Forum Topic

How much does it cost to feed a family of 4?

The Guardian are running a series on the difficulties people face in a time of austerity. They are following several families who have fallen on hard times. All say they have a problem in feeding their families well.  Many of the comments that follow express incredulity at the choices made in food. Four ready meals for 5 pounds? Four bars of chocolate for one pound? Multi bags of crisps not the individual kind. No red peppers the only veg their little boy likes) At times when my kids were small we had little money, but I had learnt to cook the basics and our food bill stayed within budget My spag bol was famous in their primary school. I made apple tarts and fairy cakes and shepherd's pie and lamb hot pot. I still do. All my generation did likewise. Do people still cooks these things in Acton? What do you eat these days?

Maire Lowe ● 5049d73 Comments

Oh I still cook from scratch. I make a mean lasagne/Spag Bol etc. Cakes/bread/Eve's pudding. But seriously my food bill is shocking expensive and i identified with a lot of what was said in today's Guardian. I got a large lasagne in Tesco for £1.50. Yet to make my own, with all the things I put in it, chorizo/tomatoes costs me around £4+. And I can do a lot with that £2.50 I'd have left. So I can see the attraction when ur trying to save some cash.

Apple Leiper ● 5049d

Did the article mention how many people (both adults and children)in this country are overweight and could do with eating less?

Dee Cook ● 5049d

It's not a question of eating less, Doris, more of eating less of the cheap, fatty but filling food that renders us obese and more of the five-a-day fruit and veg that so many people are cutting out of their diet because they feel they can't afford it.Eating fresh food, especially fruit and veg, is both time and income consuming and the point of the Guardian coverage is that in these austere times, the poorer are doing badly - and laying up trouble for the whole of society for that very reason.

Sara Nathan ● 5049d

Glad to hear that someone is cooking from scratch. I wonder what happened to teaching kids to cook in secondary school. When my husband was attending his comprehensive in Surrey, he had weekly cookery lessons and did most of the cooking for his impoverished friends when he got to University. His beef stew with leftover beer is still mentioned. At my convent secondary school in Ireland, Rev. Mother would have taken a dim view of any girl who thought herself too clever or rich to learn to cook properly. But we were at school in the sixties. By the time we took an interest in education again, those school kitchens had vanished and home economics was a paper based subject. What happened?

Maire Lowe ● 5049d

I've been cooking for myself since I left my parents' home 23 years ago.  Mum gave me all of 2 lessons. I very rarely eat out and if I get 1 takeaway a year it's exceptional.  Saves me a packet and keeps my wasteline slim for a 52-year-old male.

David Lawes ● 5049d

Cookery in high schools is making a come back, with quite a few local ones offering it.  However, teaching even quite young children at home is a great start.  If the parents can cook, that is.  Even boiling an egg or cooking pasta is a start.Home cooking might not be as cheap as some packets for a single meal, but quite a few meals can be stretched to last quite a bit longer, ie. when I make a lasagne, I make a big one that leaves us with left overs for another day.  Packets don't work like this, although may be better at portion control.  Doesn't help costs or waistlines if someone scarfs down a whole big tray of lasagne in one sitting.

Kim Bobsin ● 5049d

Good for you David. Tips pleaseSeveral Guardian commentators made mention of people living alone and finding it difficult to eat well. I lived alone for a while and got bored with cooking, so sadly I often ate out. My best cooking is done for crowds. So my spag bol costs about five pounds, but feeds six/eight adults or two/three teenage boys. I think it once fed twelve primary school aged children. If there are leftovers, I stick them in the freezer for someone to reach for when the munchies strike. I couldn't do that with Tesco finest, no matter how keenly priced.

Maire Lowe ● 5049d

We were never taught to cook at school at all in the 6os and 70s. We were told that we were getting an "academic" education. Unfortunately we still suffered both sewing and eurythmics.Cooking would have been more fun AND more useful.

Sara Nathan ● 5049d

So, it was feminism that did for making rock cakes and crumbing fish on Wednesday afternoons? I don't know what eurythmics is unless is it the movement lessons taught in Steiner schools?

