Poor budgeting this month

[Gohenceforth]

It’s been a costly month already and so we are left with £400 till payday (22nd) . Still need to buy food out of this. I’m crap at meal planning but need some pocket friendly meal ideals please. 2 adults and one teen. Usually need enough left overs for adults to take lunches the next day.

Switch to Aldi/Lidl

Use a lot less meat. When you do use meat bulk it out with beans/lentils to make it go further.

Have a look at Jack Monroe Cooking on a Bootstrap for ideas.

Meal plan everything.

This is now my normal way to shop even though I don't need to do it anymore. Trips to Tesco are met with 'how much?' and'why are they ripping me off?'

If £400 a for 3 weeks and 3 people is a LOT less than you usually spend. But also you have zero savings had have been hit by an unexpected expense, I think you might need a total overhaul of your spending and budgeting. To be so spendy on food but not have any reserves is crazy.

Your husband will just have to put his food snobbery aside for this month - chances are he won't be able to notice this difference
I think the pasta/shepherds pie type options have been covered - but also

• look in the frozen section - there are often good offers on things like chicken breasts etc
• make your own burgers and meatballs from mince
• make chilli, curries and stews that you can bulk out with veg
• sausages with mash
• buy supermarket own brands instead of branded goods

Spag bol - mince, spag bol mix, tin of toms, tom puree and spaghetti
Lasagne - jar of red and white sauce, mince, lasagne sheets
Risotto - risotto rice, chicken, peas, Parmesan, garlic, onion, pepper
Fishfingers, beans and homemade wedges (with olive oil and cajun seasoning)
Jacket potato with cheese/beans/tuna/anything else
Prawn spaghetti - prawns, tin of toms, garlic, spaghetti

My weekly shop is about £30-50 for 2 adults and 1 child.

£400 for three weeks just for food is easy! We have two adults and one baby here and I spend about £100 a week. I realise teens eat more but you should easily be able to manage.

Just buy it all and cook from scratch. Just either shop online so you know exactly what your spending and can plan better or go shopping armed with list. I do mine online to be delivered as I don't drive. And means I can budget better.

while I totally agree you will get far more bargains in aldi or lidl, than Tesco the problem is just going for a look when not used to it could lead you to impulse purchases, i'd suggest having a look at their websites first see what's the special offers this week etc and build a loose plan around that.

i'd also look at this as being a good opportunity to do a good freezer clear out, check cupboards and spend some time doing an inventory it might give you ideas for meals.

your husband might be a bit of a food snob but honestly the mince, chicken, meatballs etc are the same quality I find, in fact less fat in their meatballs to Tesco's ones.

There was a thread yesterday where a poster had 125 for food budget till much same date for 5 people, and some posters gave her links to recipes on bbc site etc where you made a family dinner for less than £5 see if you can locate it, there were some nice recipes.

Its hard the no sauce rule as id say most of my go too cheap dinners are all sauce based, casseroles, currys, dahl, chilli, thick soups for lunches, etc , but pasta you've already said is good idea so few cartons of passata and you can make all sorts of different home made sauces, throw in some aldi meatballs or chorizo for a meaty one, or peppers and olives for veggie one.

For other none sauce dinners, my teen likes meals like egg, beans and home made chips or sweet potatoes done as wedges in oven are a hit. She loves noodles so lots of stir fries- would this fall foul of the no sauce rule?

Butternut squash and bacon, great for a food snob! Cut the squash in half (they cost around £1), light spray of oil, roast until soft. Score the top and push in a little bit of bacon. Serve with veg/salad. The taste combo is great!

Soup. Get a bunch of cheap veggies, little bit of meat if you want. Potatoes to thicken and bulk it out.

Jacket potatoes, very cheap and can feel like a treat. Toppings can be beans and cheese/tuna or some leftover chili.

Make something like curry or chilli and pad it out with extra veg and some lentils/mashed up beans. Aim to have loads of leftovers so you can serve it up again or put the mix in a wrap with salad and beans.

