Let's lower our food bills.

[Bookaholic73]

I was wondering if anyone else is trying to lower their food bills and wanted some support. I know I do!
I'm hoping that we could support each other with info on where is cheapest to get certain items, what food is on offer at which supermarket that week etxc.

A bit about us. We are a family of 3, myself and my 2 adult sons. We are currently spending £800 a month on food, and i really want to reduce this by at least £150 a month.
My sons buy all of their own snacks, drinks etc, all i pay for is their main meals and my own food. They obviously also pay me monthly 'rent' but this swallowed up by rent and council tax.

Anyone else want to join in?

I have a couple of tips. I eat a lot of rice and recommend the 10kg bags of basmati available in the Asian section of big supermarkets. I worked out it’s about 7p per portion.
Second one is noodles for Chinese dishes. No need to buy Chinese versions/ straight to wok or even dried egg noodles.
Just use value or basics spaghetti, currently 27p for 500g. Actually tastes better in my stir fry or chow mein.

Well that is how Italy got its pasta ideas apparently, straight from China via Marco Polo, not sure if thats a myth or not.

Check out the recipes on Bold Beans website. There’s plenty with black beans and kidney (red) beans if they’re the only pulses you like. High protein and cheap! Their chipotle black bean and sweet potato chilli always goes down a storm in this house!

That doesn't sound a wild amount for 3, especially if you have growing boys around!

I am not really able to cook so we (my partner and I) do end up buying more frozen meals which do cost quite a bit, plus I buy organic nuts and those are pricey. But food has gone up on average 50%, in the past 3 years, if not more. I just cannot imagine how some people manage. I eat quite a lot of lentils - they are definitely cheap, plus I make my own hummus and my partner roasts a whole chicken from time to time which provides quite a few meals. I have also reduced my chocolate and coffee, as both have gone up a lot. I couldn't tell you exactly what our monthly bill at the very least it's 100 a week, as we tend to do 2-3 shops a week and each are over 30-40. UK has much higher inflation than other European nations :((

Making batches of soup is also fairly easy. There are some that are quite nutritious actually, especially if you use winter veg - which tends to be pretty cheap. Maybe try a veggie bake? There's a nice one I do on Hungry Happens. It needs a bit of pepping up, (I add paprika, and olives) but it's a nice all in one.

I feed 3/5 depending on the night. I'm gluten & dairy free. DH, DD16 every night then DSS14 (always starving) & DSS11 half the week. We spend £100 a week but I could spend less if I was really strict with snacks.

We go to Costco once a week & buy what's needed - cereal, fruit, milk, butter, yogurts, cooked chickens for lunches. Started making chicken noodle or chicken rice soup with the bones. Next plan is to make ramen using the stock. Super cheap & easy to make.

I buy frozen garlic & ginger from Tesco - much cheaper than paste & easy + less UPF's.

Lunch tends to be soup, baked pot, salad, toastie, whatever is leftovers from dinner

Meal plan & have a weekly shop delivered so I don't get tempted with treats. Helps me stick to my plan. I tend to cook naturally gluten free foods & only buy the occasional loaf of GF bread.

I only buy basic cleaning supplies. I don't use fabric softener. I bulk buy shampoo/body wash/deo when it's on offer.

We tend to eat meat with most meals too. DH love turkey & chicken breast but giving thigh a go this week with our piri chicken pasta

Ive always had to be frugal so I think I have it down to a fine art now :)

Three adults, two active and working, one sedationary

Lunches and evening meals for 2, breakfast lunch and dinner and snacks for one.

Im high protein high fibre, DH eats whatever is cooked - but twice as much as me, mum picks, but requires 3 meals and snacks

Everything is cooked from scratch. No jars , no ready meals , no sachets, packets . I buy herbs and spices, stuff like mayo and ketchup and mustard , tinned fish and stock cubes ( life is too short even for me )

I shop Lidl, Tesco , savers and home bargains and now I work in a Spar, there as well. Prices are higher BUT their Specials are amazing value - cheaper then Tesco

Fruit and Veg - mix of fresh and frozen - frozen berries, peas, spinach, corn, casserole mix, mirepoix , cauliflower - I find all of these are money saving and actually really good

Fresh - I start with the super 6 or 5 in either store

Meat and fish - fish is usually canned or frozen or from the reduced section

Meat is whatever it is that's the best value for money. . We do eat a lot of chicken , turkey and pork rather than Lamb and beef. . Beef will be using stewing/braising cuts and brisket. Legs of Lamb I buy when the half price offers are on at Christmas and Easter and we cut them down ourselves . We do have steak now and then but mum only eats a small amount - as do I - so we do share one. That wont work for bigger appetites but works for us

I meal plan on the hoof . I see what's available at the price Im prepared to pay and meal plan on the spot

I dont throw food away.

