£50 weekly food bill??? not in my house.

[6inchnipples]

Having read a few threads on the 'how much do you spend on food per week' topic and having read the 'i spend 40' 'i spend 50' chat i thought i'd really make an effort to try and get mine down a bit (currently spend about 80-90 average per week, 3 kids under 5 plus me and dp)

Just nipped to local co op whose prices are reasonable, do lots of good fruit offers.

I bought 2 packs of chicken breasts 2 for 7 quid offer, two 2l milks, a dozen yogs on special, clementines, strawbs,necterines, blueberries, melon, baked pots reduced to 48p and a loaf

Total 23 quid.

Pots , 1 pack chicken, blueberries, half the strawbs and half the melon gone already, eaten for dinner and pudding.... No way i could do it for 50 quid, not with freash fruit veg etc

HOw do you do it????

Where am i going wrong???

[TrinityRhino]

I do it cause we dont have enough fresh fruit, veg and meat

its sucks I hate it

[Goober]

I dunno love, mine is worse than yours (£100-£120 a week. 3 kids, 10, 13 and 14, a dog, DH and me)
I now use Lidl but bills still big.

[silverfrog]

how many people did the chicken feed? I can (but don't always) make 2 chicken breasts feed 4 of us twice (so 8 meals).

Sometimes, the secret is as much what you do with your food, as how much you buy

[TeenyTinyToria]

I do it on £20-£30 a week for me, dh and hungry toddler. We have fruit and veg, but only cheap stuff - apples and oranges on offer rather than fancy things like blueberries. We also only buy meat when it's on sale at the end of the night, so about 50p a pack.

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

Buy whole chickens rather then chicken breasts, they are cheaper and will last for 2 meals, a roast and a curry/wraps.

[janeite]

I used to think I was pretty good but I have just done a Sainsbo's order and it came to 80 pounds. I didn't buy anything 'exciting' and the only 'big' things were some coffee and a bottle of olive oil. Things just seem to be getting more and more expensive, especially fruit and vege, bread, cereal - the 'basics' basically!

[TrinityRhino]

yes blueberries, nectarines and strawberries are very expensive and we have them once every few months

the strawberries I bought, yesterday actually, were on offer for 1.99 instead of 2.49
I bought two packs

one was eaten yesterday
one was eaten today

I cant spend £4 every two days on fruit

so we dont have them very often at all

[ilovetochat]

we would never have blueberries, strawberries and melon in a week. we have basics like bananas, satsumas or clementines, raisins, apples and then either melon/strawberries/blueberries whichever is on offer.
own brand everything.

[QuintessentialShadow]

I am on a quest to waste less food, and I am deliberately using less meat. I am calculating 300-400g of meat or fish for a family of 4. Less if in a caserolle, or a dish such as chicken korma where I also include peas and carrots now. We rarely have leftovers now. With rice, potatoes, and veg. I no longer buy "exotics" such as blueberries, rasberries, mangoes, etc, unless it is on offer. Staples such as apples, pears, bananas and oranges, including melon, is the thing now.

[CherryChoc]

Sometimes people say "We spend X per week" but forget the emergency trips to the local shop to pick up bread, milk and eggs count, as do picking things up on the way home, if you eat out/have a takeaway regularly as well that is one night you aren't cooking.

It can be done for £40-50 per week, but that is another explanation and certainly explains why our grocery bills are low but we never seem to have any money

[Goober]

I only buy bananas, apples and one other fruit whatever is on offer, this week punnet of plums.
Strawberries/ raspberries are a rare treat if I go to a farmers market. Otherwise just the ordinary stuff.

[FAQinglovely]

I can do it on 55-65 (including nappies, cleaning stuff etc as well) for 5 of us - DH, me, and 3 DS's - who while still younhg in age - 2 of them eat bigger dinners that I do !

And yes we have fruit and veg (fresh)

[janeite]

The only fruit I bought were apples (special offer), bananas and oranges.

[FAQinglovely]

oh yes - tops ups (bread and milk) usually just under £10 a week - or less if I've bulk bought the weeks milk.

[Goober]

Top ups were included in my figures.

[pointydog]

You are buying too much expensive stuff.

Don't buy chicken at all, or buy thighs. Buy cheap fruit not all those expensive ones. Buy lots of cheap veg.

