250 pound weekly shopping/food

[Whome91]

Please try not to judge. We are a family of 5 two adults 7 4 and 7 months kids. Some of that is takeaways that me and dh have at night. I have a Diet Coke habit (20 for cans) I cook meat for the kids most nights. It’s including nappies for two kids in full term and baby milk. Help please

www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Called-Jack-delicious-recipes/dp/0718178947/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=a+girl+named+jack&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1580065648&sr=8-1

This is the book I mentioned upthread. The recipes are easy to cook, it uses a lot of store cupboard stuff you can buy in bulk and always have in, and they are quick to make and stuff that kids will like.

Do you have any family members or friends who would help you learn to cook? I'd definitely do this for anyone I knew who wanted to learn. As someone upthread has said, home made food is almost always much nicer than ready made food, once you get the hang of it.

Another money saver is batch cooking/freezing leftovers - even individual portions. You can then have evenings where you take something out the freezer to have with rice or mash. It saves more than you think as it’s surprising how many single portions get thrown away.

35 a day! Yikes. Even with £5 pack of steak x 2 per day, I'm struggling with what you spend it all on.
Lots of wine / beer / spirits?

Can your DH pick up things like Aldi/Lidl nappies on the way home from work (or during his working day if he drives around)? Stock up with a months worth on payday and keep them in the boot of the car if you don't have the space at home.

There's loads of ways to get to cheaper supermarkets without extra time and money if you think outside the box a little.

Bloody hell!
I can’t cook well/don’t enjoy it but manage a few dishes because we can’t eat shit all of the time.
We are family of 5 and budget £100 a week but usually spend £60.
I shop online because it stops me being distracted by ‘bargains’ (and stops me wanting to murder people). Before I do the shop I look to see what we have in the freezer, fridge and larder. From that I make a list of meals that we can have for the week.
The only top ups we buy are milk and bread.

Forget about the food bill for now and focus on improving your confidence in the kitchen.

My ex used to do most of the cooking so I’d got out of the habit and was a bit stuck in a rut cooking very basic meals and eating takeaways.
I then found a local foodie place that ran occasional cooking demos and classes. I went along to a few sessions and managed to improve my repertoire and I’m much more adventurous now and able to cook a good range of meals.

Look online or check your local adult education centre and see if there are any basic cookery courses that you could attend, either the odd day, one morning a week or whatever might work for you. You might have to get your DH or family to look after the children to attend a class but it will reap huge rewards in the longer term. You’ll also get to try new foods and probably make a couple of new friends too. I even learnt how to chop an onion like a Pro!

You must be wasting so much food or you’re overeating like mad. How is the families weight?

OP, if you’re interested in learning how to cook and can afford it, you could try one of those meal boxes - hello fresh, gousto, there might be others. They are pricey but they probably will get you 4 meals for less than you’re currently spending, the recipes are really easy to follow, and it will give you ideas for your own shopping lists in the future.

Other than that, meal planning is essential, and if you can get the children eating the same as you, it will save you time and money.

We are a family of of 4 with a dog and we spend £160 per week. We eat meat and fish most evenings, with quality meat for sandwiches. So I would say for a family of 5 with with nappies and formula, that's about right.

Haven’t read the full thread, but saw your comment about ready made mash. Even if you cba to mash your own, buy a bag of frozen instead - it’s way cheaper and lovely.

Six sausages is way too much for one person though - he can’t be healthy eating all that.

I had a similar problem. I've made some changes which have helped.
I meal plan for the wk ahead and do a food shop for all we need and just pop in in the wk for fresh veg and salad.
I started buying diet cola instead of coke and weaned myself onto cups of tea instead of coke mostly.
I buy unbranded everything except ketchup and mayo.
I shop in Aldi or Lidl instead of Asda.
I get my fuel in tesco and save my Clubcard points all year for the Xmas food shop.
I make basic flapjack and cakes instead of buying puddings and snacks.
I make one big dinner each night, use leftovers for mine and eldest child's lunchboxes.
I bought a basic cookbook and learnt as I went along.
We no longer get takeaways and use the money we save for family days out instead. Cinema cost us 23 pound and bought the snacks in wilko. That's less that a Chinese takeaway would have cost.
I take drinks and picnics on days out in a backpack to save eating out.
Hope this helps. Good luck.

I wouldn't count the baby in too much for meals as a 5th person due to small portion sizes, so if you look at it as a family of 4 , thats nearly £9 a day each.

I would get the shopping delivered. You could probably do 2 £40 shops a week.

So maybe a delivery on a Friday £40, then another £40 delivery on Tuesday. That might make it seem less overwhelming to start with.

