Desperately need tips to reduce almost £800 per mth food bill.

[Mumof3almost4]

I am stressing about mat leave pay and how low it is.
Just going through my income/outgoings and my main drain is on food. We are a family of 5, two adults, DC 18, 15, 13.
I am spending between £700-£800 a month on food. Is this ridiculous?!
I do cook mostly from scratch but will use a few pasta jars etc. I shop at local market for fruit and veg and the butchers for meat. We all like a big evening meal usually with meat or chicken and I always make sure there's salad or veg on the plate. I shop at home bargains and Asda for cupboard stuff, mainly use the freezer for left overs and don't like to waste anything.
I do try and plan meals but I think I've got in a habit of not doing this properly and then money gets frittered nipping to the shop. I then spend £30 easily feather than just getting what I need.

Reading this back I know I need to get much much better organised but really need your tips on how??
How do you plan meals without getting bored of it being repetitive?
We all eat well, no fussy eaters apart from a dislike of cheese and eggs.
Any advice for me to save a massive chunk of money please??

Also I hate Aldi. I'd never get a full shop in there

Try finding a wholesaler and buy in bulk... I buy things like Rice, Potatoes Toilet roll, milk.(long life) Cheese (grate it and freeze) even box of tomatoes. (chop and put in individual freezer bags)
Booker and Costco are a few which come to mind

We spend £160 per week for a family of 4, but this includes all our cleaning and toiletries and I have a champagne habit. Perhaps we eat more cheaply than I thought

How can you hate Aldi? I have been shopping at Aldi for 25 years and reckon I’ve saved thousands. These days there’s not much you can’t get in there. I now use Lidl too as I like the bakery and the meat and get lots of reduced meat there at the end of the day.
Echoing others I would say meal planning is key, check cupboards and freezer before shopping, don’t buy junk food, eat more vegetarian meals and buy things like loo roll, spuds, pasta and rice in bulk. Batch cooking could be useful for you when you are having the baby. Make a load and put in the freezer for the family.

I must be one of a tiny minority on here that thinks that's absolutely extortionate. I spend £60 a month on just me, and £100 when i have my sibling at home. What on earth are you eating?

My main tips for money saving are, meal plan, stop snacking, drink water (80%) at least, buy in bulk and realise that hunger won't kill you. Are you making sure you're eating all your food and not throw it away?

go Veggie! - that will keep your food bill down by at least £100 per month ! and also kinder to the environment as well.

I used to do a three week menu with online shopping. Planned ahead and adhered to. It had three meat free meals a week, vegetables to bulk out meat based meals. Lunches planned too to avoid fridge raiding. Simple food. Not lots of sides. No commercial junk snacks, no expensive labels.
Bulk bake and use freezer.
A diary to see where it is going is a good idea. Use leftovers for lunches.

Cheap meals are things like macaroni cheese, tomato risotto, pasta with chilli tomato sauce or garlic and parsley with Parmesan. Shepherds pie with less meat but more carrot, peas, celery. Vegetarian shepherds pie even better. Vegetable curry with rice.

Cut back on expensive foods like meat and have meals that are more whole foods (think soups and jacket potatoes) that will help a lot. Also only go to the store once a week, of you run out of something, just make do or only take enough money to buy that one item. (It is so easy to go to the shop for bread and spend £20!)

Do yr food shop in a supermarket, once a week only. Kind of plan what u will eat each evening in yr head as go along bt dont go for the whole meal planning or u will get bored asap. try to buy a few extras u dont strictly need in case u run out bt the important thing is to mot return to the supermarket for a week! I do this and spend @£100 a week including mags, cards, presents etc. Dont set a strict budget bt see how u go and u you'll get the hang of it agter a few weeks and know what yr budget is. I tend to spend the same eaxh week bt buy completely different things.

Don’t eat meat every day. It will cut your food bill down massively. I only eat meat once/twice per week and fish once per week, as a main meal. It’s better for the planet and better for your pocket.

