In these hard economic times I do I reduce my food bill??

[slipperandpjsmum]

Last night I cooked a big pan of lentils. Never had much to do with them before. I am gazing at them wondering how on earth I am going to turn them into a meal for 7 to enjoy tonight!!

Does anyone have any tips of economical meals for alot of hungry mouths. I am determined to reduced the cost of my food bill which is spiralling out of control. The food cost more than our mortgage last month.

Do people shop at supermarkets? I am thinking of going to somewhere like Cosco (spelt that wrong I think)? I did shop at a
farm a few weeks ago and it cost far more!!!

Any hints, tips and ideas???

Now back to my lentils....

[pinkclouds]

I shop at any major supermarket and have down branded. So mainly by the supermarket own branded product. I have found that this drastically reduces the food bill. Although some stuff isn't good you soon find out what is ok and what's not.

I buy washing powder, dishwasher tablets, Pasta, Rice, tomato sauce and stuff like that in large quantities from the cash and carry.

We have certainly cut our food bill and not had to compromise too much.

Good luck hope this helps.

[twolittlemonkeys]

Reduce the amount of meat/chicken/fish you buy. When I buy these, I look for reduced stuff at the end of the day then freeze it til I need it.

Value ranges for pasta, tinned tomatoes and other staples.

If you have a Farmfoods near you, that's great for bread, milk, eggs and frozen stuff cheap. Meals we do frequently, which are cheap include baked potatoes, pasta bakes, vegetable stir fry, corned beef hash, bean chilli (you could use lentils in place of meat for curries, chilli, stew etc). Bulgur/ cracked wheat is great to stick in a spag bol mix, it takes on the flavour of whatever it's cooked with so you can use it in place of half the mince, to make it cheaper, and you really can't tell.

Have loads more ideas but got to go and do the school run. Make sure you plan your meals before you shop though, to avoid waste. I literally halved my grocery bill doing that.

[Haribojoe]

I have switched to own or economy range for lots of things (this has saved us loads) and no difference in tast etc e.g yoghurts for the kids.

I try to get things that will stretch to more than one meal for instance have roast chicken, then next day put the carcass in slow cooker with soup, veg and stock to make a stew which then does us for another dinner.

Also when buying things like fruit I buy whatever is on offer, this has also meant the kids having a more varied diet!

I also take a bit more time doing the shopping and actually look at prices properly, this might sound stupid but so often you're attracted by a special promotion sign but when you look a regular size pack/portion etc is cheaper.

Our shopping bill was getting ridiculous and I've more than halved it by doing things like this, it can be done.

Good luck

[threecurrantbuns]

I agree re the roast chicken ive started buying them on 3 for £10 and using them alot insterad of chicken portions. Ive got 3meals out of a chicken in the past!

Roast, soup, stir fry!

Also if i get my fruit and veg at the market it makes a massive difference i used to go every sat am with my dds along with the park and the market staff always gave thema free snack from the stall.

The quality was soo much better and i doubled my quantity for less money BUT i havent done this since ds arrive as i stuggle with a market trip alone with 3 young dcs so ive resrted to doing it all online again!! But the last two week i have used the sainburys recipes (five meals for £20) They are quite good and you can alter the meals to suit without spending more.

[Mousesmummy]

Meal plan and on-line shopping!!! We have 4dc and were spending a fortune each month at the supermarket - and were throwing lots out each week too that we hadn't got round to eating.
Now we decide on a Sunday the 'menu' for the weeknd only buy what we need to make those meals. Obviously each week we replenish the basics of fruit,bread, cordial etc Then it is ordered on-line. NOT going to the shops saves an absolute fortune!
We were spending at least £100 a week and nw he weekly shop is never any more than £50!
Each week we get either nappies, cleaning stuff, dog food etc.
We have started to get some supermarket own brand items such as washing up liquid, mushrooms and cereals but always buy free range chicken!

We would have a roast (chicken) on Monday, then chicken curry on a Tuesday,
ham, cabbage and mash on Wednesday, Shepherds pie Thursday, and ham pie on Friday.