Tonight I made a Chinese inspired dish using the contents of the bottom of the fridge - carrots, courgettes, green beans, asparagus, onions and peppers, 600gr pack of chicken mini fillets, threw in soy, rice wine, sweet chilli sauces, fresh ginger and garlic. Served with egg fried rice All three ate our fill, and DH has two pack ups for his lunches this week - so five meals - around £8 - chicken was a fiver

I also pop into Marks and Spencers now and again, take full advantage of their meal deals - the ones where you get the joint and 4 sides? I might not like all the sides or think they are a waste of money, so Ill take the posh stuffing to make it up, stick it in the freezer then I have something nice to pad out another roast dinner another day

Cleaning materials are the bare minimum . I work in a kitchen, we wash down with hot soapy water and then use an anti bac - if it's good enough for cooking for the public it's good enough for home. So it's a bottle of fairy , a bottle of bleach, a bottle of flash, an anti bacterial- and that's not every week - fairy lasts me months - I do have a dishwasher. last time I got tablets - Quantum - 64 in a pack, £6 a pack was around this time last year - on offer so I snapped up 3 packs - dishwasher goes on every other day

Branston baked beans were on offer in the spar this week - 4 pack for £1.50 - Tesco were on offer @ £2.25. So I lifted 12 packs - wont be needing them for a year or more

I no longer buy brands, other then Head and Shoulders ( I have seb derm, its the only shampoo I can use ) and Fairy. Ive even managed to come down on soap powder - Formil from Lidl - I dont react to and it cleans just as well as persil

Home bargains and Savers have their own strengths I love the back bacon from HB - its lovely well cut thick rashers and their part baked rolls are cheaper then anywhere else. Savers for toiletries , everything from toothpaste to Perfume - a lot cheaper then Tesco

Yes I do have to cook, but I have gadgets - my Ninja 15 in 1 - worth its cost just to be making yoghurt alone, but I use the PC function loads for soups, casseroles and then I have steam roast that cooks a chicken to perfection in less then an hour with the roasted veg. Huge pot of spuds ready for mashing in 7 minutes, pasta in four. Even makes bread. Slow cooker and traditional air fryer Rarely do I use the oven/grill/hob I rarely spend more then an hour in the kitchen, even Christmas dinner - turkey , ham and all the trimmings - 3 hours max - from scratch

I started this journey back in the 90's when I had to stop working because I had a breakdown. Back then DH was earning big but I did it to make myself feel better about not contributing. Since then I have worked, money had not been an issue but I still kept at it. Now we are both governed with age , illness and caring responsibilities, it's a must. We arent on our uppers, we have holidays, nice cars etc etc etc but keeping the food bill down is just now so totally ingrained in me

Dishwasher tablets are very expensive and many of them actually not good for your health and leave a horrible residue. I am like you, just use washing up liquid and occasionally a bit of jif and bleach in the kitchen.

I like your flexibility with buying what is cheap at the time, it's crazy how we only eat 3 types of meat in this country, and people hardly eat lamb when we have millions of sheep!

My mum buys stewing streak when she wants a cheaper beef meal.

Good morning all. I’m just off to work, but have packed my food so that I am not tempted to pick up a meal deal from Tesco. I’m very guilty of doing that.
I’ll reply to the thread later after work.

look on facebook for people offering free apples / pears / plums peel and stew and store in takeaway tubs in freezer to use with plain yoghurt and crumbled digestives for a quick dessert

Cook a weeks worth of chicken in one go ( i steam in a foil envelope with veg from bottom of chiller drawer that might have been chucked out and it grows in size rather than shrinks & dries up) Put some in fridge for the first three days band freeze in chunks .. easy to pull out. If you’ve got cooked chicken you’ll always have a quick healthy easy meal to avoid giving in to meal deals and takeaways . Also cook a gammon .. will do breakfasts lunches & dinners .. pork is cheaper than beef & lamb generally. Fillet of pork is quite cheap and quick to cook .. can use your stewed apples with that !

