I do buy frozen veg shell - i mean more like salad stuff. lettuce, cucumber,pepppers, onions,tomatoes. we go through loads of tinned tomatoes and pasata and eat loads of pasta. we each eat at least 5 peices of fruit a day plus watever alfie eats. luckily hes at nursery 2 days a week and his meals are covered there.

dairy is a big thing for us too. alfies milk, then our milk. we buy alot of mozzarella cheese which is the only one i like. but we both eat two mullerlite yogs a day and theyre not cheap. then theres Diet Coke which is really expensive. We bought asdas own diet coke last week and it tasted just as good as the proper stuff and cheaper so think we might change

x

I don't have a meal planner as such but we are on SW so we eat similar meals a lot of the time.

I shop around a lot so tend to get my fresh fruit and veg from Morrisons weekly (and top up during the week) as they always have great £1 deals on and we eat a mountain of fruit and veg each week. We tend to stick to the basics though like bananas, oranges, apples etc as we can't really afford the fancy stuff like berries and tropical fruits. We buy the cheap stir fry mixes and add extra bits in but never buy preprepared fruit/veg/salad as it works out so much more expensive.

We only eat lean meat with low fat content and try to stay away from red meat so we eat a lot of turkey (breast, minced, escalopes) which is cheap and pork loins (is pork red meat? ). Only get fish when it's on offer.

I also buy staples like dried pasta, rice, potatoes etc in bulk so last ages and saves money.

It does save us a fortune that all our bread, rolls, teacakes, crumpets, pancakes etc are free but myself and Paul don't eat it (we are allowed 1 slice of wholemeal a day ) but the kids do love their toast and sarnies

We never buy treats really (crisps, biscuits, cakes, sweets, icecream etc) apart from a few for the kids now and then that we never touch.

We only drink water or dilute squash so buy that in bulk too - Paul will treat himself to a bottle of fizzy pop now and then if it's on offer. We don't buy alcohol.

All sauces and soups I make myself from scratch which i think saves money too and is nice and fresh. We eat very little cheese other than what we buy for the kids as it's restricted on our diet and is expensive.

After reading all that back we sound like right boring farts but this time last year that list would've been so so different. Being on SW for 6 months has completely changed the way we live and eat and although we find ourselves spending a fortune on fruit and veg we save a ton on the other 'naughty' stuff and we are so much healthier and happier and in much better shape. So I guess SW has not only lost us a lot of weight but saved us a fair bit of money too

xx

Quote :

(is pork red meat?

i think it's beige meat isn't it

i think if i made more sauces from scratch (getting better at it, they all seem to start with pasatta/tinned tomatos though, yawn!) we would save even more pennies ooooooooh debs you're so sensible!!!

how do you manage to cook with two toddlers????? i have trouble with just one and end up rushing stuff

It's a bit of an issue in house at the minute. Oh says I'm not to go over £550 per month which I'm struggling with as this also includes nappies and wipes. I've got two pussy cats who's food and litter (tesco value litter) cost me £9 a week and i must spend a fortune on loo roll and kitchen roll.

Lol Mari - I'm only sensible because I have to be. We are on a mega tight budget now and the diet dictates a lot of what we buy anyway. I can't buy treats as I have no will power to have just a little bit of something. Last week Milka Daim were on offer in ASDA and Paul brought 2 big bars home with the intention of having a little treat each evening - well of course I had to eat a whole bar in one sitting then sat there feeling seriously guilty for the rest of the night . So to save myself we just don't buy it

Kids wise I actually think it's a lot easier with two toddlers than with one (or 1 and a baby) as they keep each other ammused while I get on with stuff. If the weather is ok they go play outside in the afternoons while I'm in the kitchen cleaning/cooking - our garden is fully secure and baby proof which is fab and I can see them at all times as we have french windows in the kitchen. If it's raining I make dens and give them crayons to draw with (eat ) which occupies them long enough to get on with dinner prep. They have also started asking to play upstairs in their rooms in afternoons which is fab as I have a big gate across the landing cordoning off their end of the landing and is completely baby proofed too and I can hear them from the kitchen which is fine too. See Mari - you need to have another soon

xx

Omg ur monthly shopping bills I only have 250 to live mon a month and thats not including shopping lol. We spend about 190 month 160 on a big shop then about 30 to stock up on essentials. That includes everything. We are trying weekly shops this month and will be spending 40 a week.x

We spend anywhere between £60-70 p/m on a big shop either at Morrisons or Asda then about £30 a week at local shops Ugo and Iceland. We don't always do a big shop once a month though..but overall works out to be no more than £200 p/m, if that.

I used to do a meal planner, but not so much now..but we do tend to stick with some of our fave meals etc, then we just buy chicken, minced & stewing beef (frozen) and pork, sausages, freeze it all and make different meals as and when. For meats too I look in the 'reduced' sections and bung them in the freezer when we get home..things like Asda's Extra special sausages, chicken breast etc
Veg - I tend to buy frozen cos I found I was wasting a lot - I never fancied it before its use by date
Fruit - I buy some fresh like bananas, kiwis, pears, nectarines etc cos you can usually pick up a fair sized punet for £1.
I get tinned fruits for back up and sometimes frozen fruit (cherries, mangos)
Aslo dried fruits for little man
Bread - I get from iceland 2 loaves for £1.60, I buy the par-baked rolls, baguettes and ciabatta's too 2 for £1

Nappies/wipes we always buy in bulk when theres offers so exccluding those.
We spend £30 every 2weeks in icelands to fill up the freezer
then around £100 a week maybe more i can never keep count we pop in on a sunday for lunch and more milk n fresh bits and end up spending another £30 after not long doing a shop x