To ask how you've lowered your food shop?

[coffeecoffeecofffee]

Recently come under a crap time, can't work due to chronic health condition, lost our UC payment each month of £400 as my partner now earns above the threshold (but still doesn't take home much due to debt he has unfortunately) & had my PIP review recently (I used to get £430pm) and may have that reduced/taken away completely.

I'm trying to think of ways to reduce my outgoings and have decided to reduce my food budget to £25pw. (used to have £35pw)

My partner and I buy our things separately but share the cost of regular household bits, cleaning and usually salad! We both eat two completely different diets, me vegan & him a meat eater. So about £6 per week of each of our budgets goes towards cleaning & toiletries.

Left with £19 for food for the week.

I already buy a lot of frozen veg and the only fresh produce I buy are apples (whatever's cheapest), strawberries or blueberries, tomatoes, salad (spinach, kale & rocket), avocados& sweet potato.

I usually buy 1 dairy free milk (£1.40) which lasts me most of the week as I don't eat breakfast every day.

I eat a lot of wholewheat pasta w/ no added sugar pasta sauces (tomato based & pesto) as it goes a long way, no added sugar & is cheap and delicious as well as healthy as I don't eat a tonne!

I also buy a bag of plain frozen fish for the week at £3.30 for 5 fillets.

I tend to find the fresh stuff & toiletries like body wash take up most of my budget, I've tried shopping at my local Lidl and Aldi but the fresh produce is often going off when I'm in there! Let alone getting it home, hence I find Morrisons/Asda/Tesco better for that.

Anyone got any smart ways to reduce/meal plan for a vegan? I don't like beans, lentils etc so that's annoying as I know they're really cheap!

Don't forget wonky veg from Morrisons, might not look perfect but tastes the same as more expensive ones.

@Bossinger I've cut dairy completely out of my diet- one of the huge trigger groups for me & I don't eat many foods. All the foods I eat are safer foods for me (unlikely to trigger me) but some days you just wake up knowing it'll be a bad & painful day, even if you don't eat all day or only eat basic food.

OP, your question has become "how can I spend less without changing a single thing?" The answer is that it's not possible.

@cuppycakey It wasn't me who chose the dogs insurance, my partner did and he pays for it, that's not my responsibility therefore I don't get a say in which insurance we have.

I have already stated I'm fussy about food, especially having IBS, if there is a specific brand I find that works for me & doesn't cause me discomfort then I stick with it. I also don't eat beans often as they can trigger me off and on so the Heinz beans last for ages anyway.

@VanGoghsDog I have a hard time believe a bag of carrots lasts you 3 weeks?

Well, it can last year if you don't eat any!

I use about one carrot every other day. I grate it into salad to make it more interesting, or I eat them roasted with other roast veg, or now and then have them steamed, or I use the potato peeler on them to make thin strips for a stir fry. But a bag must have about 20 carrots in. And I don't eat them every day, and when I use them in salad it's only half a carrot anyway.

I keep them in the fridge and they don't go 'off' or anything. If they are looking manky I whip up some soup and include them in that.

@70isaLimitNotaTarget I have mentioned a steamer for the floor to my partner, he's reluctant as we rent and he doesn't want a steamer to damage the (already crap when we moved in) floors and then we end up losing our deposit.

Use vinegar for cleaning. Natural and very inexpensive. Strive to use much less loo roll. Use cotton wool instead of wipes.
No avocados or blueberries unless on very good offer. Bulk buy pasta, loo roll etc. I think you can do it.

Home Bargains is reasonable.
Heron foods is cheap as well.
Lidl fruit and veg is better than Aldis I've found.
Marks and Spencers is cheap when they reduce all the produce but you have to catch them on the right days.
Look for the basics range at the usual supermarkets and use soap not body washes.Soap is better for getting rid of the smell of sweat I've found as well.

@NunoGoncalves I'm not lazy, I have CFS and epilepsy, I don't feel like washing a fecking lettuce when I need sleep and have had a seizure the day before! Sometimes convenience is the best option!

