ideas to cut your grocery bill down

caliandjack wrote: Pumpkin, kumara (try the different colours), spuds, whole onions, carrots and parsnips if you like them, roasted in the oven and toss thru some baby spinach, feta and your fav dressing at the end before serving. Can include beetroot if you want, but roast seperately or wrapped in tin foil otherwise everything goes pink.

ohhh yum! I am hanging out for the day I can put feta in my salads again!

mmm yum will definitely try those recipes thanks

I try & use everything also...I remember 1 night moaning about not having anything to cook & not wanting to go & buy takeaways so we went through the fridge/ freezer/pantry & ended up making pumpkin soup, chicken veg casserole (chicken breast & veg, tomatoes) & a pumpkin pie, lol

Blossombaby, that's not as bad as you might think. I spend $180 per week for DH and me and then we also spend $100 on lunches etc during the week. We budget to that and are totally comfortable with spending that much. We love good food too much to cut back!

I try to shop only once a fortnight as for some reason I spend loads more if I shop every week - it's the little things you just pick up which add to the bill!

I meal plan which I think helps a lot. Part of it is planning smart - I try to spread the cost of meals around so that we are having a couple of budget meals per week and a couple of nicer ones (which I make lots of so as to give us lunch the next day as well). eg in our house Thursday night is pasta night which could be anything from spag bol to tuna & pesto (which is a good cheap meal that is also healthy). Sundays we have a big meal (a roast or lamb chops with loads and loads of veges) which we can use the leftovers for lunch for the next few days.

re roast vege salads - I love them, and I always make roast veges at least once a week. I will cook twice as many veges as we need so that we can have a roast vege couscous salad the following night, yum!! Couscous is pretty cheap (I just get the cheapo instant stuff) and I just stir through some garlic powder, some chilli powder and the re-heated roast veges - yummy!! Even better with some feta as well.

While I only buy to meet my meal plans, like others I do also buy meat on special if I see it and put it in the freezer.

C :)

We spend around $100pw but only when we shop weekly and have a list. If we get bits and pieces daily, I would imagine it's a lot more than that.

DH does the shopping - he just has a knack for it. But I do know that he sticks to the list, buys the specials, on food that doesn't matter - buys budget, doesn't buy many treats at all, and I don't know what he does with meat but I have a price in my head about what I'm willing to spend for meat/chicken etc. and won't buy it if it's not in that range.

It does help, though that DH does eat at work a few nights a week. And as often as I can I buy enough so that dinner will spread out over two nights not just one.

We are a family of two adults and one baby.

ETA: We have loads of fruit and vege places near us and a Mad Butchers if we want to go there.

Edited by nathansmummy

is there anyone on here that has older kids (maybe school aged kids) and you have tried baking but it is always a flop! What do you do about stuff for school then?

I have a 9yr, 5yr & 4yr old & I make lunch for DH most days.

lunch box
everyday consists of a sandwich or a wrap or pita bread
apple & fruit
muffin or cookie or scones
jelly fruit pot or juice box or yoghurt
bar or fruit strings or fruit shapes (cars etc)
cheese slice or cheese & crackers
water bottle (freeze in summer)

other things I do now & then
slice if pizza
sausage roll
boiled egg
salad stuff in a little container...cucumber, lettuce, cherry tomatoes
corn chips/chips (very rarely)

I try & pack as much good stuff in to their lunch box as poss. We don't eat white bread & I am bake instead of buying muffins & bickies & they get one of each. They love grapes & melons & mandarins so I will buy a few even if they are more pricey as they will get eaten.

They do get to buy their lunch now & then at school, but that is a reward usually.

DH buys his lunch sometimes usually when he has an early start (4-5am) otherwise I make it, sandwiches, fruit, bar, sometimes a soup pot or noddles, yoghurt, salad & wrap or pita bread., baking, left overs....

I make a basic muffin & a couple of cookie recipes I use & I add thing to it, like choc chips, cooking m&m etc pretty fail safe. I always stock up on flour & eggs etc.