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Realistically can I feed 5 for £150pw?

285 replies

PinkPinkPinkBlue · 28/08/2025 11:54

Switching to Lidl/Aldi tomorrow (they are on same retail park) and would like to spend a maximum of £150 per week is this possible? Currently spending nearly double that at a major supermarket I no longer want to dip into savings each month to feed us. No alcohol but will need to include toiletries and cleaning supplies, any items I should give a miss and anything worth buying? We are a non fussy household but no fish/shellfish due to an allergy, I am happy to go into to both shops as they share a car park.

OP posts:
KoalaKoKo · 28/08/2025 14:22

I have no clue what we spend (probably why we are always broke), definitely under a £100 for 3 people most weeks including cleaning products - it’s when we decide to get booze or eat out we really bleed our wallets! We’re terrible for not packing lunches and buying coffees on the fly.

We have been switching predominantly to Aldi - I actually find they are much better for fruit and veg than the likes of Sainsbury’s. We do find there are certain cooking ingredients you can’t get in Aldi and certain things we just prefer - we tend to pop to waitrose for organic ketchup, finely chopped tomatoes, specific herbs and that kind of thing but it is a small shop every week or two as opposed to our full shop which it used to be. We often get sourdough from m&s as it’s a two minute walk away and we have a gluten intolerant child that can only handle sourdough - I would go to lidl for bread but it’s a 10-15minute drive.

Things we find cheap and cheerful to cook are lentil dishes like ragu, cottage pie or enchiladas- I do find the lentils aren’t great from Aldi/lidl so we order a 12 pack of lentil Epicure’s Bijoux Vert Lentil’s from amazon. We also do black bean chilli - I find they lidl black beans perfectly good for this! Chickpea Garam Masala - sometimes we add paneer too though more calorific. We do veggie tray bakes with halloumi. We also love doing veggie lasagnas and risottos. Most of these ingredients can be gotten from Aldi/lidl for- though we pop to waitrose for Garam Masala powder, luchito chilli paste, certain cheeses if recipe requires it. Things like quinoa salads can be a good way to fill up kids - stuff them full of salad veg and some aldi feta.

Signing up to a subscription meal box for a month or two is a great way to expand your recipe ideas - we’ve done gousto a good few times and have saved recipes which we then recreate ourselves - there are always codes to get money off the first month or two.

I get cleaning products mostly from the pound shop though sometimes I get them in Aldi. I pop to Sainsbury’s for Green dishwasher tabs every month or so as we are trying to reduce chemicals. We also get Flahavan’s porridge from Sainsburys or Waitrose as we just like it - a no wheat cereal house as my kid’s tummy bloats like a balloon and is in agony when she eats it!

PinkPinkPinkBlue · 28/08/2025 14:22

@ShesTheAlbatross dipping into money that could be saved, we do still save each month, just not as much as we used to.

OP posts:
greengreyblue · 28/08/2025 14:22

Thissickbeat · 28/08/2025 14:21

Barring SEN or allergies that must be easy. Eat mostly veggie.

I'd go to sainsburys though. They have better fruit and veg and you don't have to buy big bags of them.

Don’t have to do that at Lidl either.

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hattie43 · 28/08/2025 14:23

PinkPinkPinkBlue · 28/08/2025 13:16

Hmm I’m guilty of wasting money on “extras” I guess, last weeks shop was £317 and that was my enough is enough moment. We will actually be back to a family of 4 in a week’s time as eldest dd will be back at uni until Christmas break. I do meal plan and make a list already it takes a few minutes, I think I buy a considerable amount of fruit compared to the average household. Last week we had:-
Watermelon
Honeydew melon
18 apples
7 bananas
4 punnets of grapes (2 red/2green)
Net of oranges
Net of satsumas
2 large 800g punnets of strawberries
2 large 600g punnets of blueberries
4 mangoes
2 pineapples
8 avocados
12 kiwis
punnet of peaches
punnet of nectarines
punnet of apricots
It has all been eaten, 2 oranges and a few slices of water melon remaining in the fridge, I just checked but yes I can see that’s probably above average but it all gets eaten so not wasted and I would prefer they eat that than biscuits or crisps.

Next year plan to grow some fruit , strawberries blueberries raspberries shouldn’t be too onerous .

PlumpAndDeliciousFatcat · 28/08/2025 14:24

PinkPinkPinkBlue · 28/08/2025 14:22

@ShesTheAlbatross dipping into money that could be saved, we do still save each month, just not as much as we used to.

That's completely different to dipping into savings because your income doesn't cover your outgoings.

greengreyblue · 28/08/2025 14:24

I buy frozen raspberries and blueberries. Much cheaper.

