To wonder if people actually spend 200+ on a weekly shop

[pleasemothermay1]

Watching eat well for less and I just can't believe people actually spend 200+ a week on a food shop

One lady was giving a teen 20 a week to get chips and chicken 😟

We have 6 in our family

One baby
One toddler
One teen
Me and hubby
And a cat

I spend £65 a week including nappies and toiletries

This gose up to £90 during holidays and the teen is eating at home not collage

It's mad what are these people feeding there kids

My children have breakfast lunch and dinner I don't encourage grazing all day they can have fruit in between meals and I cook from sctrach pretty much 5 days a week junk on a Saturday then roast on a Sunday

Today we've had:

Cereal for breakfast - 4 different kinds and already in cupboard so cost unknown - maybe £2?
Fruit Juice carton £1.25
Lunch was Bagels - about £1.50 a pack? DSs had ready made sandwich filling left over from Saturday - call it £1 worth, I had a bit of cheese 50p ish and DH had a tin of mackerel £75p. plus salad £1
We all had an apple £2 and a biscuit 50p
Dinner was Lamb steaks £8, Frozen mash (lazy arse) £1 except DS1 who doesn't eat potatoes so he had some pasta 25p, Broccoli and Carrots £1.
Dss also had raspberries and yoghurt £2.50
Everyone will have snack/supper £2?
plus Milk £3, coffee/tea/squash £1?

Total for today - £29.25- given it's hard to estimate, that may be over so £25-30.

It was quite an expensive day with having the lamb steaks but think tomorrow will be a cheaper day.

If I'm reckoning an average day is £20-25 then that is probably about right as I am about £150 average. and then we have occasional big Costco shop.

I think this thread demonstrates that people's idea of "high quality" food varies widely...

I find it interesting to read all the people who say that they could never justify spending on food as the percentage spent on food in the UK is low when compared to countries like France or Italy. There, food is not seen as just something to fill a stomach with, and they would be appalled at some of these menus. Not judging at all, just an interesting observation.

We easily spend at least £200 a week, but I have a French husband and we spend £35 a week on cheese alone. No convenience food as I love to cook from scratch, and only the freshest fish and ethically raised meats. It is within our budgets, and an important priority for us from which we, as a family, derive much pleasure.

I'd love to be on that show. Or at least for someone to tell me where I am going wrong. I seem to spend a fortune. Wish I could be as good as some of you!

I spend £20 a week on shopping. Mainly because that is what I can afford and there is only me and teen dd and we eat at my parents for two days a week so I am always a bit agog at £800 a month. I buy it in bulk apart from milk and bread so £80 for the month. We currently have a full freezer of chicken, meatballs, mince etc although we eat little other meat.

Usual meals are porridge, spag bol, chicken tikka, meatballs, jacket spuds, chilli and such.

But like I said ours is needs must.

Dim - what don't you get? £50 for 5 days, for 4 people is £12.50 a day. That's £3.12 per person for all meals, anything like shampoo/ soap/ laundry powder/ etc. For many that's too tight a squeeze if not essential.

As an example. You spend £12.50 a day for 4 people
Today here for 4,
breakfast: 6 eggs (2 per adult, 1 per child)- £2.20. Plus bacon (2 slices each) -£3.50. Plus spinach with garlic butter -£2 = £7.70. Plus glass milk for kids, tea for adults , say 50p. =£8.20

Lunch = pesto baked cod - £6 (4 pieces), with rice (30p), peas (30p), asparagus (£2). = £8.60.

That's £16.80 for just 2 regular meals.

£50 for 5 days, for 4 people is £12.50 a day. That's £3.12 per person for all meals

50 divided by 5 is 10. 10 divided by 4 is 2.50.

It's fine that some people can spend a lot of money on food (it is a lot, it's well above average for the general population).

What is not fine is all the sneering at people who choose to or have to spend less, insinuating that they must be eating a joyless shit diet, when it is perfectly possible to make some lovely meals for not much money.

it's interesting that France or Italy are mentioned - these are the source of some great, very cheap meals, like cassoulet - loads of beans and veg with a small amount of meat, or pasta or minestrone soup, things like that.

Barbara, it has been the other way round when people choose to spend more in foods were judged and branded

BigKid - yes, they are slow cooker bung it all in recipes. Like a pp i have a sear and stew, which i think makes a big difference in flavour and time saving. I relied on it heavily when pregnant with ds2 and living in a tiny flat with just a kitchenette in the corner of a lounge/diner.

