to spend £280 a week to feed a family of 5?

[TempleOfBlooms]

I spend about £280 a week on food. This includes my work lunches which tend to be salads from places like Leon plus coffees etc. The rest is food eaten at home.

Breakfast for all five of us tends to be things like Bircher muesli or chia based stuff with fruits and nuts. Fresh juice too.

Lunches in summer are usually a selection of dips and cheese and meats and salads.

Dinner is usually fish or chicken with a selection of salads and grilled veg.

So fresh food but not caviar or ridiculous indulgences.

It seems like everyone else on here can feed a family of four on tiny amounts. How? We certainly could eat more cheaply but that would mean fewer veg, fewer fruits, less fish etc.

Is it really so unusual to spend so much on food? I never see anyone else admit to it.

I don’t think there’s a huge difference in price with fruit and veg, although gala melons seem to cost a fortune in Waitrose compared to anywhere else. I’m sure your basic fruit like apples, bananas and oranges are pretty much the same anywhere? I do find Tesco’s fruit seems to last longer than fruit from Asda or Lidl (blueberries and raspberries).

I only buy in M&S when they have been reduced, if you go in there later in the day you can get some bargains.

Swap that for a cottage cheese jacket potato with salad and it's about a fiver. See?

Salmon, tomatoes, goat's cheese, olives etc sounds much nicer than a baked potato to me (NB I do like baked potatoes but they appeal less in spring/summer). And it's healthy, interesting and has variety.

If you can afford it, OP, why not?

Obviously you could cut costs by getting fruit, veg and salad from a market, but I know not everyone has one nearby.

Frozen salmon would be cheaper and, once cooked, no different from buying fresh.

I buy lunch in most of the time too. I spent years trying to take in/make my own but just never really fancied eating it. Would throw it away, buy something instead and beat myself up about it. I've made my peace with it now and just accept that I prefer buying lunch. Life's too short to guilt-trip yourself. Of course I realise I am lucky that I can afford it.

I'm not sure how much we spend as it varies each week and we don't really budget as such, but for two adults probably evens out at about £100 -120 a week.

Cantankerous that's not true and you know it. You're being hung out because you're insinuating anyone not spending the same amount as you is NOT feeding their family good food. I can absolutely guarantee you I'm eating better food than you for less money. More money doesn't always=better. I mean, you're richer than you used to be and your attitude still stinks.

I’m a massive Aldi convert. The stuff you can get at those prices makes me just think traditional supermarkets have been taking the piss out of us for years.

I perversely feel “proud” having done a food shop and it cost about £60, rather than the £100+ at Tesco

THEWHALE

I’m not here suggesting you have to spend a fortune to feed your family good food, but even when I am scrimping, I spend £80 a week on a family of 5, that’s because good quality, fresh food cost money. It isn’t pennies.

I can completely understand people spending more or less money to a point, but unless you’re spending at least £80 for a family of 4/5 I don’t think it possible to eat well, without bulking out with loads of carbs and making chickens last 4 days of the same bland meals over and over again:

I know people will now come on and state they make a load of frozen fish and some pasta last 6 days Etc etc.

I am glad I have the choice not to eat like that.

I don't consider £120 a week eye-watering either, although it is about double what I aim to spend for our family. Certainly I can easily see how you would spend that much without any trouble at all. £280 not so much, I think you would have to actively seek out the most expensive things to get to that level of weekly spend.
I have to take exception to the broad assumption by some on here that low-budget equals crap food though. Sometimes high budget items are enriched with cream, butter, more oil or cheese than their budget counterparts, so more fatty. Prepared veg can you often come with pats of butter, so more fat. I am not sure that expensive prepared veg is more nutritious than crap frozen, probably the other way round. The fresh might taste better but that's not the contention here.
If I had more cash, I would eat more fresh fish, higher-welfare neat prepared fruit and more berries and not from concentrate juices. They might taste nicer but I am sure they are no more nutritious than standard juice, frozen berries, whole fruit, standard meat or frozen fish

Tbh I'd like to spend that on food, and buy that kind of food but it would be pointless in my house as my children are fucking nightmare fussy eaters and if I did food like that every day they would starve. My youngest has severe food aversion and literally eats like 5 different things so they just go in rotation, my other 2 children are still fussy but not quite as badly. My husband works shifts and weighs and measures all his food so I don't bother cooking for him as he prefers to do it himself and he's home too late to eat with us.

So my food budget is spent on frozen sausages, chicken, and strawberries man I could murder some salmon or a cheese and cold meats platter right now

@Metoodear dinner round yours tonight then!
Your meals look seriously good especially whilst I sit here eating my boring pasta. I spent £190 on this stuff & I still can't cook

CATH

I never buy prepared veg or fruit

Do like fresh juices and decent cuts of high welfare meat though... and lovely crispy veggies for stir fry’s etc

I can completely understand people spending more or less money to a point, but unless you’re spending at least £80 for a family of 4/5 I don’t think it possible to eat well, without bulking out with loads of carbs and making chickens last 4 days of the same bland meals over and over again

🤔 not sure you could be any ruder or condescending if you tried Cant

CantankerousCamel
You are clearly a very ignorant person then and actually can't help yourself by repeating the insults over and over again. Clearly you are sticking to your presumption that people who aren't spending at least 80 to 100 a week on shopping aren't feeding their family healthy food and like I said to you before I will now presume you were feeding your children unhealthy food when you weren't earning as much as clearly that's the way you think the world works.

