The cost of a meal

I agree that there is a lot of virtue signalling. Personally, I can't abide cooked food that has been sitting around in the fridge for a number of days.

I don't buy such a big chicken, for example, but buy one that does Sunday lunch, Monday with salad, bubble and squeak, and then a little for a sandwich for DH. If I have time and the inclination, I might make stock with the carcass.

I think it’s complex growstuff I suggested that to my GP, no extra salt because more increases BP

There is an awful lot of virtue signaling in this thread individuals may well be able to afford free range or organic everything but most have to accept what they can afford.
If you can cook your own it’s entirely possible to have a nutritious diet cheaply even at todays prices, there are always going to be some who cannot do that and have to rely on others or ready meals.
There does need to be better provision for those that can’t manage on their own

Jaxjacky

I just have low sodium growstuff my GP doesn’t know why, I’ve only once needed a saline drip a few years ago. I use lo salt as advised for BP control.

Hmmm! I looked up the causes of low sodium and it seems there are more reasons than I thought. Nevertheless, I don't see that as a good reason to eat ready meals - can't people just add more salt to their food?

Quality meat is the one thing I do not stint on. All the meat I buy is 'Pasture for life' It means the cattle are reared on un chemically treated pasture and are out all year round with some shelter.

I have balanced the cost by reducing portion size. We eat, by preference mainly casseroles and stews, so I am only buying mince and stewing grades of meat, but by adding lots of extra veg and beans, our average meat prtion size is only 2oz, which fit sin with modern recommendations to reduce the amount of red meat we eat.

My organic butcher supplies lamb shoulder for £23 a kilo. Waitrose would not stock lamb shoulder at £40 if people were not buying it. Just bcause we would not buy something doesn't mean others wouldn't.

As far as I am concerned the food we eat is core to our health and well being and I reducing the quality of the food I eat and its provenance is one of the last thing I would cut back on.

Better wear an extra sweater or two, than buy meat from distressed animals fed on industrial crops, like maize and soya that do not suit them and mean that they have to permanently medicated so that we consume their antibiotics when we eat the meat. I am aware that vegeterianism is an alternative, but not an alternative that appeals to me.

As a total aside: the cost of lamb? I wanted to do a slow cooked dish with a shoulder. Waitrose price - £40. It stayed on the shelf, oddly enough! I appreciate that farmers are having a really tough time but they are getting minimal p rices for their sheep. Who is making the profit? Just curious.

Yes, I looked too and it stayed on the shelf.
Sometimes Tesco has a half price offer so I buy a joint and freeze it.

growstuff

I don't really understand how people have low sodium levels. I have six monthly sodium blood tests (as part of my diabetes checks) and have never had low sodium. I never add salt to my cooking or cooked food, but I obviously get enough from somewhere - the occasional stock cube, tomato puree, very occasional slice of bread, olives, mayonnaise, etc etc. I drink more than the recommended amount of fluids too.

DH's is low at the moment and is checked regularly. Despite Charlie Bigham's best efforts.
Two family members (not blood relatives) have been hospitalised with low sodium levels.

I asked DH to bring a small free-range chicken from Tesco.

The smallest he could find was just under 2kg - over £14! 😯
The price has gone up a lot recently.

It did last three of us for two main meals, some for lunch on a couple of other days with salad then stock for soup.

I just have low sodium growstuff my GP doesn’t know why, I’ve only once needed a saline drip a few years ago. I use lo salt as advised for BP control.

sazz1

We had roast chicken and veg Chicken cost £5 that will make 6 meals for us 2 people
Roast with broccoli carrots potatoes day 1
Chicken Curry with veg leftover and rice day 2
Lunch chicken sandwiches with salad and coleslaw Day 3
So around £2 a meal with added rice, bread, salad and coleslaw
My granny used to stew the carcass and make soup but I don't eat soup

We also had roast chicken last Sunday, DH found a large cook in the bag chicken in M and S that was reduced to £5, we had it with boiled new potatoes and tender stem broccoli that we had in the fridge and peas and stuffing we had in the freezer. There was enough chicken left over for two meals of chicken with salad and jacket potatoes and some chicken for the dog. I usually make soup with the carcass but don’t do it in the warmer weather, I would have made some and frozen it but was pushed for time. A chicken is always one of the most economical meals for us.

I don't really understand how people have low sodium levels. I have six monthly sodium blood tests (as part of my diabetes checks) and have never had low sodium. I never add salt to my cooking or cooked food, but I obviously get enough from somewhere - the occasional stock cube, tomato puree, very occasional slice of bread, olives, mayonnaise, etc etc. I drink more than the recommended amount of fluids too.

I eat very little starchy carb, which pushes up my food bill, as I can't eat cheap stuff like oats, potatoes, rice, bread, flour and pasta.

My basic formula is protein + healthier fats + non starchy veg. I limit my food bill to less than £120 a month, so that's £4 a day. I batch cook, look out for bargain veg, eat lots of eggs and have a good variety of foods with adequate mineral/vitamin intake.

I don't cost individual meals because, more often than not, they include left overs from previous ingredient lists and store cupboard items (herbs, spices, mustard, tomato puree, etc), but I doubt very much whether any meal costs £6, unless i decide to splash out on a steak or a particular sort of fish.

Sorry - I missed MOnica's instructions!

I love this theme. I thought that I was a pretty economical cook but patently not! I never knew about bulking out mince for bol sauce with lentils, for instance. Red I presume? How much, say, for a pound of mince?

