food budget challenge

Well, you could get rid of the takeaways for a start, that should save you quite a lot of money!

I would start by eating what is in your freezer, that way your outlay would only be for "fresh essentials".

Callistemon,

I tend to buy vegan sausages, vegan burgers, hash browns, they go in the freezer. Sometimes bread goes in there too as cant always finish a loaf. bananas that I didn't finish go in the freezer too. a variety of vegan ice creams, fruit, and portions of food I haven't finished, any vegetables that I think were about to go off in the fridge go right into the freezer. There's also some nice vegan ham and I spend allot on yogurt and chocolate and vegan pizzas. If you go to the tesco website you'll notice there's allot of vegan options. I go on a walk most days of the week and always drive straight to the shop to buy a vegan icecream, a few trek bars, a piece of fruit, a read-made salad and a nice smoothie. That ends up costing a few pounds. I do eat it all up but it ends up being a waste of money as I end up being hungry an hour or so later. Not to mention takeaways twice a week. So really I'm wasting allot of food even if I know there's stuff in the freezer, just because I know I can, and I know that needs to stop, as it's a huge waste of food and a big financial loss, so I'm asking advice if anyone knows how to stretch shopping on £20 a week or so. I don't mind stretching it up to £30 or even £40 if anyone knows how to work with that sort of budget.

Not a criticism in anyway just being nosey.
What do two vegans eat that costs £90 per week ? You mention almond milk but in my ignorance the only other thing I think of is veg and that would be an awful lot of veg for two.

Start by not throwing things away. Look at what you have that needs to be used up and make a meal from it instead of deciding what you are going to eat before looking in the fridge.

When in the supermarket switch to their basic/economy range and see if you like it, if not try the next level up. Waitrose tinned chopped tomatoes are better than some of the branded ones. Other supermarket ones are not as good. Sainsurys do a nice basic muesli which is not sweetened and you can add your own choice of fruit, nuts and seeds. Don't be afraid to experiment with cheaper foods, you might like them.

Sorry I see Op does say she is vegan, I didn’t read the heading!

Where does the OP say she is vegan or has triplet grandchildren? Or is that on another thread? I think we spend more than that for 2 of us tbh but lI’m sure we could cut down . Cutting from £90 to £20 does sound drastic however.

You could probably save a fortune, only buying fresh things like milk
Almond, rice, soya or oat milk of course, GrandmainOz!

the freezer always seems to be full to the brim with things
I'd be really interested to know what kinds of food a vegan keeps in the freezer so that it is full to the brim.
Apart from vegetables, bread, of course.

I did throw out some rather manky veg on Friday which I should have made into soup earlier in the week, but we were out a lot. The veg went on to the compost heap so it was not entirely wasted.

I've certainly done it in the very-broke past (distant past, thank goodness).
A lot of very thick soups were a mainstay - seasonal-only veg, plus lentils, pearl barley, pasta, etc. added. Might add that I still make such soups often in winter - dh loves them!

We weren't veggie or vegan, though, so the cheapest cheese added some first class protein.

If veggie/vegan nowadays I'd look at all the lovely veggie curries/dahl, etc. that can be made quite cheaply - as long as you stick to seasonal veg.

We still rarely waste anything - any waste of food really grieves me - so I am fairly inventive with leftovers, and do usually plan meals 2 or 3 days ahead, so that I know what I need to buy. Not that I'm saying I always stick to my list, especially if there are special offers on anything I know I'm going to use.

£90 to £20 - that's quite a challenge to set yourself.

TBH I can't imagine how you spend that much as you're vegan - what do you buy that goes off so quickly?

I would have thought any money you save would go towards helping with your newly-arrived triplet grandchildren!

Why don't you have a really good rummage through your freezer as it is so full, and devise recipes specifically to use up what you already have? You could probably save a fortune, only buying fresh things like milk etc while you cook from your stores? Then start a clean slate when you resume shopping with a strict weekly list so you only buy what you really need.
I also find if you plan formally for say the first four days of the week, you can then turn leftovers into meals for the rest of the week. I've done this for years and I'm not especially creative, just resourceful I guess

Today I did a weekly shop and spent £120.
There is dh and myself. A toddler one day a week and two pre teens another day each week. In a Sunday I have 8 for dinner but the provide the roast.

