I was contacted by The Sun newspaper to see if I could possibly run a menu for a family of four ( 2 adults and two children, ages 6 & 8) for a week, and have very little/ zero food waste and also a budget of £30.
The tricky part was that It had to be all regular priced healthy food and no reduced priced items or yellow stickers were to be used!
How to save money on a weekly food shop for 4!
My first reaction was ahhhhhhhhggggggggg but when I had a look into it, I found that not only is it viable but I can also feed the family with a good healthy, varied and vitamin packed menu.
Where to shop for food shopping?
My main Supermarket where I bought the bulk of my shop was Lidl, because it is my favourite supermarket, as the prices are fab, it is always fresh and I have Never, ever had a problem with them ! I also used Tesco as I bought some products that were on offer. It always pays to shop around for offers, as this could really help with your target budget.
How meal planning saved me money
Meal planning, will also help anybody on a budget, as you can log onto Supermarket websites, price things and also work out what you can cook, how you can carry foods over and what and how could you stretch foods and make them bulk out. On this Plan I made a large chicken go three ways and this really helped with the pricing, Every meal was completely different, but they all had the same base ingredient …..The chicken !
Carrying food over is also a great tool for making food go further, for example this Shepherds pie had beef, leeks, carrot, lentils, potatoes, sweetcorn and courgette squashed in, so it would make it a great balanced meal, but as it was well and truly bulked out, there was a lot of leftovers, which were packed into pastry and turned into pasties ! Which worked out to be fab for an easy and quick lunch, which were not only lunch box approved but also kid friendly !
Here is a link to the Video and this is the link for the recipes, ingredients and story I really hope that you like it, please leave and comment with any helpful info or even your thoughts.
Kelly X
Hi Kelly, as always some great ideas. Watched the video but can’t find a link to the specific menu and recipes. Is this available as would be very useful.
Many thanks, Jill
Hi Jill, I hope that you are well. I will add the link now xxx
Thanks Kelly, that’s really helpful. X
If all of your family are meat eaters,fine so how about the same wisdom for a family of vegetarians please.
Hi James, You would have a much better scope with a Vegetarian menu, as meat takes up a huge part of the menu and Budget. I can happily run a budget menu for a week for a vegetarian family, and would be able to include much more fruit !
I can mention this to the tabloid editors and see if this would interest them !! XX
Thank You, I am planning to retire some time soon and will be on a reduced budget. You inspire me to believe that it can live on a tight budget. Keep up the good work.
Hi Annette, Thank you for your kind comment. I hope that this shows you that you CAN eat fab and still be frugal. If you need any info, please message me xxx
Good to see and well thought out but I hope you are aware of the humorous monologue about the Christmas Turkey served in many variations ‘ on the 12th day of Christmas we licked our lips, the guests were gone, the turkey too, we dined on fish and chips’ However Fish and Chips for four, bought commercially would make quite a dent in £30. Harry Ramsden started by selling a portion of F & C for about 4 old pence ie 60 portions for £1.
I would happily pay 4old pence for some fish and chips !!!! XX