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.

mindutopia Please take a look at page 3

(Mind you, my cupboards and freezer are always stuffed, so I do tend to hoard food a bit).

I spend about £250 a month for me and two small children and that includes pretty much everything! Nappies, wipes, cleaning/laundry products, we always have lots of fruit/salad/vegetables available, I cook healthy meals from scratch most days. My children also drink ALOT of milk and pressed fruit juice, all comes in at under £250

Poncy, braggy shite. Stealth boast if ever I saw one.

If you have time to make Bircher muesli you have time to knock up a salad. I make up salads for lunch and it literally takes minutes.

I spend arounf £80 for a big weekly shop for 2 adults and four children. But I do a couple of top ups in the week.

Metoodear tbh I find your post quite patronising. It’s hardly rocket science to think of meal planning and cooking is hardly an accomplishment. However some people need and want their lives to be more flexible and have a bit of variety. No idea why you’ve listed your meals, they’re in no way unusual and OP hasn’t said she’s having endless snacks anyway

I assume you spend that much because you can but also because you choose not to budget. You must not look at prices, but buy whatever you fancy. Do you pick up the first thing you see without checking whether the thing next to it is cheaper? Do you only buy brands because for some reason you think they’re better?

I remember shopping with my MIL, she just picks up the first thing she sees without checking if something else is cheaper. Where as I check if everything I buy is better value for money.

MeToo, your food looks delicious.

I'm quite aware that you can feed a family an interesting and varied diet on a budget and you seem to be doing a fantastic job. I myself like a queen at University and in the years after on a small budget.

My point was I like buying expensive ingredients sometimes, because I can!

Sorry metoodear just realised you were quoting and agreeing with another poster- the gist still stands though

Well the op may have meant it as a stealth boast but my kids would be horrified with dips for lunch.

Metoodear your food looks fantastic. I'm hungry just looking at your photos!

I used to spend £150 a week for four or us. Probably another £100 on eating out.

Now it's £40 for 3. I could quite comfortably manage on £60-70. On £40 it's difficult to include fresh herbs etc. We eat a lot of fruit/veg but just cheaper - so some strawberries, pineapple, melon are bulked out with apples, oranges, bananas.

I do meal-plan though as it makes me very happy to sit down with my notebook and think about everything we're going to eat for the next week (saddo that I am).

Your takeaway coffees and salads are costing £££ that arent needing to be spent if your looking to reduce costs

ILikeyourHairyHands
I have been poor and now have a little more money but not that much and I refuse to just eat pasta every day and I do think a lot of people struggle with cooking also with grazing I think people would be amazed how their shopping bill came down if they only brought what the needed

OrangeShoes I come from a West Indies background so only every really cooked with dry spices tbh

Scab

I imagine the OP’s children wouldn’t enjoy just dips for lunch either. So that’s why she gives them

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

This topic has been covered a LOT on here. But I always find these threads interesting. We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 primary age DC. No pets.

1 child has packed lunch, the other has (free) school meals (infants so they are free).

DH spends £50 a week on lunches at work and coffees.

Then I do an online shop twice a week and probably spend £150 total including all toiletries and cleaning stuff. I don’t buy lunch out. So probably we spend around £200-£225 a week which is a lot. Too much probably.

If you're willing to forgo high quality meat you can save tons

No, you can still eat high quality meat on a budget of 150 a week. Buy from a local butcher and eat less of it

If you want to pig loads of meat at every meal, then it's expensive. It costs a lot if you are greedy.

It sounds like some daily buffet like you would get at a party rather than daily meals .

Why is your butcher so cheap scabbersly? Usually means it’s poor quality? Just being a butcher doesn’t indicate any quality level

It's opening packets, not cooking. That's absolutely fine but it's expensive.

ILikeyourHairyHands where do you get live clams from? (Totally missing point of the thread!!!) I can only ever find frozen.

We eat well. But £280 would be a Christmas shop for us. I go to the Butcher for meat , shop in Aldi/ Morrisons and couldn't spend more than £100 a week for 3 adults and 2 dogs.
How much do you throw out?