How to feed a family on a budget

Firefly said:
Every morning for me. A spoon of blueberries, a chopped banana and drizzle of honey and I'm good until lunchtime. Mon-Fri I make it in the microwave, but on Sat & Sun I go all out and cook it slowly on the hob.
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Sounds good but I'd also throw in some ground almonds to ensure you get some protein.
 
Firefly said:
Pasta bakes are also cheap - I add a ton of cooked pasta to a dish, add a carton of cream, a tin of chopped tomatoes and a cup of grated cheese. Mix it around and bang it in the oven for 20 mins. Easy to re-heat leftovers the following day for lunch.
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Add a tin of Tuna for a fish pasta bake! A little Dill and some Lemon juice is also good.
 
Don't buy any processed food.
Only by cheap cuts of meat (on special offer).
If there's a good offer then bulk buy and freeze.
Lots of protein in beans, lentils and pulses of various types.
Buy whatever veg is on special offer and buy lots of it.

Fried chickpeas are also a great snack. Cut up a few sun dried tomatoes (jars are cheap in Lidl) and fry with a drained jar of chickpeas (or dried ones you soaked and boiled), a scattering of cumin seeds, a few dried chili flakes and a little dried or fresh mint. Costs less than €1 and is full of protein.
 
purple if you had some Doritos around crush them up and use them as coating for chicken and bake for thirty minutes. it does give the chicken a bit of a crunch.
 
Purple ,your inventive recipies are inspiring.Perhaps you might consider doing a regular slot on radio. I would be moving the dial to learn from you
 
Lane One said:
Purple ,your inventive recipies are inspiring.Perhaps you might consider doing a regular slot on radio. I would be moving the dial to learn from you
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Thanks, but all credit goes to TV chefs and Google.
 
I think trying to do more vegetarian days is the way to go. So much cheaper. When one is lucky enough to get a take away , indian especially , the veg options are cheaper and just as good.
 
Vegetarian is cheap when done right and minimising waste. Tinned tomatoes and tinned beans and peas are a great component of any pasta or rice meal and can stay in the press for a very long time.

Also the use of spices cannot be overstated, a good spice base is what makes a good takeaway. If you start experimenting with spice then your interest in takeaways will decline.

After that, I find burgers are a great meat centered meal that is very cheap to make.
 
VonHohenzollern said:
Also the use of spices cannot be overstated, a good spice base is what makes a good takeaway.
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Yep, there's a great shop opposite the Garda Station in Tallaght that sells spices and just about everything else cheap. They also have an excellent selection of rice. It's easy to feed a family of 4 for €10 a day.
 
Not necessarily "feeding a family on a budget" but I like to think that the way we shop for the two of us is fairly good price wise
We now do most of our shopping in Dunnes as we feel it's the best value compared to Lidl and Supervalu
We don't shop per se to a budget but we do shop to the value of the vouchers we have, usually a €50 and €25
But where I do feel we make the difference is how we shop and the three main things we do are
1. we only buy what we are going to consume
We go into the supermarket with a list of what we need for the coming week or things that need to be replaced
We have very little wastage from our food I'd say 98 to 99% of what we but is consumed
we never spend more than a few cent over the voucher amount
2. we always look for the best value or use on the goods we consume
Quite often in a supermarket you will see items that are bigger in size or branded "Better Value" and you would naturally presume that that is the best value compared to the same item in a smaller size but you would be wrong
Two examples of this are Dunnes "Better Value" 18 Large Eggs is more expensive per egg then Dunnes 12 large Eggs and Sanex shower gel 570ml is more expensive per ml then the smaller 500ml
We also don't buy chicken breasts anymore as we feel a whole chicken is better value and gives us more options on the meal front depending on how we use it
3. we always avail of special offers and bulk buy for storage
Once we have the weekly essentials done if there is any money left unused on the voucher we would go looking for deals on non perishable stuff
I can't remember the last time I paid full price for Sanex shower gel, Gillette shaving cream, Oral B toothpaste or tooth brushes, Listerine mouth wash to name a few. Those and lots of other non perishable foodstuffs are nearly always on special offer at least a couple of times a year
 
I know there are fans of vouchers for this and that. Loyalty cards points etc. what a darn pain in the ass. I go to Aldi and just think I’ll be doing ok here. I got rid of all those loyalty cards. I wish supermarkets would do away with them. Of course they use them to gain stats and info on us and that’s worth a lot to them.
 
Keep an eye on offers for sunscreens in Dunnes
I got decent sunscreen in a posh dunnes, they have nice make up too. It was 25% off and with voucher I got a 36€ sunscreen for €22.

Worth looking at supplements too, if you take them.
 
Our shopping system is almost identical to Cervelo. We also look at the "reduced" items section. Food coming up to it's sell by date. Picked up a half priced chicken yesterday. Cooked it as soon as we got home. A nice sandwich, a chicken stew, a chicken curry, a stir fry.....several meals from about €2.50.
We will also start picking up some of the Christmas extras when needing to make up the €25 spend with voucher. Also birthday cards, envelopes, light bulbs etc. in the non food aisle.
 
becky said:
Keep an eye on offers for sunscreens in Dunnes

I got decent sunscreen in a posh dunnes, they have nice make up too. It was 25% off and with voucher I got a 36€ sunscreen for €22.

Worth looking at supplements too, if you take them.
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Would agree with you there Becky Mrs C buys her bits a pieces there as well as it's nearly always cheaper than other places
The supplements are good value but unfortunately I use a brand that Dunnes don't stock but I get them in Boots on their 3 for 2 offer
I shop in Cornelscourt and generaly anything on sale south of the checkouts is included in the vouchers
Even the cd's, records, books and other household items if you still buy those items

Odea said:
We will also start picking up some of the Christmas extras when needing to make up the €25 spend with voucher.
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Did this a couple of weeks ago when I saw tins of Chocolate Kimberly's were on offer, two tins for €20 after voucher €16
but unfortunately they didn't survive till Christmas, in fact I don't even think they lasted a week
 
I get cards, bulbs, envelopes in dealz. If I need to make up a € or 2, I but tin of tomatoes, a bag of lentils, the own brand jasmine rice in a pouch (its about 69c) etc.
 
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