Money Saving on Food

Feeding a large family, we always look for ways to save some pennies but to still eat nutritionally well.  These are some of the tips we look to save money.  It does mean spending a bit more time on your weekly shopping but it depends how much you want to save.  Please feel free to share your tips and cheap family recipes with me too!

1. Meal Planning. This really helps to save money - buying only what is needed and making a list.
2. Shop around for the best price - www.mysupermarket.co.uk type your shopping list in here and it will show you which supermarket is cheapest for you across Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons and Ocado, plus it also works out how you can save money by switching brands or if you have missed any multiple offers.  At the end you can transfer your trolley to the store or you can choose to print out your list, or a comparison list to get the best deals across all the supermarkets.
3. Making your own bread. Yes it takes a bit of time but you get much nicer bread for cheaper which is not stuffed with nasty's.
4. Milk deliveries, to stop those sneaky add on mid week shopping trips
5. Making meals from scratch, whilst can take longer it is healthier.
6. Bulk buy, on really good deals
7. Join supermarket loyalty schemes
8. Use google to search for discounts/online free delivery codes
9. Use branded credit cards to collect additional points and pay balance off at the end of the month.
10. Check and compare against lidls/aldis/Iceland/99p store.  Maybe shop at each different supermarket per week to make sure you stock up on their deals/discounts on the food you normally use.

There are bound to be lots of other ways to save money and i'm always looking for tips (living with all these males, food disappears quickly).  Please feel free to forward me your tips too!

A family Favourite

In keeping with food topic I thought I'd share a family favourite dinner recipe.  This is what my hubby and boys like to eat.  It is a really simple, easy to cook meal which works well during the week.

Cheesy pasta night (2 adults 4 kids)

To make it quickly;
500g pasta
300ml cheese sauce (can get bisto cheese sauce granules or use low fat cheese spread gently heated with milk)
garlic clove (frozen puree squares for speed)
mushrooms (frozen chopped for speed)
onions (frozen diced for speed)
grated cheese
pesto

Boil big pan of water and cook spaghetti/pasta as per instructions.

Make up cheese sauce as per bisto instructions or heat cheese and milk in pan till dissolved.  (Alternatively make a white sauce using flour, butter and milk.  Mix tbsp. flour into melted butter then slowly adding milk and stirring.  Then add grated cheese with tsp of mustard).

Fry onion, garlic and mushrooms in a pan.  One cooked add cheese sauce plus 1tsp of pesto.

Serve pasta with sauce on top and sprinkle grated cheese.  Add more pesto if desired! To increase your 5 a day, add spinach to the sauce or also serve with salad.

Sometimes we add chopped up bacon and peas.

Food Planning

Its quite easy to write your own food plan really.  We kind of eat the same foods so its just being a bit more intentional about it really.  This is how we do it;

 

Breakfast - we have a choice of cereal, weetabix, porridge, museli and malties. I don't do sugar cereals.  We sweeten our porridge with honey and sometimes add fruit to our Weetabix. 

 

Lunches - tends to be a sandwich, fruit, cheese snack and a yogurt.  We vary the sandwich filling each day but staples are ham/chicken/egg/tuna/cheese mixed with salad or a condiment.  We also have jam, marmite and chocolate spread incase we fancy toast as well as beans in stock.

 

Snacks - tends to be fresh fruit, dried apricots (as can usually buy a big bag) raisans, malt loaf, crumpets, oat cakes, rice cakes, crackers, pancakes, crumpets and scones.

 

Dinners - when I plan out the dinners I start by doing this as my base;

 

Sunday - roast

Monday - rice based

Tuesday - veggie

Wednesday - mince

Thursday - fish

Friday - casserole/stew

Saturday - Fakeaway night (i'll cook a fake take away meal)

 

There are so many different types of meals that can be made with mince/fish/veg etc so I'll choose something I fancy from there and build up a meal from there.  Rice based means dinners like paella, curry or chicken in sauce.  Sometimes it involves cooking from scratch sometimes simpler i.e. veggie can be egg, chips and beans or fish fingers/fillet meal with new pots and peas.  Fakeaway night could well be pretend KFC - fried chicken fillets or diced chicken in your own flavourings with corn on cob, coleslaw or fries/salad.  Other favourites include pizza, Indian and Chinese.

