Feed a Family of 4 for 100 a Week Menu
Want to know how to feed a family unit of 4 for £20 a week? Mummy blogger Anneliese Giggins gave it her best shot!
Mummy blogger Anneliese Giggins shows how to feed a family of four for £20 a week! She but loves a challenge.
Last time information technology was homemade food, this time she'due south trying to feed her family of 4 for but £twenty a week – yes, actually! Read our exclusive weblog to see how she got on. Over to yous Anneliese…
How to feed a family of iv for £20 a week – what's it all about Anneliese?
I think it's off-white to say I like a claiming only I'thousand wondering if I may have fix the bar too high this time. For 30 days I will exist scrutinising every unmarried price label, my calculator will exist dusted off and put to daily use. Each potato, piece of pasta, smear of margarine, in fact every item of food which passes my family unit's lips volition exist calculated and I will be keeping a very beady eye on the shopping receipts.
Yes, yes, Aye, this may seem rather a dull action but it'southward all for a skilful reason, I promise! I retrieve we are all enlightened that food prices are sky high nowadays and they keep to rising. An boilerplate family of four will spend at to the lowest degree £225 a month on nutrient (according to Part for National Statistics) and I'one thousand sure some of us spend even more, especially when celebrating special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas.
Anneliese, husband Neil and her two trivial boys, Isaac and Oliver
A fair few of us now prefer to carry out the weekly or monthly shop online, nonetheless some still adopt to be the one to cull and pick out nutrient at the supermarket or local grocery and butcher. Whichever way we cull, well-nigh of u.s. feel our heart sink when we see the 1000 total and begrudgingly reach into our wallet. We are left wondering if we have enough money in the bank to cover the monthly utility bills, volition there exist any cash left over to care for the kids to a day out?
I admit that I've become guilty of just shoving nutrient into our shopping trolley without ever searching the shelves for a cheaper culling. Earlier the children came forth, I had more time to await for bargains but, when the boys are arguing in the shopping trolley, all I want is to make a hasty exit from the overcrowded supermarket and get the hell out of at that place! Once I get dwelling house and unpack the food, I can't believe how much coin was spent and how petty food we take to bear witness for it.
Run across Anneliese's get-go food shop receipt here and this week's chiliad total
On that note I want to deport out a little experiment to see if our family unit of four can survive on spending just £twenty a week on food. Can nosotros get to the terminate of the xxx days well fed on such a minor budget? I don't think information technology would be practiced parenting to feed my children gruel for breakfast, tiffin and dinner, so I will be hunting out the cheapest just also the virtually nutritious recipes I can find. And in terms of the food shop I will exist doing i bulk shop at the beginning of the challenge and smaller shops over the 4 weeks. My budget it £80 for the month levelling out equally £twenty per week.
So hither'due south to 30 days of analysing every till receipt, counting out grains of rice and making every carrot count! There will be no room for waste matter; every morsel of food nosotros buy MUST be eaten. Hopefully forth the style I tin discover piece of cake ways to make savings, crafty recipes which don't rely on expensive ingredients. We might fifty-fifty salvage enough coin to supercede our very old Television receiver!
Total of money spent so far = £49.94
Week i: The adept, the bad and the 'what was I thinking?'
The first week of my challenge has come up to a close. For the by seven days I accept been counting my pennies and making sure that I make them go as far as possible. When shopping, I no longer notice the branded tins of broiled beans or chopped tomatoes and my hand automatically reaches for the cheaper value option instead. Although I am only at the end of week one, I already experience I have learned so much. It'southward almost as if I am learning a new language, only instead I'm educating myself on how to make savings on nutrient. It certainly is a big learning curve!
