Food is expensive

[goldenorbspider]

Went to aldi got few bits for the week and not a big shop for me and one infant. Spent £40 and it's not even a big shop. What do people do to save money on food? I can't imagine spending much less. I know it would cost waay more at other supermarkets.

@Villanomme totally understand that and if you want jar go for it.

Though when you do scratch cook do double and freeze some for an easy re heat option another time

I used to use jars a lot but now I have a 14 month old eating same as us I often don’t to keep salt and sugar down ... so I batch cook and keep to the simplest of sauces ... my slow cooker is my new best friend for example I have found a casserole that requires no pre cooking I chop the leek , onion , carrots and potato the night before and dice the chicken then in morning add with some stock and voila ( meal assembly must be quick as I have me and the14 month old to get ready and out on time.

But needs must do what works for you

Is it really end of world if someone decides to crack open a jar at 7:30 instead of making a sauce from scratch? I don't know what's to be won here? People just pick their battles, is there any need for one up manship? It's all well and good making sauces from scratch but I'm sure someone will be along in a minute who grows their own veg

And that kind of attitude is what’s wrong with the world to be honest “oh it’s on 6p..” except it’s not. It’s more than that for the environment etc

Jarred sauce is cheap and saves my sanity.
Hate cooking, making sauce is just another heap of steps, another lot of stuff to clean and 5 min v 10 seconds to open a jar

Taste is individual, i like the taste of them
Jarred sauces FTW

Get saucepan, add heaped tablespoon of flour, a generous knob of butter, and some milk (lets say a cup full), salt and pepper to taste, heat and whisk until smooth...that is pretty much it...

"Is it really end of world if someone decides to crack open a jar at 7:30 instead of making a sauce from scratch? I don't know what's to be won here?"

Well your original question was "What do people do to save money on food?"*

...and part of the answer is that they cook from scratch, you can either save time or money when it comes to cooking really.

£40 seems reasonable to me for what you bought

Is it really end of world if someone decides to crack open a jar at 7:30 instead of making a sauce from scratch?

No, but the whole thread is about saving money when you do a food shop.

The easiest way to save money is to cook from scratch, buy food that's in season and cut down on your consumption of meat. You won't do that if you make things like bolognese or lasagna with ready made jarred sauces.

Like a PP said you can either save time or money - rarely can you do both!

Get saucepan, add heaped tablespoon of flour, a generous knob of butter, and some milk (lets say a cup full), salt and pepper to taste, heat and whisk until smooth...that is pretty much it

or crack a jar and tip it in
People underestimate how much some hate cooking lol

As an expat I am absolutely astounded at these prices. I spend at least 250-300gbp on groceries per week for 4 of us (1 vegetarian and other three don’t eat a lot of meat, not extravagant on brands, no ready meals at all). No-one here thinks that is weird. A big post brexit price hike shock is coming back home, I think

I never used to mind the taste of jarred tomato sauce, it was a convenience but I think they started to up the sugar content.

Unless it is a pudding (I very very rarely eat puddings) I hate sweet main courses.

I have gone back to frying an onion and adding a tin of tomato sauce.

Vegetarian or even pescetarian would save you money. We are vegetarians with quite a lot of vegan recipes too, although we're not vegan.
This week we've had beetroot risotto, mushroom stroganoff, chickpea tagine , cauliflower and potato curry . It's all very tasty and our food bill is a lot less. If you're not too attached to meat it's worth a try if you want to save on food.

Aldi and Lidl are great but I find that the reduced to clear at regular supermarkets is way better. We had a whole roasted chicken last night which was 82p. Not because it was slaughtered in someone's back garden, but because it was bought on the day it went out of date.

I'd pay extra for a chicken that was slaughtered in someone's backyard. 😳 In fact, I do. Or, rather, on a small family farm.

It isn't the end of the world if someone uses a jarred sauce but it is more on their shopping bill. If you decide that in fact the convenience is of more importance to you than saving money, that's fine. Just accept the consequences. And vice versa.

