Feeding a family on a budget

Frugal Friday

Planned Leftovers

As you know we are going through the process of having some work done to our house .  The work is fairly extensive and is affecting the way that I feed my family. We had out gas cut off at the beginning of the build seven weeks ago and as my cooker had a gas hob I am only left with a one ring, plug in induction hob from Lakeland. The small ( one shelf)  electric oven is still working and I have a microwave and slow cooker.

Someone called it posh camping!

It is amazing how quickly you adjust.

I have previously relied a lot on batch baking and my home made pre prepared meals. However we have to move our freezer out of the existing utility room as it is being knocked down shortly so I have been slowly emptying it. I also know I can't cook in volume on one ring! 

This has been like removing a child's security blanket.

I feel like I have been cast adrift into a world of cooking ALL THE TIME.

It is relentless with my boys.

They seem to be bottomless pits .

They devour anything that is not hidden away and just don't seem to have a full phase. 

SO I find myself in new territory of how do I deal with working, hungry kids and no freezer?

Well the temptatation at the moment is to plug the freezer in anywhere I can fit it ( bedroom?) and carry on as before, but if not I am embracing the policy of ......

Planned Leftovers

Now, leftovers are not a common occurence in our house so I will stress here that by leftovers I really am referring to deliberatly cooking too much so it can be used for the following day. Making a meal last two, sometimes even three days is not only time effective, but is great for the budget too!

A couple of obvious ones are:

Day One: Roast Chicken

Day Two: Chicken and black bean Cassoulet

Day One: Spaghetti Bolgnese

Day Two: Chilli and Rice

Day One: Roast Turkey breast

Day Two: Turkey and sweet potato Hash

Day One: Beef casserole

Day Two: Beef and mushroom pie

I tend to try and make my day two meal a re hash of my day one. Often it can be as simple as a baked potato with a filling made from the meal we had the previous day. I find, for me it again is about organisation and planning. I have to have a meal plan and shop to this. This keeps my shopping bill down  as does using up leftovers. 

I will return to batch baking when our kitchen is finished, but I will also keep using the principle of planned leftovers . It really does simplify things and create a bit of breathing space in an otherwise very busy schedule that next week looks something like this .....

• Monday - Work 1.00 - 3.15   Clubs =   son 2 Football 3.00 - 4.15, son 1-Tennis 7.00 - 8.00 
• Tuesday - Work 8.00 - 3.15   Clubs = son 2 tennis 3.15 - 4.00, son 1 - Football 5.00 - 6.00 
• Wednesday - Work 8.00 - 12.00   Clubs = Daughter - tennis 4.30 - 5.30 
• Thursday - Work 8.00 - 3.15   Clubs = son 2 -Tutoring 7.00 - 8.00
• Friday - Work 8.00 - 3.15   Clubs = son 2 - cricket 6.00 - 7.30
• Saturday - Son 1 Football 9.30 - 12.00 ( if a match is on )

If I don't pre prepare meals or at least know what I can throw together fairly quickly on a full week like the above it all falls apart very quickly.

My husband is beginning to get a little more involved in the home side of things now I am working and that helps. He does the football runs and I do the tennis. He is even hanging a bit of washing out and running the hoover around without being asked - steady on there! He has done really well on this eat clean diet we have been following and is 2 llbs away from his goal. He has lost 21llbs so far!

Any tips on how to simplify a meal plan to create more time in a busy schedule?

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Keeping to a Budget

AND eating healthily.

Frugal Friday

Two of my favourite topics all rolled into one!

If you are a regular visitor to my blog you will be aware that I like a bit of a bargain me! I hate to pay over the odds for things. 

Tight?

I don't think so - just wising up a bit in my old age to how quickly the old dosh slips through the fingers when we don't think about how we spend it. 

I like to have money spare to spend on clothes, make up, holidays etc and this only happens if we are accountable in other areas .

One of the main areas of expense ( as I've said before) in our house is 

FOOD

I try and shop wisely so my family can eat well and we don't over spend each month, but there is constant temptation to buy cheap when it is available. However this of course doesn't always equate to quality and I always try not to compromise quality over price.

We are trying to follow a few of the EAT CLEAN by Tosca Reno principles at the moment. I juice regularly anyway as I find this keeps my energy levels up, but for health reasons we are trying to eradicate some other elements from our diets.

Tosca Reno

This often means buying products that are more expensive and organic and obviously the consequences are that cost goes up.

At a time when we are paying out on building works I can't really afford to allow the budget to run away with us. SO to accomodate our changes in diet these are the things I find help keep that budget down.