Maire Lowe ● 5049d

Sara, I know of people who have a fresh food diet, who are not poor, who are overweight.  Possibly it is because they drink too much alcohol with their meals!!Go sit in Macdonalds for half an hour and see how much people spend on their meals.  They have the money, they are just not using it properly.

Dee Cook ● 5049d

I don't see that fruit and veg is expensive.Nor fresh meat or fish if you are clever.If you are on a limited budget,and particularly if you are on benefits and have time on your hands,you can go to a supemarket at the right time and buy perfectly good food that is reduced in price.Then take the time and effort to cook it.Perhaps it's this bit that people don't want to do and would rather bung a relatively expensive pizza or ready meal in the oven or microwave and open a tin of beans.With a little skill and ingenuity,I reckon I could eat well for a week on £20-£23.

Keith Iddon ● 5049d

Thank you Keith. Someone who is prepared to quote a figure. Are you cooking for one, or are there others included here? Tips please!

Maire Lowe ● 5049d

Well I don't often sit in McDonalds because I don't like the food, but I get your point about it being crowded, often after school and after work. People picking up a quick meal for themselves and often for their children. I wonder what is the cultural barrier to cooking as Keith and David describe? It isn't just the lack of cooking lessons is it? There is something else going on here. I wish I knew what it was.

Maire Lowe ● 5049d

That would be just for one and would include no luxury items(wine,beer etc.) but would be a balanced diet.If you go late in the day to a supermarket you can sometimes buy chicken.pork and  mince in the reduced section.There is nothing wrong with this food and it can be frozen then used as normal. Spuds,pasta and rice are not expensive and neither are the ingredients for stew(swede,carrots,celery,onions,tin of butter beans and a cheap cut of meat).A tin of corned beef and spuds and onions is corned beef hash,eaten with spring greens and carrots.Very nice too.I suppose if you enjoy cooking it helps.But it is not hard to cook a good,healthy and cheap meal.

Keith Iddon ● 5049d

Interesting that you classify booze as luxury in these circumstances. When my friends D and J were on their uppers, their method was to only shop every three weeks instead of every week. Granted they had somewhere to store food. They insisted that they spent less because they stretched each piece of meat or fish or veg/lentil bake over three meals rather than one, but varied the dishes so the same thing wasn't served up 3 evenings running. However they always bought a bottle of wine and some beer to be drunk on Saturday nights instead of going to to pub. During this time, they often invited friends to Sunday lunch  with the understanding that the friends brought a contribution. They and their children looked very well thoughout their bad time and lunch was always delicious. .

Maire Lowe ● 5049d

Sounds as though your friends have their heads screwed on.It is often the case that it's not how you spend your money as much as how you spend time.That is why I can't understand how someone with loads of time on their hands would need convenience food.My wife and I both work and go out for a meal once or twice a month or get a take away delivered once in a blue moon but we very rarely eat a ready meal.We both enjoy cooking the and getting the most out of the food we buy. Cooking ,as your friends did,for 3 meals instead of one is a good use of time and resources.

Keith Iddon ● 5049d

Historically, rich people were fat and poor people were skinny.  Nowadays it's the other way around - poor people are fatter and rich people are skinnier - because unfortunately healthy, fresh food costs more than processed food. Fruit and veg prices have rocketed in the past few years.  One pepper is now just under £1, yet for £1.50 you can get a ready meal.There's your problem, right there.

Sarah Harris ● 5049d

I disagree.If you shop wisely (and why wouldn't you?) you can eat a healthy diet with fresh fruit and veg.that is not so expensive.

Keith Iddon ● 5049d

A major reason why,historically, poorer people were skinny was that they usually worked hard,often manually,for 10 hrs a day and as likely as not would have cycled to work or walked.A fair % would have grown their own veg.The bought foods they did obtain were not full of additives(like the ubiquitous corn syrup that is in many processed foods)and their lifestyle outside work was generally more active and less tv/pc focussed.

