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

Oh and I rarely buy branded anything.

I dont think you are spending that much, considering the appetite you have to feed and the way food prices have gone up.

To cut costs, easy ways are eat less fruit but more veggies, eat seasonally, eat less meat and rather than roasts and casseroles, try things that have just a bit of meat in rather than meat being "the main event". And less tempting snacks things, they gobble up money.

I do a lot of shopping at Lidll - the quality of meat, fruit and veg is good. We have quite a lot of meals where there may be some meat - stirfries, a pasta sauce with chorizo, curries of some sort, fajitas, baked potatoes with fillings - but meat is not the main element. That works a lot cheaper than sausages, chops, steaks, roasts etc...

Buying marked down items and stuff on special offer also can mean savings.

Making vegetables a key ingredient - squashes, sweet potatoes etc - also makes for filling meals especially in cold weather. The Roasting Tin cookbooks are good.

There'll also be a lot of soups and stews using leftovers. I bake my own wholemeal bread in a machine - probably not cheaper than shop bread but a lot more filling.

Cutting down on booze, soft drinks, sweets, sweetened yogurts/ready made desserts etc is also a good way to lower bills.

We have stuff like natural yogurt, dried fruits/stewed fruits, bananas etc for if people want something after having a main course.

(Agree the amount spent isn't unreasonable.)

I cook actual sauces from scratch mostly, but admit I used to be lazy with sachets of rice, quinoa etc
Switched to getting big bags, albeit it's a bit more of a faff after work, but saved so much
Don't bother with say a fajita kit, invest once in the spices needed then just grab some wraps.
Popping in supermarket on way home and grabbing bread etc that's marked down, then freezing it, saves too
Basically, if it can go in the microwave and be really convenient, chances are the raw version is cheaper, just tales slightly more effort
Quorn can be expensive, so I'd make sure you get it when it's on offer, but still tends to go further than meat in my experience
Tbh, if that monthly outgoing includes toiletries, cleaning products and pet food, I don't actually think it's terrible

Can you shop online or use scan and shop as you go round? I find it much easier to keep track then and if it's getting too expensive I decide what cheaper substitutions I can make.

Make a good plan so you only shop once a week - popping into the supermarket almost always results in spontaneous purchases that you might not really need.

You can have stuff like jacket potatoes some nights which are fairly cheap and filling.

Also, pay attention to if it's your meals that is expensive or do you go through a lot of snacks?

I don't buy biscuits, crisps or any other air and sugar filled snacks. If my kids are hungry they can make themselves a sandwich or have some fruit. If they crave something sweet there is always eggs, sugar, flour etc in the house so they just have to get baking. My kids do like their sugary things so there will be baked goods in the house for the most part but it will cost a fraction of what a store bought packet of biscuits or cake would cost. Plus, we don't have to eat the scary stuff they put in them to give them a shelf life of years.

Also, cut out cereal if you do buy that. It's incredibly expensive and it has almost no density so you need to go through a lot to get full.

A few family faves:
Lentil bolognaise- filling and cheap
Chick pea, spinach coconut curry.
Tuna pasta
Mediterranean fish stew-make a ragu and add frozen fish pieces and a tin of butter beans, serve with cous cous.
Veggie stir fry with noodles(sometimes bake some salmon fillets sprinkled with 5 spice to go with,for non veggies)

My two tricks for saving on food shopping are 'on toast' teas - you can have whatever you like (beans, cheese, egg, jam) as long as it comes on toast

And when cooking for a few people, do one portion of meat fewer and instead include some beans / lentils. You dont feel like your missing the meat, but reduces the cost.

You need to rotate the supermarkets so instead of Asda every week, go to (or online order) Tesco week 1, Asda week 2, Morrisons week 3, Sainsbury week 4, etc. They all have the same kind of offers at various times (though not all at the same time obviously). So, say, buy your baked beans from whichever has them on offer that month and buy enough for a month. It really doesn't pay to just go to 1 or 2 supermarkets as some weeks you'll end up paying a lot more for things you could get a lot cheaper elsewhere (or buy in bulk when on offer). Don't forget the smaller stores such as B&M Bargains, Iceland, FarmFoods etc who also usually have good offers. If you have the storage space for your cereals, tins, packets, loo rolls, etc., then it makes sense only to buy when they're on BOGOF etc and to buy enough for a month or so. Aim never to pay full price for anything that is often discounted and take full advantage of multipacks etc.

I don't think it's loads of money, but I also don't think you have to spend that much and could easily cut down with planning, prepping and a bit of bargain hunting. I bet you could halve it.

Some things that may help (I'm sure some of these you've thought of already):

• veggie is cheaper, but not if you buy meat substitutes
• some "economy meals" to whip out once or twice a week. So tonight we'll do jackets, beans & cheese (carbs, protein & fats - easy and healthy) works out around £2 for the whole meal.
• lentils instead of mince
• vegetables are cheaper than fruit for snacks.
• frozen veg is just as healthy as fresh
• frozen berries and yoghurt are cheap desert for hungry kids
• everyone should eat the same (where possible)
• Aldi is king
• filling meals, less snacks
• use your freezer.
• crumpets are 30p a pack at Aldi (great breakfasts or snacks for ravenous teens)
• eggs are cheap protein compared to meat/fish
• beans & pulses are also cheap protein and don't have to be boring. For example, a fajita kit from Aldi is £1.25 (4 person - tortillas, salsa & spices). Instead of chicken or beef, a couple of tins of taco beans is much cheaper and yum.

