To ask what people actually BUY on their weekly shop?

[BillHadersNewWife]

I struggle with getting enough to last for the week. There's DH and I but he works away Monday to Friday mostly and there are two DD's aged 15 and 11.

We eat what most people eat for meals...roasts, curries, home made burgers, salads, homemade pizza, baked potatoes, spag bol...that kind of thing.

I don't like buying a lot of crap snacks so tend to get fruit, eggs, cheese, plain crackers, instant noodles...also jam and peanut butter.

But what am I missing that my DD"s are always complaining their friends have WAY more nice food in their fridges?

I also struggle finding both girls things for packed lunches that they will actually eat.

Last week I gave up and got them those protein milkshakes on one day because I was so desparate for them to actually eat something during the day!

If I gave them something like Nutella sandwiches, crisps etc they'd eat that but nothing healthy!

I am going shopping tomorrow and want to reduce the time I visit the shops AGAIN during the week after my 'big shop'. Any ideas on what I am missing from my list?

Plug in pop corn maker - ours gets used loads. Minimal effort.

As I said what about roasting meat and using that

You seem to not like the processed stuff (meat/cakes/pies) but dont want to bake either. Its sounds like stuck in rural Australia there are less buying options than where I am in London so you do need to do a mixture of letting go on the processed and do a bit more baking

You need to ask your girls what nice foods they mean.

DD's snacks of choice are cherry tomatoes, french bread and goats cheese, sharon fruit, banana bread (but not the little soreen ones, they are revolting) and malt loaf. DS given a choice would live entirely on wotsits, quavers and instant noodles.

Lunches DD(11) hates sandwiches so she either has a wrap, stuffed pitta breads, pasta or a salad. Or sometimes her lunch will just be snacky bits like cherry tomatoes, cheese, crackers, cucumber sticks, pepper sticks, toasted pittas and dip and Greek yoghurt with fruit. DS(15) will only take ham or chocolate spread sandwiches, no snacks or dessert, so I just make sure he has a good breakfast and dinner.

What about making a nutella alternative? blog.fablunch.com/3-ingredient-homemade-nutella/ its healthier and might help with lunches? Also what about making your own crisps. Its really easy, I make apple ones.

If they like sushi why not try them on a rice salad or some veg fried rice in their box?

For snacks I give ds natural yogurt and add chopped up fruit and some honey. Toast/crumpets. Malt loaves, sometimes biscuits with a glass of milk. He loves making smoothies and home made cakes which are healthier than buying in the shops. I get falafels and sausage rolls for me to snack on. I also ask ds what he would like on the food shop and he doesn't go mad with suggestions.

My link to the alternative nutella recipe isn't showing up but you make it with dates. Also frozen mangos blended with a little milk and sugar are a great alternative to icecream.

My DD won't eat sandwiches / wraps either. She takes cous cous or soups in a flask, with crackers, veg and hummus and then a smoothie, yogurt, fruit etc.

Oh, and I get a chocolate spread that's fruit based. She knows it's not Nutella! But likes it

We do a meal plan on a Friday night and make a list based on that plan and what we already have in the freezer. DH is a bargain hunter and always picking up yellow stickered stuff in the weekly shop that we will then use in the following weeks meal plan. I also have a weekly local veg box delivered so don't tend to buy fruit and veg in the weekly shop. I think the planning is key o be honest.

Kids are 10 and 15, "nice" snacks we keep in are:
Sugar free ice lollies
Small apples for the littles
Satsumas for the biggest
Nice cheese and some crackers
Super noodles

Neither really eat crisps but I make sure we have popcorn kernels for making our own popcorn.

How about soup in a thermos and some malt loaf.

Also depending on age - get them involved in the meal planning! We have started giving ours one night to cook each so they complete their individual nights in the meal plan and show me what recipe they are using.

We also have a "I used the last" list on the fridge door where they are expected to write down whatever they have finished off so we can add those to the list.

I do my shopping online once a week and ask my dd the night before to write down anything she’d like
The things she regularly asks for are

• Carrots/peppers and hummus
• Tortilla chips I usually by the multipack 6 pack of plain Doritos which she’ll have with guacamole
• Wraps filled with chicken and salad
• Toast and Pate
• Spring rolls
• Fruit
• Ready to bake rolls with Boursin cheese
• Edam or Gouda with grapes
• I usually make a banana loaf and a batch of chocolate brownies once a week (always good for if friends come round after school)
• Cocktail Sausages
• Mini Scotch Eggs
• Pitta Pizzas

Get a popcorn maker. It uses air rather than oil and leaves no mess. Very easy and healthy.

