Aibu to be annoyed the food shop disappears so quickly

If you have gannets with hollow legs I find Weetabix are a reasonably filling snack for after school or before bed.

We didn't have pudding regularly either - the children could have an apple, banana or orange after supper during the week. Pudding was a treat at weekends - so either something like a crumble, or more expensive fruit when in season.

See we never have 'pudding' in our house - we just don't do that, so little things like that will make a difference to shopping habits. Not criticising anyone that does BTW, it's a perfectly nice thing to do but for us, having dessert is a very occasional thing or if we eat out, not everyday.

I don't think anyone can really say what's a reasonable amount to spend on a family food shop - if you have a baby you'll spend more on nappies/milk, pet food if you have dog/cat, teens will eat same as adult if not more, you might spend more on alcohol or have a few lunches/dinners out so less on food shop. But certainly food prices have increased around 30-50% compared to a couple of years ago.

It's much cheaper to buy huge tubs of plain or Greek style yogurt than individual ones, and liven it up with a spoonful of frozen berries, jam or honey. You could decant some of it into small bowls to circumvent anyone having enormous helpings! And we always had fruit like strawberries, melon or pineapple as a pudding, so they could be divided out fairly.

You haven't said how old your children are - that does make a difference to how much they go through snacks and how much you limit them. I don't think £100-£130 is low if you have three younger children - perhaps so if it's 3 teens and a big dog.
I spend a similar amount for 4 but would probably have to top up towards end of week. My teens like making a toastie/noodles for a snack so I make sure I have those ingredients in and they're quite cheap but also more filling than chocolate/crisps.

Gosh we spend almost 3x that a week (family of four, no pets). We’re not snackers really (me and my husband don’t snack, but the two kids do) and I find even spending this much, there’s not much left by the end of the week, though I don’t do top-up shops.

For a family of five, I think you’re running out as you’re not buying enough. I’d be adding melon, apples, plums, oranges, kiwis to that list of fruit, and cereal bars (x2 boxes), cheese snacks, mini bags of pop corn and a couple of multipacks of crisps or crackers. I also steer clear of ‘mini packs’ of anything like cookies as they’re mostly packaging with like 3 tiny cookies in: better to buy actual cookies!

I bake breakfast muffins and cake weekly for filling snacks the kids can grab quickly!

I spend about 160 pw family of 4 but feel like things finish super fast. Also noticed lots of snacks are more expensive but you are getting less in the pack then before which means it finishes quicker.
Snack boxes sound like a good shout too.

Who said it was ultraprocessed? We actually use a breadmaker and make our own pancakes - but not everyone has time. It's not the replace fruit - it's instead of biscuits and chocolate bars.

I have a lockbox (think it was about £20 on amazon which is where I keep the treats like chic bars etc. don't tell anyone else the code and either you dole them out or just leave out what you want them to have each day.

I leave fruit out and bread type snacks/ cereal etc so they won't starve but i got sick of people eating three kitkats a day and then moaning there was nothing for their lunchbox!

Why does everyone suggest replacing fruit with UPF white flour products?

Replace expensive fruit with cheaper veggie sticks. Or with a protein snack like some nuts, or cheaper fruit. Or something more substantial like bean burritos which you can bulk make and freeze for pennies each.

Only two of us and I don't snack at all and often only eat in the evening but I think we spend more than that though we do have a wine habit...

I think things like biscuits, chocolate bars and grapes are hard to resist. I've stopped getting them.

I'd get more filling snacks - crumpets or a piece of toast with jam, toasted pancakes or scones. Satsumas or more apples rather than grapes. A big natural greek yogurt- they can add a chopped banana or a spoon of honey.

You really don’t need a recipe. And if you want one, there are a million online.

All you need are oats, some butter, some sort of syrup (golden, maple etc) and anything you want; peanut butter, Nutella, fruit, chocolate chips, nuts… it’s sort of a “chuck it all in and bind with wet ingredients” then bake.

because it's something sweet that is healthier than sweets. Have you never read the ubiquitous exhortations to swap just one small thing?