I have always been a batch cook - more about saving on gas & time than any pre-planning! And I have two freezers, which are life savers. Never any waste (although there are the unidentifiable bits and bobs which one comes across, which I have forgotten to label!). Who else has those? Or is it just me?

My main meal planning issue is that I live with someone with hollow legs! He will go back for thirds! And, maddeningly, he is built like a stick insect!

As a total aside: the cost of lamb? I wanted to do a slow cooked dish with a shoulder. Waitrose price - £40. It stayed on the shelf, oddly enough! I appreciate that farmers are having a really tough time but they are getting minimal p rices for their sheep. Who is making the profit? Just curious.

M0nica

In threads like this one can only discuss how things are for the majority of people unrestricted by illhealth or disability.

Disability and ill health always change things as do exceptional circumasances.

Restricted mobility means we've had more ready meals in the past few months.
If someone has low sodium levels is a higher salt intake a bad thing? More people seem to be diagnosed with dangerously low sodium levels lately, so perhaps the red flags re salt in foods are a result of guidelines which recommend a maximum of 6g per day but might vary with personal circumstances. .
In hot weather perhaps we might need more as I remember salt tablets being necessary in some tropical countries.

I don't eat meat so that saves a lot of money by the sound of it!
I buy loose rice, lentils, pasta, oats etc.
I know I could save more if I was careful and did more batch cooking.
The last time I made a large quantity of soup I froze most of it in portions for one. Then family descended and I had to defrost and serve it all at once!
Occasionally I buy a £1.50 box of fruit and veg from Lidl which lasts me 2 weeks though it's supposed to be items on their sell by date.

So I know I can eat cheaply but I also have a taste for delicious organic food from the local store. Loch Arthur yoghurt and cheese, free range eggs, local honey, best olive oil etc etc

I also grow salad stuff which I am eating right now.

I use the slow cooker a lot, but more so in winter.
We've got a saucepan with a steamer on top so potatoes go in the bottom, veg steam on top and that uses only one gas ring.

We've thought about buying an air fryer as it's more economical to use but at the moment we're cooking for more than just us two.

I love cheese and potato pie, Mary Berry style, then topped with sliced tomatoes. A cheap dish but nourishing. DH is not so keen but doesn't mind it occasionally.
You could serve the rest with sausages, perhaps, the next day.

Sarnia

Unless ready meals are the only option then they are best left alone. Not only are they quite costly but are high on salt and fats.
On an average my main meal, often salmon and vegetables or chicken curry costs around £3 but isn't full of unwanted additives, fat and salt.
If I am watching the pennies I like cheesy beans or scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast. Cost around 80p.
The ready meal market is huge so clearly very popular but not with me.

I agree. I prefer cooking from scratch. because then you know what is actually in your meal.

In threads like this one can only discuss how things are for the majority of people unrestricted by illhealth or disability.

Disability and ill health always change things as do exceptional circumasances.

A freezer is definitely a bonus . I mix a can each of kidney beans, chickpeas, corn, and pack into smaller portions to freeze. Combined with cooked lentils, frozen peas, chopped red peppers or whatever is at hand, then one has a lovely colourful addition to a casserole, quiche, salad, pasta, rice etc.

We are having spaghetti bolognese tonight. I bought 1lb of mince from our butcher which was £6 but when I dry fried it off before putting it in my slow cooker there was minimal fat in the frying pan, it was good quality mince. I’ve added a tin of tomatoes, an oxo, carrots, a tin of sliced mushrooms, onions, a few fresh tomatoes, two spoons full of lentils plus seasoning. It’s bubbling away and there is enough in there for six meals I think. I’d say it cost me less than £10 for the lot. Four portions will go in the freezer for another two days. I think that’s very reasonable for the cost of a meal.

Sarnia

Unless ready meals are the only option then they are best left alone. Not only are they quite costly but are high on salt and fats.
On an average my main meal, often salmon and vegetables or chicken curry costs around £3 but isn't full of unwanted additives, fat and salt.
If I am watching the pennies I like cheesy beans or scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast. Cost around 80p.
The ready meal market is huge so clearly very popular but not with me.

Unfortunately people aren't always able to cook from fresh or batch cook due to health issues.My 92 year old mother for example can't stand or even sit at the kitchen table for long now due to spinal issues which cause her great pain.
She is relying more and more on "ready meals" (which she, at 5'1" and less than 8 stone says aren't big enough and don't have enough veg!).
I batch cook when I can and take home made ready meals over but I won't cook meat or fish and although she likes vegetarian meals she feels she needs meat or fish as well, either in a ready meal or perhaps a salmon fillet done in the microwave.

We have a Sunday Roast main course it lasts 4 days - 8 meals, finishing with a curry or sweet & sour on Wednesday, with chicken and seasonal veg about £10 cost, £12 pork, £15 Lamb.
It’s the treats, snacks, and extras that cost a lot, cheese, cream, fresh fruit, main courses are cheap enough, add ons cost a lot

If we have Cacio e pepe or (say) a mushroom risotto it will be cheaper than something like a spanakopita - I wouldn't want to keep repeating the same dishes all the time though.

I must be very profligate - I have stopped cooking enormous meals for a big family but we still seem to spend more on food than just about anything else I think.

We cook from scratch and are vegetarian- but since we had to give up the allotment, we do buy a lot of vegetables.

Yesterday we had a roasted aubergine, artichoke and pepper dish with feta and a "side" of a sort of beany casserole with tomatoes (from the day before)..

We also had salad with olives and fennel - and then I had an orange and my husband a pear.

I expect that cost a lot more than the estimates people are quoting here.