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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

999 replies

TempleOfBlooms · 22/05/2018 18:51

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.

OP posts:
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Dungeondragon15 · 27/05/2018 11:13

Nothing wrong with it per se, but it does not fit into a low-carb way of eating.

I can see the point of not eating processed carbs but you need some carbs and jacket potatoes are healthy and cheap. Avoiding them and spending a fortune on organic meat is totally deluded.

raisedbyguineapigs · 27/05/2018 11:18

If you are doing low carb, it is expensive. I found the only thing that was cheaper was the meat because you buy fattier cuts but jacket potatoes are akin to eating a bowlful of sugar if you are following LC. Not right or wrong, just horses for courses.

Xenia · 27/05/2018 11:19

We certainly spent that with 7 of us at home (5 children) but as I earn quite a bit it didn't matter. At one stage we only bought food once a week via tesco delivery (children had on line access to add their stuff) and that worked well as no pressure from children shopping with you to buy XYZ.

I have noticed lower food bills now the youngest are at university (n term time, not holidays - shoots up again in holidays).

DrowningEveryDay · 27/05/2018 11:31

Avoiding them and spending a fortune on organic meat is totally deluded.

You can avoid jacket potato and NOT buy organic meat. Low carb eating does not have to be organic.

Sparkletastic · 27/05/2018 11:38

The clueless folk on that programme with that irritating greengrocer and his sidekick regularly spend that much. So you are in good company OP. Well...company anyway.

Dungeondragon15 · 27/05/2018 11:49

You can avoid jacket potato and NOT buy organic meat. Low carb eating does not have to be organic.

I realise that. I was referring to the poster that avoids jacket potato and then spends money on organic meat. I do think anyone who avoids jacket potato is a bit clueless though.

DrowningEveryDay · 27/05/2018 12:00

I do think anyone who avoids jacket potato is a bit clueless though.

www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/low-carbohydrate-diets/

Dungeondragon15 · 27/05/2018 12:08

DrowningEveryDay "some evidence" is not the same as "good evidence" though. Ultimately, if you want to lose weight you need to eat less calories while eating a healthy diet as otherwise you increase your risk of disease even if you do lose weight. Avoiding jacket potato in favour of huge quantities of protein or fat is not a health diet.

DrowningEveryDay · 27/05/2018 12:10

Dungeondragon15

Harvard seems to think so.

Anyway, going back to the topic, there's nothing wrong with jacket potato but it has too much carbs to be in a low-carb diet.

Dungeondragon15 · 27/05/2018 12:10

I meant to say "Avoiding jacket potato in favour of huge quantities of protein or fat from meat is not a healthy diet."

Dungeondragon15 · 27/05/2018 12:13

Harvard seems to think so.

No it doesn't. It says that there is "some" evidence not "good evidence". Also if you read the evidence women "ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in animal fats or proteins did not see any such benefits". Also in the head to head trial no speed advantage for one diet over another

DrowningEveryDay · 27/05/2018 12:13

Low carb diet does not mean huge quantities of protein and fat. It still takes into consideration the caloric requirement, but the source of calorie is not primarily carbs.

Anyway, to go back to the topic of this thread, yes, low carb diet tends to be more expensive because you're not buying the carb fillers. Meals are mostly protein/veg. However, you're also not buying junk food, etc which helps cut the spending.

DrowningEveryDay · 27/05/2018 12:16

Dungeondragon15

The point I was making was that jacket potato is not a mainstay of a low-carb diet. You can argue all you want, but that is a fact: potato is a carb. If one opts to follow a low-carb diet, then potato can't be a regular fixture.

DrowningEveryDay · 27/05/2018 12:19

Also if you read the evidence women 'ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in animal fats or proteins did not see any such benefits'.

Yes, I read the evidence. But we were talking about the role of potato in a low-carb diet. You mentioned "I do think anyone who avoids jacket potato is a bit clueless though." This is why I gave you the Harvard link.

The evidence you quoted was not about a potato.

