So how do you go about your food shopping?

[jumpyjan]

I seem to spend my life in Tesco's and hate it. Have tried doing a monthly online shop for store cupboard type stuff but its a nightmare and takes forever so have given up. Seem to go to Tesco's about 3 times a week at the moment as otherwise nothing is fresh enough.

Also resent giving Tesco's my money but have given veg shop/butchers a go and its just more hassle as have to go to supermarket anyway for other bits and pieces.

Just wondered if most people manage on a weekly shop - and how?

Also what do you think is a reasonable amount to spend a week for 2 adults and 1 child?

I hate this too - spending loads of time in the bloody supermarket. 'Popping in' for one item and spending 20 odd quid!

So I now do on-line shopping. It took ages in the begining, but after a while you can bring up your previous orders and just click on what you need, rather than trawling through every (virtual) aisle.

I also have a veg box delivered weekly.

And try and go to the local butcher (agree it's a bit of a hassle though)

I try to shop only once a week.
We do a menu plan for the week - just what food we don't decide in advance what to have on what day.
We have a whiteboard in the kitchen where I keep a note of general things that we need - foil, shampoo etc.
We try to eat things with highly perishable ingredients at the start of the week and keep things that last longer for the end IYSWIM. That way you don't have to go back mid-week for fresh veg.
I also keep the freezer and the tinned food well stocked so, in an emergency, I know we can always have sausage and beans

Cost varies week to week depending on what we are buying - can be anything from £50 to £150.

I am another one who always seems to live in Tesco. My life is like groundhog day.

I have a monthly delivery from Tesco or Waitrose, where I try to stock up on store cupboard stuff, but I always get fresh meat/veg/etc, and end up going to the local Tesco. I would like to go to the greengrocer and butcher, but by the time I get home from work they are closed, so Tesco it is. Then I am always hungry so end up picking up random rubbish (chocolate muffins seem to always get put in my trolley!). It probably all averages at about £100 a week - 2 adults, 11 year old dd and 20 year old stepson.

My mum thinks this is appalling and I should plan all of my meals and buy everything accordingly. But when wuould I have the time to do that (unless I give up mumsnet!)

The cost is another thing that I am fed up with. I try to budget £40 a week but never make it - do you think this is too tight for 2 adults and 1 child? I wouldn't mind if we were having lavish meals with a bottle of wine every night but sometimes we have jacket potatos twice a week and we still go over budget.

2 adults and 2 kids here...

Definitely couldn't do £40 p.w

We are big meat-eaters though (dp doesn't consider a meal a 'proper meal' unless it contains some type of flesh ) and that bumps up the budget. And we do have a beer or a glass of wine at night with dinner.

I would say maybe try and go veggie as much as possible... eat lots of lentils (cheap and healthy)... cook 'big' meals like stews, casseroles, curries etc that you can freeze.

have definately managed to cut our food bill down by making a couple of big veggie meals a week & always making one extra for the freezer. eg, veggie chilli or veggie lasagne. If you use red lentils for the chilli and Puy lentils for the lasagne its not too samey and if you add chickpeas, cannellini, or butter beans as well it is very healthy. They are both pretty good store cupboardy meals that you can have when you are trying to delay the supermarket shop.

Still no way I could do £40 pweek and thats DP me & DS (toddler) - too m uch alcohol prob!

It does take a long time to do a tesco order online the first time, but it marks the items you have ordered as favorites which you can bring up the next time so it is quicker.

I do a tesco shop online every 2 - 3 months to stock up with the basics About £100. Then i menu plan and shop in Asda on a weekly basis to get the extra's i need to make whatever we decided on for the week no more then £50 including formula and nappies etc.

Many years ago I spent some time making a shopping list in Excel of items I usually buy at Sainsbury. This covers all veg/fruit, dairy products, meats, breads, tinned, toiletries etc etc. Sad person that I am, I also listed everything in order of the shop - but they've moved it all around a lot since. I also plan a menu for the week. Net result - 1 hour in Sainsbury's (use the self scanner too) early on Friday am and about £120pw for 2 adults plus 1@23, 1@17 1@15.

I do an online Asda shop once a week for 1 adult and 3 kids and spend roughly £55 and never pay for delivery.

Online Tesco shop once a week for most things and one small interim shop at local shop.

I plan the week's menu with recipes using most fresh ingredients at the beginning of the week. Use recipes that use peas/tinned tomatoes later in the week. I freeze milk and bread.

This costs approx £50 +£15 per week for 3 adults, 1 child in nappies. All but one having lunches out of that too. I usually entertain once a week as well. The only thing it doesn't include is alcohol.

We're on quite a tight budget and this is the best I can do whilst still eating a good variety and fresh foods.

I do an online Asda shop every fortnight. I average £40-£45 per week, for two adults, two children. I freeze bread and milk. Sometimes buy extra for entertaining etc, sometimes stock up on fruit etc in between, but still averages out at that overall.
I would say the main reason we keep it down is we eat mainly veggie. I am veggie, dh and dcs not but I do cook veggie and they all like it. Occasionally have roast/sausages etc on sundays. Lentils, beans etc really cheap and pad it out.

I get a weekly veg box and a milk delivery three times a week. Between them, they take care of fruit, veg, bacon, eggs, milk and cheese. The veg box I use allows you to order what you want online, so I don't end up with oddities. I make my own bread.

