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Hello Forumites! However well-intentioned, for the safety of other users we ask that you refrain from seeking or offering medical advice. This includes recommendations for medicines, procedures or over-the-counter remedies. Posts or threads found to be in breach of this rule will be removed.2 people food budget help please
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got to say op I think what you spend is good for comparison we are 4 and I spend on average £60 a week but it varies if I see a good offer for example I have spent a fair bit in the last couple of weeks buying joints as they were on offer for easter
my suggestions would be
1. don't be too strict with a list write one but if you have a chicken on it and you see a pack of chops reduced/yellow stickered get that
2. make cheap meals such as quiche/jacket pot/pasta
3. use everything don't waste make use of leftovers
4. shop the offers stock up on veg when reduced
5. cruise the yellow sticker fridge
good luck xxonwards and upwards0 -
Meal planning just doesn't work for me. It's like following a recipe- I rebel against it.
And yes I often throw food away as it's gone off before I got round to eating it but if I only bought stuff I was guaranteed to eat there be no fruit or veg and the only carb would be bread. I don't like throwing food away but the fridge is already full of out of date stuff as it is.
I do try not to eat too much bread as it makes my IBS worse so I allow myself some at weekends and try and avoid it during the week.
I don't have the energy or time for cooking during the week and I have *tried* to do the batch cook thing at the weekend but the batch never lasts long enough to even cool down let alone make it to the freezer
Also I have a bad back so standing up in front of the cooker for more than 10 minutes is very painful. so during the week it is bung something in the microwave.
See we cross posted
Ood, I rarely worry about dates, we had pulled pork that was 2 days OOD last night , was fine. And you really don't want to know how old some of my veg is, as long as it's not mouldy, we eat it
I work, a very physical job , and some days I'm on my Knees coming home, unsure what bit of me hurts the most, so like you, no way am I spending hours in the kitchen. I usually walk in it at 7 and dinners served 7.30. Or if it's something that's going to take a while like a bolognaise or curry, takes me 10 mins to put together, turn the ring right down, then back to the sofa till it's ready
I am a very very lazy cook
Yes I do spend longer in there on a Sunday doing a roast, but even then I'm saving time as I double the veg so I've a roast later in the week that comes out of the microwave. And once again, once the veg is peeled and the meat is in, sofa here I come
If prepping veg is hard for you, have you thought about buying prepped veg or frozen ? I particularly like the frozen steam bags of veg ( well I did when I was home alone )
When my back or feet are killing me, I sit and prep if DH isn't home to help Just a sheet of newspaper on the table and I prep away
When I'm having a good day, that's when I do bake and freeze and batch cook. They aren't as often now but I still try. And I've also found that a joint in the slow cooker works really well. Me hen it's done I just slice it and portion it, stick it in the freezer till needed.
Have you joined in the cooking for one thread? Great bunch of posters on there with all different ideas on what to cook for one. Pastures New is a great inspiration. Not only does she feed herself pretty well on a very limited budget, but she also has major fears around electricity and therefore cooking appliances , and turns out some amazing meals0 -
Halogen,I was just going to say the same - if you take off the bedding and the plants your bill is nearer to £40. Also, you say that most of the meat has got in the freezer so presumably on a future week your bill could be much lower because you won't need to buy it.
I wonder if you've got the same problem I had, I used to buy lots of reduced and YS meat, put in the freezer and then it never got used.
I've learnt now to portion it before freezing, so for example the turkey mince above I would break down into one-meal portions and freeze separately. A bit of a nuisance, but it saves an awful lot of hassle in the future when I don't have to cook a whole kg of mince!
I don't usually batch cook, but I always aim to cook once and eat twice. So, using the mince as an example again, I would either make one large chilli or spag bol and freeze half, or I'd turn half into chilli and the other half into a shepherd's pie the next day. Get a freezer box ready, decant the remaining half and put it out of sight to cool off before you eat your meal, and then it's less tempting to go back for seconds and eat the whole lot!Life is mainly froth and bubble: two things stand like stone. Kindness in another’s trouble, courage in your own.0 -
Yes I tried that and I agree, it was just too difficult to keep it up. So now I put up with a b it of IBS symptoms in exchange for an easy life.Since I went gluten free at Christmas my IBS has cleared up. I tried just giving up bread but it did not really help much but going completely gluten free has changed my digestive system for the better.0 -
Sea Bass fillets 6.699
Turkey breast steaks 1.813
Breaded mini fillets 1.393
turkey mince 1.323
chicken breast fillets 1.183
chicken kievs 0.903
turkey steaks 0.693
above all 30% off and most have gone in freezer
Plants 8
4pack mini avocadoes 1.4
snack tomatoes 0.79
mini peppers 0.76
above 3 on multi buy
cereal 1.125
milk 0.79
fruit fools x3 1.17
mandarin segements 0.9
duvet set 11.99
sheet 4.49
beef trimmings 1.75
grapes 1.49
focaccia*2 1.98
feta 0.75
tinned sweetcornx2 0.78
potato salad 0.99
rolls 0.58
fruit juice 1.99
bananas 1.01
mushrooms 0.69
reduced easter egg 1.49
choc ices 2.98
61.902
Doesn't seem too bad once you take off the duvet, plants, easter egg and choc ices And presumably that amount of meat/fish lasts at least 2/3 weeks rather than one?
I actually think you're doing rather well!
Some ideas to trim it down further:
Frozen sweetcorn at Lidl is 78p for 1kg Lots more for your money
Frozen basa/pollock fillets
Oats instead of cereal - one 75p bag gives me 28.5 35g servings - that's a month worth of brekkies. I add a dash of cinnamon and chop my daily banana on top.