The tagine; i buy diced lamb shoulder (we eat fat so no trimming necessary), i put the cooker on the hob, chuck in lamb to brown with no oil, chuck in frozen onions (or fresh if i can be arsed to chop), then a heaped tsp dried coriander and cumin, ras el hanout if you have it, a level tsp cinnamon and minced lazy chilli and lazy garlic (depending on how hot you like it) cook for a few mins, add a tbsp flour to coat meat then add lamb stock and 1-2 tbsp tom puree, stir. put into slow cooker and do for about 4-6 hours on high- medium. Add whichever veg you like at appropriate intervals. Frozen butternut squash about 4hrs in is good or fresh from the start. A tin of chickpeas at the end to heat thru. Maybe some fresh coriander or parsley. Whatever you fancy really.

I also do a spanish pork which is similar process; chuck in diced pork shoulder to brown, add chopped up chorizo, frozen onions, garlic, thyme, paprika, chunks of carrots and celery, bay leaf, saffron if you have/like it, stir in a glass of white wine and a tin toms and tom puree, then put on the slow cooker. Add peppers and a tin of butter beans later on. Maybe spuds if you want a one pot meal and serve with crusty bread.

It's all about what brands you buy and if you eat meat and drink alcohol. Of course you can feed four for tuppence ha'penny if you don't buy brands, eat much, drink wine etc.

.

I could easily spend that. My husband does a very physical job, and eats 5 meals a day. I cook most meals from scratch but when dh eats 8 sausages in one sitting or half a bloody lasagne it gets really expensive. Both him and ds are healthy and slim but eat loads! Plus we try and buy organic meat for ethical and health reasons so that whacks the price up

Jemima- ds is 6ft 1 and for ages had a 26 inch waist, now grown a bit and is a 28 but his legs are 34 inches- he's like a bean pole 😁 he does 6 hrs of MMA / cardio ,2 hours of tennis every week and walks 10 miles on Sundays plus the odd run now and again on top of 3 hours PE at school, I'm surprised he doesn't eat more tbh!

What is not fine is all the sneering at people who choose to or have to spend less, insinuating that they must be eating a joyless shit diet, when it is perfectly possible to make some lovely meals for not much money.

I think it has been the other way around with those who spend very little seeming to assume that they are so much cleverer than those who spend a lot.

Oops, meant to actualy post.

We spend between £70 and £90 for 4 pople, 2 adults and 2 teens wth adult scale appetites, most weeks but I can easily see how people spend a lot more. I had a friend when we lived in Latin America who spent between £200 and £250 per week, 3 adults a toddler and a baby, and they are vegetarian.

What is not fine is all the sneering at people who choose to or have to spend less, insinuating that they must be eating a joyless shit diet, when it is perfectly possible to make some lovely meals for not much money

Since that seems to be a response to my post, it should have been obvious that it was in direct response to someone who said they had plenty of money, but could never justify spending more than 2 pounds fifty a day per person on food. Which I maintain is joyless and mean.
Yes, you can feed a family on that budget, and with care and attention you can feed them quite well (in the UK, with your very low prices). But to refuse to spend more if you can, because you think any more is too much? Fuck that.

£35 on cheese

If you don't inspect every price tag, don't have the time/confidence/
enthusiasm to cook from scratch then yes, I suppose it would be easy to spend a large amount like that, especially with a family.
Because many of us can do so, we tend to treat ourselves more, maybe to make up for the lack of time/attention we spend on our families.

When I was a child I had to eat what I was given but times have changed. Nowadays children are offered a choice and this always adds to the cost.

Thank you Mrs K

Some people don't like eating, they don't find it an enjoyable experience. I'd happily have three protein shakes a day and save myself s fortune if I didn't have kids, so in that sense I can see why some would rather have another holiday than spend more on food.

Food was pretty joyless when I was a child. There was just me and my mum, finances were tight, I was vegetarian and she was vegan. Food was fuel rather than fun.

I love the fact that even though our evenings are more rushed than when I was a child, we always find time to sit down as a family (5 of us) and eat together. We catch up with what we've all been doing, and enjoy our food.

It's not just you freedom, there are many other similar comments such as how people must not be getting any fruit and veg, eating very low welfare meat, or be protein deficient, and a lot of superiority about prioritising good food and buying organic.

"Jemima- ds is 6ft 1 and for ages had a 26 inch waist, now grown a bit and is a 28 but his legs are 34 inches- he's like a bean pole"

DS, at about 6'3", has a 26£" waist and needs 36" inside leg trousers..... stick of bamboo describes him nicely.

Looking at photos of my dad and my big brother at the same age, it's a genetic thing, and he will fill out eventually in around his mid 20s.

What is really interesting is that in group photographs of my dad at this age, he looks taller but of similar build to his peers. Those of my brother, he is more average height compared with his peers,and perhaps a little slighter but not particularly so. DS, with exactly the same height and build, is very middling in terms of height, but very noticeably slimmer than his peers. I suspect that our 'family diet and food routines' have changed less than those of others in the intervening years.

(And given comments around joylessness, I said a long time back that I come of a line of good but frugal cooks, who enjoy cooking and eating but have a fund of recipes (adapted over the years because iof the availability of new ingredients) that don't cost a lot)