weekly meal plans (cheap)

[ghengis]

I have read the previous threads on saving money and having a weekly/fortnightly meal plan seems a very sensible way of saving money. So....what are your meal plans and what is a realistic food budget? TIA

ghengis, I don't think it would be worth a drive that far just to go to Asda. Tesco's prices are quite similar (1 or 2p in it) for most of the basic things. I go to Asda rather than Tesco (both same distance from my humble abode) because I got used to Asda when we lived in Glasgow, and so I know their product range fairly well. However, I have found that Asda do seem to have a lot more Smartprice stuff than Tesco have in their Savers range. The main thing is to really focus on what you need. I'm no martyr. We live like this for a purpose... saving up for LOTS of holidays. My dh is completely supportive (actually the driving force) so the hardest thing for me is to resist the urge to impulse buy when I'm there. I don't know if £70 a fortnight would be realistic for most people,(I didn't hink we could do it when dh suggested such a low budget). I think many would find it hard to live as tight as we do. Such as, we only drink water, tea & coffee (much cheaper than all the other stuff) except for a bottle of squash for the kids to have once in a while. When both my dd's were young I used to do bulk batches like Thomcat suggests, but I got them onto family food as soon as possible.

Demented, lol, I was actually thinking that if I was reading this from the other side, I wouldn't want my dh to see it!!!

Wow i'm amazed, i wish i could be so organised, and as for 70 quid a fortnight on food, that would be brilliant. I have 3 kids though so suppose it would be a bit more but even so.

I'm impresed.

We like quite basic food and we have a meal plan which I don't always stick to religiously but it helps knowing what I should be cooking and if I don't feel like creating something different go with what is on the plan.

Ours is on a 2 week rota as well:

Monday - Spaghetti (mince and veg with pasta)
Tuesday - Pork chops and veg
Wednesday - stir fry (chicken/turkey), rice/noodles
Thursday - lamb chops and veg
Friday - Sausages and veg
Saturday - pizza (supermarket ones) I sometimes make home made ones if I'm in the mood.
Sunday - Fish and chips
Monday - Apricot chicken and rice
Tuesday - rissoles and veg
Wednesday - Spaghettie and pasta
Thursday - Sausages and veg
Friday - Stir fry
Saturday - lamb chops and veg
Sunday - roast and veg

I alternate these quite often with lasagne, meatballs, osso bucco (my version is just a lamb stew really) and vegetable soup. All these things I make in bulk, generally on a weekend, and have for dinner that evening and then freeze the rest for days I can't be bothered.

Lunches are sandwiches, either ham and salad, chicken and salad, vegemite, jame or some other condiment. I also alternate these with quiche I buy from the supermarket, sausage rolls and fish fingers.

Our shopping varies between 70 and 100 per week dependant upon how much fruit I buy and any treats I might buy. We tend to do a fair bit of cooking for other kids that are at our house most of the time too which adds up in terms of yoghurts and otehr things they might eat.

I'm very impressed with all these lists and budgetting - been trying to stick to one weekly shop for years - as i work p/t i seem to find myself in supermarkets during my lunch hour and cant resist getting bits but trying not to do it!

Regarding all these menu plans which all seem to relate to real food (rather than convenience foods which are obviously more expensive) - when do you get the time to cook them!! I dont seem to have the time on the days i work - when i get home i want to spend time with DS before he goes to bed and even on the days i'm off i cant see how i would fit in cooking the dinner unless i sit him down in front of the telly. Just wondered how you fit it in!!

At the moment I'm off on maternity leave with second child so ds who is just over 2 either helps me or runs around playing under my feet. I try to eat with him and dp tries to get home from work in time to eat with us to but that doesn't always work. When I go back to work ds will eat with the nanny and she will cook these meals or similar for him and I or dp will cook once the kids are in bed. My meals only take about 20/30 minutes to cook so not very time consuming. Ds likes to peel the potatoes, carrots or other things and he helps me mash the potato as well.

I'm an SAHM so it's part of my job! We eat at 6pm so I start at about 5 - 5:15pm (usually glad to get away from the kids by then) I think it would be much harder to do it if I was working all day. I also use the powder type of meal flavorings (such as colemans or schwartz or often Asda) which are a lot cheaper than jars or ready meals (maximum cost about 60p), but are usually quite quick and easy to make.