Thewhale you are coming across as enormously bitter! Cantankerous is saying "For a family of four, you can eat well on £80, but you can eat better on £120 and that's the level I choose". They're NOT saying "If you spend £80 you eat like shit".

NoSquirrels
Do you know what reading between the lines is?
That IS what they ment by that comment wether you wish to believe that or not. That was the discussion at the time and they clearly stated they felt "proud" they could spend a "decent" amount on food for their families, meaning they spend a lot on pretentious crap and they are happy about that because they can boast about it to their middle class friends

Do YOU know what making assumptions based on your own prejudices and insecurities is?

I always seem to spend too much despite shopping around AND cooking from scratch
I blame the aisle of wonder at lidl’s and my fussy cats

I spent £190 on this stuff & I still can't cook

NoSquirrels
I have no insecurities or predjudeces thank you.
I could afford to spend that on food and possibly do but my actual weekly shopping costs around £60 for a family of 4 and that will have everything we need. Anything else we buy is extra or treats and believe me we do not eat unhealthily, 90% of my shopping is fresh fruit veg and meat.
I didn't assume anything I went by what was clearly written by someone else. Who by the way has insulted an awful lot of people on here.
Please explain to me when I have come across as bitter. I just think it's rediculous of people to presume they are healthier because they spend more!

Also Wpuld love to know what I'm so insecure about?

NoSquirrels
Have you actually read what CantankerousCamel is writing, why Wpuld you back someone who is insulting people so much? Clearly you are exactly the same!

Everyone has prejudices. You just might not be aware of them, whale.

Look - you have seen something completely different in Camel's posts. You keep saying they have said that "better food costs more" but they have repeatedly said that they are choosing to spend more on better quality (high welfare, organic etc) and greater VARIETY, which costs more. That they value and feel proud of the fact that they can do so.

They've never said they are "healthier because they spend more". You have read that assumption into their posts.

I didn't assume anything I went by what was clearly written by someone else.

I would say the same. And we've come to 2 different conclusions.

Of course it is possible to feed a family of 4 on whatever you spend per week. And if you personally don't value spending the extra that's fine. A diet of pulses, cheaper cuts of meat, more veggie meals, frozen fish or whatever is not inherently better or "healthier" than a diet of unlimited grapes and fresh fish and steak and beansprouts in your noodle soup. It can be done, but it is harder to do and you will have to make choices along the way to limit what you buy - it would be totally mad to pretend otherwise. And if you are limiting what you buy then you will probably have less variety in your diet than someone who spends more. And if you value food less than someone else, that's fine. Doesn't make EITHER OF YOU morally superior.

I'm going away now to stick a pizza in the oven for the kids

NoSquirrels
I clearly read that healthier food costs more in one comment end of story.
Seems I was correct both of you are just ignorant!

Have you actually read what CantankerousCamel is writing, why Wpuld you back someone who is insulting people so much? Clearly you are exactly the same!

Now who's making assumptions?

From CC:
I’m not here suggesting you have to spend a fortune to feed your family good food, but even when I am scrimping, I spend £80 a week on a family of 5, that’s because good quality, fresh food cost money. It isn’t pennies.
I agree with this. A national debt charity who advises people on repaying creditors would agree with this. Having a reasonable amount to feed your family is an area that shouldn't be cut back to a minimum if you an afford not to. Advice in link below is £99-113 for a couple, and add £27 per child. That's a per week figure.
www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/steps/step2/Pages/Step_2_06c.aspx

From CC:
I can completely understand people spending more or less money to a point, but unless you’re spending at least £80 for a family of 4/5 I don’t think it possible to eat well, without bulking out with loads of carbs and making chickens last 4 days of the same bland meals over and over again
I wouldn't have been so blunt. But I think it is a reasonable point that you can eat "healthily" but "blandly" and that carbs will feature more than protein £ for £ in the lower regions of food spend.

From CC:
I know people will now come on and state they make a load of frozen fish and some pasta last 6 days Etc etc.
I am glad I have the choice not to eat like that.
I am glad I have the choice not to eat like that. Which is what I have said I have taken from their posts. That FOR THEM the choice is the thing.

NoSquirrels
But that’s not what I said (ever) I said there seems to be a weird sort of pride on threads like this (not this one so much) where people are super proud they only spend £30 a week on a family of 5. I don’t get it. It’s good there is such a variety of choice so people can afford to eat so cheaply but if you can afford fresh, varied, healthy foods then it should be a priority to provide them!
From CantankerousCamel

Meaning if you can't afford not to eat cheaply then you can't buy fresh healthy food

Sorry if you can afford not to eat cheaply