 

I do plan in treats as lets face it, they're going to happen! During the week I get little chocolate sandwich bars/cake bars/tea cakes.  I tend to make a homemade cake during the week and at weekends I try to make a dessert for pudding.  We also get ice cream and have lots of toppings in stock.  My kids also like choc ices for dessert and these can be quite cheap too.  The children have sweetie pots (which are saved sweets from party bags/Christmas/Easter) as I don't let them eat them all in one go, so sometimes they choose something from there instead.

 

I work out the quantities we need for each meal and then double it, so that I order enough food for the month.  I try and make sure whatever the base I cover the basics of nutrition ie 5 portions of fruit/veg, 3 portions of calcium, proteins (fish x2 week, this can be sandwich filling as well as a fish based meal) and carbs, fats are used during cooking ie olive oil/butter with a treat over the course of the day.  This can mean adding in extra veg.  Making meals from scratch is a lot healthier (as you know exactly what's going in) and usually cheaper.We also take multi-vitamins and omega supplement, when aged 3 and above.  We are not a super healthy eating family, we do eat lots of carbs as they are cheap to fill out our meals.

This is a basic 2 week meal plan;

DATE	BREAKFAST	LUNCH	DINNER	PUDDING	SNACKS
SUNDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS	ROAST MEAT VEG POTS	TRIFLE	FRUIT
MONDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS FRUIT	FISH PIE VEG	ANGEL D	FRUIT/MALT LOAF
TUESDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS FRUIT	SPAG BOL	HM CAKE	FRUIT/MALT LOAF
WEDNESDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS FRUIT	CHEESE PASTA	TEA CAKE/SNOWBALL	FRUIT/CRUMPETS
THURSDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS FRUIT	CHICKEN SAUCE RICE	TEA CAKE/SNOWBALL	FRUIT/RICE CAKES
FRIDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS FRUIT	CHICKEN CASSEROLE	DIGESTIVE CHOC BAR	FRUIT/CRACKERS
SATURDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS	FAKEAWAY FISH & CHIPS	ICE CREAM & SAUCE	FRUIT

 

DATE	BREAKFAST	LUNCH	DINNER	PUDDING	SNACKS
SUNDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS	ROAST MEAT VEG POTS	FLAN	FRUIT
MONDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS FRUIT	TUNA BOLG	JELLY	FRUIT/MALT LOAF
TUESDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS FRUIT	LASAGNE	HM CAKE	FRUIT/MALT LOAF
WEDNESDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS FRUIT	SAUSAGE AND SAV RICE WITH VEG	WAGON WHEEL/CAKE BAR	FRUIT/PANCAKE
THURSDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS FRUIT	CHOP VEG PASTA	WAGON WHEEL/CAKE BAR	FRUIT/RICE CAKE
FRIDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS FRUIT	CHICKEN  1 POT	DIGESTIVE CHOC BAR	FRUIT/CRACKERS
SATURDAY	CEREAL	SANDWICH CHEESE FROMAGE FRAIS	PIZZA AND GARLIC BREAD	CHOC ICE	FRUIT

Time to get organised... Food

Well living in a new area, adjusting to new finances and schedules has put all my usual weekly organisation out the window, as I am learning to do life here. With 2 children at school, 1 child to be home-schooled alongside looking after a toddler and trying to carve out a new life, it can all seem a bit daunting.  When life throws lots of things at you once, then the best way I get through it, is writing it all out, choosing one thing off the list and starting there.

 

I am starting with food! Food shopping takes up lots of time.  Planning the meals (healthy and on budget) and buying the food.  My eldest child does not cope with supermarkets (ASD) and as he is with me all the time, my choices are to get up super early before him (4.30-5am yuck) or go in the evening (equally yuck as tired and the shops normally empty). Therefore we go online.  I'd rather spend an evening doing my shopping online in the comfort of my own home. 