AnnikaLowe · 28/08/2025 14:24

PinkPinkPinkBlue · 28/08/2025 14:21

@Bjorkdidit no not a stealth boast at all, some of the things mentioned such as cereal one of my children can’t eat so we don’t have them in the house as not worth the risk for me, I have said I don’t buy these items. That also goes for most biscuits, crisps etc as they are anaphylaxis to E numbers and several preservatives used in these products, it’s a nightmare a does limit the cheap snack options hence the “excessive fruit/veg” intake, I could bake more often granted but the fruit etc is easier to have cut up ready to go in the fridge.

Oh come on!

Your children do not need to snack all day long.

3 decent meals.

A snack can be wholemeal toast with nut butter, a wholemeal scone, or an apple, banana and orange.

Sorry but you seem to have lost a bit of perspective.
You're providing for them as if they are at the Savoy and any exotic fruit is just waiting for them to pick at in the fridge.

AnnikaLowe · 28/08/2025 14:26

Watermelon
Honeydew melon
18 apples
7 bananas
4 punnets of grapes (2 red/2green)
Net of oranges
Net of satsumas
2 large 800g punnets of strawberries
2 large 600g punnets of blueberries
4 mangoes
2 pineapples
8 avocados
12 kiwis
punnet of peaches
punnet of nectarines
punnet of apricots

Cut out all the ones in bold and save a fortune.

AnnikaLowe · 28/08/2025 14:26

I'd expect them to have diarrhea if they are eating so much fruit a day!
4-5 portions each?

tinageta · 28/08/2025 14:26

We eat ginormous amounts of fruit, so I totally understand. However, it is best to east seasonal fruit (does not work in winter), and there really is no need for such a variety. Why are you buying imported pineapples, out of season strawberries and similar? Is this not the plenty season of European fruit- apples, pears, plums and so on in August?

StupidRules · 28/08/2025 14:26

Assuming you mean just food and not other household incidentals, then of course you can. Easily and probably quite healthily. Just not on what you are all used to eating, or necessarily want to eat. But if you were literally starving and it was that or nothing, you'd find a way to force it down,

tinageta · 28/08/2025 14:27

Yesterday I ate 2 kilos of mirabelles all on my own. :D

glittereyelash · 28/08/2025 14:27

Definitely doable. You need to stick to a list, meal prep and use more frozen/tinned veg. Aldi have good deals and lots of nice own brand products.

NetZeroZealot · 28/08/2025 14:28

Mrsttcno1 · 28/08/2025 12:14

Definitely doable but I’d recommend doing a meal plan for the week beforehand and be tactical about what you make for meals.

E.g. A big pack of mince meat could do you 2x meals, bolognese & then mince and dumplings maybe.

Pack of sausages could do you a sausage dinner for everyone.

If you’re going to have chicken, get chicken breast & season yourself rather than buying seasoned chicken breast from Aldi to save ££

If you’re on a limited budget don’t buy chicken breast at all. Buy a whole chicken breast.

KoalaKoKo · 28/08/2025 14:29

hattie43 · 28/08/2025 14:23

Next year plan to grow some fruit , strawberries blueberries raspberries shouldn’t be too onerous .

My parents do this- apples, cherries, plums, hazelnuts, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, blackberries and rhubarb! The trees do take a few years to establish and it takes 3 years for rhubarb to start tasting nice (apparently). My mum is always giving away apples and also fruit trees as they keep reproducing! The squirrel and birds take a lot too so if you don’t pick them regularly you do end up feeding the wildlife (which is nice too).

CosyMintFish · 28/08/2025 14:29

When I meal plan and cook from scratch I can do this for £150, even from the more expensive supermarkets.

PinkPinkPinkBlue · 28/08/2025 14:31

@AnnikaLowe I guess watching paramedics and hospital staff fight to save your child’s life does that too you, I will not have items in my house that can kill my child and if that’s loosing “perspective” so be it. I bet you are the mother that send little Johnny with peanut butter as allergies aren’t real, people like you piss me off, bet you would be up in arms if it was your child’s life in danger.

OP posts:
Hayley1256 · 28/08/2025 14:31

Over 15k a year on food is a lot. I would try and cut out so much fruit aa that is a lot of sugar (even natural sugar is not good for teeth). I would also try and do more 1 pot items like chilli (adding lentils will ramp up the nutrition).

For snack can they have more baked goods, yogurts, eggs etc?

FollowSpot · 28/08/2025 14:31

That's a mad amount of fruit, and much of it expensive.

Yes. frozen fruit is mushy, but frozen blueberries in yogurt is mushy anyway.

I would cut the fresh berries, the avocadoes (they can have peanut butter on toast) and stop the individual pots of yogurt.

Lancashire Farms Greek Style yogurt is stiff and strained like Fage and much cheaper. Often in the Asian cabinet in Sainsbury's and Tesco, for some reason.

Fruit isn't actually very filling: I would stop all those apricots and nectarines too - buy grapes, apples, satsumas and bananas, and one kind of melon! Kiwi when on special offer.

