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Meal ideas. Big neat eater 😔

25 replies

Mamalamadrama · 13/03/2023 10:00

Husband is a big meat eater. Won't eat a meal without meat in 😔 We are a large family and it's costing us a fortune. Family don't like mince but I do occasionally force them to eat chilli as I run out of ideas.
I have just bought some stewing steak today which has cost £18 for our family. This is unsustainable.
Please can you give some ideas.
Thanks you from a very stressed out lady.

OP posts:
Georgyporky · 13/03/2023 10:05

Send him to the butcher/supermarket with a detailed list of all the meat you need for the next week.

The cost might make him see sense.

PsychoHotSauce · 13/03/2023 10:09

Either get him to handle the shopping, and when the budgets gone, it's gone, and you live on beans on toast for the rest of the week, or let him go hungry if he "wont" eat a meal if it doesn't have meat in.

Attitudes like that are pathetic tbh. Suggest he gets a second or higher paid job if he wants expensive taste. I've had to cut back on meat hugely, but eating meat is a preference I can't afford as much now.

BlingLoving · 13/03/2023 11:44

How large is large in terms of family? I wouldn't expect stewing steak to cost that much unless you're feeding 10 people? so perhaps you also need to think about what you're buying?

Eg lamb shoulder makes a great stew. Waitrose has whole lamb shoulder on at £9/kg. to feed a family of 6, assuming the bone is in, I'd think that £1.2kg would still be more than enough. Similarly, Oxtail, when you can get it, is about £7/kg so even buying a generous portion will be relatively inexpensive.

Must it be red meat? Chicken thighs and drumsticks are a lot cheaper. They can be cooked whole or go a long way if used as a casserole/stew and removed from the bone once cooked.

Obviously, any stew goes further if made with rice and potatoes, other root vegetables and beans/lentils to pad it out.

Will they eat pasta with meat that isn't the main thing? eg, a packet of bacon chopped relatively small and turned into a good tomato or cheese/creeam based sauce would go quite far. we use smoked chorizo rings as well - half a ring chopped and added to a pasta sauce with tomatoes and aubergines feeds 3 of us - with DH and DS eating ridiculous portions because they both do about a million hours of exercise a week.

Steak goes a lot further if used to make wraps/pittas etc. Caramelised onion, steak (in slices), topped with cheese on a toasted panini with some mustard and mayo for a sort of Philadelphia cheese sandwich, or we do chargrilled greens (broccoli, leeks, spring onions) with a bit of a "sauce" made from lemon, honey, garlic and chilli and then steak slices all in a pitta bread. I can feed 4 of us that with 300g of steak. Or, of course, fajitas with lots of peppers/onion/tomato and thin steak slices.

Do you eat fish? Frozen fish fillets work out well and can be used to make fish pie/fish cakes.

mamnotmum · 13/03/2023 11:56

Curries? Casseroles? Soups? Spag Bol? Pasta bake?

Also try some meat alternatives and don't tell them? Mine often only realise it's a meat substitute when I eat the same dish as them (I'm veggie).

Mamalamadrama · 13/03/2023 13:06

@BlingLoving
Thanks for replying. The Philly steak sandwich sounds good.
I have a lot of stewing steak as am doing a roast dinner type thing today. Would normally buy less for if I was making a stew.
Yes I do use chorizo and bacon for pasta etc. Also use a lot of chicken for recipes but also use chicken thighs and drumsticks.

OP posts:
Orcubed · 13/03/2023 13:21

This week our meaty meals are:
green chilli (turkey mince)
keema curry (beef mince)
chicken shish (chicken thighs shredded to go further)

Less meaty meal is chorizo, fennel and lentil stew.
Freezer meal of fish and chips

2x veggie meals

SummaLuvin · 13/03/2023 13:30

I am a meat eater and I love meat, but I've never understood the 'my meal must have meat in it' mindset some people have. Historically Britain hasn't has a fantastic reputation for delicious food, much less delicious vegetarian food so maybe your DH has negative pre-conceived notions and needs exposure to how great it can be. If he isn't the one cooking and it is causing budgetary issues then I see no reason why once or twice a week you can't experiment with low/no meat meals, it's not as if he will spontaneously combust.

Sprig1 · 13/03/2023 13:33

How much freezer space do you have? We sell whole/half lambs and quarter pig boxes to our customers. It works out cheaper than buying individual joints from the supermarket. If you are not in the middle of a big city there is likely to be someone near you who does similar.

Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g · 13/03/2023 13:37

I never understand what it means when people say they have meat at every meal. Surely not breakfast? Lunch - never has a cheese or egg or tuna sandwich? Evening - pizza, omelette, cauliflower cheese? Would he accept or even notice if you used Quorn instead of meat, say? Not that that's cheap, and it's an ultra-high processed food, so some would say no better, but it might be a step on the way to grasping that life with less meat is possible.

Mamalamadrama · 13/03/2023 13:47

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g
He has sandwiches for work as he is on the road all day so that is meat/tuna. If he's at home for lunch he always wants a bacon/sausage butty.
If he has pizza it will be a meatfeast.
Ommlete with bacon In.
Cauliflower cheese as a side to gamon.
😭

OP posts:
SummaLuvin · 13/03/2023 13:51

Mamalamadrama · 13/03/2023 13:47

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g
He has sandwiches for work as he is on the road all day so that is meat/tuna. If he's at home for lunch he always wants a bacon/sausage butty.
If he has pizza it will be a meatfeast.
Ommlete with bacon In.
Cauliflower cheese as a side to gamon.
😭

I'm no expert but that sounds like a quite unhealthy amount of red meat, meat with nitrates, and processed meats which aren't recommend to be consumed on a daily basis.

Mamalamadrama · 13/03/2023 13:53

@SummaLuvin sure is

OP posts:
PsychoHotSauce · 13/03/2023 13:55

Does he moan if there's not "enough" meat in meals too? Like if you tried to stretch it further?

A preference for meat is fine but he'll have to put his hand in his pocket for the extra meat he wants. Depending on how many kids you have id be splitting the food budget very differently. In fact I'd be meal planning mostly meat free for a week to make a point, and have him pay the extra for just the meat on top of his share of the rest of the food. Might focus his mind a bit.

cocksstrideintheevening · 13/03/2023 14:01

How big is the family / what ages? What weight stewing steak did you get for that price?

SpaceOP · 13/03/2023 14:03

I love meat - and am snacking on some biltong as I type - but that sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen!?

As he likes tuna, what about more tuna - it's not cheap, but not as expensive especially if you buy tinned. Tuna jacket potatoes with salad? (we scoop out the potato, mix with tuna and cream cheese and put back with some cheese on top then reheat - extra delicious). Or use tuna or other tinned fish to make fish cakes (or look out for supermarket fish cakes on deals - usually the frozen ones).

It might not be healthy but a meatfest pizza will be cheaper than cooking actual meat?

Chicken breasts are pricey but can go further if you turn them into burgers? Bit healthier perhaps too?

Paella? I can feed 5 or 6 people with 300g of chopped chicken thighs and a chorizo ring in a good paella.

Mackerel or mussels? We don't eat either as a rule as DH and DS don't like them, but I seem to recall that in season, these can be really cheap?

Lamb neck makes a great skewer - we do cubes with peppers, tomatoes and aubergines marinated in lemon, olive oil, garlic and thyme. Cooked under the grill or on the BBQ and can be mixed into couscous if you don't want to serve individual skewers.

APurpleSquirrel · 13/03/2023 14:03

Look at cheaper cuts:
Ham hock (sometimes called pigs knuckle) are great, lots of meat on it, cooks in a few hours, it shreds so can be used in lots of dishes & cooking liquid makes a great if salty stock.
Skirt or flank steak are great for fast searing
Brisket is a great joint for slow roasting

Why won't your family eat mince?

Mamalamadrama · 13/03/2023 14:06

@PsychoHotSauce I'm a stay at home mom so his wage is only income.
@cocksstrideintheevening
Family of 8
3 adults
1 teen
And then 10,8,3 and 1

Four packs of 400g at Tesco £4.50 a pack

OP posts:
Mamalamadrama · 13/03/2023 14:07

@APurpleSquirrel they don't like mince because of the texture. Even in a slow cooker they don't like it

OP posts:
VegetablesFightingToReclaimTheAubergieneEmoji · 13/03/2023 14:10

Pulled chicken, loads of slow cooker and air fryer recipes for thigh.

ive made veggie bolognaise (lentil and porridge oat) for years and the family have only just realised it’s veggie. Conducted an experiment and made a meat one when they realised, they preferred the veggie one. Although it may be futile if they don’t like the original in the first place

ODFOx · 13/03/2023 14:23

At 4.50 a pack you are spending £12.25 a kilo.