Our food bill got so out of contolr that I now have a spreadsheet with our weekly food on(breakfast, lunch and dinner) and then from this a shopping list. (control freak? me??)
If you like I can email it to you? let me know

It has helped so much and cut my food bill in half.

this is brilliant! since I've been working at home and about to be a SAHM I've been trying to do much more planning and it does save loads of time and money. HOwever at lunchtimes DP often asks what's for dinner, then when I say he turns his nose up and says he doesn't fancy it and isn't sure what he fancies. Hmm once this baby is born he will just have to lump it as there's no way I am pandering to him when I have to v small children to look after all day.

too right freddiecat!!! or he could cook if its that much of a bother to him!!!!

I made my planner and shopping list last night so just off to Lidl to stock up. Wish me luck! Those places scare me

tallgirl, I have the same problem - we generally cook separately for ourselves once kids in bed, so it has to be something quick (max 30 mins prep). Even on days I'm home I find it hard to cook while looking after the kids (xoz what do you do with them while you cook - you make it sound like they can be neatly packed away for a while!!) but when we're both home we try to cook and eat together at about 6pm.

carlyb - could you email me your list?

[email protected]

carlyb, I would be really grateful for a copy of your list too, I am always struggling to keep my supermarket spending under control and any pointers would be greatly appreciated. You can mail me at the MN Mamas address - mn.bigmamas(at)virgin(dot)net.

me too carlyb (shall I email you through "contact another talker"?). I always try to plan but each week I get bored half way through and things go out of control!!

sorry i still haven't got round to posting mine but i would love a copy of yours carlyb. it sounds much better than mine!!

Yes please carlyb - mail it to me as well.

[email protected]

carlyb I think you need to post your spreadsheet somewhere! We spent £105 on our food this week (and that was a good week!), there are 5 of us, but still that is excessive. We really need to reduce our shopping bill drastically.

Yes come on Carlyb - help us to save money on food to spend on ourselves!

I menu plan now and have cut our weekly bill from 100 to 35/40 pounds This includes everything bar the odd pint of milk and fresh rolls every 2 days from bakery for dp and ds's lunch.Look in your cupboard/freezer before you make your list and meal plan around items you already have before buying more of these.Some weeks I spend less if I have loads of pasta/rice in the larder in which case I stock up on expensive things on offer eg washing powder and coffee etc.Shop at asda and can't fault it after being a sainsburys devotee for years.Happy shopping.I find it quite satisfying being stingy!

Hi guys, have e-mailed Beccarollover, Demented and taramac. the others, if you want me to e-mail it to you then send you e-mail addresses to [email protected]. good luck guys.

have emailed you carlyb..thanks!

carlyb, I have emailed you too! Thanks

G

Have just caught up with this thread and am very impressed - have emialed you to
ta

elliott, I only wish the kids could be packed away in a cupboard while I cook!!! Mostly they hang around in the kitchen and drive me crazy while I cook. (dd1 seems to be unable to play by herself for more than 2 minutes) With the good weather now I let the loose in the back garden and go out to check them every couple of minutes, or when one is shouting/crying about something. Apart from that, sometimes I put on a tape, for them to listen to (mostlty to try to keep them in the lounge, usually doesn't work), or sometimes I put a DVD on. If I'm lucky enough to get them both asleep at the same time and have the energy/inclination, I sometimes do the preparation then which means it's only the cooking when they're around.... It's not easy but I think that theyneed to learn that everyone has jobs to do and to enterain themselves for a while... dh hates ready meals so even when dd2 was a newborn I would still have to cook the full thing (with her on the breast sometimes) so now seems relatively easy!!
If any of you want my spreadsheet file, email me

[email protected]

Thanks for the meal plans Ive been sent - very helpful

I planned my meals for this week and spent at least half what I normally do - plus the kids are getting better home cooked meals than usual as there isnt a last minute dash to the freezer because I dont know what to cook!

So far this week we have had Shepherds pie and toad in the hole - tonight its Honey and Mustard Chicken

Its definitely worth doing.