And yes, we had sweets 50 years ago.

(In The Magician's Nephew, CS Lewis addresses the children of the 50s: "...but meals were nicer; and as for sweets, I can't tell you how cheap and good they were")

I was born in 1969, and I have NEVER had a period of my life that didn't include a regular afternoon snack. Possibly two. And supper. (That's "evening snack with cocoa, having had a 6pm tea" supper, not "the main meal of the day" supper)

There was one year where I would take 5 apples to school, after eating 2 on my paper-round and before having another 3 in the evening. But that was an exceptional harvest.

Do you have a recipe for the oatie squares please?

No judgement, it’s difficult to keep costs down right now and I don’t think people really appreciate how much more difficult lack of time can make budgeting too.

Another suggestion I find works for us is scheduled snack times rather than letting them graze whenever they want. And it’s a take what you’re offered or go without policy too (although they do usually get some choice i.e we’re having toast, what do you want on it or do you want cheese or pb or your sandwich)

Please don't feel judged. You are buying what you can afford.

Just buy good food, not snacks.

Plain tortilla chips (usually in the essentials range) are cheap, own brand biscuits (oat type ones are more filling), popcorn

Ok, so I might be in the minority but I don't think your budget is tiny/unrealistic. I spend around £140 on our weekly shop for 4 people, but that's without really budgeting at all. Admittedly my kids are picky eaters so probably not attacking the snacks in the same way yours are, and our meals are rather limited. That includes lunches for me, and for the toddler 2 days a week.

I've never held myself out as a beacon of frugality (😂), but I'd definitely buy things like strawberries sparingly on the assumption they won't last more than a day (besides everything else, we've had a lot of "mushy" strawberries this summer which my kids won't eat). So I'd make strawberries/grapes a once a week treat and stock up on apples, bananas and oranges instead.
Stop buying the mini bags of cookies, they're very poor value. Give one or two cookies instead. Tesco do own brand milky ways which are bigger and cheaper.
Likewise buy own brand cereal.
I give my DC popcorn in a snack box for a snack at school, rather than buying individual packets. That, and a banana.

I'd stop buying the rice cakes and yoghurts entirely - not very filling and, unless the yoghurt is plain, doubtful nutritional value. My kids don't get specific snack food, except treats like chocolate. I don't buy crisps and they eat cereal with whole milk or toast with jam and peanut butter as a snack. Little one likes cheese and crackers. Sometimes we buy fancy cereal as a treat (like Oreo Os), but that's treated like pudding in our house.

I think you definitely need to explore Aldi and Lidl, even with cash back I’d have thought they would be cheaper if you are buying own brand.

are your children on free school meals? If not I’d recommend going over to packed lunches as they will be more filling and cheaper.

understand working full time, but you should have some time at weekends to knock up some fairy cakes or flapjacks as an activity with the kids? They can be bulked out with all sorts as mentioned.

Also toddler snacks are far cheaper in Aldi and Lidl if you need to buy these, same with cleaning products.

Also explore farm foods, they are very good for snacks and freezer stuff.

We are a family of 5. We spend way more than that a week, also mostly eat at school/work, so not many lunches.
Is somebody being greedy and eating it all in one go? From what you've wrote, that is a very small amount of snacks for 5 people. Is that to last everyone the whole week?
Food is super expensive.

That doesn’t sound enough

I feel your pain, both of my kids got a telling off this morning for getting under my feet while I was unpacking the food shop, they were basically trying to work out what there was they they could eat immediately. Ds opened a brand new pack of crackers immediately after eating his breakfast ( I mean he literally put the spoon down from his cereal and grabbed the crackers) just to have a snack. Dd under the guise of "helping" seemed very fixated on what biscuit bars I'd purchased. I will be interested to see how long they last. 35 biscuit bars - 2 teenagers.