Keith Iddon ● 5049d

Thanks Sarah. You are probably right, but I can't agree. A friend of mine was responsible for supporting a whole tower block of vulnerable (poor)tenants back in the nineties. Most of them were young women with one or two small children.  They were always in trouble with their budget. Along came a group of Kosovans; Asylum seekers, they only had the clothes they stood up in,  were hungry, sick, fearful.depressed etc. Within two weeks, they had their food organised sufficiently to be able to offer a bowl of steaming something when she visited. Hospitality to the stranger. Very important to be able to give. They made broth for the children with bones from the butcher and whatever  cheap veg they could find in the market. Large fish stews, mostly from fish heads snd a few herbs. Ditto soups and casseroles. They were keeping big families on the same or less than the neighbours with one or two mouths to feed. So I don't think it is just about money or the increase in the price of fruit. Why didn't the others cook like that? I am beginning to wonder if some of the problem is loneliness? Those single parents at home all day with baby. Even sitting in McDonalds must feel a bit more lively. Thoughts please.

Maire Lowe ● 5049d

I think loneliness has a lot to do with this. Plenty of government reports on that subject.It can be a big effort to cook for yourself even if you are a good cook and you like cooking. Other barriers get in the way sometimes and then the self care is at risk.Compared to the sixties it’s difficult not to fall into some kind of eatery on the high street. Is there now an expectation among most classes that eating out is the thing to do even though it might mean starving for the rest of the week? And do singles go out to eat more because they want company?If you are single and on benefits I guess you would be lucky to keep back more than £30 per week for food. So I wonder how Keith would adjust his recipes to produce a 7 day menu which is healthy nutritional filling and tasty. I watch his ideas closely because they are sensible and sometimes very helpful with special tips. But on £30, which is enough to make anyone feel lonely. I hope someone will come up with a long list of baked potato recipes please. I don’t like butter.What so often gets missed out is the old fall back which I was brought up on. That is a good thick tasty soup as a first course which fills a lot of gaps.If you are unemployed and on benefits, then there is time to go hunting for cheap good food. Not all the year but there is wild fruit in our green Borough and this can be cooked and frozen, there are veggie and fruit sales at some allotments (at silly prices) and of course if someone wants a little home grown produce they can always help out if they look hard enough to tend someone’s garden in exchange for produce.

George Knox ● 5049d

Part of the problem with 'junk food' eaters is that they do not like the tasts of 'real' food. If you cannot afford meat/fish, why not go vegetarian?

Dee Cook ● 5049d

I'm not great on budgeting. However, one chicken can feed a family of four for 2-3 days. Roast the chicken one day (eat with roast potatoes, veg, whatever else you like - we usually have sweet potatoes and red onion roasted in olive oil with honey, chilli and cumin plus a couple of green veg; maybe a bit of stuffing too!The next day you can use leftover chicken (best to buy a large one) to make a risi bisi or risotto with only a few onions and/or mushrooms. You can also boil the carcase with a few veg and a bayleaf to make a stock. Use this to make a cheap, delicious soup by sweating, say, a leek, carrot, bit of celery, a potato or two and maybe some lentils with a teaspoon or two of spices; add water or stock and simmer for 20-30 mins. Mouli if you like. (very easy and should last for at least two meals). I haven't done the costings, but that should take care of 2-3 days and you can either buy a lovely chicken from Tim at La Viande (for around £9) or get something cheaper from a supermarket. Not sure if you wanted recipes, but I do love cooking, so there you go..

Clare Gittins ● 5049d

£30 pw is plenty for one person George for a week's food.You could have a few beers too.Eating a convenieb=nce meal maybe £2 but you can cook 3 meals for £3 if you employ some gumption.For baked spuds btw I have a gadget that ensures perceft spuds every time.It is a device that has 4 upward pointing pointed metal spikes on which you spear a spud.The metal gets(obviouosly)very hot and cooks the spud from inside.Takes about 20mins for an average sized spud.You can use a sturdy eating fork or a six inch nail instead.