Yes Costco- we are not blessed with one (yet!) but have built it in to return trips away just to take advantage of bulk buy foil, freezer bags etc- again my lack of chest freezer lets me down here but this is a great shout

I’m with you OP, I have found our food spend for the week has crept up to £150+(family of 5) as food prices have risen and my children have gotten older and need much bigger portions.: I want to lower it but while still enjoying our meals and not feeling like we are going without.

I am trying to get back into more regular baking of cakes/biscuits because it’s cheaper and always tastes better. We were given a huge bag of cooking apples recently so I’ve been making cakes, crumbles and hand pies with them. Also less popping to the shop midweek, I am terrible for going in to get something and picking up extra bits and bobs, especially things for the dc.
If you have a farmfoods nearby they are great value for so many things.

Yes. Bread making is actually pretty quick. I bought a mix the other day, just added water and popped them on a baking tray, was really super easy.

That’s a great move and why I always take mine in with me.

How did you do this?

I hardly ever buy cleaning products! A spray for the kitchen lasts months, Cif or similar and bleach for the bathroom probably much the same. Do people really buy cleaning products every month?

Basically I bought a pre mix, so flour plus the raising agent and flavourings. Then add water, mix it and knead..leave it alone for about an hour and then divide it up into rolls and bake for 20 mins. Very easy!

Thanks I was just wondering if you kneaded it and did all the proving stages but it sounds like you did

Yes not many stages. It was just literally 3 - mix and knead, leave it to rise, and divide it up. I also make pizza dough, and that is a bit more of a faff because of the rolling out so I don't do that much!

Good evening.
Today after work I have been through the kitchen cupboards to see what I actually have in there, and did the same with the freezer.

Meat wise, I think I have enough for at least 2 weeks.
Fruit and veg will need topping up weekly.

I’ve written a meal plan for the whole month of October, so that will hopefully keep me organised.
Im starting to think about how I can realistically save money on food. A couple of things I’ve decided to start doing, or at least try out:
-Try branding down from named brand items to store brand. I’m willing to try doing this on everything, and go back to branded if I really find a store brand item that we don’t like.
-Change from chicken breast to chicken thighs. I’m not sure how much this will save.
-Instead of beef mince, buy pork mince.
-Meal prep for lunches at work, as I want to stop buying any Tesco meal deals.
-Have at least one but hopefully two meat free meals per week.
-Stop buying bottled water and just drink tap water. Our tap water actually tastes really good.
-Try shopping at different shops. I want to have a look around places like Farmfood, Iceland etc as I’ve been told that things like oil and cheese are much cheaper there.

I appreciate all of the suggestions of making my own bread, but it’s definitely not something I’ll be doing. I don’t eat much bread, but my boys do, and I’m happy to buy from Lidl to make it cheaper than Hovis etc.

@Memberofstaff I have quite a few cleaning products that I get free from work, but once these have been run down, I’m just going to buy a store brand anti bac spray and bleach and use that for everything.

@MintTwirl the same, I don’t want any of us to feel like we are missing out, but also need to keep to a tighter budget.

@keepmeright i wish we had a Costco, but unfortunately not.

@ChillyPanda good idea and the chicken and gammon, ill do that i think. I am also considering buying gammon joints to make our own sandwich fillings similar to ham.

I think the TikTok generations do

They follow the likes of Mrs Hinch who's making a fortune on the cleaning products she plugs, selling her lifestyle to others by saying her show home is because she uses this that and the other - when the real reason she lives in a show home is she has OCD and just can not rest until her home is perfect

Candles to make your house smell fresh? Open a window , keep the home clean - simple really . And hot soapy water

@Bookaholic73i am a single parent to boys and I…
fill up water bottles with tap water and keep them refrigerated for gym/ going out etc.
Don’t buy set things a week. I buy what’s on offer and that saves money. We were the ‘boys liked their brands and liked the same thing’ but I just broke the habit.
shop at more than one place- I work and I know it’s annoying but it works.
cook more than I need. I cook as if I am feeding all of them all the time and then freeze the leftovers.
only do a wash when the machine is full. They were terrible for quick one/ two item washes as they needed something. I just refuse now.

They aren’t big things but I do try and think about the week’s food. I think it’s easy when yoir
overwhelmed to just pick stuff up but now I really ask myself’ is the fridge/ freezer/ cupboards empty’? Generally it’s a no.

Good luck!

Cook it, portion it up, let it cool and freeze - defrost and reheat in microwave.