[GossipMonger]

Cereal and toast for breakfast

Sandwiches, apple, yoghurt and HM cake for lunches. Juice in a sports bottle

Dinners -

Pancakes stuffed with whatever

Chicken wraps

Chickpea soup

Lentil and carrot soup

Tomato pasta

Meatballs and rice

Cheese toasties

Egg and beans

chilli con carne

jacket potatoes with different sorts of fillings

Hot salads

Roast chicken and vegetables

Toad in the Hole

[FAQinglovely]

look for stuff that is in season too.

oh and if you go to a bigger supermarket ALWAYS check the seleted 2nds on the fruit and veg. I got a punnet of "last" seasons strawberries for 49p last week. No they probably weren't quite as sweet as the new season ones - and there were one or 2 I had to chuck as they were a bit off - but there were more than enough to chop up to share between the 5 of us with a tub of ice cream for desert.

(not the whole tub I hasten to add )

[sunburntats]

I also suppliment with frozen fruit & veg.

I can also feed us (me, dh, ds) for less than £50 per week.

I buy bread on offer,freeze it, then get slices out as we need them. use 2 loaves a week(always wholemeal)

Buy grapes, bananas, apples, pears and strawberries ONLY when on offer and cheaper.
Grapes for lunch bag only. strawberries for breakfast or pudding. Look for anything on offer.

Do meal list for the week.
Buy a multipack of crisps once a fortnight, when its gone its gone...they are a treat.

I rarely throw food away, i make large batches of things like spag bol, and freeze half in reusable takaway tubs (those plastic ones) they are just enough for a meal.
We eat "out of the freezer" once a week.

I deliberately make things last, so for eg, a small block of cheese will lat a whole week for sandwiches, ontop of shep pies etc.

Buy shops own brand of stuff.

Once a month i will do a cupbourd sweep, so i look through my cupbourds to see what meal i can make out of what i already have in, you buy stuff then forget you have it allot!

Cleaning stuff, i have one thing for everything and wont replace till its almost all gone.

I cant abide waste, cant afford to waste so have to be careful.
Oh and rarely have to go to do an emergency half way through the week shop. Go on a Monday after school and thats it for the week.
Can be done.

[FAQinglovely]

how I'd love to only go through 2 loaves a week - we've been through a loaf just in one day today

[janeite]

I don't buy biscuits, crisps, wine, beer, meat - still 80 quid!

[Ivykaty44]

chicken breast is the expensive cut - go for thighs as they have one small bone and far better value for money and more meat. Usually £2.99 yes you have to skin and bone - but your labour is ree

Yogurts - the economy big pot plain for 49 p - two of these pots for under a £1 and have with the fruit.

Fruit I spend £1.09 for 8 bananans, so I get two packs, pears a bag for £1, apples the bags for £1.50, blueberries if they are under £3, melon if they are on offer get one free otherwise get pinapple. Strawberries.

Then I hit the tinned fruit and get the mishaped selection of mandarines, fruit cocktails, gratefruit and peaches - these all come in at under 30 p per tin and are wonderful with breakfast or as a pudding with some plain yogurt.

I make sure I buy enough shopping for 2 weeks and plenty of flour for making bread - so that I dont have to pop to the supermrket agian and spend.

I do make my own bread which helps keep the cost down as it works out at about 50-60p per loaf.

[Mousey84]

I was on one of the threads saying how little I have spent, but its only me and dd.

Look into bulking things up - lentils, beans etc. Snacks could be things made with oats (oat and raisin flapjacks for example) Same with dessert - make cobblers or similar.

Look at the reduced section and see what you can buy and freeze.

Bags of frozen veg are usually cheaper and can have more nutrients than fresh (by the time it gets to the shop, bought, sat in fridge for few days) And frozen veg has much longer "shelf" life.

Experiment with own brand / value ranges (not sure if co-op have one?) I refill dds disney priness bubble bath and body wash bottles with really really cheap stuff. I use soap bars for body wash - much cheaper than the liquid stuff.

Look out for discount food stores - we have one about 5 mins walk from the local tesco. Items are often 50% cheaper, but you cant rely on certain foods being there. All proceeds go to charity too, which is nice.

[sunburntats]

i do that mousy with the body wash for me and ds! refill with cheepo stuff.
Only use soap so i am chuffed to bits when someone buys me posh toiletries for my birthday or Christmas

Agree about the chicken breasts, buy thighs or drumsticks, bake in the oven then strip off the meat..add to curies etc.

I never ever buy red meat. Buy small portions of lean mince only.

What is in your trolley then to make it £80?

[FAQinglovely]

ooo I can't stand proper soap - it goes all scummy and horrible - and the kids just use it to "shoot" around the bathroom between slippery fingers .