Keith Iddon ● 5049d

You can use Quark(very low fat soft mild cheese)or freeze a little seasoned olive oil and put it on the spud as you would butter.I assume you don't like marg.but olive oil spread is ok on a spud.

Keith Iddon ● 5049d

Family of five, mum, dad, two boys aged 20 and one of sixteen = £85 per week, is what my good lady spends to feed us all with breakfast (muesli type cereals) and a cooked supper of chicken/beef/pork/lamb accompanied with potato or rice, veg  and a side salad, fruit juices are also purchased within this budget (weekends we get lunch too). No luxury goods such as wine/beer, crisps or chocolates, if anyone wants those they have to get them themselves, or household stuff such toilet paper, cleaning agents, toothpaste etc (this increases the weekly shop).I have no opinion on what others do as I have no idea what their circumstances are nor am I in their shoes, so am unable to comment on why they should spend their funds in the way that they might.

Bobby Newly ● 5049d

Dear Bobby, Thanks for the input. Seventeen pounds for five adults' weekly meals is good going. Still I'd love to hear from someone under younger.  A food budget of forty pounds a week is apparently very difficult for the Guardian families. Could we hear from anyone under forty who manages their food bill on that sum or less?

Maire Lowe ● 5049d

For decades I have been lucky enough not to have to think about the food bill, and until you do it really is extremely difficult to take a view on how to survive on £30. I am so used to having a small treat or trying out something new (neither of which I need) and I am so used to looking for the Bogof items and buying the bargains for longer term storage at home  (something which must be generally out of reach for the Job Seeker).Recently I spent £76 in Waitrose, (don’t go there all the time) and never to M&S because it’s parking hassle. Some of the £76 was for long term storage – but none covered cleaning or toilet stuff. I guess that £25 of the purchase will be eaten this week, but I still need more main course food for this week to eat 3 meals per day. I can either go into the freezer and there will be enough or get some fresh. I don’t know its value.Actually on top of that £76 I spent another £17 which is towards treats/presents over Christmas.As I write this I really wonder if I should have selected a figure of £25 per week (instead of £30) for food for the Benefits person. BTW any more baked spud recipes please. And thanks so far for suggestions.

George Knox ● 5049d

Marmelade in baked spud is no good either.http://www.nurseryrhymes4u.com/NURSERY_RHYMES/Page_815.html

George Knox ● 5049d

Jacket potato topped with chilli con carni. I can still remember rationing back in the 50s.Spam fritters, corned beef hash, bubble and squeek (non of them fattening.)  A pudding with stale bresd...Queens Pudding, with a good dollop of jam, bread and butter pudding and of course Summer pudding.Can't say I like these pre-packed ready meals from the supermarket, you really don't know what's in them, besides, it takes all the fun out of good old home cooking, with everything done from scratch.

Nicola Howard ● 5049d

Sadly I never got along with corned beef or the dreaded spam.http://britishfood.about.com/od/recipeindex/r/brdpudd.htmis perhaps the stale bread puddding you are talking about.I can just remember when butter was still rationed.

George Knox ● 5049d

Dear GeorgeThanks for all that. But before we get into rationing again, lets here from the younger generation. My daughter has just returned home and points out that she grew up helping to cook  dinner but would chew her own foot off before listening to anyone talking about the bad old days. lets hear from someone who didn't grow up in the fifties and sixties, but is still managing to feed their families well for forty pounds or less. If you are single, think about a budget of thirty pounds or less and lets hear from you. Thanks for all the contributions. Good advice from many people. Did I mention how wonderful I think you all are?

