How much does a regular evening meal cost you?

[shylatte]

This year money is tighter and I need to cut back. We are fairly frugal, but good quality food is very important to us - our shop (for 5 of us) is approx £200 per week. I cook everything from scratch, buy value products where I can. Our main problem is that the two eldest are really into sport/fitness and protein is a big thing for them. Heavy carb meals don't satisfy them at all, and dc1 wants chicken breasts and cooked salmon fillets as snacks.
On a Thursday we have fish, usually salmon or cod, which costs about £12 for the meal (this is from Lidl, not a gourmet fishmonger). That is before veg and a carb side. As part of my 'cutting back' I bought 750g of prawns on offer for £5. We've just finished a stir fry, to which all of the dc have declared is more like a snack rather than a meal On Sundays the dc like a lamb leg roast, and that alone is nearly £20.
My question is, is this normal? What would be the average price of a meal and what size is your family? DH thinks this is fine but I feel it is too much, but don't know how we can cut back.

Lots of people with excellent advice on here.

I tend to stick or at least strive towards menus of Northern Italy.

Good flour. Wholemeal.

Good ingredients.

meant, yes but then less of it

2 adults, 2 children with small appetites. I probably spend an average £3 per person.

One adult, one teen here. I aim at £1.75 each per evening meal, all home made. £50 a week total.

Breakfast is toast/porridge and fruit
Lunch is omelettes, sandwiches, home made soup, jacket potatoes
Supper is sausages, pasta & sauce, fish (frozen not fresh), lots of pies etc. Fruit pies and crumbles too. Sunday - Roast chicken, Pork, venison (lots available locally). Lamb as a treat.

I don't buy beef at all. I'm trying to move to veggie at least twice a week, reduce meat generally so more beans, lentils, olives etc

I buy catering packs of bacon, chicken thighs, split them up and freeze in portions.

Following on from my previous post.
You need to challenge their attitudes that veggie food is not 'proper food' and that protein = meat, but you can start small.

You say you use 1kg of mince in a bean dish for you all. There's just no need to use 1kg of meat. Cut it back to 750g and then 500g. You do not need more meat than this, and if you're packing in lentils, pulses and flavour then the dish won't be lacking.

Salmon fillets- I could easily eat 2 salmon fillets in a normal weekday evening mea but I generally don't because it's expensive full price and I don't need to (and this is coming from someone with little food control who has been known to spend a lot on food). Give them 1 and a half. If an 18 and 14 year old can't understand that you need to cut food costs down and salmon is expensive, cut each fillet into 3 or 4 pieces before cooking like you would for a child.

Chicken breast and salmon fillets are not snacks. A boiled egg is a snack if they're protein conscious, some fruit and nuts, peanut butter on toast.

Look for yellow stickers and freeze. I bought 8 salmon fillets yesterday for £7 from Tesco. Packs of 2 reduced in price late afternoon. I will freeze them.

Encourage them to read up on non meat protein sources. Frozen veg is cheaper and often actually fresher/ better quality than fresh.

They might like a £20 leg of lamb every Sunday but surely you can see that if you need to cut down on food costs that this is not sustainable or sensible? If you need meat then alternate every week with a large free range chicken for around £8. You're saving around £12 every other week that way, which works out at over £300 a year.
You can go cheaper on the chicken again if you wish, that's up to you.

I'm not meaning to sound harsh but I think you need to have a frank discussion with them regarding food costs. They are old enough to understand.

I think it is a good idea to have an honest conversation with your DCs about the cost of food and also nutrition. Explain that a) whilst their preferences are valid, they are expensive and financially unsustainable and b) there are other sources of protein beyond meat. I would start to incorporate more affordable protein sources and take a firmer stance of 'this is what we are having' - if they want to continue eating more expensive foods more often, they should contribute (referring to the eldest is particular).

@shylatte

Should have said in my OP that they don't consider vegetarian food as 'proper' food. When they were very young I could have got away with lentil soup and lots of bread for a meal but not now. I make a white bean casserole but it has 1kg of red meat in it. Only one of them will eat potatoes.

Oh dear. What wallies.

I don't know what to suggest really.

I would probably tell them times are changing and just cut the budget. They'll either die of starvation, eat what is on offer, or buy their own supplementary bits?

Frugal? It's a ridiculous amount of money. We spend half that and there are 7 of us.

