Need to get my shopping bill down, any ideas of cheap meals?

[elliejjtiny]

6 of us usually, do a roast dinner for 14 on Sunday. Shopping bill around £300. I normally do the same meals for dinner each week. Lasagne, spag bol, jacket potatoes with cheese/beans, frozen pizza, roast chicken, cottage pie, sausages and mash. Every dinner served with either salad or cooked veg. Dc go to breakfast club in term time, breakfast at home is usually toast and/or eggs. Pudding only on Friday. I am terrible at snacking in the evening so going to try and reduce that to save money.

I don’t think there’s a cheaper alternative to cheap cheese. For mince you could mix with pork mince? Or lentils husband will get used to it.
Could the people coming for a roast not contribute? That one meal must be a high proportion of your overall food cost.
3 loads of laundry per day is half a load per person per day? Several outfits per person? Is there any way to bring that down? You must spend so much time on laundry!
However at about 10p/load the detergent is still only £10/month for 100 washes per month. It will be costing you more than that in electric and water.
If you could get it down to 2 washes / day you would save on detergent, reduce damp, and also have time to run eco cycles, reducing the cost further.

Sunday lunch/dinner doesn't have to be a meat roast. Veggie cottage pie with roasted parsnips/carrots/cabbage or broccoli. Anyone who visits and moans, can bring the meat.

If you're close to a couple of supermarkets, get to know prices in each and alternate shops getting cheaper things in each.

Are you snacking because you're hungry. If so supermarkets own yogurt or fruit will feel you up after a meal and could be cheaper.

Have you thought about getting a clubcard?

£300 a week for basic meals is insane. I wouldn’t stop doing your roasts if they are for family, mumsnet hates people spending time with their families for some reason. I can’t imagine that it is increasing costs that much if it's just meat & veg with yorkies

I would try and make sure to cut down on any processed/convenience foods.

I don't think you can get much off £300 a week tbh.
We spend £200 a week for family of 4 with a big sunday lunch - extended family come over. we don't always do a sunday roast... sometimes Mexican, Indian, chicken rice & peas

Switch every other roast out to a lasagne if that works out cheaper than the roast (it might not). If you put a lot of cheese in the lasagne (1) switch most of it out to a small amount of parmesan style cheese and (2) if you don't already, put flavour in the bechamel by warming the milk with bay & peppercorns.

Bubble and squeak (with optional bacon) is a cheap staple that could sub in for one of your other meals.

Those giant packs of stir fry veg can work out quite economically.

Switch Bolognese out for a meat free version, or possibly with some bacon or chorizo, and extra mushrooms.

Quiche, something like quiche Lorraine. Maybe make a massive one and serve it 2 days in a row. Cook once, eat twice always works out cheaper and you don't have to faff about turning bolognese into chilli. Just serve same thing 2 nights in a row.

Jacket potatoes with something like chicken & broccoli sauce. A small amount of chicken, plenty of milk and broccoli.

Chicken ramen. I find noodles go a long way in this and can be bulked out with shredded cabbage or Chinese leaf, which both keep for ages. Shredded carrot, sweetcorn, plenty of broth with a ginger, garlic and chilli kick. Yum.

You're not answering why you cook a roast for 14 every week. Cut that to once a month and you're quids in. Why so you do it?????

It's a bit like me saying I eat beluga caviar 5 times a week, how can I cut my shopping bill.

Pork mince is much cheaper than beef mince and is just as good in a spag bol. Lentils work well in a “cottage” pie, as do sausages.

Stop providing the roast dinner for 14 every week. Madness!

And why are you doing 21 loads of washing a week? What on earth is happening there?

fried egg chips and homemade coleslaw
jacket potatoes with home made cheese savory ( mix the cheese with carrot and and cabbage and mayo should cut how much cheese needed )
macaroni cheese
veg - frozen is usually cheapest
fill the kids with carbs - it’s why they were invented I am sure
broths - lumpy and substantial- with chunky bread - leek and potatoes with stock from chicken carcus , carrot and lentil and sweet potatoes,
a mild curry - coconut milk and half the normal amount of meat - try a tin of baked beans if they won’t have chickpeas

It's nothing at all like eating caviar. She doesn't need to justify or explain. It's clearly important to her, that's all we need to know. Anyone can save money by serving fewer meals each week - I don't think OP needs help understanding that.