If you bought a slow roasting joint you'd be paying £10 a kilo.
If you bought standard cubed beef instead of the extra lean you'd be paying £9.48 a kilo.
These are all Tesco prices.

Switch to Asda and the diced meat is a similar price but a tender beef joint is £8 a kilo: chop them up and fill the freezer for next time.

Paying less per kilo is a start, but really eating less meat is the best way to save on the cost of it. Stuffing, Yorkshire puddings, eggs, cheese, carbs are all good plate fillers and cost less than the meat component.

Mince isn't significantly cheaper than a sliced up roasting joint, so buy cheap and slice for fajitas rather than using mince for burritos ( as an example).

Italian dishes such as cannelloni work well with sliced or pulled meat rather than mince and you can bulk out in the same way.
Good luck!

Lucienandjean · 13/03/2023 14:26

Are you buying frozen meat and fish? It's generally much cheaper and a similar quality.

I'm eating low carb at the moment so needing more protein, and I find myself rotating the same meat dishes, so I may get ideas here!

My usual dishes: salmon fillets in various forms (bought frozen), smoked haddock with a poached egg (eggs are cheaper than fish so don't need huge portions of the fish), chicken legs, thighs or drumsticks with various rubs or marinades, mince but in the form of meatballs or burgers.

I also suspect you could get away with 3 400g packs of stewing steak for 8 people, as surely the littlest children won't eat 200g of meat? Lots of veg in the stew too.

But my main tip is to buy frozen.

Hotvimto3 · 13/03/2023 14:32

Frozen chicken
Liver and backon
Cooking bacon
Bulk up steak with kidneys
Short ribs from butcher
Ham hock
Will they eat mince in a meatloaf... bulked up with lentils/oats/carrots/mushrooms...

If he absolutely HAS to have meat... a suggesting might be a bowl of ham or chicken based soup as a starter followed by veggie meal.

averythinline · 13/03/2023 15:21

thats a lot of meat for your kids as well... i would suggest you start doing at least one veggie or nearly veggie meal a week ...good start is a sort of chilli ...one chorizo sausage has masses of flavour and then just beans try multi types so kidney/cannelini/black eye ... bulk with toms and other veg like a onion/celery/ peppers..goid slow cooker dish as well if u use one

roast aubergine / tomato curry really good recipe on bbc site ..can add potatoes/lentil to bulk even more

bean burgers ..£1 veggie meals on bbc site now some really good ones... see also jamie oliver budget on c4

gammon in slow cooker £4 ish at lidl for meat...

if money is tight then either increased income or reduced cost is the only answer also massively healther for you all.... maybe start with 1 veggie a week

my budget find has been pearl barley 60p a pack and works really well in a tray bake/risotto type thing

meat really isn't needed everyday....never mind twice a day

NotLactoseFree · 13/03/2023 16:12

I'd say that 1.6kg of stewing meat for a family of 8, even with 3 adults and a teen, feels too much. You need to start bulking your food up and reducing the meat portions, even if you can't cancel meat entirely. Sausages broken up into a pasta dish go much further than served by themselves. Stews can have loads of veggies, beans, pulses added. A chicken curry doesn't need a lot of chicken and can be bulked up with whatever veg you like - we like butternut and mange tout (usually do veggie but sometimes add chicken) or cauliflower and aubergine. Frozen chicken thigh/drunksticks will be cheaper and can be used in a lot of ways. Frozen fish cheaper than fresh.

But if you can't afford it, your Dh needs to suck it up. He's the only earner (why isn't the 3rd adult contributing?). If the money isn't there, the money isn't there. So cheaper options need to be introduced.

mrsm43s · 14/03/2023 20:15

The meat portion sizes you're using are ridiculous. NHS recommends 100g raw weight per adult for red or processed meat, so even if you were feeding 8 fully grown adults, you should only be using half the amount you bought for 3 adults, a teen and 4 littlies. 1.5 packs would probably be about the right serving size for your family for health - obviously it would have to be bulked out with veg, potatoes, pulses, barley or whatever to give an appropriate portion size to sate hunger.

We're a family of 4 adults, and I would use one pack of beef (used to be 500g years ago, but now shrunk to 400g!) for a casserole for our family.

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