Then plan meals for Fri, Sat, Sun & Mon.

Then another meal plan for the Tues, Wed & Thurs delivery.

Use stuff up in the cupboards, get a slow cooker, get a steamer, get an air fryer. They make my life easier anyway.

Why not try 1 diet coke in the evening as a treat for cooking some nice easy dinners.

I don't know how you're managing this while shopping at Asda, I buy my groceries at Ocado/Riverford/Whole Foods and I probably only spend about £180/week. Maybe 200 at a push. We're a family of 4, two teenage boys, they eat a lot.

I have a diet coke habit, they're usually 30 cans for £10 at Ocado.

Why not use cloth diapers?

If you can afford it, I don't see the problem

And, no, don't give up your diet coke habit. Unless you want to. There are some very good deals around where you pay under 30 pence a can. Other people may prize their wine drinking or their organic vegeables. I prize my diet coke

My dh is a normal weight but unfit my kids are normal weight am a few pounds overweight. Yes I have two in nappies as my 4yr old has special needs and is a fussy eater, there’s so much that I need to change it’s abit overwhelming tbh. I know how to cook mac n cheese from scratch if that helps. We all eat that too. Yes we. Spend 40 pound on nice wine a week so that’s a lot. I think I’d struggle to cut down as I’m currently drinking 10 cans a day ☹️

If you have an Iceland nearby:
5 x bags of frozen veg for £4
4 x bags of meat for £10 (steak mince, diced steak, minced lamb etc)
3 x bags of frozen fish for £10

Stock up on cupboard basics once a week/fortnight or month such as pasta, rice, sauces etc. Does your 7 month old eat the same meals as you, or are you doing purees? Sorry I haven't read the whole thread!

I like Asda own brand nappies, but maybe try other supermarkets and see what you get on best with, but the cheaper ones are just as good in my experience. Depending what formula you use the stage 2 is usually on offer as well.

Do you throw out a lot of food?

Pasta dishes are easy, give one of them a go first and you can build from there. You will be ok.

I think it’s so easy to spend £££ on food without really realising it. I know I’m certainly “guilty” of that.

If I were you I’d look locally for some basic cooking lessons. Our children’s centre ran a really good free course that also included a crèche. Alternatively do you have any friends who are into cooking? My mate is Indian and she’s taught me some easy, brilliant, authentic and super cheap recipes that we all like (3 small DC here).

I try and meal plan once a week, including snacks and lunch boxes. Then I do a Tesco on line delivery. I find I’m less likely to order stuff I don’t need online that I am if I’m actually in the store itself. Tesco (I don’t work for them, honest!) also have a meal planner on their website which is really helpful plus their Clubcard points are an added bonus.

BBC good food is another great website and there’s loads of cooking channels that you can watch.

I was reading about a Syrian refugee who’s hoping to become an Olympic swimmer today. Up until a year ago he’d NEVER swum at all. He’s got this amazing talent that he never knew about. Who knows? You could be the next super chef!

Are you intimidated at the notion of cooking? Just find a recipe and start. I really can't understand buying pre-cut onion or ready mash.

Maybe you could start with homemade mashed potatoes? I put 3 or 4 (skin on) in a covered glass bowl in the microwave for 10 minutes, add milk/butter and mash. Delicious, cheap, easy.

Try to cut out takeaways and cook food by batch and store it in freezer. I would make soup, stews, lasagne, spaghetti bolognese and curries and store them in freezer then when I want them for the next day, I defrost them. And if you feel like takeaways, have them once a month on pay day which me and dh do as a treat. Aldi and ASDA are brilliant for meat products in pricing.

I actually think we spend 150 on takeaways wine and coke a week

Family of 6 4 kids me oh we shop at Asda too no nappies or formula no cleaning products no bathroom/sanitary items I buy mostly real dinners try to avoid too much frozen food I do £100 weekly then probably £30 cleaning products and £30 bathroom/sanitary items weekly if you add takeaways and little treats from the shop I'd say it's not far off £200/£250 a week formula and nappies are expensive especially for 2!

I was a passable cook until I became a SAHM

Now I can meal plan with the best Of them, and I have a few meals that are crowd pleasers even for guests!

Facebook meal videos were a huge help for me, as was Pinterest

You can become a good cook

I'm in ireland and there is a programme here called 'operation transformation'.
It's on every January and people try to change their lives over 8 weeks.
Anyway, There is a woman on it this year and she was drinking even more cans of coke than that per day. She is cutting it out and they are filming her and tracking her progress. It would be worth a look if you can find this programme online. It is on the RTE player. I hope you can give it up too. Good luck.