I have 1 decent shop on one day a week so we do have to prioritise getting there . After the final reductions I have 20 minutes to buy any add-ons to make meals out of the madness so I have to have a good store cupboard ! Sometimes we do have either mad mixtures or a picnic meal - i.e. 2 samosas, 1 rice salad, 3 hummus and a loaf of bread lol!
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Meal Planning
- Thread starter RedAlix
- Start date
Jegglejeggle
On a mission to pay off mortgage
Hi,
I'm quite lucky as I live 2 minutes away from Marks and Spencer's and I wait till the end of evening and I get some lovely meals for stupid prices. There puddings are gorgeous so if I'm lucky I get one as well.
Also there food can be eaten a few days past sell buy and still be fine. I used to be very funny about that, but I heard a cook say once,just use your nose don't look at dates. I'm still here!! ;D
On another note, I know checkout smart and clic and snap by Quidco are the same or parent company's but are their any more like this we should look out for?
I'm quite lucky as I live 2 minutes away from Marks and Spencer's and I wait till the end of evening and I get some lovely meals for stupid prices. There puddings are gorgeous so if I'm lucky I get one as well.
Also there food can be eaten a few days past sell buy and still be fine. I used to be very funny about that, but I heard a cook say once,just use your nose don't look at dates. I'm still here!! ;D
On another note, I know checkout smart and clic and snap by Quidco are the same or parent company's but are their any more like this we should look out for?
Ooh Marks and Sparks yellow stickers sound great ! Their food is lush- I'd be there every night ! I have never worried about sell-by dates though - trust your nose ! Mind you my family always prided themselves on having guts of cast iron lol ;D
Mrshippy - your family sound like my dad. Sell by dates dont mean anything to him - especially with tins or dried products. He is a bit better with meat and dairy, but I love coming home with a bag full of yellow stickers from Sainsburys.
I'm so jealous of M&S reductions. Any decent reductions would be good but it doesn't happen here.
I'm another one who ignores BB dates as I don't believe food goes off and turns toxic at the stroke of midnight. If it looks ok and smells ok then I'll eat it.
I'm another one who ignores BB dates as I don't believe food goes off and turns toxic at the stroke of midnight. If it looks ok and smells ok then I'll eat it.
Lol my dad likes his steak green and used to have us eat tripe once a week ! Mind you - post-nuclear my family will be the only ones who can eat the cockroaches lol! :-[
It's when you let the raw steak "mature" long enough that it gets a slight green shine to it - yes really ! :-\ It's about a day short of gone and how he laughs now all the finest ranges charge extra for 21 day hung steaks !
You're wishing you hadn't asked now , aren't you ?! ;D
You're wishing you hadn't asked now , aren't you ?! ;D
That's the thing- my dad is 70 and grew up with rationing . He walks the dog, saws and chops his own wood and goes to his allotment every day and is as healthy as a 50 year old - He's never looked at a best before date in his life and has never had as much as a stomach ache ! He only eats fresh vegetables and out of date meat lol! ;D
I try to meal plan, but with a teen daughter its virtually impossible. I have in my head what I'd like to make that week, I know whats in the cupboards/fridge/freezer and I head for the reduced sections first if I can. Worst thing is taking my daughter shopping with me, although I appreciate the extra pair of hands to carry the stuff back, she regularly adds stuff to the basket! I also only ever shop with a basket, rarely a trolley and even when I do do a trolley shop its always a small one 
Once a half-term or so I plan on doing an online shop to get bulky and heavy items delivered from Asda. My daughter takes bottled water to school (she does refill them but they get battered, we have tried re-usable bottles but they tend to leak), I buy the biggest but cheapest pack of toilet roll, biggest box of soap powder etc and just add on the weekly shop I always use mysupermarket to get the stuff as cheap as possible. I have asda and aldi opposite each other at the bottom of my road, homebargains/iceland/poundstretcher a 15 min walk away one way, co-op a 15 min walk another way, 2 different big tescos with butchers & veg shops in other directions so I shop around and walk to them all. Although I do admit I will occasionally pay out for the bus back lol
Once a half-term or so I plan on doing an online shop to get bulky and heavy items delivered from Asda. My daughter takes bottled water to school (she does refill them but they get battered, we have tried re-usable bottles but they tend to leak), I buy the biggest but cheapest pack of toilet roll, biggest box of soap powder etc and just add on the weekly shop I always use mysupermarket to get the stuff as cheap as possible. I have asda and aldi opposite each other at the bottom of my road, homebargains/iceland/poundstretcher a 15 min walk away one way, co-op a 15 min walk another way, 2 different big tescos with butchers & veg shops in other directions so I shop around and walk to them all. Although I do admit I will occasionally pay out for the bus back lol
I used to meal plan, now I just ensure that I have a great list of recipes I can refer to, lots of store cupboard items and decide each day.
It is easier this way, for me at least, and I don't need to feel guilty if I can't be bothered to cook the lovely meal I had down on my meal plan.
I work from home full time though so I have the time to sit and have a think everyday
It is easier this way, for me at least, and I don't need to feel guilty if I can't be bothered to cook the lovely meal I had down on my meal plan.
I work from home full time though so I have the time to sit and have a think everyday
i also take no notice of bb dates, if it smells ok and looks ok i eat it, most bb dates are a saturday, i will even apply the same rules to 'use by' dates, i eat eggs weeks after the bb date and things like natural yoghurt and even cream are fine.
Never really managed to plan meals to save money, but I'm going to give it a go in the coming weeks so will report back with how I find it!
Blackpepper1
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jo.booth
New Member
Meal planning has definitely saved me heaps of money. I used to buy loads and then end up chucking it as I'd bought far too much. Now, I go through the days of the week and what we're going to eat. My daughter however is not such a fan. On the way home from school, she'll ask what's for tea and by the end of the week if she doesn't fancy what we're having there is no other option in the fridge/freezer !!! BUt it's the only way to manage ever-tightening budgets.
Hiya newbie first post so thought I'd go to a page I could contribute to !
I definitely agree with planning, but there will always be some leftovers, or if you are yellow label shopping - so what do you plan to make it go further?
My answer is Risotto ! We keep some risotto rice on standby and with a stock cube and any leftover veg / meat and a bit of cheese, you can make a lovely meal out of any leftovers.
I definitely agree with planning, but there will always be some leftovers, or if you are yellow label shopping - so what do you plan to make it go further?
My answer is Risotto ! We keep some risotto rice on standby and with a stock cube and any leftover veg / meat and a bit of cheese, you can make a lovely meal out of any leftovers.
Not so much a meal plan, but investing in a sigg bottle and bringing my own water out instead of paying for bottled water has saved me a lot!!