cut down food spend

purpleivy

Unless the farm store is nearby, or is somewhere you pass often, you might be better off going to a local green grocer - although these are increasingly difficult to find.

aberdeen

i honestly dont think that we have a green grocer here

gilly1964

aberdeen wrote: »

it is the fresh fruit and veg that costs the most my children think nothing of eating a bag of grapes and or apples a day and i dont want to stop buying these and replacing them with cheap biscuits or sweets

I know the feeling but to help with this I make various flapjacks with sultanas or chopped apple and occasionally chocolate chips.

A bag of oats, spread and syrup, about £1 makes around 12 generous slices.

I also try to get the fruit and veg from the market - no need to worry about it going off as it doesn't last long enough

Yesterday fruit wise I bought

10 pears 5 left
5 navel oranges 4 left
30 clementines 18 left
10 bananas 7 left
1lb grapes still in fridge
8 kiwi 6 left
2 Pomegranates still in fridge
Physalis (cape gooseberries) - Half gone

I try not to think about the cost as like you I think it is better that DS wants fruit and veg.

Today with our roast he ate steamed cabbage and leek chopped together, broccoli, carrots and runner beans. He also tried a little mashed swede but declared that yuck until I mixed some with some leftover potatoes and that was okay;)

Keep going it does get easier and meal planning definitely helps. Our roast chicken has done the dinner for 3, chicken and veg soup for the freezer, sandwiches for tea or lunch tomorrow and curry for Tuesday night.
Previously I would have bought a smaller chicken and only done the one meal, but now the ones I buy are only around ½lb heavier and hardly any difference cost wise as larger ones tend to be cheaper per kilo

All the best
Gilly

Becky_2

Hi lilmoi1985lm!

In my home made cereals I put in:
Quinoa flakes (because I wanted my cereals gluten free),
Walnuts
Brazil nuts

I bought these in the Infinity shop but I am sure you can get these from Holland & Barrett or any other local health shop.

From Sainsbury's I buy
Sesame seeds (only 29 pence per package)
Sunflower seeds (69 pence per package)

and then I tend to add some fresh berries or plums on a daily basis into my bowl.

Perhaps have a look on this website: http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/categories.asp?cid=94

Enjoy!

Becky:j

lilmoi1985lm wrote: »

becky where do you get the ingredients for your own make cereal? that would save me a fortune as cereal is so expensive and we go through heaps of it.

We buy most of our toiletries from wilkinsons, poundland home bargains etc as its cheaper than the supermarket and they do some good brands - im allergic to everything so i normally buy just what i know i can use. i also only buy my shampoo and conditioner from boots and collect the points on my card, they usually have some sort of deal going on john frieda blonde - its one of my only treats and saves on having to get my highlights as often as i did which in turn cuts down on haircut costs hehe!

also wilkinsons have airfreshner for usually half of what you could pay in asdas and they do the plug ins to. always worth a pop in.

lilmoi1985lm

thanks becky think i will enjoy my breakfast much more having made it myself and it beign a hell of a lot more healthy!

Becky_2

You will feel healthier and full up after making your own cereals. I tend to mix it on Sundays so that it lasts at least a week. I started to make my own cereals on new years day so I will let you know how long it lasts for one person, so far I haven't bought any ingredients. Just a tip, only take half of your normal portion first time you try it, you will be surprised how little you will be able to eat. Another positive thing is that I no longer need to eat a snack at work between breakfast and lunch so that way I am saving even more money.

lilmoi1985lm wrote: »

thanks becky think i will enjoy my breakfast much more having made it myself and it beign a hell of a lot more healthy!

Terri00

Hey,
I spend £30 a week for 2 adults and a 2 year old. I was spending £50 a week but now i sit down and plan out all my meals for the week and write down what i need to make them and then add the extras on like snacks etc.
I then go on the tesco website and get all the prices and add it up. If it is over £30 i see what i can do with out or see if i can substitute it for another item cheaper. I do this untill it is £30 or less.
My shopping usually lasts a week and a half. I make sure i have 2 cheap dinners a week beans on toast or omlette!.
I take advantage of offers and the clubcard vouchers. having a discount card and milk tokens helps too.
my last lot of shopping came to £26 and has lasted over a week..

Also go to the reductions chiller, in my store we dont do the reductions untill about 7pm and after that we do all the stuff on that date at 80-90% off.
I always get stuff here to go in the freezer

Hope this is of help to someone

Terri
xxx

Terri00

oops also forgot to put in poundland for things like sope washing up liquid and babywipes.

b1234

Thanks everybody for some great replies.

Terri, your £30 a week spend is inspirational! We spend about £25 a week on drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) alone. 2 -3 bottles of wine for £5 ea, plus 3 to 4 liters of Innocent smoothies (£3+ if not on offer). These smoothies are the only way I can get the family to consume fruit apart from apples...

Apart from that my big problems are that we don't plan our meals and therefore end up with lots of wasted food and leftovers that get thrown out. Will try to remedy both by doing meal plans and disguising leftovers... I like the tomato sauce idea.
Also buy mostly branded goods and a lot of convenience food like sauces, Quorn products, pizzas, baby jars etc

Tried Home & Bargain for first time this week for toiletries and household goods, some good savings there. Combined with eating lots of stuff out of the freezer our weekly spend has been £80 instead of £100 - £115. Still not great but better than nothing (and this week also incl. a kids' birthday lunch with 8 other kids and their 6 mums).

Will try harder this week to cut down on spend by changing to supermarket own brands and avoiding convenience food!

Terri00

Hey,
I also use a lot of own brand stuff, Tesco value biscuits as they dont last five minutes here. We dont drink alcohol (i cant due to a medical condition) and hubby doesnt like drinking alone.
I use the own brand nappies as i find them better than pampers (they leaked everywhere) Tesco own maxi pull ups £3.00 pampers £5.98
I get squash like 2 litre bottles and babywipes from poundland. Huggies babywipes are £2.49 in tesco and in poundland...well a pound!!

Hubby laughed at me because i planned all my meals but he doesnt mind now we are saving money. Nothing goes to waste it all gets used in left overs or blended up to make pasta sauce.
Im not tight!! i just dont like spending what i dont have to lol

It also helps that i do the reductions at work (tesco) and a lot of people talk to you when you do it and you end up getting all their money saving tips too

Terri
xxx

I also make my own smoothies value natural yoghurt500g 35p and then get value fruit or frozen fruit even better the reduced stuff and whizz it up in a blender.
i also have a yoghurt maker as well i just dont use it!!