Maire Lowe ● 5049d

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/.../queen-of-puddings.html -This one uses fresh bred crumbs!Queen of Puddingsingredients3/4 pint (400 ml) milk2 tbsp (1 oz) 25 g buttergrated rind of 1/2 lemon2 eggs, separated1/4 cup (4 Tbls) 50 g caster sugar (superfine granulated)1 1/4 cup (75 g) fresh white breadcrumbs2 tbsp (30 ml) red jammethod1. Warm the milk, butter and lemon rind.2. Whisk the egg yolks and half of the sugar lightly and pour on the milk, stirring well.3. Strain over the breadcrumbs, pour into a greased 1.1-litre (2-pt) ovenproof dish and leave to stand for 1/4 hour.4. Bake in the oven at 180°C (350°F) mark 4 for 25-30 minutes, until lightly set;5. remove from the oven. Warm the jam and spread it over the pudding.6. whisk up the egg whites stiffly and add half the remaining sugar; whisk again and fold in the remaining sugar.7. Pile the meringue on top of the jam and bake for a further 15-20 minutes, until the meringue is lightly browned.

Nicola Howard ● 5049d

For example I've just bought a £4.50 piece of belly pork joint for the reduced price(it has today's date on it)of £2.25.I have cut it in half and frozen it.There is enough for 4 meals and a couple of sandwiches.

Keith Iddon ● 5049d

Keith, your gadget spearing the spuds sounds great.  I must look into it as it would save money on the oven.

Angela White ● 5048d

You're an inspiration, Keith!For years I too didn't have to watch the pennies, but like most these days and having a child, I now have to watch my purse.  I'm not the younger generation, Marie, but hope I can join in!  I have no idea how much our weekly spend is as I too buy offers and then store them and will buy toiletries along with food, so I don't know.  However, the last 2 weeks I made a list of everything in the cupboards and we don't buy anything we already have in the cupboard.  It's good to see the stockpile dwindling.  I cook from scratch.  Now and again we treat ourselves to an M&S dine in for 2 £10 offer or an Abel and Cole frozen meal, but that's rare now.  I batch cook and I think that's the key to saving money.  I cook a massive spag bol with lots of grated veggies in there for my unsuspecting 4 year old who believes she hates veg.  I bulk it up with all kinds and anything that may be going off if left any longer.  It probably costs me £8 perhaps but that's organic, almost all of it.  I then serve up a meal for 3 of us and then divide it into separate meals for our daughter.  I can get a meal for 3 out of that plus 7 to 8 separate meals for her.  Not bad going.  Ditto chilli con carne and other meals.If I have cream, cheese and/or butter that needs using, I will make a big saucepan of cheese sauce, possibly with cauliflower mixed in, then freeze that in portions too.We have a couple of hens who lay our eggs (although we probably spend more on them than we recoup and they are spoilt as pets!) so we use eggs when we have them and my husband often dips into the freezer where we may have stored stale bread, bread ends or brown bananas, etc, and he'll make a banana loaf or something lovely like that.  This week I will make sure I tot-up exactly how much I spend on feeding my family and get back to you.

Angela White ● 5048d

I'm making a chick pea and green bean curry tomorrow.Total cost about £2.50 for about 6 meals.Freezes well.Cost of rice or pitta breads and small side salad on top of course.About £3.50 I would say.Optional and very nice extra is to top the curry with softish boiled eggs cut in half.That's only for the very rich tho'. ;-)

Keith Iddon ● 5048d

Always get the mince from Tim.  Makes great spag bol and chilli con carni (no excess fat.)  Tim also stocks baking potatoes.  More expensive than the supermarket but, worth it.A pound (Lb) of mince will make four or five meals for a single person.  Good quality diced steak and lambs kidneys make a great pie and, will keep in the freezer.  I must admit, I go for quality, not quantity. I'm well over the £40, more like £80 but, that does include the hound.

Nicola Howard ● 5048d

I took buy quality stuff amongst the bargains I find and thankfully don't need to be as careful as I am, but I like to  spot a value for money option that I can use and I really enjoy cooking.

