Help with food shopping - need to budget due to new baby

Yorkshirechick

Hi All,

I'm looking for a bit of help with our food shopping.

We have a new baby boy (Taylor who is 17 days old today) and so things are very hectic at the moment and we haven't been able to get to the supermarket and so desperately need some groceries.

We need to stick to quite a tight budget as I'm going on statutory maternity pay soon, which will be a huge drop from my normal wage. In our house we have 2 adults, a baby (breastfed so no formula needed), 2 cats and a large dog.

Also, I want food that I won't have to spend too long cooking, as if the little man wants feeding, he wants feeding now!! I know it's not that healthy, but things that I could just bung in the oven, or leave in a pan would be ideal for the moment.

Some of the things we usually eat are roast dinners, pie and veg, fajitas, steak and chips, pasta and sauce. We don't really have anything too adventurous, but when Taylor is in a bit more of a routine I'd like to try some new meals.

Could anyone provide me with a standardised shopping list that I could tweak a bit? I'm going to do my shopping online, but always end up forgetting something...

Thank you
Yorkshirechick x

thriftmonster

Dh swears we lived on hotpot when ds1 was tiny, as I could do it any time in the afternoon and then leave it in for hours at 100C.

If friends have babies now, I often take round some portions of cooked savoury mince for the freezer - can become shepherd's pie, chilli, spag bol etc.

Lilypad_2

Our DD is now 14 months old and it was very hard remembering to eat at the beginning! Let alone finding time - so I know how you feel.

I did all my shopping online for the first few months which was great. Because the online system remebers your 'shopping lists' you only have to 'shop' once. After that just a click and tada! Food arrives.

I found it very hard to cook in those first few weeks. We lived on a LOT of tins and frozen and whenever we did cook, we cooked 3 times what we needed so we could freeze the rest.

My OH worked ever such long hours and so it was just me and the baby most of the time.

I would say freeze what you can. Buy bread and freeze it incase you don't feel like going out (we all have those days). When you do cook, batch cook and freeze what's left (I still do this now and it makes life a lot easier when it comes to lunch time for DD and dinner for us).

Good luck (if you need a list or any other help just PM me and I'll be more than happy to help you out).

Sally
x

angelfairy

Congratulations on the birth of your son. You must be so proud.

I was really interested to read your post because OH and I are discussing planning to have a baby at the moment.

Do you have a slow cooker? or maybe someone can lend you one for a while? Great one pot cooking, on all day with no fuss.

I made a lovely beef stew for the first time last night with about £2.80 worth of meat and a £0.60 stew pack and some flavours from the cupboard. Enough for at least 6 meals.

jcr16

i can't rememeber what we ate, but i do remember with both my daughter and son, i wrote my shopping list in hospital on the evening s when baby had fallen asleep and hubby gone home, lol.

i didn't work and i think about of meals were rice or pasta with things.

ie pasta with cooked broc , mushroom and chicken. with grated cheese sprinkled on top.

or spag bol's.

i always found i needed a routine. and for me that was. when hubby got up and left at 7am in morning for work i would get up at same time. i would have me and my daughter dressed and sorted ready to leave house by 8. i would then go out and do anythign i needed to do. and try to always be home 1. my daughter used to have anap about 2. so i would use this time to sort the meal out. of course i didn't go out every day so early , just when i needed to. any HV appointments i always made them for early in day.

when my son was born i tried to stick to same sort of pricaple. for me i find if i don't get out early , then the whole day i am chasing my tail.

so as for meals i would say in first instance don't worry and feel stressed by it. mayeb try bulk cooking on a weekend when hubby home so u have ease of meals through the week.

if need buy just buy enough food for meals for say 3 or 4 days at first.

congrtas on the birth of your little one. enjoy it. it such great fun.