(We do eat mostly at mums on a weekend)

It is nice to mooch around the shops sometimes but you just end up buying stuff you don't need or want. And actually the elder children really enjoy deciding on themenu

It has taken us a few weeks to get into the habit of doing t but it really has saved us ££££££

[timetosmile]

I think downbranding is great! many of the 'value' staples are just as good and 1/3 of the price.
Also, have started making my own bread(maker) and (Lakeland) yoghurt routinely which has saved a bit.
Stocking up with loads of tins of beans/soup ot loo roll etc when there is a good offer on, as much as we can reasonably store!
Making extra portions for most hot dinners, then freezing means that DH and I can take our own to work and not pay canteen prices.

[TrinityIsABunnyMunchingRhino]

buy the value range from tesco or asda

some of its shit, some of its ok but we have no choice

[wheresthepimms]

Costco is good for your branded stuff, washing powder (6 of us and the box lasted a good 3 months) and other bulk items, but it is having the space to store them that is the problem. I use the value ranges for nearly everything the kids eat, they don't mind the taste, then only get a few branded items for the grown ups to snack on when the kids are in bed .

[balia]

Mysupermarket.com is good, you can easily compare prices if you are shopping online. Meal planning, definitely, and downgrading. It can be a bit trial and error to buy the cheapest value range stuff but can have unexpected upsides - since trying the cheapest own brand shampoo and conditioner my hair has never looked better!

Also you can get slow-cookers quite cheaply and they can turn very cheap cuts of meat into delicious meals and they cook using a fraction of the electricity. Cook double and freeze. And don't buy tins of soup - making it is much, much cheaper!

[buttonmoon78]

I go to Makro whenIcanbearsed and buy things like washing powder, dishwasher tablets etc at the beginning of the month. I always used to buy nappies there too as ds had very sensitive skin so I had to use Pampers. Hoping #4 won't be so picky!

Makro (and smilar) are also great for meat - buy huuuge packs and joints and then freeze in family meal sized portions. It helps if you have a chest freezer though - ours is a 2/3 size and I wouldn't be without it.

I second Balia's slow cooker suggestion.

I also cook double of everything whenIcanbebothered but have learned my lesson - when it's cooked, halve it immediately and put the other pan out of sight. If you don't you'll find two days food suddenly disappears as everyone decides that chilli/bolognese/stew/whatever is their favourite dish and that they are starving and need a double portion

Also, we cook almost everything from scratch (apart from bread as I'm too lazy). I don't use many sauces (like sharwoods or anything) but that's mainly because chicken is so expensive now! I hardly ever buy any ready meals and I bake most treat-like things for the kids lunchboxes. It really doesn't take that long (but then I only work 20-25 hours so I couldn't say whether if I worked full time I'd be saying that, to be fair).

I hardly ever use anything that's branded. Own brand is fine for us with most things. Except coke. Apparently coca cola is where it's at. Which is why I've not bought any for over a year!

[buttonmoon78]

Oh, and this may sound like a total control freak thing, but the kids know that if they want something they have to ask. I don't operate an open fridge policy. I just can't afford to.

They know there's always loads of toast/fruit for snacking on.

I wish my mum had done this with me. Her fridge was a free for all and as a consequence I snack terribly and am too fat. DDs are not and I firmly believe that this has a lot to do with the fact that if they say 'I'm hungry' and I offer them toast or fruit they reassess how hungry they are and only have it when they really are hungry and not just bored!

[BITCAT]

i plan 4 7 meals for the week and buy what we need and do most of it online..i dont feel the need to pickup stuff we dont need then. I get 1 or 2 treats for the kids and i bake my own puddings. I manage to do food shopping on 80 pound a week..thats 4 2 adults and 4 kids that live here..every other weekend we have an extra 1 to feed. And we actually eat better and are in better shape since ive cut back.

[BITCAT]

and the children only get the treats if they eat a good majority of there food!