Get the recipe: Tomato risotto and garlic bread = £two.x
When I think about what has challenged me and my family most this commencement calendar week, I immediately think of the boredom! The food is so repetitive. It doesn't take long to go off Cornflakes and I'1000 not sure that porridge in August is such a great idea! The daily snacks like biscuits and malt loaf are likewise wearing thin but, funnily plenty, my boys seem perfectly content with what they are given. Maybe it's but Neil and I that are being fussy! The evening meal is a saving grace as we don't feel every bit though we are doing without. We've been making risotto, spag Bol, pasta salads and more! I'grand preparing our usual fare and simply making deductions, choosing cheaper ingredients and shopping in a budget supermarket.
Despite the monotony of some of the food, the buzz of saving coin at the greenbacks till more than compensates! Afterwards our starting time majority buy we all the same needed to stock upwardly on things such equally sausages, pasta and rice merely, past choosing the cheaper alternatives, we managed to walk abroad from the cash till with a spring in our step rather than a heavy eye! Of course it was hard to resist grabbing a bundle of burgers or a pizza just we plant ourselves tutting at the expensive price labels and walking away!
Get the recipe: Penne Bolognese = £one.threescore
Although my week was defective in food excitement, things were livened upwardly with an interview for BBC Radio Oxford. I went along to the studio to talk most my new challenge and to chat on the telephone to a member of the BBC Good Food Magazine team and to none other than Jack Monroe. And I must say I was rather star struck to get to talk to Jack Monroe and to hear her great hints and tips.
Fifty-fifty though she no longer lives on a harsh budget of £10 per week, she can still recite the price of a tin of kidney beans and chopped tomatoes etc. I felt humbled to hear how Jack had to survive for 18 months on such a repetitive carte and an incredibly small amount of coin. I know for a fact that there are many others who just manage to scrape past.
Run across Anneliese's 2nd nutrient shop receipts here and this week's grand total
From my fourth dimension at the radio station I learned that there are cheaper protein alternatives to meat, meals can be bulked out with beans and lentils or even tofu and great bargains are to exist had at local farmers' markets; simply go at the end of the twenty-four hours when things are being sold off cheap. I also learnt that frozen vegetables and fruit are often cheaper, terminal longer and are just every bit nutritious as the fresh version. And if in that location's the possibility of growing your own fruit and vegetables – go for it! I don't know what I would have done without my father-in-law's home grown cucumbers…
Week i round up
- All-time matter we ate this week: We really enjoyed hummus with pitta bread and vegetable sticks. My younger son was particularly corking!
- Cheapest meal of the week: Bootleg tuna fishcakes (I made enough fishcakes for three meals) with murphy wedges and baked beans. £1.45 for the meal.
- Kids' favourite dish of the week: Tomato risotto with garlic bread. Clean plates all round!
- Failure of the week: Running out of milk and having to purchase some from our village shop. Two pints of milk cost 89p instead of 95p for Iv pints of milk at Aldi. That was painful and volition not be repeated!
- All-time thing I learned this week: When making risotto save a lot of pennies by using basic white rice. I used 'normal' rice for my tomato risotto and no one could tell the difference. Thanks to Jack Monroe for such a great tip!
- Thrifty trick of the week: I usually throw away pastry offcuts merely non this time! There was a fleck of leftover pastry from my quiche this week and I managed to brand eight mini jam tarts out of information technology. A swell care for for the kids (and Mummy and Daddy) and they only cost a few pence – result!
Quiche (£ii.60 for 10inch) and jam tarts (15p) – made with the aforementioned pastry! Get the recipe: Broccoli quiche
Full of coin spent so far = £69.62
Week 2: Bargain hunting and lots of hummus
I'm now at the halfway point of the challenge. Information technology'south very probable that, from now on, I'll be counting down the days in anticipation of the end! We are not going hungry and are eating well, but I discover myself hankering for the little extras I usually take for granted. Treats like a scoop of ice cream at the end of a warm summer's day or even fruit salad are off the menu. Instead nosotros settle for a slice of slightly dried malt loaf or a Rich Tea biscuit, which sadly do trivial to fill up the void!