I’d be concerned about their protein intake from a health perspective as well - high protein intake (over 0.8g per kg of body weight) is known to impact the kidney and liver - it’s a cause of kidney stones for example. Two salmon fillets would be over 70% of the RDA for a 70kg person, let alone the rest of the stuff they’re having during the day.

You're in charge. They're old enough to be told that what they want to eat all the time is costing too much and they need to make compromises. Other forms of protein are just as good for the gym. They can snack on boiled eggs, they could make up some falafel. It's and have these in a box in the fridge to snack on. If you can't afford it they can't have it. They won't starve, they just have to learn to eat differenty.

It’s the spending of a family w a decent income, but with sporty teens it’s not crazy money.

If they won’t reduce meat or fish there’s not a whole bunch you can do. If it would have any influence on them, Bear Grulls has ghost written a cookery book or two and talks about not eating all that much meat. Or could you sell it as an earth friendly thing - start w meat free Monday and work up to half and half?

Protein is very filling, but we almost all eat too much - veggie food w beans pulses and complex carbs is just as filling, but they may need to eat what appears to be more as can be less dense. You could also half and half meat and lentils in a shepherds pie etc.

TPH a stir fry w prawns, unless there were a lot of prawns wouldn’t be that filling unless it included brown rice and an awful lot of veg. Half it w tofu next time.

I’d do some research and launch a campaign. They don’t need to eat you out of house and home - and it really isn’t good for the planet.

Seriously, you are paying out 3 to 4 x what I spend each week, and I have varying amounts of adult dc in the house every day, and have been in the position of having 3 teens.
You need to involve them in some sort of meal planning that includes budgeting. They are going to have SUCH a shock when they are eking out a student grant or wages from an apprenticeship otherwise.
I mean, you don't need to instantly cut the budget in half, but if you can't afford what you are spending, then you can't afford it and are doing them no favours with their expectations.
Food quantities that people want / expect are based on what they have had the day before and week before and month before. Once you start cutting back, or replacing things, or bulking out meals with more pulses or beans, or having two days without meat or going fish free or whichever of the excellent suggestions you use, then it becomes the new norm.
Involve them in your weekly shop - in person or on-line - and let them see "This is the budget for this week - you can decide if you'd rather only have a normal size portion of meat and keep the treats / pudding / snacks or to have twice the meat you actually need and leave the snacks etc etc."

I presume you have pointed out to him that even if he lives at home, he will still need to contribute to housekeeping from his maintenance loan ?

I didn't answer the actual question. An example evening meal in our house is around £5 or £6 I guess? Four people at the moment, we are vegetarian.

We cook everything from scratch, the kids can eat as much bread (homemade so no crap ingredients) and fruit as they like between meals.

No one in our house goes hungry but the idea of eating six egg omelettes for a snack is ridiculous IMO.

@shylatte

chippy dc1 intends to stay at home for uni, he said there was far too much talk of students eating packet noodles and plain pasta for meals! When we have salmon I buy 8 fillets (dc1 and 2 have 2 each) and I've just calculated that it comes to £13.50 😢 They really aren't big though and I could eat several myself.

Just have one each and have more potatoes

Thank you all for the replies, I'm taking them all on board. I think I will stealthily reduce the amount of meat we eat, and up the beans. To be honest, I dread the thought of veggie meals I'm not sure how I became like this as I didn't eat a lot of meat growing up. We do need to cut back though so needs must.
We aren't into carbs but the ones we eat are all wholemeal, which is obviously more expensive. Wholemeal cous cous is more than double the white version. I've tried frozen veg for roasts and they were awful, with the exception of peas and sweetcorn. I do use frozen green beans for casseroles though.
This sounds really pathetic but good food has become such a source of security for me. We are the type of people who wear dressing gowns all the time to save money on the heating and take bulbs out of the chandelier to save on electric, but the thought of cutting back on food actually scares me. I really need to adjust my mindset before working on the dc.

@shylatte

Chippymunks that is similar to us then. If it was just the meals, it wouldn't be so bad, but they like 'good' snacks too. Things like a 6 egg omelette and natural peanut butter (which is expensive). Seeing this written down is actually embarrassing . I'm actually very worried about them leaving home and realuzing how much food costs! I should add that they are all really healthy weights/BMIs. They were much easier to feed when they were younger, it was only when they became teens that this started.

A six egg omelette as a snack on a ridiculous . They have a big shock coming to them if they have to cater for themselves at Uni.

