Do you think 80 pounds in food shopping for a family of 4 is too much ??

[Summerfruit]

We are a bit tight at the moment so I try to find some way of saving money..by meal planning etc..I shop with tesco.

[diedandgonetodevon]

No, I'd consider it fairly conservative but if you can't afford it cuts will have to be found somewhere.

[LuluMaman]

start shopping at lidl or aldi

also, i buy meat and chicken from the butcher, it is not cheaper, but it is tastier and the children can share one chicken breast each as tehy are bigger, plumper and less full of water than supermarket ones, so it all goes further

[FAQtothefuture]

yes I do - I've just done 5 days worth of shopping for 6 of us (3 adults, 2 children with big appetites and 1 toddler) - spend £56 - although admittedly I do have some basics (cheese, eggs, etc) in the fridge already.

Bought good quality british meat as well

Lulu - my DS1 and 2 would balk at me if I gave them 1/2 a chicken breast each - even with a big decent chicken ).

[Lizzylou]

It is about what we spend, but if you are trying to cut back:
eat less meat but when you do, like Lulu says go to the butcher
Buy fruit and veg from local greengrocer/market, better quality, less packaging and cheaper I have found
Shop online so you can budget better
I am trying to get in the habit of shopping online for things we need once a fortnight (boys yoghurts/cleaning stuff/storecupboard stuff etc), go to the butchers once a month and freeze meat, weekly/twice weekly trips to grocers.

[PestoPrideMonster]

Tescos is pricey, try Asda if you haven't got Lidl near you. Much less choice there too, so you're less likely to impulse buy.

[Summerfruit]

I do think I waste, but going to the butcher is a good idea..sometimes I'm just too tired to cook ..I have a greengrocer near by as well.Thank you for your posts !x

[lou031205]

I think you can make meat go quite far if you want to. We had two chickens last week. I made the following:

Night 1 - A roast dinner for 4 adults, 2 toddlers (2 & 3).
Night 2 - A chicken salad for 4 adults, 2 toddlers
Night 3 - Boiled chicken carcass for stock, picked all remaining meat off. Added onion, carrots & peas to make a pie. Fed 2 adults, 2 toddlers.
Night 4 - Left over pie with chips for 2 adults.

So 2 chickens fed 12 adults & 6 toddlers.

[FAQtothefuture]

lou - 1 chicken will feed 6 of us in this house - yes even a large free range organic one.

There was enough left for chicken sandwiches for one the other day - and of course I'll use the carcass.

[Summerfruit]

lou, you are good, I'm going to give it a go !!!

[colditz]

You can do it very easily .... Potatoes and pasta are your friends. For oily fish, I NEVER buy salmon, only mackerel (which is delicious) and meatwise, mince and cheap cuts like shoulder of pork and shin of beef are much cheaper.

With regards to chicken, portions are cheaper than whole chickens and if you don't gorge yourselves on meat, which isn't a healthy thing to do anyway, it can be a healthier option as the dark meat of poultry has a much higher iron content.

Don't buy cod and haddock. It is nutritionally inferior to pollack and coley, and ethically unsound because of the appalling overfishing. It is also, and I freely admit this to be the main reason for my boycott, twice the price of pollack (the so called 'omega three white fish') and three times the price of coley, which is just fine in pies.

Eggs make a good quality, easily-got-into-small-mouths form of protein, and are also cheap.

All this also depends on the size and appetite of your children - my three year old eats like a bird, my 6 year old eats as much as I do.

Ev'nin' all!

[Tortington]

no

[TrillianAstra]

I think sounds perfectly reasonable if you can afford it. If you can't afford it then it is possible to eat for less but personally I think you would have to eat less nice stuff, have less meat, fewer snacks, etc.

Agree with Riven that Asda is full of crap. The one near us is anyway. Tesco have a lot of 'discount lines' with odd names that do very well for things like crisps and gherkins (DP likes to eat gherkins as a snack, I figure it's not too unhealthy, and a big jar is about 80p).

[lou031205]

Goodfood Recipes can help to give ideas. I tried the Chicken & couscous one-pot last night. It was cheap & delicious.

[lou031205]

FAQ - it's great, isn't it. So much meat is left on the carcass even if it doesn't look like it.

[colditz]

I've never seen a worm in pollack, but I do buy it filletd and frozen.

[mumofmaniacs]

I spend £60 - 80 for 2 adults & 3 children at Tesco, Butcher & Market. This includes washing/cleaning stuff, toilet roll etc so not just food.

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's meat cook book was a real eye-opener. I was a leg of lamb and chicken breast kinda gal before reading it. It's saved me loads and the cheaper cuts are much tastier too!

[Ivykaty44]

The advantage of finding a good butcher that will sell you meat that you want and need rather than buying meat that the supermarket want to sell you.

i have two local butchers that will sell me things like one boneless breast of chicken that will do three for a stir fry and cost is £1.20. Or I will have the tail end of a fillet (butcher cant sell this part) for the price of rump for a stir fry or stroganoff - the quality is good and tasty and it is not expensive as you are only purchasing excatly what you need.

Eggs from my local butcher or greengrocer are 85p for 6 large eggs or £1.40 for 12 large eggs - cheaper and better than the supermarket and they will last longer

greengrocers and market stalls for veg and fruit can be really good produce and again you can buy 3 fruit or 6 fruit or what you require and not have a whole packet of something going off in the bowl.

A smaller meal folled by fruit chopped up and a little yogurt over will satify rather than a big meat meal and no pudding. Buy yogurt if you like in a big pot rather than lots of small pots.

[tryingtobemarypoppins]

FAQtothefuture I so want your shopping list! You are amazing!

[FAQtothefuture]

not really - I'd love to be able to stretch the chicken meat over 2 proper meals - but I don't think you'd find a chicken big enough

[sigh]

[thesouthsbelle]

i've just spend that for DS & I. however in my defence I haven't shopped in a fortnight properly as haven't had a large amount of cash spare to do it, and B it should last me for a fortnight. (hopefully)

[OrmIrian]

For a week? No. We struggle to keep it under 120 for 5.

[bronze]

FAQ you should see my chickens I left them a bit long before I culled them as was pregnant and couldn't face gutting them. They are a tad on the large side and one does our family for 5 or so meals with generous quantities