• Shop in bulk for items such as nuts and wholegrains - this works out soooo much cheaper in the long run.
• Shop in bulk for the everyday items such as toilet roll, fairy liquid, soap, washing powder etc
• Spend money only on the things that really matter to you for organic produce - e.g meat and a delivered box of veg
• Check in advance for deals that are coming up on produce at Lidls and Tescos.
• Use every voucher you can get your hands on. I plan on doing my first Sainsbury delivery - to get a £12 off!
• Shop in bulk and store items that you use regularily when you see they are on offer - again this saves you money in the long run.
• Be inventive with veg - not every meal has to have expensive meat in. Protein is in many things other than meat.
• I would say batch bake ( but I no long have a freezer - boo hoo)
• Plan, plan,plan - shopping lists and meal plans - then there is little waste and you only buy what you need. 
• Get the kids on board with the planning and the cooking. They are more likely to eat what's on offer if they are involved ( and the clearing up - unpaid of course - this is their house too and they should contribute... did I say that out loud?)

My budget each month for food and household essentials was hovering around £400. We are buying more organic items and fresh fruit to juice. I am spending about £50 more at present. This still keeps me below my £500 threshold that I don't want to go over. 

I know some families who feed their brood of 8 for less than I feed 5 and others who marvel that I spend "only" £450. I suppose it comes down to what you are used to spending or what you are prepared to spend. I know I could spend less, but I don't wish to compromise on the quality of what I feed my children or eat myself. I could feed more meat (other than mince) and the budget would go up an awful lot, but they are good eaters and are happy with meals bulked out with sweet potatoes, veg, lentils and the like. They love big home made soups and rolls and are beginning to cook again every Friday too now. My son did us a chicken mexican in wholegrain pancakes last week - yum yum. I'm not sure we will get such adventurous meals now my gas hob is out of action though. 

My cooking is being done on this induction ring and a microwave at the moment!

Do you include organic produce in your menus or do you think it is a waste of money?

Saving Money Around the House.

Without Much Effort.

Frugal Friday

Here is my menu plan for this week and next week. My husband has been away this week so not only did I get some time off working, I got away with easier meals too! Monday on week 2 I am planning to top up my freezer meals. I have to do this about every 3 weeks, but so appreciate it in the time in between as it makes the evenings so much easier, especially on the days I am not in.

F = freezer meals I have previously made

SC = Slow Cooker meals

* = indicates I am cooking extra for the freezer

Day	Week One	Week Two
Sunday	Lunch: Pumpkin Soup Dinner :Roast Chicken	Lunch: Sandwiches Dinner:Pot Roast - Brisket
Monday	Faggots and Mash/peas   F	Chilli *and rice
Tuesday	Risotto                       SC	Loaded Baked  Potatoes
Wednesday	Pasta and bacon/cheese	Beef Stew  *  SC ( will make a pie too )
Thursday	Lasagne  F	Cheesy Macaroni
Friday	Egg and Homemade oven chips	Lasagne and garlic rolls  F
Saturday	Lunch: Sausages in homemade rolls  Dinner:Steak Pie mash and veg F	Lunch: Soup and rolls Dinner:Italian tuna balls and spaghetti

My motivation for writing these posts is two fold. One is because we are trying to save a little more in preparation for an extension project we are starting on our house next year. We have been saving for about five years , but it's never quite enough is it?! The second is that I really resent spending our hard earned money on products I know I can get cheaper elsewhere. The retailers have us right where they want us and I feel like fighting back. I want to choose where and what I spend my money on!

Ok rant over!

This weeks Frugal Friday is focusing on simple changes you can make around the house that can end up saving you hundreds of pounds a year. With the pace of life today , it is so easy to overlook some of the simpler things that we can do to cut back on our everyday outgoings. Each one of these tips may not seem much on their own , but tot them up over a month, a year, five years and they soon add up!  

There are so many I could choose, but here are my top 20.

• Switch your light bulbs, as they run out, to energy efficient bulbs. They cost more up front, but can save you £7 a year, per bulb in running costs. That's £60 per bulb before it needs replacing.
• Turning your thermostat down by 1 degree could save you up to £100 a year.
• Turn your radiators down or off in rooms that are not used.
• Install thermostatic radiator valves so you can control each radiator individually. Money up front that will save you money in the long run.
• Bleed your radiators regularly so they run efficiently.
• Switch appliances off standby. This can save up to £50 on your bills a year.
• Turning your washing machine to a 30 degree wash instead of a 40 or 60 degree wash and save 40 degrees of energy thus saving money.
• Get a good clothes airer and hang your clothes to dry whenever possible. Driers cost between 14p and 50p a 7kg load ( depending on size and energy rating) to use. This soon mounts up.
• Drop a brand at the supermarket and see your grocery bill go down.
• Start collecting coupons - you can cut your grocery bills by between 15 and 50%. Check out online sites - print off coupons.
• Be vigilant about how much water you use if you are on a meter- don't leave the tap running whilst brushing teeth, take shorter showers, flush only when necessary etc.
• Pay off your credit card every month to avoid interest charges.
• Make a packed lunch for work, take flasks of coffee.
• Turn off lights when you aren't in the room.
• Use a slow cooker instead of your oven.
• Learn to say no.
• Always write a shopping list and plan your menus.
• Go through your bank balance and cancel direct debit for things you don't make the most of - gym membership?!!
• Use your library.
• Stop trying to keep up with the Jones's.

                 

What tips could you add to this list?