Toasties, can be done in the oven rather than Breville/grill. Pick a filling, serve up with big salad.

If you have (or can borrow) a slow cooker, buy some of the cheaper cuts of meat and chuck in with some herbs or spices and any veg you fancy. No need for fancy sauces or marinades. A sizeable piece of meat can last several days in different guises - roast, sandwiches, salad, pasta etc.

I have just done a good inventory and we have a fair bit of frozen fruit and veg, found a box of breaded fish and another one of chicken and some sausages. Well stocked store cupboard so that’s helpful.
Have made a lots of meal ideas and this will be in my hand shopping.
We do have money in savings but we don’t touch them - ever. Also pay heavily into pension pots. Really not irresponsible with money. Just had a very strange month.

Halloumi salad with flatbread is yummy, and you can always throw in a bit of chorizo as well.

Chorizo is generally very good for livening stuff up as you only need a tiny quantity to add a lot of flavour.

Chicken on the bone instead of chicken breasts, leg pieces to roast or thighs for a stew.

Batch cooking with mince is your friend. You could also do home made meatballs or burgers (there's a nice pork and pepper burger Mary Berry recipe).

Definitely shop at Aldi. Most of their meat is very good, although the higher welfare options are not as extensive as some supermarkets, but they do sell free range and outdoor reared meat. Their continental meats, pre-sliced cheese packs, etc, are great for lunches. And if you like frozen prawns (I see DH doesn't eat seafood), they are almost half the price of Sainsburys.

OP - isn’t that what savings are for? For the unexpected? Many people have less to spend on food with no savings.

One of the cheap meals for us is

Pea,Bacon Pasta

2 or 3 bacon rashers per person cut into pieces(Iceland do a kilo of smoked/unsmoked for £4.50 it's in their fresh section)
1 Chopped onion
a couple of handfuls of frozen Peas
Pasta of your choice

1. Heat water for pasta
2. fry bacon and onions in a little oil until browned
3. Add pasta to boiling water
4. Add peas to pasta water a couple of minutes before pasta finished cooking.
5. keep some of the cooking water, drain pasta and peas to the bacon and onion mix. Mix together with some Parmesan if you have.

If you can buy a bigger piece of meat for example in Asda at the moment they have joints of beef and pork on sale but are big enough to cut in half or thirds. I also buy these as well as gammon and slice thinly for sandwich meats and they freeze well.

On a similar theme, bacon and pea risotto is very tasty.

Halloumi salad with flatbread is yummy

Yes but I don't see it as great if on a budget. A packet of halloumi is about £2...roughly the same cost as a whole small chicken in Lidl. You'd feel much fuller and probably get another meal out the chicken too.

we are tesco shoppers with fussy/plain eaters

If you don't have a slow cooker, theres one in tesco for £12, we use it a lot.

theres a pork crackling leg for £5 to make pulled pork cooked in water and a stock cube, serve with some veg and home made wedges (cut potato, spray oil and a sprinkle of salt)
You'll probably have enough pork left to do sandwiches next day

Similar meal with Gammon and sandwiches next day

Boswell Farms diced beef - 2.59 a pack (we use 2)
slow cook in gravy granules/water, you can add potatoes and veg, or cook and serve seperately
bulk it out with the potato/veg and you can make a meal for lunch next day

slow cooker meals are great for split mealtimes as you can leave it on low/warm

Spaghetti bolognese - but if you use cheaper mince, don't slow cook as it will be watery - we fry off the mince, drain the liquid then add sauce, drop it over the 20p spaghetti

If you remove anything not absolutely necessary from your shopping, its possible to get it down to £50 - £60 in Tesco, we do it every few weeks then on more 'flush' weeks, stock up the pantry with tins, packets etc.

My DH was a bit snobby when I first started shopping in Aldi, now he can't see why people would go anywhere else and often does the shop himself. I reckon we save about £40 a week at least shopping there.

We love pork, which is really cheap compared to beef and chicken. A real treat meal for us is slow cooked pork belly cubes, finished off under the grill with stir fry veg and rice or noodles.