In thinking "no more weekly shop until we have used what's in the cupboard/freezer".

[Codandchops]

DS moaning that "there is nothing to eat".

No! What he means is that the cupboards are devoid of crap food and that he cannot graze.

Just surveyed cupboards and we have pasta, rice, several tins of soup, a tin of three bean salad plus various sauces etc. The freezer has beef mince, a small beef roadting joint and lots of frozen veg. We also have potatoes and a few fresh carriots. In these times of austerity I
feel sure I could feed us for several days on
all this. Okay so I need to buy milk and possibly some bread or bread flour but quite honestly I don't think we need to rush off to Asda/Sainsburys/Tesco do we?

DS aged 9 disagrees and would have me down the "crap food aisle" in no time.

Amazing how much good food can be in a house but still have a 9 year old whinging.
So it's Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner this evening, soup for lunch and yogurts. I think that's good - okay so I might need some fruit but beyond that it's "store cupboard" week.

Just top up the fruit bowl and have in plenty of yoghurt.

I'd go for the "fruit and toast" option if he's nine. If you've got an Aldi buy one of each fruit on their weekly offer plus large bunch of bananas. Loaf of bread, marmite/jam/peanut butter from cupboard. A nine year old can make toast (if you trust him not to stick a fork in).. Job done.

He's autistic so I will ban him from the toaster . However he can do most other bits safely like making a sandwich etc.
Honestly though I was shocked at the amount of food we DO have in the house while. DS is saying "no food".

Our children are so fortunate.

YANBU. I totally agree OP. We are so incredibly fortunate compared to our ancestors and yet kids today claim there's "no food" when they can't find a pizza. I am in a similar position. As we are on a budget I am always inventing meals from what we've got it and it's amazing what you can conjure up before you need to go food shopping.

I know I sound about 110, but when I was a kid, we ate what we were given and had no right to reply. "This is dinner, if you don't like it, your next meal is breakfast". It worked, we ate everything and never went hungry.
I'm only talking about the 1970s too, not Victorian times!

Yanbu. You are totally right. My DCs are just the same. Mind you so is DH

We are very privileged. So much so that people think what do I want to eat rather than what is there to eat?

Exactly nkf.

I have that attitude for the months of January and August. It leads to some interesting and exciting meal combinations, including Christmas food in August.

Haha its my dh that does this. Drives me nuts. He can't cook either so if he wants something and there's no crap food about he will moan about it until I get annoyed and cook something. I've taken to making too much dinner so there is always something for him to eat. Would that help you? Just making a wee bit extra?

My ex would always hate what I'd made. And then complain there was nothing in the house to eat. Even though there might be eggs, bacon, tinned tomatoes, pasta, rice etc. What he meant there was nothing he particularly fancied that he could shove in his mouth immediately. He usually ended up buying those ready cooked chicken pieces from the deli counter. You know, bbq chicken with some sugary glazing on it.

YANBU.

A 4 pack of pot noodles have gone and the kids are maning they want more.
in my fridge I have pies
coleslaw
ham
eggs
3 ready meals
pitta bread
cheese
tortilla warps
yoghurts
chops
chicken bite thingys
scotch eggs
sausages
2 ks of minced beef
a whole shelf of jars/pickles/spreads
left over pizza slices
loads of other bits and peices
and a ton more in 2 freezers
and a bowl of fruit
there is nothing NAICE to eat according to them

I have managed to do a 10-day meanl plan from cupboard & freezer stock before. I even surprised myself how long we could keep going, when a quick glance had made me think I needed to pop to the shops!

It's the fact that I had blithely put away the "food shopping" money for this week without even thinking about it. Even on a low income we eat nutritiously and well.
Now realising I could save so much more by meal planning properly.

I totally agree. I must spend a fortune on 'bits' every week, but when I had a mind to, I can do more than a weeks worth of proper dinners from the cupboard and the freezer.

YANBU

That's how we roll in this house. When it's gone, it's gone.

I have been lurking in the recipe section ... There is so much you can make/bake just using store cupboard items
Love the recipe of the week too

I have no problem with spending money on food. It should be enjoyable. As long as you are healthy and can afford it then you have the luxury of doing so.

I need to do this. For me it's not DS who moans, it's that I actually get panicky if the fridge/freezer/cupboards aren't crammed with food. I really need to let the feeling pass though as could do to run stuff down to save on some needless spending.

YANBU We do a regular food clear out where we eat what is in the cupboards/freezer. Just finished 2 weeks of it. It was chestnut (vacuum packed left over from Christmas) risotto made with some old chutney hiding at the back of the fridge on Friday night. Much moaning from kids. I was deeply unsympathetic .

To be fair, the kids are fine with it if we have a session on tinternet looking up recipes for half a bag of red lentils or whatever, proceed to cook said mad recipe together (oh dear, lots has spilt on the floor, what a dreadful shame), and no one has to pretend it is more yummy than it really is. However there is nothing else to eat until breakfast, which goes for DH and me too. And breakfast might be tinned sardines on toast.

I have just done this. Re-stocked freezer and cupboards yesterday. Took six weeks for us to use up almost all of what was knocking about. On the plus side, the (also autistic) kids got the recipe book out, and with help have learnt to make biscuits, cupcakes and a few other bits.
Just a warning, as you say Cod can't let them use toaster, constant reminders about the oven are also necessary, discovered very quickly that the timer alarm can for some reason be easily ignored, and that oven can be left on all day. Also keep an eye out for tea towels, oven gloves etc. Not quite on fire but damn close once or twice!
Recipe books are not always specific enough, again, you need to be on standby!

I often use the store cuboards for two to three days at the end of the week - just because I dislike going to the supermarket - so it means I have to be inventive or go shopping. Saves time and waste of food though putting of shopping and eating what we do have in the fridge

Do you think the craze for large fridges encourages us to buy more? It's as if we have to feed the fridge.

oh a bit like feeding the plant

OP - what you've listed you have is almost identical to what I have in my cupboards (including the mince and small beef roasting joint in the freezer).

We're also having spag bol tonight.

I'm trying to clear the crap that's been languishing in the cupboards and freezer and start anew.
I want to do a meal plan and do one big shop tomorrow.

Mine have both come in from school, looked in the fridge, grunted and shut it again.

i wish my mum would call halt on weekly shops for a while and use what she's got in.

there is just her, my dad and my adult sister there and they have, wait for it, 2 full size fridge freezers and a full height (taller than me at 5'3") larder freezer. ALL stuffed with food to almost bursting point. yet she still goes shopping every week and spends upwards of £80 a week on food.