@Swisskit we have one of these! It's a brilliant gadget :)

My DC (now grown up and filling their own fridges) would open the fridge door and moan "there's nothing in the fridge! Only ingredients!!

veggie sushi would be a pain to make but you could make a veggie sushi bowl for a packed lunch

Do you have a problem controlling what you eat OP because it all sounds very regimental? And if so you are at risk of passing on bad habits too go your daughters.

Unless there's some reason to be on such a restrictive diet with no treats at all and I don't even eat like that when I'm training for a race, it's ridiculous.

You are far better off teaching them how you to eat well including a few treats than the current situation. Let them have ice cream one day as an example but the next suggest fruit and natural yoghurt, as an example. Also remember your girls are growing, they have different nutritional needs to you

We never had any "nice food" either. It was all proper food. When I went round to my friend's house, they always had things like Dairylea cheese slices, Mr Kipling cakes, popcorn, hummus, tortillas etc in the cupboards and fridge as standard, whereas in our house they would be "special occasion" only (ie never) and the nearest my mum got to "nice snack food" was supermarket value multipack crisps.

I understand about the 'crap food'. I buy peperami as it's a convenient protein source, but only for school. I think it's okay as part of an otherwise healthy diet. Falafel, hummus and veg sticks, frozen pots of yogurt (my teenager has honey Greek yogurts), popcorn?

Can they take nuts to school? Nuts (if allowed), dried fruit and seeds.

Personally I would consider giving your dds the green light to take Nutella sandwiches as long as they take and eat some protein, which would have gone in the sandwich. My dd went off sandwiches for a long time and I sent her with popcorn, crisps or mini cheddars as the carb with the filling separated out. So chicken pieces, cheese, peperami etc with fruit and veg sticks and a small pudding, eg small cake with no icing.

My dd is now at secondary. All she will eat at school is a sandwich and a brownie. My feeling is as long as she eats a good meal with a fair amount of veg in the evening and breakfast includes some fruit, she’s doing ok.

I agree with people, who say you’re too way rigid. My dd likes to take lots of snacks to dancing so I buy her dates, dried apricots, cereal bars, the organix flap jacks (for toddlers) and mini malt loaf etc. It doesn’t have to be pure “junk”. You could also make brownies / cakes to take to school perhaps?

I forgot. Dd used to take a food flask. You can put all sorts in there and it will remain hot - or cold (I think). So leftovers basically. That and a small pudding was enough. But now she won’t take that either.

What about getting them to help chopping up salad stuff, putting it into large tubs to keep it fresh in the fridge - and then them compiling their own smaller salad for lunch, with some protein/carbs/fats added - cheese, ham, fragranced couscous, decanted into smaller takeaway-size tubs? They could do that in the morning - or the night before.

We do that sometimes. I'm sure we got the idea from the Harvester salad bar which we all love (just not the same things).

Some of the snacky things we like are (apologies if some are things not available in Aus):
Savoury:
-lentil or chickpea crisps (Eat Real brand)
-reduced-fat potato crisps; baked (not fried) potato crisps; puffed crisps (baked not fried)
-tortillas chips (not the healthiest, but usually lower-fat than normal crisps)
-ready-made popcorn (not the healthiest, but not the worst)
-pretzels
-cereals eg rice pops, cheerios
-breads eg crumpets, wholemeal English muffins etc
-nuts - dry-roasted peanuts, cashews, roasted almonds etc
-peanut puffs
-sesame sticks
-rice cakes, corn cakes
-rice crackers (both the snack with lots of different shapes, and the ones that are small round discs - sorry if this doesn't make any sense!)
-wholegrain and multiseed crackers
-easy-to-eat veg: green beans, cherry/baby roma tomatoes, cucumbers, carrot sticks, celery
-dill pickles / gherkins (I know, very high in salt)
-pitted olives
-peanut butter and other nut & seed butters
-ready-made dips & spreads: hummus, baba ganoush, guacamole, salsa, mushroom pate, marmite, vegan cream cheese
-ready-made falafels
-vegan slices - eg ham
-vegan cheese
-vegan peperami
-vegan tinned soups eg minestrone, 3-bean etc
-in the freezer - vegan nuggets, burgers, sausages, pizzas

Sweet:
-healthy bars eg Lara bars, Clif bars (I buy in bulk online to make them affordable)
-soy puddings (Alpro brand - chocolate, vanilla, caramel)
-oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (Nairns brand)
-granola - good for snacking on
-digestive biscuits, fig rolls
-grab-and-go fruit: satsumas, bananas, apples, grapes, blueberries
-dried fruit eg apricots, dates, apples, bananas, raisins
-smoothies (own-brand or on special)
-vegan yogurts - blueberry, cherry etc
-liquorice (Panda brand)
-vegan marshmallows