 

I plan out my weekly meals this is because a) saves money, as you just buy what you need b) saves time. It also stops that - what shall I have to eat tonight? thought or me raiding the biscuit jar whilst I think about what to eat, only to find we don't have the ingredients and succumb to a takeaway and c) helps me to plan healthy eating.   It can be time consuming to plan the meals, so I do a 2 week menu which I repeat twice for the month.  I use different menus per month so we are not constantly eating the same dinners.  I menu plan everything - breakfast, lunch, dinner, pudding and snacks.  As I know what we're going to eat I buy our food shopping monthly.  That means we have one massive delivery (only pay one delivery charge) and every area of our fridge/freezer and kitchen cupboards are full.  I'm the only one who cooks in house and the children are not of an age where they can help themselves so I don't have to worry about our tea disappearing.

 

To aid with monthly deliveries and space, we have our milk delivered to our doorstep.  This does cost a little extra but if I'm really honest before we went to milkman, if we ran out of milk (being a family of 6 this happened quite frequently) we'd always pick up other stuff and so inevitably spent more money - so we are probably saving more now than before.  Milk can be frozen so if you're lucky enough to have the freezer space then you can store it up this way.  We freeze the yogurts, cheese and butter until needed too.  Lots of things can be frozen, we use pancakes, scones, crumpets and malt loaf for afterschool snacks (depending what is on offer) so if they are delivered with a short shelf life we freeze these too.  We were very fortunate to be given a breadmaker from a dear friend and so we always have fresh bread each day.  It is easy to do and you get a premium loaf which is enough for all of us for about 50p.  Also saves us precious space in the freezer.

 

Fruit is something we go through a lot.  The children have at least 2 portions a day.  I used to get a box delivered from Able and Co for 11.99 a week with the 4th week being free.  However it is quite expensive when compared to fruit in Lidls.  I have JML fruit and vegetable storage bags which can keep fruit fresh upto 3 weeks - they need to be stored either somewhere dark or in the fridge.  This can save popping out again but the fruit must be really dry before they go in the bags and I would check on them weekly to make sure they are not going too soft.

 

I'll post some more on what we eat and some more money saving tips next time...

Settling in...

We have moved! Yes it has actually happened and we are now living in Farnborough again.  It doesn't yet feel like home, it feels like a weird holiday where we take all our possessions and make them fit in a new place.  Although we have lived here before, it has changed and things are not where they used to be and as we're now at a different life stage, we look/need for different things.  I think it will take a while before it feels like home.

 

The move itself was quite eventful... well for me, the children and our cat.  The cat did not travel well and kept soiling her box, which meant we had to pull over and clean it all up.  Also there was an accident which meant we were stuck on the motorway with a horrendous smell and most of us wanting to throw up... Instead of the journey taking just over an hour, it took 3.  Then we were met with the delight of the unloading and not having the correct keys.  It felt like a very long day....

 

However we were blessed with helpers and a meal, a food shop and babysitters for the children - the pleasure of having family nearby :) The snow was definitely a surprise and i feel like its pretty much snowed everyday since we moved here.  Just little flurries, which seem to tie in with the school run really well.  Which is another blessing, N & J both got school places and were able to start straight away.  It is a lovely school - well as far as I can tell after a week.  It is not a faith based school, as we had previously. I will miss the traditions and the understanding of faith but it is still a very caring and nurturing school.   

 

It took about a week to unpack all boxes and get the house straight.  It feels nice having some of our pictures up (don't want to make too many holes in the wall) and to be organised.  I hate the chaos of not knowing where everything is and mess being everywhere.  Changing all our address details and registering with new doctors/dentists means we've probably spent a good day on just admin. As I type this, I have just remembered I haven't changed the hospital details - a job for the 'to do' list for later..

Its certainly been a busy couple of weeks but now its time for our Easter celebrations, thankful for what we have, what Jesus has done and for new beginnings!

 

John 3:15 For God loved the world so much, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life

On the move

We are moving, a week today and chaos has arrived!  We have been going through are possessions, questioning do we really need this? when was the last time we looked at it? is it worth keeping? Its amazing how much stuff you can accumulate, how much stuff we thought was a good idea and the just in case stuff.  So before you know it, Project Clear Out comes.

 

Over the past 6 months we have done lots of sorting, sale sites, car boots, charity and dump runs.  Getting rid of the clutter and getting ship shape for viewings.  All those little jobs that you've put off become completed.  I like living in house viewing state - however its not easy to maintain with 4 boys and a husband. We are moving into rental accommodation so we want to travel light as we could move again till we find the right home.  We think we've streamlined our stuff but the reality of boxing it all up seems quite daunting.  It not just the size of it but packing up the memories and saying goodbye...

