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

I read it as £800 a week and my jaw dropped. Read it properly and that amount is actually very good for a whole month.

@Codexdivinchi I think you need to read a little more widely. Most shocking? Really?

We have five people in our house. Three adults and two primary kids both of packed lunches and that comes in at around £550 a month. Asda/Aldi or the butchers.

Try turning your primary school children into teenagers with adult appetites and see how much your bill increases. Personally I think £800 is a lot but the vitriol in your post is disgusting.

@AlternativePerspective Which supermarket did you go for in the end for your online order? Was Tesco or Sainsburys cheaper? I've found Sainsburys cheaper, I'm interested to hear other peoples experiences.

Aldi is good for basics, and their range has expanded massively in recent years. They have nearly everything you'll need. Some things are a lot cheaper, some are just a little cheaper. I've been investigating the cheaper options from Sainsburys and they seem good value. I have had some issues with meat going off before the date with Aldi, got around this by not buying too far ahead.

I am guessing that you are throwing quite a lot of food away..?

Make a menu plan for the week - and shop only for those ingredients (plus stapless)

I switched from a "Big 4" to Aldi and saved over £35.00 a week, just buy the equivalent stuff.

Trust me - these tips really do work

@GlamGiraffe

Things like sausage pasta, spaghetti bolognese, stir fry (the frozen raw king prawns in aldi are really good), prawn and spinach risotto or mushroom risotto with dry and fresh mushrooms, toad in the hole, macaroni cheese with bacon etc are all inexpensive and filling. Have these with a big salad and you have proper home cooked meals. You can buy a proper shop in aldi (bar dried mushrooms and risotto rice, maybe a couple of extras,) so change the ways you shop. Your shopping isntcexpendve for 5 adults really but you need to reduce the amount of meat and change snacks for things like appkes and oranges have squash as drinks and dont have alcohol if upu usually do. Just buy simple biscuits in aldi for snacks when they're gone, they're gone. No topping up. Everyone gets used to it.

There are kids in seriously shitty and underfunded state schools. Maybe you should take yours out of their private schools and send them state. The money saved you can donate to your local food bank.

No? Thought not

So sorry glam I quoted the wrong poster. My post was directed at Codexdivinchi But I must have hit the wrong quote

You should go down to your local food bank OP and see what it’s like in the other side
You sound like my friend - my kids go to the same private school
You wrote both of these things in the same post, and it wasn’t meant to be ironic? Ok.

OP, good weekly meal plan, good idea also to get the others to come up with at least some of the ideas so you’re not doing the whole mental load. If I was you I’d make that bolognese veggie by swapping the meat for Puy Lentils, it’s lovely. Also, mushroom risotto as per PP is good as is pea risotto. I make double the amount each time and make the second lot in to risotto cakes (dip in flour, eggs and panko crumbs and fry) and have with wedges and salad.

It's the popping what does it. What worked for us was meal planning (lunches and dinner) doing a list from that and doing it online rather than going in and being tempted by other things.

we are a family of 5 with 3 boys and I'd say that's not far of what we spend, £7/800 odd a month. 3 boys going through puberty or out the other side eat a shit ton of food.

Also the prices have gone up post Corona and they are all at home, bored, more hence always wanting food.

Family of five. Spend about £450 a month. Feel as though something is wrong for you OP.

Watch eat well for less (on BBC tonight) op. That's far too much for a family of 5!

Treat meat as a treat works for us although I will be honest it takes a lot more effort to make a a veggie enjoyable than a meat one

I spend £70 per week for groceries and toilet roll/kitchen roll but I buy cleaning stuff as and when from Wilkos. Once a week I shop at Lidl - I get enough food for meals to last 2 weeks. I also get enough cupboard groceries for the month. Then 2 weeks later I get an online shop from Sainsburies which gives us a chance to get anything we can't get from Lidl. The last week I try to make meals from things leftover in the freezer and cupboards and just buy a few things to make up the meals.

Forgot to say- this is for 2 adults, one teen and an 8yo.

And I shop.at Lidl once a month!

Another update - I went to Aldi again, spent £92 but this includes washing powder and cleaning products.
I have found a store a little bit further to drive but it was so worth it, so much better organised, cleaner and more spacious than my very local one. I am definitely a convert, I have saved a fortune already!!
Last week we had two veggie teas, I did need a top up shop for the few things I couldn't get in Aldi such as bay leaves, gravy granules, nice garlic bread and stuffing etc but still spent much less.
Thank you for all your tips and help

Oh and to add mince, chicken breasts and whole chickens I cooked from there last week were absolutely fine!

Thanks for the update!

Well done

Aldi does gravy granules and nice garlic bread op!

Stuffing from Aldi is fine too!

As for bay leaves, I have a bay tree.

@ AlexTheLittleCat Tesco were cheapest, by miles. I got to the point where Sainsburys were £12 more than Tesco so I gave up on them and ordered the Tesco order...

My shopping list for this week came to £63.

For those who say that chicken thighs are cheaper than breasts, it depends. If they’re fillets then the price is exactly the same, I also thought they were cheaper but they’re not. If you have time and inclination to de-bone thighs then they’re cheaper. But even if you’re buying fillets thighs are much tastier than breasts.