The shop includes everything .... Food, toiletries, cleaning materials, toilet rolls, bargains I see to put away for dgc birthdays, Easter, etc. stationery, sometimes an article of clothing.

To reduce this would mean a different way of shopping. Do I ignore bargains that would do for gifts for dgc? Then there's Amazon, I send for Stain Devils, seconds in M & S underwear which is cheaper than Asda, medicated body powder x 6 at a time as it's so cheap to buy it this way.

Shop atAldi, it's easy! I used to shop at Sainsbury's and my food bill (and we eat steak etc) has at least halved. The quality may not be quite as good, but who wants their broccilli to last three weeks? I mean really? How much stuff have they been sprayed with to make their fruit and veg last THAT long?

Dinnno

Regardless of whether you want to do this as a one-off challenge or part of a sensible lifestyle change, I suggest you start by buying nothing else until you have used up what is already in your freezer.

My f.i.l. Used to say : 2 things you should not economise on: food and clothes, the former is for yourself and the latter is for others ......

Jomarie and petra,

this thread was created in hopes of reducing my OWN weekly food bill. I think if it was directed at other people I would construct my OP in a way that did so.

I was just wondering if anyone on gransnet knows if it's possible to reduce the weekly cost of food and if so, how? Some people seem to be able to feed a family of 4+ on £40 a week so I thought 2 people would be able to feed themselves on £20 a week if that makes sense.

It's nice to have some extra money for other things. I think it would be a good challenge to try £20 a week. I think it's OK to want to save money and petra are you implying that I should continue spending £90 a week just because some people can live on allot less? BTW whatever savings I get could go towards places like food banks.

I went to Lidl the other day ... early.... and bought home a box of oranges, red onions, bananas, big bag of potatoes, a mango, a pomegranate, 4 pears and a tub of red grapes. All for £1.50.
All v. good apart from over ripe bananas, which I dislike but my husband enjoys.

However, I agree with others who have said that dropping your cost by such an amount is unrealistic.

i only plan on doing the challenge once to see what it's like
Visit a food bank and see how people have to do it for less 52 weeks a year and not for some sort of lark just to see if you can

I think this is a "wind up" thread to get us "normal" grans to come up with ideas to reduce our spending - and will, in due course, be used for an article about how to cut down on our household expenditure (re food) - sorry, you may call me cynical but I've heard worse accusations .....

Maggiemaybe

the freezer always seems to be full to the brim with things so no room for things that are going off in the fridge. The draws in the freezer can only contain a few items and there are five draws.

Google "Veganism on a budget" - there are heaps of good sites giving all manner of ideas.

I can’t stand the thought of good food being wasted, so I hope your challenge is successful. £20 sounds way too big a drop from £90 though. Why not aim for £60 as a starting point, then see if you can get even lower if that works for you? I’d say two people could still eat well on that, especially without the expense of meat or fish.

I don’t understand why you let things go off though - surely you have a freezer to put any surpluses in? Any fresh stuff slightly past its best that doesn’t freeze well can make soup, sorbet or sauces that do.

I only plan on doing the challenge once to see what it's like.
That wouldn't work, though, because you will have food in your store cupboard which you can use.
That reminds me of when some politicians lived for a week on what people received in benefits - it just doesn't work like that.

For example, I had three very ripe bananas left last week - not a frequent occurrence, but I have thrown them away in the past as I can't bear eating ripe bananas. However, this week, I made a banana and walnut cake - which I am sure is not good for us, but I already had the other ingredients in the store cupboard and fridge.

You'll have to do it for at least a couple of months!

Can it it be done? Possibly, though £20 is a very low food budget, especially for someone used to spending £90 a week.

Can you do it? That depends what you personally can/ are prepared to eat!

You need to plan meals ahead. All meals, not forgetting breakfast and snacks, if you eat them. Then write a shopping list based on those meals (having first checked the cupboards, fridge and freezer to see what is already in stock), and stick to buying what is on that list. Add no 'extras' whatsoever to your trolley unless you genuinely need them for the planned meals. Don't forget to include tea and coffee if they form part of your diet.

Never throw away a leftover portion of a meal that can be frozen or put in the fridge for another time.

Once you have done this for a few weeks, see if £20 is a realistic food budget for you. Somehow I doubt it!