as part of a stir fry on top of rice, putting some aside for chicken salad sandwiches, for a topping on potatoes, and making the best chicken noodle soup with the rest all from one chicken. So it can be done if you don't serve the chicken parts as a meal. 

theoretica

It would be worth working through your shopping receipts and seeing how much is going on meals and how much on snacks, which meals are most expensive - that sort of thing. As suggested, a starter can be great to fill people up a bit on cheap food (bread, rarebit homemade soup, salad) before the more expensive meat.

£900 would be about £5 per person a day.  I would find £3 a day quite manageable cost wise personally, but the time for making everything from scratch would add up.

theoretica

otb666 said:

When they have a meal do not provide a drink until after eaton as they will soon get hungry again as filled up on drink.

Hah - I learnt the opposite - have a glass of water a bit before the meal, and eat slowly so full signals have time to get to the brain.  I guess it depends on how much you assess they are eating from a need for nutrition, and how much from tastiness.

otb666

i remember growing up i cooked cheese/tuna  macaroni once a week for the family instead of mum.  the other nights i was expected to peel a huge saucepan of spuds which were then ready for mum to use when came in from work.  I also did washing up duties.  Things are different now I know but I remember doing these things from middle school age.  We quite often just had beans on toast for tea.  We also had a loaf of bread a day which i picked up from shop on walk home from school.  I dont think there is an easy solution but at least you will see you are not alone

Greenqueen_2

Perhaps you could look at one of the online food clearance stores?  Approved foods sell damaged/short dated things (which are all still edible) at cheap prices but you do have to pay for postage.   Discount Dragon will ship for free if you spend a minimum of £30.  Their products are very random and you could not make up a full normal weeks shopping but if you have storage room available it’s possible to get bulk buys of things you may use frequently. Eg.a full tray of 12tins of processed peas that work out at around 25p each.

t14cy_t

 i would recomend using olio for fruit bveg and bread mainly.  too good too go bags are great too and low cost. get friendly bwith the supermarket staff to find out when the reductions start in store. buy a sack of spuds from a farm shop to last the month. use approved food or clearance xl for buget bulk snacks. use a ethnic store to bulk buy spices, herbs, rice etc. tesco also do a good ethnic bulk range now too. use your freezer and keep it full at all times! are there any community larders/fridges in your area? meal plans save an awful lot of money. keep to a list. there are only us two adults, 1 large dog and 20 chickens now at home. i spent £200 a month on all food and clening, toiletries etc.

mumtoomany

Hi, @onlywayisup2011, and welcome to the old style board. You'll find that we are a friendly and helpful bunch.
Thanks, @Katiehound, for linking to my thread from last year, and for calling me a "lady"! Haha.

Some advice on saving money on food.

1. Head over to the grocery challenge threads, always at the top of the first page on old style. There are the posts on the first page full of links for frugal recipes. Also other links and lots of useful information.

2. Look at every meal and snack to find ways to save pennies. EG. The difference in cost between the cheapest and most expensive cereal in Aldi is around 35p per serving. Not much really. But multiply by four children, then by 365 days in a year And that's a staggering £511! If you could save that much at each meal, and you'd save a big amount per year.

3. Cut down on the most expensive meals or parts of a meal. Salmon we only eat once or twice a year; chicken, mince, pork, at least every week. Cut down on the quantity too, stretch meat to make it to further. Add lentils, oats, vegetables, to mince for bolognese, chilli, shepherds pie, etc. Serve home made pies, stew, curry, rather than meat, chicken beef etc, for some meals. Bulk out meals with more vegetables, Yorkshire puddings, dumplings, bread.

4. Make your own sauces, cakes, biscuits. Anything you buy will have a list of ingredients. Read that and check out recipe on the web, and make your own. Don't buy take away every week, pick up pizza bases from the supermarket and make your own.

5. Don't throw food away! The freezer is your friend. When my children were small, they loved the days when we had "choosing tea" all the odd portions of meals that had been left over and frozen. They loved it! And it was food that could so easily have been thrown away.

6. Get at least the older children helping to meal plan, prep veg, even cook. If they've made/chosen it, they are more likely to eat it.

7. But fruit in season, much cheaper. Also collect fruit for free. Blackberries will be in season in the next few months and freeze really well. Great for pies, crumble, cakes, in porridge. For snacks try home popped popcorn. Carrot or cucumber sticks. Crackers and cheese or homemade peanut butter.

All I can think of for now, that hasn't already been said. Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Hugs, mumtoomany.xxx

-taff

Some great ideas that I will pinch too @mumtoomanyI would also say get the app for the sm's you shop in. I got a free breakfast cereal and box of grapes from Lidl today,tesco and sainsburys do their own prices and tailor the offers to your usual shop, so don't forget those.