Go the recipe: Hummus and carrot wraps = 24p each
This week, our breakfasts were either crunchy cornflakes or porridge with dear.
I don't usually eat cooked breakfasts, but now all I desire is a poached egg, baked beans, mushrooms, toast and lashings of ketchup. When it comes to lunchtime we embrace hummus and employ it on anything and everything. My youngest, Oliver, loves it on toast, while the rest of us enjoy it in wraps with grated carrot, or as a dip with pitta bread and vegetable sticks. Unfortunately, I uncertainty it will be long before I'one thousand sick of it!
Making pizzas with Isaac – Become the recipe: Cheese and onion pizza
We are still enjoying dinners, as we are managing to eat the aforementioned sort of meals we normally have, such equally sausage hotpot, chilli with rice, and bootleg pizza (now fabricated with tomatoes from my father-in-law's garden). When I started this challenge my biggest worry was hunger. Nosotros take big appetites and I was apparently anxious that my children might not have plenty to swallow. Nonetheless, we all go to bed with total tummies so we really can't complain. I just wish we could take a little more variety!
Chilli and rice = £i.90
At the weekend we went into boondocks to compare prices at several £ane and 99p stores. I plant some good deals on branded products, but they nevertheless worked out a little dearer than the value brands at a deal supermarket. There might be just a few pence difference, simply every penny adds up. Afterward leaving empty-handed, nosotros collection a few miles to our local farm shop on a hunt for potatoes. The shop was cute and there was plenty of delicious nutrient on display. It broke my heart to but purchase a handbag of muddy potatoes! However, we were pleased with the price as we managed to buy twenty for £2.50. This meant we have enough money to purchase some hummus for next week. Hurrah!
Our supermarket shop was very small this week – just a few essentials, like milk and bread. I had to command an urge to throw packets of fresh pasta and tubs of ice cream into my basket. I experience increasingly grateful that I don't have to continue living on such a rigid upkeep once the challenge is over.
Run across Anneliese's third food shop receipt here and this week's grand total
Week two round up
Best affair we ate this week:
Homemade pizza. I love making pizza when I get the fourth dimension, but this claiming made it a necessity. We thoroughly enjoyed preparing and scoffing it!
Cheapest meal of the week:
Jack Monroe's carrot, cumin and kidney edible bean burgers with potato wedges and baked beans. £1.03 for the meal.
Kids' favourite dish of the week:
Homemade gnocchi in a homemade lycopersicon esculentum sauce, with a sprinkle of grated cheese on top, plus garlic bread. My children barely came up for air as they polished it all off!
Failure of the week:
Maybe the boys are hungrier than I idea, as I institute them sitting on the kitchen floor eating breadsticks. At present we merely have 4 left to last for ii weeks. Eeek!
All-time affair I learned this week:
Cheese is expensive and I'g trying to apply as little as possible. Previously I would add equally much as a recipe stated just now I add together it to taste. Making a cheese sauce, I added one-half of what I would usually just by ignoring the scales, calculation it little by little and having a taste.
Thrifty trick of the week:
Instead of calculation a whole tin can of sweetcorn to my sausage hotpot, I kept half back and used the rest in a pasta salad. Y'all tin can do the same with a tin can of tuna or beans, saving half for some other meal.
Week three: Blackberries to the rescue!
It'due south the terminate of week three. Our refrigerator is looking bare and the fruit bowl now sits empty on our dining room table. Our boys prefer vegetables to fruit, but we normally make full the bowl with bananas, oranges and apples to eat equally a snack or after dinner. Thankfully we are eating nutritious, homemade meals every day and no ready meals or jars of sauce have passed our lips. However, I am enlightened that, in this third calendar week, our v-a-solar day fruit and veg tin can't be reached. Most days we manage three or even iv, only non v. When looking at the cost of fruit in the supermarkets and at the farmers' market place, information technology'southward easy to meet how difficult it is to include fruit in your daily diet if y'all are on a tight budget.