And...toast! With Marmite or peanut butter. Brown / wholemeal. Or mix up a big bowl of filling salad: rice salad, pasta salad, white bean salad made from cheap tins of cannellini or haricot (with a small amount of chopped onion, chopped pepper, chopped tomato, garlic for flavour. A few spoonfuls of this will keep them fuller for longer and much cheaper - with carrot sticks, cucumber sticks not expensive mini cucumbers!

Make a big bowl of homemade coleslaw. Or slaw made from a shredded red cabbage and carrot with a lime and ginger dressing. V V cheap.

I never use chicken breast. There are massive packs of thigh fillets (with skin and bone) for a really cheap price on Tesco - great for traybakes, casseroles, curries etc.

Big fish pie with frozen 'white fish' fillets (pollock, not basa, don't touch basa unless you are a cat) and a frozen salmon fillet for flavour / colour.

Chick pea, potato and spinach curry (use frozen spinach),
Home made meatballs, with the meat blitzed up with tinned cannellini, butter or haricot beans.
Big packs of thin pork steaks are available atm - one steak each, loads of veg and potatoes with lots of flavour, v economical.

Caspianberg · 28/08/2025 14:32

Stuff like baby corn is way more expensive than regular size or alternative veg. As you eat corn three times out of 4 meals just swapping veg occasionally would help

Eating non upf doenst mean just fruit. I would have to give mine loads to fill him up and he’s only 5.

Porridge or homemade pancakes with a few fresh or hot frozen berries
Cashew butter on toast with sliced banana ( peanut is cheaper if no allergy)
greek yogurt with granola/ seeds/ nuts/ some fruit

I wouldnt eat meat every day for health also. Ie pulled pork could be swapped black bean quesadillas, with wedges/ coleslaw. The Veggies rice day use Halloumi sometimes instead or make veg curry ie sweet potatoes and chick pea.
Aiming for 2 days meat free will make savings

Hayley1256 · 28/08/2025 14:32

Forgot to add, for cleaning stuff and toiletries - go to home bargains.

Lakeyloo · 28/08/2025 14:33

PinkPinkPinkBlue · 28/08/2025 13:37

For those saying carrots, cucumber etc as snacks they eat that as well! Hummus, cottage cheese, pepper, mini cucumbers, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, olives, rice cakes are all eaten as snacks. They eat massive amounts of food, all 5ft 8ish and under 8 stone in weight so not like they’re massive fatties.

To start with, why buy mini cucumbers ? Tesco online: 1 whole large cucumber, 99p (=1.80/kg) Pack of baby cucumbers £1 (=£5.00/kg!) Look at the price per kg. Same with packaged apples/pears/carrots/potatoes etc Vs loose (and less plastic to dispose of). Do you buy the prepared celery sticks or a whole head ?
Asda whole head of celery - 75p. 350g of prepared celery sticks (probably half the amount of a head) £1.26.

Barney16 · 28/08/2025 14:33

I would take some of that fruit and put a cake round it. It will go much further. Maybe some sort of mixed berry sponge cut into slices, with a crumbly top. If you make your own you could accommodate allergies. Berries are very expensive and easily eaten. My adult children don't like frozen fruit so I offer them toast 🙂

ShesTheAlbatross · 28/08/2025 14:34

PinkPinkPinkBlue · 28/08/2025 14:31

@AnnikaLowe I guess watching paramedics and hospital staff fight to save your child’s life does that too you, I will not have items in my house that can kill my child and if that’s loosing “perspective” so be it. I bet you are the mother that send little Johnny with peanut butter as allergies aren’t real, people like you piss me off, bet you would be up in arms if it was your child’s life in danger.

Im not sure that’s fair. She was saying you didn’t need to have all the expensive fruit on hand, not that you should risk your child’s life.

She suggested nut butter, which I assume has promoted your response, but you hadn’t said your child’s allergy was nuts (I think your post about it is missing a word after “child can’t eat…” to say what it is they can’t eat).

AnnikaLowe · 28/08/2025 14:36

PinkPinkPinkBlue · 28/08/2025 14:31

@AnnikaLowe I guess watching paramedics and hospital staff fight to save your child’s life does that too you, I will not have items in my house that can kill my child and if that’s loosing “perspective” so be it. I bet you are the mother that send little Johnny with peanut butter as allergies aren’t real, people like you piss me off, bet you would be up in arms if it was your child’s life in danger.

I'm sorry but if you said your child had an allergy to peanut butter I've missed it.
Was it in an earlier post?

You've suddenly had an outburst of anger for my suggesting nut butter?
Peanuts are not nuts, they are legumes, by the way.

Nuts are almonds and hazelnuts.

As someone who has carried an Epipen for over 40 years for an allergy I don't need your lectures. Thanks.

If you don't want help which is how you're coming over, that's fine.