In a good week, I do a menu plan and shopping list after the veg box arrives, planning how to use the veg and going through the cupboards to see what we are running low on. I usually need one or possibly two trips to the shops to get what's on the list. I could do it in one weekly shop, but I like to go to different shops on different days, for various complicated reasons to do with transport and market days.

With that system, things tick over find for about six weeks, then I end up stocking up on heavy/bulky stuff in a big supermarket or online.

When I don't do menu planning and list making, I end up in the supermarket far too often and spend far too much, just like everyone else Knowing what you actually need and shopping with a focussed mind is definitely the key.

"fine", not "find"

Im rubbish at shopping and budgeting so dont listen to me!! but I do an online shop for the heavy big stuff once a week (nappies, cat food, toilet rolll, tins etc) and go once myself for the fresh things I dont trust them to choose. This way i get my shop done quickly and the kids aren't creating cos they're bored half way around.

You need to look up some cheap meals, then go out and buy the ingredients for them, making sure you either freeze stuff or get long dates so it doesn't waste.

Then decide what order you are going to have them in, write it down and stick it on your fridge.

I go to the grocers, green grocers, butchers and bakers everyday but Sunday. It does take more time but i'd rather see friendly faces everyday and support my local shops than go to Tescos once a week. Tescos is so soul destroying

Message withdrawn

I try to plan what we're going to eat - usually about 5 days in advance and buy accordingly. I also buy all my fruit and veg at the market once a week and it lasts ok. Also check out this thread on how to save money. Also have you seen Franny's bulk cooking thread - helps with cooking in advance and having lots in the freezer. I spend about £50 a week for 2 of us and 1 yr old dd.

Definitely need a plan. the plan will save you.

I do a big shop once a fortnight in Aldi and Asda, based on a 2-week menu plan that we mostly repeat. Alternate weeks, do a smaller shop to top up milk, vegetables and things I've forgotten or changed my mind about. I've learnt there is no point going shopping without a list I have made with specific meals in mind, otherwise I wander round in a dippy way coming back with special offer doughnuts and no milk IYSWIM.

Presently I'm aiming for £250 per month for 2 adults and 2 toddlers, but not really quite hitting it.

MEAL PLANS FOR EVERY MEAL
Ocado shop once a week, and a veg box once a week. Check best befores upon arrival and freeze anything if necessary

Write a list of all the evening meals you generally eat, plus anything you may need for the day time and plan a list for the week off that. It is much easier than trying to think of a list from scratch.

I have been shopping on-line with Tesco for almost 2 years, the website stores my "favourites" so it is very easy for me now. I am like Tigerchick, perishable veg at beginning of week, use freezer lots for salmon fillets, chicken, mince (home-made meatballs, chilli) make extra mash potato and freeze that. Bread goes quick so I either do top up mini shop at sainsburys where I also buy their tortilla wraps as they don't stick together (great for sandwiches, fajitas)and sainsbury's chicken nuggets.

I have "store cupboard" meals such as tuna pasta bake, chicken curry (freeze chunks of fresh ginger) freezer also for fishfingers, chicken nuggets, veg - green beans, sweetcorn, peas, broccoli, even frozen diced onion and frozen mixed peppers. Lots of tinned stuff like fruit for my boys with ice cream from freezer, beans, spaghetti hoops,

I find it a breeze now!!! Plus no bags, delivered straight into my kitchen, it is BLISS and I am a sahm, my dh says as long as we have food in he doesn't care how it gets here!!! I spend around £70 pwk on family of 4; I have baby in nappies and he is still on formula (he is 17 months) as he doesn't like cows milk.

Wipe board in kitchen for writing list of meals for week and what I have run out of.

Phew!

After Custys money thread, I have stuck ridgedly to a meal plan and its working really well and cutting out the silly £20 trips to the local shop.

I sat down with the recipe books we have and wrote down a list of meals, showed dh and agreed on what we all enjoyed. Then I checked what shifts he was doing as he can either be at home for the full day, here for dinner only or just lunch. Then wrote what I needed for each meal.

To start with it was a bit of a pricey shop because I ended up buying some store cupboard ingreadiants that we didnt have but its getting cheaper now and above all, we're not throwing out food!

I cna normally get a shop for nearly 2 weeks which will be around £60/£70 for me, dh, dd(4) and ds (14m)

Ocado shop once a week and top up on milk and fruit at our village shop.
Between £80 and £100 per week for 2 adults, 2 children(1 still in nappies).

I do a Tesco shop online every 10 days or so, with quick trips to local (v small) supermarket for fresh stuff. I try and cook big-ish meals which will last out another meal (for kids or my lunch following day), that way I feel I am cooking more economically e.g. Sunday roast chicken equals Mon eve chicken curry meal. also use Tesco for all other household shopping, toiletries, nappies, loo roll etc. Havent done a "big" shop myself for months, what a refreshing change.

Every 2-3 weeks online order from Tesco/Asda(), dry goods, storecupboard, things I don't want to lug home eg loo roll in bulk.

Trips to butcher/greengrocer/local Co-op for milk, meat, veg, fruit as required. No hassle really (but then it's just me and the PFB at home during the week, nice to get out and see other human beings, stop in at work for a hello, get some old ladies cooing over DS etc).

Been meaning to do menu plan for, like, years. Will have to get finger out and do it when I go back to work though or both budget and chance of eating well will go up shit creek (DP not so hot with the old domestic goddess malarkey).