Keith Iddon ● 5048d

'm 40, have a husband and 2 children under the age of 10 and cook everything fresh, daily, from scratch. I grew up watching my mum cook, so I learned not only to cook but to plan a meal, budget, use left overs etc. We also did cookery at school, rock cakes and scones and things, as well incidentally, as sewing, weaving, knitting, and patchworking. I always loved to cook and would happily spend school holidays working my way through a cook book trying out new recipes. Culturally food was important in our family, you couldn't have someone round and not feed them and the more people around the table the better. I wouldn't feed my kids ready meals, I'd rather whip up an omelette if I was in that much of a hurry, at least I know what's in it.It's interesting what Maire said about the Kosovans and applies to a lot of village cultures that grow their own food and keep their own animals for food. Every part of the animal is used, vegetables and fruit are pickled, made into jams etc because winters are harsh and the food has to last. Food is hearty, lots of stews and soups, as you say from the bones. Staples of bean stews and soups, bulked out with barley, potatoes, pasta and other pulses when meat was running short, often flavoured with a small piece of smoked sausage or bacon rind. When food is a matter of survival it's amazing what you can achieve with relatively little, but you have to know how. We are faced with so much pre-prepared food, a whole generation wouldn't  know what to do with a chicken that wasn't already plucked, trimmed and cleaned out, we can even buy our vegetables peeled and chopped, but it's more expensive than say heading to North End Rd market.I don't really shop on a weekly basis so I can't give you a figure. I buy staple items like rice, pulses and pasta to last longer than a week. I buy meat fresh but freeze some of it and defrost it as I need it. I'll buy a larger bag of say potatoes which is cheaper than a small one and split it with my mum. Cooking affords you more versatility and I believe it's cheaper and healthier in the long run, I was lucky that my mum passed on her wisdom so that I'd at least have a fighting chance at getting by on £40.

Milena Vincic ● 5048d

Make a nice change and don't take as long to bake.Nice with baked beans and cheese and / or tinned tuna.Or baked  beans,cheese  and sweetcorn or any combination.All these  work well with a normal spud.

Keith Iddon ● 5048d

We also grow a bit of our own veg, although with 2012 and the busyness of it all this year with work, we didn't.  That usually saves a bit of money and great fun too, very rewarding.  Grow lots of tomatoes, chillies, basil and sometimes onions, then when they crop, make lots of chilli sauce and tomato basil sauces and freeze. We had enough one year to give us a whole year's sauces.

Angela White ● 5048d

Sorry but I'm a single parent although my other 2 are now adults my youngest is 5 and we v v v rarely 'sit in McDonald's. it's a quick treat after the cinema. Also it's v hard to keep a food bill down if u have kids with allergies(my youngest has eczema so I buy a lot of soya products) or have a teenage athlete in the house. They eat more than a horse!I agree soup is a great cheap and easy filler. But i detest traipsing round the supermarket enough whiteout having to go late in the day to look for reduced stuff. I meal plan for the week and right my list based on what I need.

Apple Leiper ● 5048d

Saucy!A dip for chips:Chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, red and green capsicum peppers and hot chillies.  blend all the ingredients until soft, then whiz in the blender on pulse setting.  the chunkier, the better.

Nicola Howard ● 5048d

Shoppers are being routinely ripped off by Britain’s biggest supermarkets after research found that one in ten products in ‘multibuy’ money-off deals have their prices raised before they go on promotion, meaning shoppers are not making the savings they think.An investigation by Which? looked at 300,000 online prices over the course of a year at Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Ocado.It found that around 10 per cent of products being sold as multibuy deals such as ‘£10 for two’ had their prices increased when they became part of the deal. The “misleading” tactics by retailers mean that many products are actually more expensive when they are on "discount" than when they are on general sale, Which? said.The group called for supermarkets to “sort out” their pricing so that shoppers can easily spot the good deals from the bad ones.For example, Which? found that Asda was selling a Goodfella’s Deep Pan Baked Pepperoni Pizza at a “normal” price of £1. However once the pizza went on sale as part of a multibuy deal, the price of a single pizza was increased to £2.50.The multibuy deal then offered customers two pizzas for £4.50, meaning that even shoppers who took advantage of the “offer” were paying over double the price of a pre-multibuy pizza.Supermarkets were also found to be selling four-packs of Heinz soup for £2.99, while next to them offering four individual soups on a multibuy deal for £3.