Good luck!

Lidl and Aldi. Buy basics such as pasta, bread and rice for about 50p. Meat is reasonably priced there too.

Some people grow veg in a special tent. Don't know how plentiful this might be.

To be fair £200 a week isn’t bad at £40pp.

But if you need to cut it back you do.

Do you already shop at Aldi? I don’t myself but I’ve heard it’s good. Do you have room to stock up on things when their on offer?

Ha ha... 80p a day? That must be a grim existence.

I think meal planning is the way to save money BUT it relies on everyone being completely predictable and never going out. In Covid times this worked fine for us, but pre-Covid it was hopeless and turned me into a harridan demanding advance schedules. Also it is good short term but if meal planning goes on and on it’s a bit depressing and one suddenly yearns to chuck the sausage stew in the bin and mainline three takeaways and a McDonald’s (and I don’t even like takeaways and McDonald’s).

Gosh @Itsjustabitofbanter that’s good going. Can you share some tips/meal plans?

Also, OP, ignore some ignorant comments on here. The cost of living is really high and we're all really short on time too. So planning cheap, healthy and tasty meals for a big family is really hard. So although it's obviously more than possible to make savings, that doesn't mean it's necessarily easy for everyone all the time. I know I've had weeks where I've been so busy that I've bought lunch out every day at £5-8 a pop - easily done and all adds up!!

Soups and veggie chilli would be fine! Would you use quorn? Is that cheap?

Imitation meats are not always cheaper - check the unit price before buying.

Pulses/whole grains are generally cheap and filling. Sarah Brown's Chilli Bean Casserole recipe works well with meat eaters and can use whatever veg is in season:

craigloftus.net/chilli-bean-casserole

Agree with meal planning and trading down but its also worth tracking any waste for a couple of weeks.
Swapping out meat for meatless at times or bulking out meat with veg proteins can also save money.

If you are looking for plans/recipes with a veggie focus to get started try these:

General budget meals with veggie section:
www.budgetbytes.com/category/extra-bytes/budget-friendly-meal-prep/vegetarian-meal-prep/

VegWeb:
vegweb.com/

OhMyVeggies has largely gone to Insta but still has a meal planning section with shopping lists:
ohmyveggies.com/category/meal-plans/

If you are in a rut with menus, try putting some common ingredients into a site like Allrecipes and see what new ideas it chucks out!

Like pp have said, that's not a massive overspend for 5 people made up of three adults and two teenagers.

Purely out of interest, is this the spend solely on food, or are you including cleaning products and so on in that?

I would love to know how people feed a family of 4 for £60 a week, I spend close to that much for one and I don't throw food away.
I agree about not being able to get a full shop at Aldi but there's not much in the way of basics that you can't get and it's worth a trip once a month just to stock up on cereals, tinned tomatoes, beans, rice, pasta etc.

Current time not reflective as eating at home so much more

You’re spending £4.50 a head per Person. Doesn’t seem extortionate to me

We're 3 adults and I spend around £80 a week.

I've banned all trips to the supermarket midweek, we even get milk delivered now.

I meal plan. And if I fancy something else I either tweak what we have in or go without until the following week. I'm probably saving around £50 a week, if not more.

I never meal plan. I just get creative with what’s in the fridge and cupboard. If someone doesn’t want it. It gets covered and in the fridge or freezer. I never ask anyone what they want to eat.

A tip I have is using chicken thighs instead of chicken breast as so much cheaper per kg. I usually cook chicken thigh meat that is on the bone in the slow cooker then add to pasta/noodle dishes, curries, stir fried etc.
I much prefer the taste of chicken thigh now and definitely see a reduction in my food bill as I was buying loads of chicken breast.
Another thing I did is I stopped buying shower gel/hand wash and we only use soap now, went back to using washing powder instead of laundry tabs and buy the biggest box on special offer.
Changing brands can help- I recommend trying out supermarket own brands to see what you like.

* I would love to know how people feed a family of 4 for £60 a week, *

I suppose because they have to.

Single parent of two primary here. Rarely meat but lots of organic fish and fruit and veg.

£500 a month lockdown
£400 pre lockdown

Definately meal plan properly, makes all the difference!
Maybe take a look at whats being eaten as snacks, as with teenagers its quite easy for them to munch their way through loads without realising. Stuff like crisps, cereal bars, yoghurts, juices, smoothies, biscuits, cakes get really expensive really quick compares to fruit or normal cereal.
And clear out the freezer as you've suggested so you have room to stock up when stuffs on offer.
We always do a jacket potato or beans on toast night in a week as thats mega cheap. Always do a chilli with reduced meat, so instead of 500g of mince you split it into two, freeze the one half then bulk the other half up with loads of veg. Pesto tuna pasta another cheap one, you can chop some broccoli in etc. Loads of ideas online and in the facebook group someone mentioned.
Oh and look at your non- food items too - are you getting through an unusually large amount of shampoo, washing powder etc, are people using more than they need to, are people putting washes on for one item, are people using loads of loo roll, is loads of non-household stuff getting chucked in etc.