Ditch the pre-prepped puds and buy a tub of natural yog and some frozen/tinned/cheap fruit instead
Personally I don't buy juice and instead spend my ££ on fruit and drink water instead, but I know we all have different tastes 0 -
Thank you all. so many things to say now :-)
Yes this was a good week:-) I have frequently got to £60 on food alone. :-(
I get in the door at 5.30 most days and 2-3 days a week I start my 2nd job at 6. So if it doesn't cook in 5 minutes then it's not practical. I also have no willpower to wait for things to cook either- you'll notice that all the protein will cook in a microwave very quickly. Hence no veg or carbs as they take longer than I am able to make myself wait, but that!!!8217;s part of the problem as I do then eat more protein. I have been known to not be able to even wait that long to eat and just binge on raw meat. Although that!!!8217;s been better since I stopped having breakfast and lunch most days. I did work with a dietitian and hypnotherapist on mindful eating but it wasn!!!8217;t very successful, There are still days when I have to go to bed at 6pm just so I make myself stop eating.
Have started trying to include some salad in the shopping now as at least then I get some of the 5 a day. However salad items do go off quicker than carrots so I do throw out mouldy lettuce and tomatoes frequently. That!!!8217;s not to say I don!!!8217;t end up with mouldy carrots and onions as well.
I laughed at the idea of portioning the mince as I know I would eat that all in 1 sitting- even if I portioned it. It would be take 1 portion out of the freezer, eat it. Then take the next one out and eat it too.
However the mince will be mixed with some beef mince already in the freezer to make lasagne for the family on a Saturday night so it will be used. Likewise the sea bass will make 2 Saturday night dinners.
But yes I do have a lot of stuff in the freezer that!!!8217;s been kept !!!8216;in case!!!8217; like breadcrumbs and pastry and the 10 year old brown hare that was in my aunts freezer when she died. The chances of me finding said breadcrumbs or knowing what type of pastry that mysterious pale cream lump is are nil.
Frozen sweetcorn- its an idea though a tin is kind of a portion control device and I have to make sure there is room in the freezer 1st. Some weeks it!!!8217;s 1 out before its one in, though I guess that!!!8217;s not too bad a thing to be doing, to make sure I use stuff. Frozen fish. I could do that. I often have trouble finding things in my Lidl freezers- why do they keep rearranging?!!- actually I know it!!!8217;s so idiots like me will give up and buy the easier to find fresh stuff- but if I can find the frozen fish!!!8230;.
Pre-prepared puds- again sort of portion control. I did used to buy a big pot of yogurt which is cheaper but I ate it all in one sitting. Also I find natural youghut goes off quickly and I needed to buy jam to put in it, which also went mouldy.
Oats. Ahh yes there!!!8217;s a thing. I don!!!8217;t mind porridge, but I can!!!8217;t for the life of me make it. I just get lumpy grey water whenever I try. Also it!!!8217;s very much a breakfast thing where as cereal is an evening snack. It is rare that I have milk in the house to have with it anyway so it!!!8217;s not something I often buy- I think that was an impulse buy this week.
As for the meat lasting 2-3 weeks. Not really no. I!!!8217;ll have either the turkey breast steaks tonight and the chicken breast fillets on Thursday (I!!!8217;m out tomorrow). So only the fish and the mince remain.
I do really enjoy baking but rarely do it now as there!!!8217;s no one to eat the results! It also creates too much washing up and it doesn!!!8217;t seem to matter how expensive the dishwasher detergent I buy, my dishwasher still doesn!!!8217;t get stuff clean. But C!!!8217;est le vie.0 -
Been lidl today have spent £19.
Will need bread possibly and milk definitely.
I have been recording all our spending and it's coming out at £50 per week. We used to use the butcher and veg shop but have moved and don't make the journey regularly. I've only juse started using lidl.
Today's buys are 30 eggs, gammon joint, 6 pork loin joints, minced beef. I don't intend on shopping again except for essentials.
Intend on cooking eggs today, pork tomorrow, mince Thursday and Saturday fish cakes Friday and then gammon on Sunday.
Also got several tins. Hoping to get on top of things very spon thank you all for your advice.0 -
Sounds like a good start! It's probably something you need to do by degrees, rather than a radical change - keep us updated.Life is mainly froth and bubble: two things stand like stone. Kindness in another’s trouble, courage in your own.0
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Bracelovers wrote: »Been lidl today have spent £19.
Will need bread possibly and milk definitely.
I have been recording all our spending and it's coming out at £50 per week. We used to use the butcher and veg shop but have moved and don't make the journey regularly. I've only juse started using lidl.
Today's buys are 30 eggs, gammon joint, 6 pork loin joints, minced beef. I don't intend on shopping again except for essentials.
Intend on cooking eggs today, pork tomorrow, mince Thursday and Saturday fish cakes Friday and then gammon on Sunday.
Also got several tins. Hoping to get on top of things very spon thank you all for your advice.
Is some of that storecupboard /freezer stuff? Seems like an awful lot of eggs and pork for two meals. 0 -
Halogen, you appear to have pretty complex problems there that cant be fixed by us offering suggestions on food shopping
If the way you shop and eat is working for you right now then thats how it is, don't compare yourself to others as we all have different needs to budget for
((((((BIG HUGS)))))
Do though join in on the cooking for one thread. The posters as I say are lovely and you might get some ideas, but best of all you get friendship0
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