£300 a week!! We spend that a month for 2 adults and 2 teenagers 40% of the time (they are at mum’s 60% of the time), plus 2 pets.

we don’t eat meat which I think is a big money saver. We couldn’t afford to spend what you do.

I think you need to look at the last few weeks of shopping lists and do a bit more analysis.

The things you've listed in your OP don't add up to £300 (although you don't mention lunches or snacks? ) even with the roast for 14 on Sunday.

You also need to understand how you are needing to do so much washing (clothes and dishes). If a big expense is washing tablets, then wash less or use fewer. Powder will also be cheaper.

HG is bleach based. You could try tesco own bleach spray cleaner
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/304784891
It's less than £1. Most supermarket brand cleaning things are cheaper and just as good - they have come a long way. They also are better at not testing on animals, so a win there too.

When I was a skint student, I'd make a lot of pasta. Even pasta with pesto, with courgette and carrot ribbons cooked for one minute at the end of the pasta adds nutrition. Home made garlic bread is also nice with it and cheap (and tastes better!). I'd also make mixed vegetable curries and chillies. Not fake meat ones but proper vegetables. Partner who adores meat tucks into veg curries and chillies happily and they don't cost much.

It's hard to make any cutbacks now though, everything is just stupidly expensive, including cat food.

Stop the Sunday lunch for hordes of people (or else they contribute financially). Buy frozen vegetables - cheaper and retain vitamins better anyway, as well as easier to portion control. One meat-free day per week. Make sure teens aren't putting all clothes in the wash after one wear. Jeans etc can be worn several times before washing, underwear obviously not.

Is there a reason you don't use washing powder, surely that's even cheaper again

Cut down on the cottage pies and lasagne, eat more chicken which is cheaper and has a lower carbon footprint (if that's of interest to you). Or, cut the mince with lots of mushrooms; or if you really must have the mince, then buy a smaller, cheaper beef portion and a cheaper pork or chicken mince to pad it out.

Once a week we have chicken wings and wedges - that's about £7.50 for the entire meal; 2 packs of wings and a bag of spuds. That's enough for two adults, two 17 year olds and a 14 year old.

Why are you doing THREE loads of washing a day?! Stop washing your towels after every wash. Buy powder instead of tablets.

Oh - a cheap pasta meal we like - pack of 12 sausages, jar of red pesto, any veg you like (but at least a couple of onions). Basically squeeze the sausage meat into a pan with the sweated off veg, add some stock, tin of toms, the pesto, and then serve with pasta. Can tart it up with nduja, fresh herbs, nice pasta, bit of cream etc. Add in some thyme and a bay leaf. But overall pretty cheap.

Roasts aren’t that expensive tbh, if it’s chicken and veg?! Swap a mince meal for a veggie thing perhaps? Sausage casserole? Your meals don’t sound too expensive so might be the extras that bump up cost. Order cat food online

With the lasagne you can do two sorts meat and veggie. My brother does a delicious veggie one with mozzarella cheese. If any left over have the following day.

We spend about £200 a week for a family of four though, food is just so expensive

Mmm sausage casserole! Agree with pp about bubble and squeak and fried egg and chips. I recall my nana making this for me in her 80s!

I'd do a few weekly menus

2 veggie meal days
2 beef mince days
1 soup bread and pud day
1 fish day
1 jacket potato and tin day, beans, tuna etc.

try making things like cake or flapjacks for snacking on. If you eat crisps for snacking buy a couple of big bags then don’t buy more. Fruit is good for snacking or veggie crudities with hummus. You can make hummus.

I’m not surprised if you’re going three loads a day - does someone wet the bed still?

those ‘3 for 12 quid’ meats - I think you can get meatballs / sausages and a little chicken will do 3 nights.

pasta another (less meat add a garlic bread)

jackets
cheaper chicken such as thighs or do wings or drumsticks?

are you a decent cook?