Yorkshirechick

jcr16 wrote: »

i always found i needed a routine. and for me that was. when hubby got up and left at 7am in morning for work i would get up at same time. i would have me and my daughter dressed and sorted ready to leave house by 8. i would then go out and do anythign i needed to do. and try to always be home 1. my daughter used to have anap about 2. so i would use this time to sort the meal out. of course i didn't go out every day so early , just when i needed to. any HV appointments i always made them for early in day.

when my son was born i tried to stick to same sort of pricaple. for me i find if i don't get out early , then the whole day i am chasing my tail.

How did you manage to get enough sleep?

At the moment I'm going to bed at 9 o'clock, and he tends to settle at about 11pm. Then we don't end up getting out of bed until about 9:30am :eek: and I seem to be behind all day!!

Maybe I should just get up earlier and push on through the tiredness, and then try to have a sleep in the afternoon. OH leaves the house at 7:15am, so I might try getting up with him...

Yorkshirechick

beccaoz wrote: »

Congratulations on the birth of your son. You must be so proud.

I was really interested to read your post because OH and I are discussing planning to have a baby at the moment.

Do you have a slow cooker? or maybe someone can lend you one for a while? Great one pot cooking, on all day with no fuss.

I made a lovely beef stew for the first time last night with about £2.80 worth of meat and a £0.60 stew pack and some flavours from the cupboard. Enough for at least 6 meals.

Yes we have a slow cooker, but I haven't had it out for a while, might have a go with it on Monday, we have some stewing beef in the freezer.

angelfairy

Yorkshirechick wrote: »

Yes we have a slow cooker, but I haven't had it out for a while, might have a go with it on Monday, we have some stewing beef in the freezer.

I would say give it a go for sure. I was really pleased with the dinner I made.

It will also give you the chance to make enough and freeze for times when you are so knackered you can just go to the freezer and pull something out that you made yourself so you know what is in it.

what about putting a whole chicken in there. you can have a sunday dinner, meat for OH's lunch and your own and maybe enough left over for some other mean like chicken fried rice (just the chicken some rice and left over veg).

Actiongirl_2

Yorkshirechick wrote: »

How did you manage to get enough sleep?

At the moment I'm going to bed at 9 o'clock, and he tends to settle at about 11pm. Then we don't end up getting out of bed until about 9:30am :eek: and I seem to be behind all day!!

Maybe I should just get up earlier and push on through the tiredness, and then try to have a sleep in the afternoon. OH leaves the house at 7:15am, so I might try getting up with him...

I am due at the beginning of March and I will be getting up at 6.30 to shower, hair and makeup before OH leaves, so that the day doesnt go to ruin. I am a morning person anyway, but even though am on Mat leave, I am up at 7 everyday with make up and hair done and try to keep a routine. Without it, I would be all over the place. I feel more tired if I stay in bed!

Yorkshirechick

Actiongirl wrote: »

I am due at the beginning of March and I will be getting up at 6.30 to shower, hair and makeup before OH leaves, so that the day doesnt go to ruin. I am a morning person anyway, but even though am on Mat leave, I am up at 7 everyday with make up and hair done and try to keep a routine. Without it, I would be all over the place. I feel more tired if I stay in bed!

Well Taylor has an outpatients app at the hospital next Wed, and we have to be there for 9:30, so I might get up with the OH and see how it goes...

redmel1621

Congratulations on the new baby..

We lived on quickie meals when i had both my boys.

Something along the lines of. Tin of peas, tin of potatoes, pie, gravy...
and loads of pasta as it is so quick to make.

Heat tin of toms or two simmer down a bit, with some finely choped onion and peppers in it. Thicken with cornflour if needed. Mix it into the pan of cooked pasta (twists or shells are best) and mix in some tuna. it takes about 15 mins......and is very cheap.

I also agree with the slow cooker idea. I fill mine with all kinds of veg and some lamb or beef, vegetable stock and dried herbs. It feeds a family of 4 for three meals worth. and is so handy to just take out the freezer. only need to boil up some spuds or rice then.

Good luck
Mel x