Nicola Howard ● 5048d

Appaling though that is Nicola it has been going on or years and not just in the UK.Supermarkets over here have to advertise the price that is being halved for any product for one month before the promotion in order to comply with the law.That price may well have been falsely inflated for that month but those are the rules as they are.Who told anyone anything was fair?

Keith Iddon ● 5048d

a metal skewer works too - you don't have to buy something new.

Sara Nathan ● 5048d

This is such an interesting thread. It would seem that for the most part forty pounds is adequate for feeding a family of four, two of them children. Doing it takes some planning, so someone has to be interested and have sufficient time. It is also clear that the more people involved the cheaper it can be. Singles could consider sharing meals with others on some kind of reciprocal basis. More fun and cheaper. When I am next living alone, I will certainly look round for dining companions. Thanks everyone.

Maire Lowe ● 5048d

£40 is a bit light for family of four.Might get away with £55,sans luxuries.

Keith Iddon ● 5048d

forty pounds is the sum the Guardian family had available which is why I used it. From reading the replies I think it can be done with planning and a bit of skill. Luxuries seem to be subjective. Some would want an occasional takeaway or restaurant meal, others would want a few beers. The Kosovans in my story attempted to build a still in the carpark at the back of their tower block. Sadly the local cops followed the smell and the project failed. I have been quoting fifty pounds for feeding three adults, and it works quite well. We don't count the takeaways.

Maire Lowe ● 5048d

Nothing sad about an illicit still being found.Can be very dangerous.

Keith Iddon ● 5048d

Of course you are right, but we had the impression that the builders had previous experience. Densely populated north London not a prime location though.

Maire Lowe ● 5048d

Actually - much as I love baked sweet potato - I don't agree with you about the additions. It is too strong a flavour to cope with baked beans etc (and devilish sweet) Much better with just butter and pepper and other things on the side.

Sara Nathan ● 5047d

Is the £40 supposed top cover breakfast and lunch as well - for four people? If so it must be nigh on impossible.

Sara Nathan ● 5045d

I assume the kids have school dinners as the families are in financial bother. I think it is doable with some careful planning and a bit of skill.There are some splendid ideas donated right here. I more or less made the chickpea and green bean curry last night anad it was great. Cost about two pounds with some rice and was enough for four ( two people twice) Doubt it can include cake from Angela Malik though. More difficult is the lone adult on JSE. Probably has only thirty pounds or less for food. One meal a day I think.

Maire Lowe ● 5045d

Glad you used the idea Marie.Believe it or not but pilchards in tomato sauce make a good change for a curry,combined with onions and red,yellow or green peppers.Not expensive either and quite healthy.

Keith Iddon ● 5045d

Thanks for the tip about pilchards keith. By syncronicity, Prue Leith also read the series about families not able to feed their children and has presented a week's menu with receipes in the Mail. See here for her ideas. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2237634/Feed-family-50-week-Top-cook-Prue-Leith-shows--wont-just-eating-baked-beans.htmlShe is with George in providing soups to start meals and with my mother in law in providing pudding with dinner. She is with every student I have known is making pasta suppers quite often. Love to hear what you guys think of Prue's ideaa.

Maire Lowe ● 5044d

A number of people mentioned that the grocery bill did not include other essentials should as toothpaste and loo roll. I keep meaning to say that such items are available at the pounds shops for one pound. You can't be fussy about brand, but if toothpaste is just toothpaste to you, then you can find a bargain. We got used to one stop shopping when times were better, but much of this frugality comes from going to several different outlets and seeing what works for you. Of course if you still prefer the Ocado delivery and can afford it, then why not!

Maire Lowe ● 5042d

I had a look at that Daily Mail article and tried the chicken in honey and soy was delish and will be doing again yum yumSometimes the cheaper brands at the pound shop do not work as well and it is a false economy,  I know that will not be the case with everything though.  I suppose it a question of finding out what does and doesn't work.I must confess I do the Ocado shop for ease as much as anything else,  and a lot of products are Tesco price matched and in some ways it makes me spend less as I have the certain products I buy in my basics shopping list whereas if I am at the supermarket I may go in for X,Y and Z buy those in addition to A, B and C as I have been tempted!

