Struggling with food shop

[JKR123]

I need to reduce my monthly spend on groceries each month. I have a toddler and a baby (who's about to start weaning). There are two adults in the house. I'm not very good at thinking of meal ideas, when I go to the super market im useless and every week I end up spending way more than I intended. We have a few luxuries (glass or two of wine each on a Friday and Saturday night, packet of nuts etc) but that's it! I must be doing something wrong but I'm not sure what. Maybe food has just become really expensive all of a sudden. Things have got very tight recently and I want to try and reduce our spend to £50 a week. Is this realistic with a toddler? It would cover nappies for both children and toiletries (I buy the cheapest) and cleaning products. Anyone got any suggestions for the sorts of foods I should be aiming for? I really want to get this sorted

I think food bills have gone up recently.

It's hard to say without seeing what you spend and on what, but aim for a few "low spend" meals a week - homemade veg soup and bread, jacket potato with cheese/beans, omelette. These are all c. 50p a person a meal and can bring your spending down drastically.

We pay £60 pw for groceries and we are two adults and two dc , one of which is adult sized! This takes some doing tbh and we avoid alcohol , are non smokers and my dh makes a lot from scratch like soups and potato salad etc.

We meal plan strictly and order our shopping online to facilitate this , which means we don't chuck treats in the trolley like we would randomly in the actual shop!

Thanks some good ideas on here. I think online shopping is the way to go. I think we are going to have to eliminate the weekend glass of wine too :(

I'm having to cut down and just made a list and some suggested meals. Sorry for the long post.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/20/10-pound-a-week-recipes Inspired by this article, which is for a woman and a toddler.

Grr. I hate this laptop. Anyway I've adapted it for 2 adults (one adult age 6th former who needs school meals) and 2 older children.
I just costed it on Tesco and it's about £35 but we won't need eg veg oil every week.
I will buy more fruit and veg on offer when I see it, with the extra left over.

Shopping list plus recipes
List
Spaghetti – cheap budget version – 20p in tesco
White bread 40p
Brown bread 40p
Tinned peaches 35p
Plain yoghurt 1.00
Apples 89p
Tangerines 1.25
Stock 50p
Pitta bread 50p
Chopped tomatoes 31p
Milk 1.00
White rice 90p
Tinned potatoes 35p
Tinned kidney beans 30p
Tinned chickpeas 50p
Tinned carrots 20p
Tinned spinach – frozen 1.50
Bell pepper 50p
Onions 16p
Carrots 45p
Sunflower oil 1.15
Butter 1.33
Cabbage 79p
Kale 1.00
Cheddar 3,99
Sandwich ham 1.60
Quorn ham 2.50
Mayonnaise 1.00
Biscuits 39p
Cereal
oats
Garlic 40p
Soy sauce 59p
Tomato puree 45p
Sr flour 55p
Plain flour 55p
Tinned sweetcorn 35p
Eggs 1.25
Tinned tuna 2.85
Tinned mandarin
Cat food 2.90
Bird food 1.00
Lemon 35p
Guide price £35 a week

meal plan
Soups – broth with veg- barley and veg? scotch broth? Sweetcorn
Corn fritters
rice with spinach potato curry
rice with chickpea curry
rice with kidney bean chilli
pitta with kidney bean burger
spaghetti with cheese and pesto
sweetcorn cakes
nettle soup
sushi eg tinned tuna, carrot, red pepper, tamago
omelette and oven chips or salad
lunches – sandwich with ham or quorn ham
snacks – biscuits wrapped up or tangerine
breakfast – porridge or cereal and milk or toast
jelly for dessert

I saw £50 and thought 'do-able' and then saw that includes nappies for 2. I tend to binge-buy cleaning products when I'm annoyed with the state of the house (it doesn't work, you have to use them). I spend £30-35 a week in Aldi, but DH does top up shops.
Your kids are quite small, but I buy what I know mine eat. Apples and carrots are quite cheap, mine love them, so I buy loads. They are fussy about bananas, so I only buy a few to avoid waste (I eat them but only 1 a day!)
Meat as a treat. Oh, and try to vary the menu a bit else you end up buying lunch to relieve the gastronomic monotony.
When I had little ones (youngest is 4, so I don't anymore, sob) I used to tie eating sugary foods in with an activity. Decorate biscuits, make rice krispie cakes, biscuits, or scones. I also used to 'save' sweeties for them to eat during my medical appointments - it kept them quiet!
Meal planning is key, it eliminates waste - sorry!

Meal planning definitely as PP have said and online shopping to stick to budget in some supermarkets. I find when I shop Lidl and aldi (as no delivery) I tend to not to put as much unnecessary / junk items in trolley. But I make sure I stick to list. Last week I spent £57 in aldi feeding 2 adults and 2 under 3s, 7 dinners / 5 lunches 7 breakfast and feeding 2 SC 3 dinners, 2 lunches and 2 breakfast. We're not massive drinkers at home, however we do like a white wine from aldi it's £3.79 a bottle and we had one of those. I buy almost everything in own brand, sometimes even the basic supermarket brand depending on what it is. Pasta dishes are cheap and filling, soups / stews are too, fill them out with pulses and beans or add extra potatoes. Frozen fish fillets, add a homemade sauce too with some veg and herbs and good seasoning really tasty. Have a look on Amazon at the recipe book "eat well spend less " I found this helpful. And the 1st book from the BBC series "eat well for less" . Looks likr a lot if ingredients but a lot are ones that you will reuse again so won't be buying them every week. I also have the second book from the TV series but I wasn't as impressed with this one - although this one is supposed to be for cooking on a budget. I didnt buy nappies laat week as I had already stocked up the week before. I use supermarket own brand cleaning products they are just as good. Good luck.

Thanks so much for the replies. I will draw up a meal plan and use the suggestions on here. My oldest is in the midst of potty training (it's going very slowly!) but that should eventually help to save a bit of money. I guess it's getting into a routine, familiarising myself with what to buy and getting staple meals on the list (veg soup, omelette etc). I will see how it goes!

Have a look at "A girl called Jack" recipes, you can find them online. There's also a Facebook group called "Feed yourself for 1 pound a day" which is full of good suggestions for menu planning and low cost meals.