Munny

This is quick. A while ago I talked about saving money. Things have moved on. Supermarkets are BLOOMING expensive and so is petrol. What do I do?


In my old blog, Cooking with love, our weekly shop budget stood at £35 (October 2011). Based on careful shopping list and meal planning, incl. calculating expected cost of the shop beforehand. The budget isn't holding so well now though. Firstly, I've got a baby, and a bouncing little girl, so I'm just not planning so well - still write a shopping list, but can't be so diligent as was previously. Secondly, and with the greatest impact, food prices have steadily risen since 2007 (see DEFRA guide) and they've got much worse since last year. Unfortunately, the DEFRA report stated that healthier foods now cost more than less healthy ones, e.g., brown bread more expensive than white. So feeding your family, and doing it so that the food is nutritional as well as meeting calorific needs takes thought. Our weekly shop crept up from £35 to £40, then anywhere from £40 to £80 a week.... £100-200 more a month! I used to drive 20 minutes away to Morrisons to get the better deals, but now save the petrol and go to my local Sainsbury's (sorry, this is so dull to most - my apologies for being so dull)... but the costs just creep in everywhere.

This situation has improved over the last few weeks however, and shopping back to a more manageable £30-40/ week. I now:

1. Shop at LIDL, getting anything I can't get from there topped up at Sainsbury's (last week, £20 at LIDL, £10 at Sainsbury's). Fruit, veg and cereals and toiletries are especially good value. I can still get free range eggs and chicken too.
2. Make the most of discounted use-by-date end food, especially joints of meat and loaves of bread (25p loaf anyone?). Straight into the freezer.
3. More vegetarian meals, and they are delicious and healthy, e.g., Jamie Oliver's 30 min rogan josh curry and carrot salad (I skip pricier ingredients if needed and it's still tasty).
4. Cook with cheap cuts, e.g., chicken thighs not breasts (can keep things free range that way too)
5. Less eco: I have dropped the biodegradable, eco baby wipes. Decided to only buy when on offer. Using reusable nappies is having a big enough effect on the landfill so just have to let go a little.
6. No waste: e.g., pasta and tomato sauce with leftover veg/meat meals. Leftover bits and bobs can make delicious meals from nothing (I admit, sometimes they are a bit weird, but mostly tasty!).
7. Being strict and eagle eyed for bargains.  But not just buying because it is on offer. Writing a list and not elaborating too much - only buying what we need for that week, we don't need as much as I sometimes think.
8. Home cooking helps alot too, e.g., we've been making wholemeal bread rolls for lunch alot lately. Simply delicious. [I'm not really a fan of 'children's food'].
9. Simple food and drink, e.g., apples and pears not strawberries and blueberries for pudding, natural or strawberry yoghurt from big pots, instead of individual ones, squash or water to drink. We do this alot anyway in order to stay clear of high salt/sugar of processed foods and things like fizzy pop.

It goes without saying that breastfeeding, using reusable nappies and baby-led weaning (and it's subsequent influence on sharing the same food at mealtimes from the start) have been fortunate elements to this tightly budgeted state: £30-40 week might seem impossible if you had to factor in nappies etc too, so thought should mention this.

It's my job - if we are to afford for me to bring up our children for ourselves then all of this, dull as it is, is how we afford to. Little by little it all contributes. Feels good to balance this tightrope too, even if it can be challenging.

See some recipes for ideas: Chile con carne (con extra vegetables too); Thai vegetable curry
 For more tips see here: The great weekly food shop