There was a bun fight along the thread about jars. Someone from team jar said they didn't want to make sauce after work then a pile on from team home made ensued. I just stuck my two pence in.

I don't think fruit or veg is particularly cheap.

I easily spend between £30 and £40 on that alone, as we have fruit/veg/salad at every meal.
This week's was £38 just on fruit/veg and included:
1kg avocado
Mango (on offer)
1kg bananas
1kg courgettes
1kg Carrots
6 Apples
6 Pears
10 Tangerines
2 Broccoli
1 Cauliflower
2.5kg Potatoes
1 Celeriac
1kg Red onions
1kg Brown onions
300g Cherry or plum tomatoes (whichever is on offer)
750g Salad tomatoes
1 Lettuce
2 cucumbers
500g Mushrooms
509g Grapes
4 Leeks
2 Aubergines
1 Sweet potato or 1 butternut squash
750g Mixed sweet peppers
1 Red cabbage
2 Garlic bulbs

(Family of 4, with 2 older teens).

I buy all fresh and try to always buy loose, ie, without packaging, where possible, which is more expensive, tbf.

Have a look at what food is in season, it's always cheaper.

Aldi have 6 fruit/veg that is cheap each week but it's not always the cheapest options in the shop. Try frozen fish and frozen fruit too, it's often cheaper and you don't need to worry about it going off.

Also forgot 700g plums.

These items were bought at Aldi and Morrisons, as I can't get everything at my Aldi (and some items are cheaper in Morrisons).

I don't think fruit or veg is particularly cheap.

But look how long your list is! £40 for all that is excellent value for money.

Most people don't buy kilos and kilos of fresh fruit and veg each week.

Personally I spend about £35 between Lidl, Holland and Barrett, Iceland and Tesco.
2x per week
And that is for cat food and litter, dishwasher tablets and laundry stuff and all cleaning materials

I do buy a lot of the stuff on the fruit and veg list. 26 items averaging over £1.50 per thing seems a lot

If you think £40 for that enormous list of fruit and vegetables is a lot then I don't think many can help you.

Just worked out that making your own white sauce using 50g butter, 50g flour and 500ml milk costs 59p for 500ml sauce.

250g Butter £1.49 aldi
1.5kg flour £0.45 aldi
2 litres whole milk £1.10 aldi

That doesn't include gas or electric used whilst making it so buying the Aldi white sauce 500ml for 62 pence isn't really more expensive, and depending on your electric/gas tariff, may be cheaper.

I'm happy with what we spend, and know I could go cheaper if I bought the cheapest varieties of everything.

My point is more that saying:

cut out meat then your bill will be really cheap

isn't necessarily true, as you'd need more veg/fruit for a start.

Also the initial outlay to buy those 3 ingredients, if you don't already buy them (not everyone bakes or eats butter, which would mean they don't have those items already) is £3.04, so the initial outlay is more expensive than buying 1 jar of sauce at 62p and may not be possible on a tight budget.

@TheAirbender I live in Germany and shop at Lidl/Aldi from where they originally hail.I also spend at least Euro 300 a week on food for four of us .My husband two young adult sons and two cats.No ready meals at all because I hate them.Is food subsidised in the UK? The prices do seem very low. 62p for a bottle of sauce?82p for a roasted chicken , all that fruit and veg for just 40 GBP .I am well and truly baffled.

You wouldn’t buy more fruit and veg if you went vegetarian.

Instead of meat you would buy beans, chickpeas, soya type foods.

I buy a couple of bags of dry soya mince that come to under £4 that last for 2 weeks. As well as tins of chickpeas, varying cans of beans at around 50p per can and bags of dried lentils etc

Dp can buy a packet of mince for £3.85 that lasts him 2 meals

Definitely cheaper to be Vegan/Vegetarian

"Please don’t buy almond milk, OP. It’s disastrous for bees:"

I've just switched to hazelnut for this reason & it's yummy on cereal & in coffee. Weird in tea though.