@VanGoghsDog I must get judged everyday from family members & friends who know my situation. I'm not lazy, I would rather not be sleeping or resting all day but unfortunately CFS & epileptic seizures do that to you. I'd rather be having a career, earning good money myself, going out with friends etc. This isn't a choice.

Fresh vegetables last me ages 2 weeks at least, ways take them out bag. We have 3 of us. I love salad, can't youse a fresh and cut bits up at a time. Toss it all in a salad bowl. Or Tupperware boxes for sheered carrots,sliced pepper and tomatoes. Just do bits at a time of your tires. I have anxiety and depression so knows it's hard when in a budget for food and think.whay to eat.Ybs do a ratiuolue for a dinner to frezze also. Tinned fruit good. I buy frozen berries to go with natural yoghurt as I fine this xhelsee than fresh it's 1.75 a punnet at Asda.

@teta Thank you :) I find eating healthy really helps my mental health even when my physical health is low.

Yes, I was diagnosed with IBS at 16 (4 years ago now) and my Gp and I worked out my triggers using a low fodmap diet for a whole month. I now avoid known triggers and all the foods I buy are fine for me usually (in moderation) but with IBS you sometimes just have bad days and it doesn't matter what you eat, it still affects you.

I'm not going to read through the whole thread...but 18 loo rolls a week?!!

Try it, you might see why the OP uses 'so much.'

@VanGoghsDog I must get judged everyday from family members & friends who know my situation. I'm not lazy, I would rather not be sleeping or resting all day but unfortunately CFS & epileptic seizures do that to you. I'd rather be having a career, earning good money myself, going out with friends etc. This isn't a choice.

None of which you put in your post - there's no point asking other people how they lowered their food shop when you are in a situation where you need all the things on yours and are seemingly unable to make any changes.

I lowered mine by eating less, shopping at cheaper places, making more from scratch, simply using less and not buying 'convenience' items. Oh, and being a grown up about what I would and would not eat.

You can't do any of that apparently, so pointless thread.

Op, this is what we use where I live but I’ve also installed them in the UK.

But before I installed them we either had a quick wash in the shower after wiping or we wiped then used jugs like this made out of a cut down comfort bottle. I wish I’d known about these though.

You should use cleaning cloths and much less of the wipes and loo roll on the car. You will save both money and the environment especially since you have a lot of time which other people don't.

I know, I have it too. Have you tried Probiotics like kefir or kombucha. Or even live cider vinegar. I find they really help. I do think stress can affect Ibs though and it sounds tough for you at the moment.

Have you tried identifying your ibs triggers using the Fodmap diet

Low Fodmap for a vegetarian is hardcore . I did it for 3 months , introduced food groups slowly (this was under advice from GastroEnterologist)
Bread (esp white) dairy , cheddar being the worst, onions , tomato with seeds -cherry tomatoes mainly- and nuts were my triggers .

Like the OP, I don't like eggs .
I eat very small amounts of my trigger foods .

On top of other health issues the OP has , low Fodmap would need to be done with a Dietician

2 of us here use aldi toilet roll we buy it in packs of 4. I'd say it lasts us 3 weeks max. 18 a week?? Nothing wrong with the quality from my point of view. It's been better than some bigger supermarket own brands...

@teta Thank you, Yes stress is a huge trigger for not only my IBS but my seizures too. I take a probiotic daily from holland and Barrett :)

I like Millymolly improvised bidet and jug. Much cleaner than loo roll or (I hope not) wipes.

Oops missed the IBS post sorry.

Why the hell did you get a dog? Cutting back on you’re own stuff then buying a dog.

"Lettuce needs cleaning & the bags are easier and quicker, also cheap too- bag of rocket in Lidl is 48p I believe."

So do the tomatoes and apples and strawberries and blueberries you eat every week....

If you really can't be bothered to wash and cut lettuce to save yourself about £1 a week... Then you can't be that hard up.

Coffee you’re 20 right?
My dd1 is 19 nearly 20 and a student. She often does her own thing. As parents we really don’t expect students who are 20 to be perfect and behave like mature adults. Why are we expecting the op to do so? She’s asking for suggestions. It’s up to her to decide whether they will work or not.