shopping on a budget

kittykat

Gold Member
I know theres something over on SW website but just wondered if anyone has shopped on a budget and what they bought ??????
 
Oh yes, always! I do green days so I get big bags of pasta, potatoes and eggs and spend a little on Quorn. My 'fast food' snack is half a bag of Quorn swedish balls in spaghetti (tinned). I make wedges, mash, pasta and salad. There is so much you can get on a budget
 
ooh where do u shop and where do u get the quorn swedish meatballs ??
 
I'd love to know how to budget shop as well. I'm on red six days a week and would love to figure a way to cut my shopping bill down....not sure if it can be done on red though???

K :) x
 
You can eat so cheaply on green days, especially if you're prepared to cook from scratch ... dried pulses and beans are incredibly cheap, for instance, and make fantastically filling and nutritious soups and casseroles.

My only real expense on green is quorn, but I've found as I've got more experienced with cooking I'm not relying on quorn as much. My food spending has dropped dramatically as time has gone on, which is another thing I love about eating this way. :)
 
I think having a meal plan helps too. If you go with a list of only what you need then you don't but extras. Stick to seasonal fruit and veg, or offers of things that you know you can need. If you make extra for dinner then you can use leftovers for lunch and again save money.
Pasta is so cheap and so are things like tinned beans, tinned tomatoes etc which make the basis for lots of meals. I, too only do green days so can't help much meat wise but I am sure there are plenty of bargains around.
 
Having a meal plan certainly helps. I find that i spend a lot less if i plan out my weeks meals in advance and shop according to that.

Keep an eye out for the special offers and stock up the freezer where you can.

i know it's not always practical, but i try to spend one of my days off cooking and portioning up the meals that i can make ahead and freezing them.
 
I'd love to know how to budget shop as well. I'm on red six days a week and would love to figure a way to cut my shopping bill down....not sure if it can be done on red though???

It's much harder to shop on a tight budget on red than on green, definitely. Have you tried your local market for meat? My local one has a butchers which does offers like 5 packs of meat for £10 - and each pack is something like 3 big chicken breast fillets or 4 pork steaks or something like that. It's worth seeing if you have something similar :)
 
Having a meal plan certainly helps. I find that i spend a lot less if i plan out my weeks meals in advance and shop according to that.

Keep an eye out for the special offers and stock up the freezer where you can.

i know it's not always practical, but i try to spend one of my days off cooking and portioning up the meals that i can make ahead and freezing them.

This is great advice, I do all of these things. Things like chilli, bolognese sauce and curries freeze especially well - it also means that if you're having a lazy day (like I am today) you barely have to lift a finger come dinner time! :D
 
I have all the supermarkets within equal distance from me but I found out yesterday that Asda don't do them. I get them from Tesco

That's weird, it's exactly the same here - Tesco have them but Asda don't (and it's a huge Asda). I wonder if they just have a policy of not stocking them?

I love them, I put them in a home made bolognese-style sauce (chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, oregano, mixed herbs and a teaspoon of sweetener) and leave it all to simmer for about half an hour, and it's gorgeous on a pile of spaghetti. :D
 
just a by the way as i can't find the thread for posting where the special offers are

Adsa quorn mince and chicken style pieces (frozen) on offer for £1 at the moment
 
They are my fast food snack so I zap the balls in the microwave and heat up a tin of spaghetti on the hob. Takes about 5 minutes!
 
They are my fast food snack so I zap the balls in the microwave and heat up a tin of spaghetti on the hob. Takes about 5 minutes!

I'd never thought of doing that, might give it a go. Thanks :D
 
They aren't free though!

Wonder if that's why Asda don't stock the balls - to encourage people to buy their own brand (which also aren't free)?
 
Fruit and veg is so much cheaper from a green grocers if you have one nearby (and nicer, I think, to support a local business rather than a supermarket). I find that helps keeps the cost down a lot for red days as most of my evening meals tend to be some kind of lean meat with vast amounts of steamed veg. Meat-wise, I find turkey is good value for money, and you can get steaks/strips/diced/mince, so it works well in most recipes.
 
Im on a budget and manage to do a weeks shopping for a family of 3 for around £60-£80...for me thats a huge difference as I used to spend over £180.00 and still not have anything to show for it!
I go between Asda, Tesco, Lidl and Sainsburys as they are all equal distance for me.
Go armed with a list and stick to it, it works!
 
On a budget it is sometimes worth having 1 Syn to save money.

Totally agree about the green grocers. We have a great one locally and it's so much cheaper and much better quality
 
I think you save money because you are making food from scratch, once you have all the incredients in the store cupboard. Pre packed food is very expensive and no where near as healthy.

I do know that our Sainsburys do the Quorn Swedish Meatballs.
 
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