I don’t think it’s so much if you have teenaged boys. I have two teenage daughters who are very athletic and we spend about £650. Oldest daughter is on 3,000 calories per day with 100 grams of protein. I buy a lot of fresh meat at Aldi.

@strivingtosucceed run us through your meals. Our £160 covers 3 meals a day for 4 plus all extras. Are you covering all meals with that?

@Elllicam

If you work for any of the emergency services/NHS or know someone who does I can highly recommend the Company Shop. You need to be a member of the emergency services to join but they sell food for massive discounts. Companies donate end of line/short weighted/short dated products and you get some amazing bargains. I usually go every week and get a weeks shop for about £50. You can go as a guest of a member as well.

Things may have changed but we used to use Company Shop when we lived in E Midlands and you just needed a work ID to be able to use it. Not just emergency workers.

Should have added Company shop are brill though. Roll on does for 10p, yoghurts for 10p, beer/cider for 40p (England, make sure you have room in the car if heading to Scotland).

Lower the amount of meat in each serving - replace with lentils and beans.

It’s £5.16 per person per day. I don’t think that is a lot for 3 meals plus snacks? I marvel at the people who can spend £40 per week!
(Maybe try Lidl if you don’t like Aldi?)
Good luck x

I don't shop in Asda...I shop in WAITROSE. GASP. I end up spending half the money. I find Asda is cheaper for some things but frequently Waitrose is cheaper. Use a comparison app for things you buy often. I also find Waitrose essential own brand tastes good or better than big brands whereas in Asda I would buy the named brands. They also have amazing reductions on meat and veg. Shop in a smaller store with a definite list. This way you don't fill your trolley with treats and stuff you don't really need. Check prices for loose vs bagged veg. Potatoes vary hugely in price and sometimes bagged onions are cheaper than loose. A whole chicken is cheaper than its parts. A spatchcocked chicken for £3 will feed you all but if you bought chicken breasts you'd probably need to spend 2-3 times that. Think about buying frozen food. It is far cheaper and just as good. Buy reduced fresh items and freeze them.

I don’t think one chicken can feed a family of five with growing teenaged boys. You’d need to cook 2 chickens.

Aldi Aldi Aldi
& go vegi - you'll save loads & it'll be good for the environment. Or eat less meat & replace with pulses & vegi food. A lot cheaper. You'll all be healthier it'll be great!

I buy my all fruit, veg esp salad/stir fry at Aldi, the quality is excellent and lots cheaper than Tesco/Sainsburys/Waitrose etc

Have a look at the jars you buy and check the ingredients out.

Most will be a Passat sauce 39p in Tesco’s with a selection of herbs and spices.

Much cheaper than a £1.50 jar!

Cheap meals are anything with pasta!

I divide the week so rice/pasta/baked potato/chips/roast/eggs/cheese

Then work our what you’ll have

Rice - could be chili or curry
Jacket potato - cheese or bacon
Chips - chicken/pie/gammon
Cheese toasties
Stew and mash

I freeze portions in tinfoil tins, label.
So every week we could have a selection of lasagne, chili, pulled pork and the kids can chose a meal! So everyone gets something different!

It sounds a lot but really isn't. I spend about £140 a week for just 2 adults (but we do like steak and salmon!)

@EmpressoftheMundane of course it can - once. Surrounded by lots of veggies, potatoes and maybe some stuffing.

What it cant then do is provide enough leftovers for a hearty soup and a stir fry, with cold cuts for sandwiches, as some on Mumsnet would have you believe.

I might have missed it, but I thought she had 3 boys. Most teenaged boys I know can easily eat half a chicken. One chicken amongst five wouldn’t even be a quarter each.

Of course they'd like to eat half a chicken each (I have 2 teen boys and they'd happily eat one apiece) all I meant was their appetites could be satisfied with less chicken if you up the trimmings (cheaper). What they need is a big playful.of food. Like the story in James Herriot about the farmer's wife who served a huge Yorkshire pudding and gravy as a first course every Sunday so the joint would serve her husband and 6 strapping sons.

No grown up needs a 1/4 of a chicken.

Veg should be main component anyway.