I am interested in how many people are trying to cut their food bills

[itati]

I went to a farm shop yesterday and spent between £14-15. I got
20 eggs
2 bramleys
1 red onion
a head of broccoli
2 large mushrooms
half a dozen regular mushrooms
a plant
bottle of proper apple juice

I felt like I got a good deal.

I then went to Waitrose to see what they had reduced. I spent £50.11 and got lots of good quality meat, 2 lots of sugar, milk, cheese, ham, a paper, mini ready meal, 2 shapers chocolate bras, cat food, 2 lots of mash.

That would have cost a lot more at full price and if I had bought on line anywhere or gone into store I know I would have spent double.

My problem is working out how to spend less without buying low quality produce.

This is our first year growing stuff, Pruners, so we've got strawberries, tomatoes (cherry) and peas.

Next year we hope to have courgettes and cucumbers as well.

Itati, sorry about using mothers as an example but I was thinking of another thread where people were talking about their mums' strange housekeeping habits, and thinking, we will all be laughing on the other side of our faces about that economical housekeeping when the food prices start to bite.

Food is like everything else in life, you can't have convenience/speed, cheapness AND quality. If you want cheap and good quality, you do have to invest a bit of time in planning and shopping around, C'est la vie.

there's no shame in wanting your children to eat good quality unadulterated food.

OK, trying to think what we're having this week!

Sun - roast beef, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and sweet potatoes, cabbage, carrots and peas.

Mon - Chicken curry with rice (and naans if I can be bothered to make them!)

Tues - Mushroom risotto

Weds - Chicken and leek pie with salad

Thurs - Lasagne with vegetables/salad

Friday - Macaroni cheese with bacon and tomatoes

Saturday - Falafel, pittas, salad etc

We don't go in for puddings much, but I will probably make something like apple crumble or lemon meringue pie once or twice a week and we have lots of fruit instead.

We do have chickens so have eggs from them and don't really buy any alcohol but dh and I drink quite a bit of coke/pepsi

DS- That sounds good to me. Do ytou make pastry for pies etc everything from scratch?

I always make some shortcrust for things like quiches, lemon meringue pie etc, but for savoury pies I usually just buy a pack of ready-made puff pastry. Yorkshire puddings and cakes etc are made from scratch but I do buy the odd pack of biscuits and penguins!

I've also found that using a single own-brand washing tablet for laundry works out much cheaper than using liquid and is really easy!

I try to take advantage of special offers and buy in bulk if it works out cheaper (it doesn't always)

"Next year we hope to have courgettes" - Expat why would you do that? Courgettes are the spawn of the devil.

Are you serious about the value meat just being the same animal? Really?

NKF - I'm not convinced thast always the case -sometimes cheaper is meat from a ocuntry which is less strict about lifestock.

I'd try to find UK sourced meat and buy cheaper cuts. You can rarely check sourcing of meat in ready meals. (Though I still buy form time to time)

Kewcumber - it didn't sound likely to me.

Well, I've never been to an abbatoir to check but looking at the meat itself and the nutritional values it certainly would seem to be just cheaper cuts and the scraggy bits of meat that don't look so nice. Somebody said something about value meat having nasty things added - whilst it's true that some things liek chicken breasts do have water added, value mince often has soya in etc, this has to be shown on the label so you can see for yourself what you're getting.

'Normal' (not value) frozen mince is a fraction of the price of fresh. Why exactly, I have no idea, but if you look at the labels it is the same stuff! I buy frozen steak mince for considerably less than the bog-standard fresh stuff!

Frozen is cheaper because they can keep it in store for longer.

I'm sure its true that the cheaper meals have cheaper cuts of meat that doesn;t mean it comes from a pig/cow etc that has been raised nicely (brushed teeth, combed hair nice manners etc)

Alway buy British pork if you can we have much higher standards of pig rearing than most countries.

We raise our own pigs for that very reason! They are very well-mannered

I freeze my own meat, so see no difference really to just buying it frozen. The main nutrients in meat aren't affected by length of storage.

Tesco Value frozen white fish (plain, not battered) is usually alaskan pollock.

Alaskan pollock is used in Birdseye Omega 3 products - for the much higher level of omega 3 it contains, compared to cod.

I microwave it (5 minute job) and dish it up with monster mash - Mashed potato, grated cheese and well cooked broccoli mixed all together. My children love this, it's very nutritious, quick to make, easy for them to eat, and an all round winner.

I alwyas buy pollack fish fingers - not sure why so many people think cod is so much better - can;t taste the differenvce by the time its braded and cooked and covered in ketchup.

Intersting that its higher in omega 3 (never think of white fish and omega three)

funny - gave this to DS yesterday and I had it for dinner with Lamb shanks - it is yummy.

the broccoli cheese mash that is...

And happily, 'value' fish, unless you are buying salmon, is merely a different species of fish, not a worse treated one. I can't bring myself to buy cod or haddock, they are so horribly over priced fished. Coley is very cheap and still nice, mackerel is delicious fresh and smoked (and even tinned), and sardines are gorgeous on toast.

For a big budgeting boost, think potato topped pies. YOu can put anything under mashed potato, and it still looks like dinner. Cheap white fish in a cheese sauce goes down well with children, mackerel and value prawns in a pepper sauce is nice for adults.

cheap white fish in butter sauce also a big favorite here chidlrne and adults alike with Mash and peas.

blithedance No worries. Not a problem. Just explaining why I couldn't use her example.

I have never bought frozen meat or fish as I assumed it was inferior quality. I will have to check them out. I was very surprised how cheap the chicken thighs and legs were - under £3 a packet of 2-3 and organic to boot.

try shoulder of lamb - very cheap and delicious (raost it long and slow though as its quite fatty - but thats what makes it delicious)

Mmmm, courgettes are so delicious! I just tried out a new recipe for baked courgettes with parmesan and pine nuts and the girls loved them!

Tasty!

I would love that recipe, expatinscotland

i bought two large free range organic chickens from asda the other week.. £19 !!

went to butcher and bought locally reared free range chickens and some belly of lamb, in little riblets.. £10.21 !

i do usually go to butcher these days for meat and chicken, but DH decided to invite people over for dinner at 4.30 on a sunday !