To overcome our electric current predicament, a friend suggested we search hedgerows for blackberries, as they are currently in season. We donned our waterproofs and welly boots and headed for the field behind our house. We got incomparably soggy in the pouring pelting just had fun as a family picking the blackberries and came back with a generous bounty, which nosotros devoured with rice pudding!
Blackberry rice pudding = 15p for 4 servings
We are getting used to having the aforementioned lunches 24-hour interval in and day out. My youngest, Oliver, was delighted to have another tub of hummus to savour this week. He loves information technology on toast only enjoys dipping carrot and cucumber sticks into it, too. My elder son, Isaac, has never been smashing on sandwiches just adores pitta breads filled with cucumber and a little mayonnaise and he tucks into his tiffin without any fuss – hurrah!
Every bit for snack time, the boys are however happily tucking into malt loaf. However, I can't confront it anymore and neither can my husband – nosotros would rather go without. My sugariness tooth has been longing for something chocolatey so I made some chocolate cornflake cakes with Isaac at the kickoff of the calendar week. I was very glad that I'd bought some value chocolate at the start of the challenge, prepare for such a moment! The sweet crunchy cakes were delicious and we are going to make another batch next week.
Chocolate cereal cakes = 38p total This third week also proved to be a social week. First, the boys and I were invited to a friend's house for a play appointment; tiffin would exist fabricated for us. At get-go I wasn't sure if we should go every bit I was unable to contribute, merely I realised that I couldn't end my children from having fun and seeing their little friends. Nosotros were treated to delicious bootleg carrot soup and Oliver couldn't get plenty. I await forward to returning the favour one time this challenge is finished!
On Sabbatum nosotros had friends over to our firm for tiffin and I had a massive panic about what I could feed them. Neil suggested homemade pizzas. It worked out perfectly – Isaac helped me and there was plenty of pizza to go circular then no one starved, as I had originally feared. This challenge doesn't exactly lend itself to social occasions but we managed to scrape through!
Sausage and mash = £2.24 total
In that location are still no complaints at dinnertime. Nosotros have been enjoying things such as sausages with mash and vegetables, a irish potato and chickpea curry, and spicy mixed bean tortillas. Sadly I simply have a small piece of cheese left for the final week of the claiming. I will take to exist very, very sparing equally I simply take no money left for more!
Encounter Anneliese's fourth food store receipt here and this week's m total
Week three circular up
Best thing we ate this week:
We dearest our weekly pasta salad. I chop up some boiled eggs, slice up cucumber and tomatoes and stir in some mayonnaise. Yum!
Cheapest meal of the week:
Homemade tomato plant pasta sauce with pasta and garlic bread. £ane.25
Kids' favourite dish of the week:
Sausages with mashed potato, carrots, peas and gravy. £ii.24
Failure of the week:
Finding a mouldy onion and having to throw it abroad. I bought 2 bags of onions at the commencement of the claiming; I should have purchased one at a fourth dimension to avert waste matter.
Best affair I learned this week:
Information technology's worth getting outdoors and scrimping for fruit. I tin't believe I never thought of doing this before!
Thrifty pull a fast one on of the week:
For a cheap tomato plant pasta sauce, I gently fry a chopped onion in a picayune oil and then cascade in two tins of chopped tomatoes and gently simmer for around 20 minutes until the tomatoes plough to a thick pulpy consistency. Information technology's then ready to eat with pasta and a grating of cheese!
Total of coin spent so far = £79.92
Week 4: Washed and dusted
The claiming is now over and I am breathing a sigh of relief. This last week was the toughest even so and I honestly wasn't certain if we could scrape by with what little food nosotros had. We didn't become over our upkeep but the last few meals were far from exciting. My boys actually enjoy my tomato risotto and take come to look an obligatory slice of garlic bread to exist served alongside. Imagine their thwarting when non only did I go out the cheese out of the risotto but too that in that location was no garlic staff of life to accompany their meal. I was out of money and nosotros had to make exercise with what nosotros had. I only added more rice to the risotto then we nonetheless had full tummies; I think I was just about forgiven!