Jen Morty ● 5040d

Oh, the pound shops sell branded stuff: colgate toothpaste, Vosene shampoo, etc. What I meant was there isn't the choice you find in full price shops. Worth a look I think. And if having your shopping delivered gives you pleasure, then why not? A friend of mine (impulse shopper) only shops on line now.She can plan her meals, keep to her budget and resist temptation by not entering the tempting supermarket at all. Each to their own.

Maire Lowe ● 5040d

Looking at the original question I reckon you can live like healthy kings and queens for £70-£80 per week.

Dave Hughes ● 5039d

Blew the whole budget at the butchers. (Tim.)  £902 large Chickens, (cut in half,) 2 joints of lamb, 2 joints of salmon cut beef, 6 pork and apple sausages, 1lb mince, 1 sirloin steak and 3 large jacket spuds.Steak was so tender, it just melted in the mouth.  Had it with jacket potato and trimmings.

Nicola Howard ● 5037d

£90!!  And what about Sunday, Nicola?  What will you have then?

Angela White ● 5037d

So how long will that hamper last you Nicola? And I am not asking for the detail but simply ask whether BMI comes into your calculations in your household?

George Knox ● 5037d

Saturday: Half chicken 1 sausage and bacon for the dog. Sausage and mash for myself.  Pick the chicken for supper.Sunday:  Salmon cut beef for...Oh, such gluttony! (Pride, Sloth etc.)

Nicola Howard ● 5037d

So how long will that hamper last you?  A week, myself and the hound.BMI?  When the hound went for his health check, Gen told me he was 2Kg overweight. Me, I'm like a string bean, no matter what I eat, I don't put it on.

Nicola Howard ● 5037d

The thing is Nicola is that you and your hound are more interested in eating than frugality. You obviously love your grub which is a  very good thing. But could you do it on half your budget? If you had to? Go on, I challenge you and the hound to do just as well by spending half what you just spent. Just one week maybe before Christmas descends on us.

Maire Lowe ● 5037d

Our cat's food has just gone up 10p per very small tin!  I won't buy cheaper as it has less meat if you do and that's counterproductive as you could end up paying more in vet fees in the end!  His dry food is very expensive too I suppose.

Angela White ● 5037d

Angela Jill suggests that the more expensive catfood is cheaper on line. You could have a look.

Maire Lowe ● 5037d

more expensive cat food is cheaper on line.Is the quality of the product guaranteed? There are too many fakes out there or, cheaper brands being counterfeited as the more expensive.In response to the posting a couple of lines up, if I do my whole shop in Morrisons it comes to around £52, that does not include toilet rolls, washing-up liquid etc.  P.S.I forgot to say I also had a loin of pork joint, which has just been roasted.

Nicola Howard ● 5037d

Thank you, Marie.  I shall look.

Angela White ● 5037d

Sorry, Maire, I've spelt your name incorrectly.Thank you for the suggestion of looking online for my cat food.  Sainsburys, where I shop, are indeed the cheapest for our brand but a little ferreting around and I found "Pets At Home" who are doing a special on it.  I've ordered 3 months worth of cat food!!  No idea where to store it!  Saved only a fraction really, but there was no delivery charge on it either and as Sainsburys are not as expensive as the other stores, the price was in danger of going up suddenly anyway.  So, thank you.We get our dried cat food from Acton Pet Shop in Crown Street.  The ladies in there are fantastic and always very helpful.  He loves the food there, Leonardo's.

Angela White ● 5037d

Instead/of/butter/on/a/baked/spud:Chili/con/carne/or/better/still/chili/sin/carne//Curry//I/bet/that/chickpea/one/is/good//Chickpeas/make/a/brilliant/curry//There's/also/a/great/Moroccan/spicy/tomato/soup/with/chickpeas-that/can/be/made/with/storecupboard/ingredients-great/for/this/weather!Also/tuna/mayonnaise/tuna/and/sweetcorn/mayonnaise

Philippa Bond ● 5033d