It does sound like maybe you have a bit of a food issue?

Food is hugely important to our family and we all love the food we eat - but it is not luxury all the time, usually just good seasonal and tasty food.

A big pan of leek and potato soup with excellent bread makes us all extremely happy in this house!

@shylatte

This year money is tighter and I need to cut back. We are fairly frugal, but good quality food is very important to us - our shop (for 5 of us) is approx £200 per week. I cook everything from scratch, buy value products where I can. Our main problem is that the two eldest are really into sport/fitness and protein is a big thing for them. Heavy carb meals don't satisfy them at all, and dc1 wants chicken breasts and cooked salmon fillets as snacks. On a Thursday we have fish, usually salmon or cod, which costs about £12 for the meal (this is from Lidl, not a gourmet fishmonger). That is before veg and a carb side. As part of my 'cutting back' I bought 750g of prawns on offer for £5. We've just finished a stir fry, to which all of the dc have declared is more like a snack rather than a meal On Sundays the dc like a lamb leg roast, and that alone is nearly £20. My question is, is this normal? What would be the average price of a meal and what size is your family? DH thinks this is fine but I feel it is too much, but don't know how we can cut back.

OP,

I imagine that your shop might cost £200 per week, but that may not be all food?

For example, even if you spent £15-£20 on the salmon / lamb / chicken each days that's still only £110-140.

Eggs are £2 ish per dozen. £15 per week.

General bread, butter, veg.

Do you have a lot of waste?

Maybe a meal plan would help cut the cost?

More veggie/vegan meals, pulses for protein, also sprinkle nutritional yeast on meals.

Tinned tuna and eggs are good
Spag bol, shepherd's pie etc, bulk up with lentils.

Buy frozen fish

Nobody needs to be eating meat —at all— with every meal.

This is mad. Why are you eating like it's your birthday every day? Not good for anyone to eat all that meat. What is wrong with frozen fish? And beans are really filling. Are you all overweight? 2 salmon fillets? Pasta and sauce isn't a meal? Do you order 2 meals each when you go out to eat? You seem to be eating twice as much as you need.

@shylatte

Thank you all for the replies, I'm taking them all on board. I think I will stealthily reduce the amount of meat we eat, and up the beans. To be honest, I dread the thought of veggie meals I'm not sure how I became like this as I didn't eat a lot of meat growing up. We do need to cut back though so needs must. We aren't into carbs but the ones we eat are all wholemeal, which is obviously more expensive. Wholemeal cous cous is more than double the white version. I've tried frozen veg for roasts and they were awful, with the exception of peas and sweetcorn. I do use frozen green beans for casseroles though. This sounds really pathetic but good food has become such a source of security for me. We are the type of people who wear dressing gowns all the time to save money on the heating and take bulbs out of the chandelier to save on electric, but the thought of cutting back on food actually scares me. I really need to adjust my mindset before working on the dc.

Sorry, Op.

"We Take the bulbs out of the chandelier"......
*

I fear I'm no longer taking you seriously.

You don’t have to go from eating x2 salmon fillets each and lamb every weekend to frozen veg though, there’s a large middle ground. Seasonal fresh veg is generally the cheaper option. So right now loading up on satsumas and not buying strawberries, root veg more than spring greens.

Frozen spinach is great if using it cooked.

You shouldn’t need to be secretive with 18 and 14 year old, just talk to them. Get them to come up with alternatives too and trying non meat heavy loaded options.

I've tried frozen veg for roasts and they were awful, with the exception of peas and sweetcorn.

Just to ask, what frozen veg was awful? Cauliflower and broccoli are fine, but cook differently, so if you cook them like you would fresh you probably overcooked them to tasteless mush!

@Caspianberg

It’s also not great eating meat every day, for both health, environment and money.

Two dishes we have made recently which are great for ‘veggie’ beginners:

Sweet potato and black bean paprika casserole with rice ( or baked potatoes)

Sweet potato, halloumi, chickpea and spinach curry, rice and homemade naan.

@Caspianberg i don't suppose you have links to either of these recipes do you please? They sound great! OP sorry to hijack

This recipe is really good and filling, loads of lentils!

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spinach-sweet-potato-lentil-dhal

Definitely worth reading the comments if you make it though, needs more stock than the recipe says.

If they're so dedicated to their protein, have you considered sending them out at night to trap rabbits and pigeons and forage for roadkill?