At that place was too no money to buy breadstuff so I made my own this week. I enjoyed venting my frustrations as I kneaded the dough. However the loaves I produced were not as large equally the loaves you tin can buy. They besides practice not keep well. This made me question what is added to shop bought bread to make it keep for longer, not a nice thought.
Carrot soup and homemade bread = 50p for 4 servings
We had lots of carrots in stock this week and I was keen to employ them upwards so I decided to make a big batch of carrot soup. I admit that it wasn't the well-nigh flavoursome of soups, but information technology was packed full of vitamin A and there was plenty for two lunches. Obviously soup wasn't plenty to keep us going until dinnertime so it was served with some of my homemade bread. I felt very virtuous to know that I had made both with my own two hands. I have made a mental note to endeavour to make my own soup in hereafter!
This week Isaac was peachy to help me in the kitchen again. We made chocolate cornflake cakes which helped to satisfy my chocolate cravings and nosotros also made a small batch of ice lollies. A friend of mine makes lollies with merely banana and milk and they are surprisingly tasty. Isaac was perfectly content chopping up a banana and pushing the button on the blender. He then thoroughly enjoyed his refreshing banana ice lolly.
Ice lollies = 35p for four
Although a few of our meals this week were disappointing, mostly due to the lack of cheese, nosotros did manage to enjoy a roast dinner. Nosotros had to opt for sausages. However I pushed the gunkhole out and fabricated some Yorkshire puddings, which felt like a existent luxury! On our concluding day nosotros were completely out of food apart from a tin of baked beans and some stale breadstuff only, instead of finishing off the challenge with beans on toast, I fabricated a broiled bean 'pie' every bit suggested past Donna, who has been post-obit the blog. Information technology made a more interesting culling and was much enjoyed. The baked bean pie was followed by a tin can of peaches. What a classy way to finish the challenge!
Sausage roast dinner with homemade Yorkshires = £2.60 for four servings
Week four round up
Best matter nosotros ate this week:
Sausages with homemade Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, peas and gravy.
Cheapest meal of the week:
It has to be the baked bean pie!
Kids' favourite dish of the week:
Tuna pasta broil
Failure of the week:
Discovering that I have an unopened bag of rice and pasta left over. Had I planned amend I could have used that money on some fruit. I'm So cross with myself!
Best affair I learned this week:
It'southward amazing how much soup can be made from just a few veggies. It just costs a few pence to make a uncomplicated soup. I cooked upwardly a big batch and put half in the refrigerator for another day.
Thrifty pull a fast one on of the week:
It's better to buy loose vegetables so you tin weigh them on the scales and purchase exactly what yous need. No waste and will save a picayune money.
Grand total of money spent = £79.92 – in budget!
*Download Anneliese's meal listing and prices hither*
Week five: Looking back…
My challenge has come up to an end and in all honesty information technology couldn't have come shortly enough! Nosotros have been eating either cornflakes or porridge for breakfast for 30 days merely I may every bit well have been chewing on paper-thin. I exercise not rate the value cornflakes and will be glad to be rid of them! On the other hand the lunches have been more varied and nosotros volition happily go on to consume salad sandwiches, pasta salad, pitta breads and hummus. I was surprised by how I could slightly change our evening meals and still put filling and nutritious meals on the table. No 1 felt unsatisfied and nosotros never felt hungry. If I'1000 honest I wondered if might have lost some weight during the challenge just no, I didn't lose an ounce! I recall this shows that nosotros ate well and didn't get without.