 

Jon and I have lived on Southcoast for almost 15 years now.  I did university here, we started careers here, we got married, had our children and bought our home here.  This is also where we met Jesus and became part of church.  We have lots of memories here, some of our darkest and happiest moments.  This is where we have really grown as adults.  There are lots of things we will miss, the beach, Sunnys chip shop (our favourite take away chip shop), the shops, the parks and green spaces... Of course we will also really miss our friends, the familiarity and our church family.  This is our first church family.  We have been blessed with some very close friends over the years and will be hard to leave them.

 

God has been great at providing different people through each life stage to come alongside us and friends to keep us company along the way but now its time for a new chapter.  The doors have closed here and we're ready for the next step. The next step being Farnborough in Hampshire.  This is originally where we are from and believe this is where God wants us now.  We are looking forward to the move and our new adventure.  It is painful to say goodbye although I've not had that much time to think about it, as busy sorting out the house ready to move, removal companies, solicitors, rental property, running down the freezer/food, leaving farewells and not to mention the complicated maze of the education system.  Amongst all of this, still being mum and wife and dealing with the everyday.  Its certainly a busy season and looking forward to the next chapter, trusting in our faithful God!

 

 

Nappy Review

After 9 and a quarter years of doing nappies, I have some experience and a few preferences.  In terms of disposable nappies, I have used many brands but my favourites and those I found most absorbent were Pampers and Lidls own.  Lidls represent the most value as a lot cheaper and are my overall favourite for toddler upwards.  My least favourite were Huggies and Asda own brand.  Each child is different, so each brand fits and absorbs in a different way, and these brands are what worked or didn't for my sons (pls note I did have bigger babies, 90th centile upwards). 

 

Real nappies, I have used Bumgenius and Tots Bots (from birth to potty).  I loved these, so soft and available in lots of colours.  They were easy to use but I had to stop as my childrens skins are so sensitive they reacted to having any urine against their skin. Although they were changed often, it just wasn't possible to change after every time, as I didn't know they had been.  They are better for the environment and are cheaper, after the initial outlay.  We also used re-useable wipes.  These are like little flannels which just go straight into the nappy bucket with the nappy, so it wasn't really any extra effort at all.  I did find them slightly bulky which meant my baby may wear a bigger size clothes on the bottom half.  They seem like a scary amount of work but actually they're not.  They are some work ie put washing on, take washing out to dry.

 

The bumgenius were all ready to go, went on like a normal nappy except they had a liner.  The liner is like a firmer longer piece of tissue which was flushed away if soiled (if wet they could be used again after washing) and the nappy went into a dry bucket.  At the end of the day the nappy wash went on and they dried.  The bucket had a washable liner so that went in too and I didn't even have to touch any soiled nappies.  Tots Bots I used at night as more absorbent and bulky.  They had a liner too plus a water proof outer layer.  They would also wash with the others.  The bucket and (water proof bag when out) kept all smells at bay.  Depending on how many you bought would depend on how regularly you would need to wash.  I did one load of nappy washing a day, they would dry the following and be worn after that.

 

The nappy lady, (google or facebook her) did a great free service.  You fill out a questionnaire and she will tell you the best real nappy to suit your needs.  It was really detailed and gave you different choices.  On her site, she also has you tube videos on how to care and look after them so you can see how easy it is for yourself.  She is really honest about the pros and cons too.  So if you're considering it, I would recommend that she is your first stop.

 

I would say that real nappies are cheaper if you stick to it, so maybe buy a few to try out rather than a whole kit to see if it really suits you.  Our downfall was after buying a package that didn't suit our child i didn't really want to keep spending out more money to find the right brand of re-useable.  I am sure that there would of been, as there is so much choice.  Also you have to be organised to work out when you can wash/dry them.  Our brand didn't need to be washed at a high temperature so it didn't cost more to the environment/purse strings in this way.  They are all different. 

 

Disposable nappies are slim, easy to buy and carry around.  They just require throwing away when you're done.  You can buy really cheap ones (like re-useables) but your child may need changing more often or be prepared for leaks or tabs falling off.  You can buy safer to the environment nappies but at the end of the day, they fill up landfills.  It all comes down to your preferences and some trial and error.