To think it’s impossible to food shop cheaply if you want to cook recipes from scratch

Buy a couple of kilos of mince and make a big batch of chilli or bolognaise. Freeze in portions

How r ppls shopping so cheap !! By the time I buy formula, nappies, loo roll , toiletries I’m already at like £30 before I’ve got a meal together !

I didn't buy formula. Supermarket nappies are cheap. Loo roll is cheap. Things like shampoo are 80p for 500ml and last ages.

Hm… I don’t know… I made bread rolls, chipotle chicken (which is basically just chicken, tomatoes and spices) and coleslaw tonight. The chicken is costly but I made enough for leftovers. £7-£8 for 8 portions. But I buy mayonnaise, yeast, etc routinely and I always have herbs and spices.

OP was asking if it was possible to make food cheaply from scratch. It is for me. If people don't want to do that and prefer to blame their inability on not having privilege, they are of course free to do so. But I thought this was a thread to ask how to do it.

I live in a small London flat btw.

So the global majority can cook with very little, because they can purchase their ingredients fresh and locally and for very little.

Those same ingredients shipped to a cloudy island can make cooking in this way expensive. Not all ingredients, but some are.

If it's so much cheaper to cook from scratch I would love you to tell the profiteering private sector catering company that provides lunches for our primary school, I can assure you they do not cook from scratch and their primary objective is profit.

@Papyrophile there is a lot of evidence that poorer people have poorer diets and poorer health outcomes than wealthier people, people here just seem to be extremely sheltered and ignorant to understand why that is the case, hint, it's not laziness.

I think it’s cheaper. We cook most things ourselves. Maybe it’s cheaper in uk still, but it costs way more to buy pre made things where we live.

I also cook extra often so either a portion goes in freezer or fridge for next easy meal, or main ingredient I might roast more of so the next day is faster. Today we bbqed chicken. Leftovers will go tomorrow in ramen type noodles and veg to use up random bits in fridge.
I always make extra new potatoes or baked potatoes when I roast or boil, so the next day easy potato gröstl type thing or frittata can be made much faster.

Not everyone can afford to bulk buy things or has the time to batch cook !

Or have the space to store it.

Mince and root veg can be delicious. As long as the cook uses all the root veg and the seasonings available cheaply. Horseradish, for example, is a pernicious weed if you have it in the garden but the root is hot and spicy, and you dont have to have roast beef. It is fab with parsnips, and with cheap fish.

There's very good reason that the know how category live longer and eat cheaper (and probably more tasty) than those that don't. I won't be rude and suggest that poor people have worse diets and health outcomes because they don't prioritise food and health, but ignorance is often part of the problem.

These days almost everyone has a smart phone and enough data to read webpages. It's odd that in many other much poorer countries people cook their own food just fine.

You're taking an extremely blinkered and sheltered view. If it was easy as that why does anyone earn minimum wage when there are courses out there to become a specialist in almost anything. In terms of your last point, you should look at what happens when big food brands hit those poorer countries.

People make cheap daal on one burner on the side of the road in India and Nepal, but of course if anybody does the same in the UK, they must be privileged.

I definitely agree. It is so expensive cooking from scratch. Not everyone can afford to bulk buy things or has the time to batch cook ! The cost of food in general is absolutely ridiculous! Of course tho this is mumsnet so I’m sure there’s folk who batch cook in their sleep n get 16 meals out of a chicken ! How r ppls shopping so cheap !! By the time I buy formula, nappies, loo roll , toiletries I’m already at like £30 before I’ve got a meal together !

💯

@Mynaddmawr likely the pizza and chips you chose; you can get very cheap bleak looking pizza and chips from no frill brands.

These days almost everyone has a smart phone and enough data to read webpages. It's odd that in many other much poorer countries people cook their own food just fine.

What about the other 3 dinners? And breakfast and lunch?
I get my herbs and spices from a weight it shop and they are pennies.
I like the Freezer method lady. So I freeze extra, then just pull from freezer to make a meal if needed.

@Twistybranch that's probably fair, important to note also the recent scientific research emphasising the importance of variety for gut microbiome, something we should be encouraging.

I disagree. My food budget is under £100 a week for two adults and a toddler and that includes cat food, toiletries, nappies and wipes etc. I think its important budget wise to amend your recipes and swap in things that you have/that need using. That leads to less food waste as well 😊 if I don't have something I just google 'substitute for X' and go down the list until I find something I own. Or just leave it out.

The houmous example I don't understand- I bought tahini, a bag of lemons and 3 cans of chickpeas yesterday for under a fiver. I already had garlic and olive oil (I appreciate that is expensive but you only need a bit).

I was actually thinking recently how much cheaper it is to cook from scratch. I couldn't be arsed cooking one night last week and bought us a freezer tea as a treat and it was a tenner for 2 pizzas and chips! 😳

I do plan my meals, batch cook and freeze extra portions, dont eat loads of meat and have a pressure cooker- maybe I would find it a lot harder/more expensive otherwise!

Really so fed up of how the way the global majority cooks-with very little money or facilities- is now classed as privileged and poncey.

It’s cheaper if you are making traditional British dishes- which rely on root veg etc. My childhood was a sea of mince and tatties

But most people don’t cook like that anymore and yes, making a wide variety of dishes is therefore difficult on a budget.

@S0livagant lots of people don't have the ability and/or inclination to do that, nor potentially understand the benefit to do so with the powerful manipulation we see from the food industry and supermarket marketing. I'm glad you did.

I taught myself. My mother could hardly cook.

I disagree. When I had fuck all I cooked from scratch. With whatever was cheap or allotment growers might have offered me. Mostly legumes, veg and rice.

Disagree all you like but I suspect you fall into the know how category, if it was as simple as you make it sound we wouldn't have the level of dietary issues amongst poorer people that we do.

Definitely buy rice in the biggest bag you can carry home. a 10kg bag a year is all we need and we eat rice dishes twice a week.