BBC: " Family food shop up '£15 a week'"

LillyJ

SingleSue wrote: »

Yep....and seems to be virtually continually sold out in my local supermarket!

Have bought some turkey leg drumsticks in the past, 2 huge ones in a packet which will do 2 roasts but it seems others have cottoned on and you have to be quick (it's like winning the lottery when you do manage to get your hands on some) to grab them!

It's almost carnage time when they come to reduce all the foods, trollies bashing everywhere, kids screaming, brollies coming into action.....

Ok, slightly over the top but you get the picture (meant to be a smiley picture here but they seem to have disappeared!)

Yeah people have realised that it is cheap, it has been selling out a lot quicker lately. It gets really tender if you do it in the slow cooker!

izzybusy23

LillyJ wrote: »

And what do you think I do apart from work for a full day???

I wasn't being judgemental, just saying thats not what I would like to do after working all day.

Plus I have a little one, so after sorting her out and giving her a bath the last thing I want to do is cook up a storm in the kitchen.

Unfortunately this is one of the reasons why this generation is becoming obese, resulting in quick and easy meals due to time restrictions and pressures on life in general.

LillyJ

LilacPixie wrote: »

on the subject of pasta and curry sauces, i make a huge batch then portion in in freezer bags and freeze. Dothe same with lasagne etc and i still feed a family of 3 on less than £200 a month including cat food and treats. Oh an I also work full time as does my husband.

The idea of a £100 per week on food just astounds me

It astounds me too!

I also love the assumption that those of us who cook proper food must be housewifes or somehow are less busy than everyone else!

The batch cooking thing is a great idea, I only have a little freezer at the moment, but when we move I am going to start doing that more.
My OH works shifts and is also a hobby body builder so he often eats 4 meals a day, so I make extra and put it in a box for him to take to his night shifts with him.

For snacks we take little plastic boxes (ikea do some really cheap ones) with nuts, raisins, dried apricots etc, and sometimes a couple of chocolate chips thrown in for a treat! Full of energy, healthy and cheap!
We also eat whole oats for breakfast, they don't have any added rubbish and I have a strong fanily history of bowel cancer so I try to get as much fibre as possible. We add either dried fruit to that or a banana. A big bag of oats is really cheap!

LillyJ

izzybusy23 wrote: »

I wasn't being judgemental, just saying thats not what I would like to do after working all day.

Plus I have a little one, so after sorting her out and giving her a bath the last thing I want to do is cook up a storm in the kitchen.

Unfortunately this is one of the reasons why this generation is becoming obese, resulting in quick and easy meals due to time restrictions and pressures on life in general.

I put the pasta on, then when it is ready, the sauce is done - so actually it is no more time consuming than a jar! Some people might not like to make their own stuff but I know I do and I like to know what's in it, and it is a lot cheaper, with no added time! Win-win I reckon

I am not super housewife by any means, but I seriously don't think it takes any more time! (and only a chopping board, knife and can opener in extra washing up!)

PasturesNew

I bought a breadmaker, it arrived this morning.
I never EVER thought I would, but I was forced into it.

I used to buy long-life bread. About 50p/loaf, lasts 10 days so I always had fresh bread. Then about 2-3 months ago I suddenly couldn't find it anywhere where I was shopping. So then I was going without. Then I found some half loaves at about 75p, but these still only had a shelf life of about 4 days, so I was either without bread or the bread I was sniffing to see was up to 2 days out of date.

So I bought a breadmaker. Now I can make bread when I want, it lasts 3 days apparently (according to the leaflet with it) and it's cheaper, even though I've started by "cheating" and buying those pre-mix packets at 75p each. Apparently, one of those packets will make me 2 loaves of nice flavoured bread. So that's about 40p/loaf, which is half the price of having to turn out to buy the cheapest I can find.

I can also make pizza dough with it. Going to try that. And cakes/jams - I can't see me ever doing that though.

Only problem is, although it is described as compact, I live in a bedsit and it sort of dominates the kitchen top

I'll be able to use it in 4-5 days' time. Can't use it before that as I cook things based on the best before dates of what I have in already. And for the next 4-5 days I still have to eat my shop bought bread, 450g of beef, half a tin of beans and a pack of sausages. But I will use it... honest.

P.S. My total shopping bill is about £50/month at the moment.

SingleSue

Ahh I had one of those....the bread doesn't last 3 days, it's so yummy you eat it all on the night you make it! :rotfl:

LilacPixie

Another good a quick meal is if you have a made tomato sauce in a freezer bag you know one of thezip up ones then all you need to do is un zip the freezer bag and pull it back. pop the froxen sauce in a pot on a low eat and let is defrost and heat.

Meanwhile preheat oven. 15 mins later the sauce is done put however many cook from frozen chicken breats you want in a dish pour over the tomato sauce and fling in the oven for 30mins. 10 minutes from time scatter some grated cheese on the top and then serve with whatever you want. We tend to favour tricolour pasta twists.

Literally thetomato sauce costs maybe 20p if lucky. chicken breasts it depends on shop but around £1.20 for 3, cheese pennies for light sprinkling and the same for the pasta so you have fed a familly of 3 for less than £2 time IMO is no longer than fiddling with an oven ready meal but alot more filling.

I tend to do stuff while its in the oven such as bath my toddler, catch up with husband.

I think half the problem is people believe the hype of a 'convenience meal' and are think that 'home cooking' is something for those with hours to spare when in actual fact the opposite is often true.

abaxas

LilacPixie wrote: »

I think half the problem is people believe the hype of a 'convenience meal' and are think that 'home cooking' is something for those with hours to spare when in actual fact the opposite is often true.

Totally agree.

Good healthy food is very quick to prepare.

Tonights evening meal is...

Mushroom pie with roasted veg (pots, carrots and onions).

Total prep time ~5 mins, cost ~ £1.80 for 2 of us.

gingin_2

LillyJ wrote: »

Turkey is a very cheap meat, and it is very healthy and lean.

I like lean turkey too and use it as a replacement to chicken breast but even the price of that has gone up sharply. 6 months ago it was £2.49 a pack or £4 for 2 and now it is £2.99 or £2.50 on offer for a 500g pack but it still beats chicken breast on price.

I worship my deep freezer, cooking in bulk and red lentils for bulking out any sort of meal which husband still hasn't cottoned on to. I am another one to praise the merits of oldstyle, i totally changed my shopping habits since lurking there.

I buy el cheapo bread because I worked out we save around £100 a year in doing so and i don't think we phsically benefit from buying a more expensive brand other than making our own (and I can never get hm right). I gave up buying any sort of shop bought cakes and make my own once a week. Nice quality cheddar was half price in tesco so i bought six packs as we get through one a week, that saved at least a tenner. I make from scratch except pataks curry pastes, a £1.50 jar will make 16 portions of curry and i can't cook anything tastier and I lurve to cook.

I use the tesco clubcard deals and we get so much benefit from them for family days out so I tend to stick to there for shopping.

neverdespairgirl

jembie wrote: »

This is something I have still never grasped. I paid £1 for a jar of pasta sauce yesterday that will feed the 3 of us twice. Yet surely If I had to buy all the ingredients to make my own it would cost more than £1. Plus it would never taste as good as the jarred sauce. Stuff I make from scratch tastes so bland :rolleyes:

It definintely wouldn't cost more than £1.

Last autumn, I bought a huge quantity of toms in a market, as they were in season. Cooked them all with onions and garlic, and concentrated them down, and added herbs and pepper. I froze it all, and we are still eating it now, as the base for pasta sauces, chicken, etc. Total cost was about £3 for everything.