I believe nosotros saved a lot of coin by but switching our usual supermarket to a deal supermarket and I am sure that this was the key to getting through to the end of the challenge. However, when you merely pay 15p for a can of rice pudding or 29p for a jar of jam you showtime to question the quality. I checked labels and was surprised to see that the value jam contained the aforementioned amount of fruit as a far more expensive brand and had less added carbohydrate! Sadly, my euphoria was soon dashed when I discovered that the tins of baked beans I'd been using contained 7g more than sugar than the beans we usually buy. When it came to table salt I couldn't run into much variation between brands so that helped me to feel a little more positive!
Get the recipe: Spicy mixed edible bean tortillas = 68p per portion
I required a lot of chopped tomatoes for the challenge and, after eating our way through xv value tins, I have no complaints at all and will definitely purchase them over again. The ane thing I will never buy again was the sunflower oil spread; information technology was horrible. When spread on hot toast or a jacket white potato it left an oily layer and never actually melted.
The meat was a fair quality merely the sausages were 'watery' and lacked flavour. My husband feels strongly most only using local and well reared meat and then I'yard sure we will go back to visiting the butchers. No ane wants to spend ages checking labels but I do remember you lot become what you pay for when it comes to such things as baked beans, bread and meat. Yet, don't be put off, as y'all can brand great savings on many other products such as dried pasta, milk, eggs, flour, chopped tomatoes, fruit and vegetables. The list goes on!
This challenge was to try to find out if it really is possible to feed a family of iv for just £20 a week. I realise information technology would be harder with teenagers but my children are withal small; maybe I'll accept to repeat the process in 10 years time – or possibly not! Yes, the challenge is just about possible, most things are, if y'all really fix your mind to it or you are without choice BUT is it an enjoyable experience? No.
Afterwards the kickoff week, I could already see where I had previously wasted money, by the cease of week two I was very grateful that I did not have to practise this for longer than 30 days and by the end of the challenge I knew I wouldn't desire to practice this again. We managed to swallow well but this tight budget does non allow for much variety or the ability to regularly meet your v-a-day target. Fresh fruit and vegetables come up at a high cost, then cheap carrots, broccoli, apples and bananas are the social club of the day. I don't know if I could have managed without my begetter-in-law'due south home-grown cucumbers and tomatoes. Information technology is definitely worth trying to grow a few vegetables and fruit if there is space in your garden. We take strawberry plants but they were sadly out of season during the challenge!
Get the recipe: Pasta salad = 17p per portion (with homegrown veg)
If you are in a position where you only have a small amount of coin to spend on nutrient you take to make choices. Would you exist able to worry about added carbohydrate? Do you lot purchase a punnet of grapes for £ane.25 or do you utilise the money to purchase ingredients for a master meal? The respond is that you have to make exercise and, as long as you are making the well-nigh of what you lot have and are putting food on the tabular array, you are doing well.
I have learned so much throughout these 30 days. I'grand able to buy certain foods far cheaper at a bargain supermarket. I know that using white rice instead of risotto rice makes no difference and I realise that I can make satisfying family meals that don't cost the earth. You can usually accept things out of a recipe or make substitutions and non discover the difference. It is certainly far cheaper to make meals from scratch than it is to buy a ready meal, jar of sauce or a takeaway, non to mention healthier!
I walk away from this challenge grateful that I can indulge in a tub of water ice cream this night and experience lucky to be able to terminate living on such petty coin. Withal, I am aware that nosotros still have a budget for our food shopping and I am adamant to continue to make savings on what we buy. Certainly not £xx a week; £30 would be far more than doable!
Budget recipes from the challenge
How to feed a family of 4 for £twenty a calendar week – our favourite budget recipes the challenge…
Lycopersicon esculentum risotto Broccoli quiche
Penne Bolognese Cheese and onion pizza
Spicy mixed bean tortillas Cucumber and tomato pasta salad
Feeling inspired to the challenge? Do you accept any tips on how to feed a family of 4 for £20 a calendar week you'd like to share? Head over to our Facebook page to join the conversation!
Source: https://www.goodto.com/food/how-to-feed-a-family-of-4-for-20-a-week-114543
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