DrowningEveryDay · 27/05/2018 12:27

Also if you read the evidence women "ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in animal fats or proteins did not see any such benefits"

Women who ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in vegetable sources of fat or protein had a 30 percent lower risk of heart disease (4) and about a 20 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes, (34) compared to women who ate high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets. But women who ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in animal fats or proteins did not see any such benefits. (4,34)

This is comparing two low carb diets with different sources: vegetable vs animal. They are not comparing a high-carb diet vs a low-carb diet.

Again, to go back to my point, potato is a carb. It is difficult to incorporate potato in a low-carb diet because of its carb content.

Sparkletastic · 27/05/2018 12:29

What are you two going on about and why?

Actually don't answer that.

DrowningEveryDay · 27/05/2018 12:32

What are you two going on about and why?

Lol.

I was confused too actually. All I said was there was nothing wrong with potato per se, but it does not fit into a low-carb way of eating.

DrowningEveryDay · 27/05/2018 14:05

This is comparing two low carb diets with different sources: vegetable vs animal. They are not comparing a high-carb diet vs a low-carb diet.

Sorry - I stand corrected. Aside from low carb veg vs animal protein, they also compared low carb to a high-carb diet. The evidence is low carb veg sources lowers diabetes risk compared to a high carb diet (where you can enjoy potato).

This is my last post about potato!

Xenia · 27/05/2018 14:59

My ancestors ate about 40 potatoes a day and not much else. I don't recommend this... and then the crop failed and the rest is history.

most recent research suggests you may be better of without a lot of carbs. Go for high good fats, medium protein and loads of veg. That protein can be a tin of sardines as much as a piece of steak though. Does not have to cost much at all and as missing meals we now know is really good for you it is becoming cheaper and cheaper to eat and live well.

raisedbyguineapigs · 27/05/2018 16:14

Can I just ask out of interest what a vegetable protein is? All the low carb diets I've seen restrict pulses. Dont eggs, milk etc count as animal protein? Ican't imagine it would be easy to do a vegan LC diet for example.

wellwhatisit · 27/05/2018 16:15

That's a ridiculous amount and could probably last many families about a month! Are you shopping at Waitrose or M&S by any chance?

Dungeondragon15 · 27/05/2018 19:53

Sorry - I stand corrected. Aside from low carb veg vs animal protein, they also compared low carb to a high-carb diet. The evidence is low carb veg sources lowers diabetes risk compared to a high carb diet (where you can enjoy potato).

The high carbohydrate diet would have very probably involved foods such as sugary food or white bread which are well known to increase the risk of diabetes. Not all carbohydrates increase the risk.

ElizaDontlittle · 27/05/2018 19:57

It's very difficult to do low carb and vegan - or at least, very repetitive. Nuts and seeds have protein as well as fat and on a vegetarian low carb diet are usually unrestricted. Not sure about quorn/tofu etc - maybe those to (as beans and peas are usually too carb-y but full of protein).

raisedbyguineapigs · 27/05/2018 20:06

Yes when I did low carb, it wasn't so much the bread and pasta that did for me more the lentils and pulses. All of my quick, cheap staples involved lentils or chick peas. I was still buying carbs because I wasn't prepared to cut the kids carbs out.

cantkeepawayforever · 27/05/2018 20:22

Maybe i'm miossing something...

If you have sufficiently varied protein sources to obtain all essential amino acids and eat enough protein each day AND

You eat enough calories from all your food (protein, complex carbohydrate and fats) to meet your energy needs but no more AND

Eat enough fats for essential fatty acids AND

Eat enough of each essential vitamin and mineral

then why does it matter whether your diet is 'higher in carbohydtrates' or 'higher in protein'? I get that there may be 'tricks' in terms of satiety and excretion that make protein and carbohydrates different if you eat too much food, but if you eat JUST ENOUGH of a varied diet to meat your energy and protein needs BUT NO MORE, the surely it doesn't matter whether your diet is 'high protein' or 'high carb'? That only comes into play if you eat more food than you need?