Help/advise needed please...

^^^ agree buy in bulk.

I am having the exact same problem right now! If you find a good answer, let me know! Cuz there's only so many beans you can eat in a week.

Know that problem well. Healthier=more expensive.

Buy dried chickpeas, lentils...all sorts of pulses.
Frozen veg
Bulk buy and bulk cook then freeze.

We also found over all we end up saving because our portions got smaller when calorie counting (and we never throw anything just freeze or use next day)

And as above, no special treatment for kids, they eat was is served

Well for us the bill came down because we stopped buying extra junk.

Buy in bulk, freeze extra, stock up when things are on sale etc. My kids eat what we eat, but I still have some extra kid-friendly 'junk' on the side (they never like the new recipes I try unfortunately!).

fresh fruit and veg can add up too, and you rarely get nice healthy food on 2 for 1.

Thankyou for the ideas guys! Okay I don't think I've had the dried lentils and stuff before. What do I do with them? I know you have to soak them... but that's as far as I know on them. Any ideas for easy recipes with lentils and split peas as I saw they were relatively cheap at the shops. As for my daughter, she eats what I do 80% of the time... but there are times where we dont.. I do not make a habit of cooking her different meals all the time.

X

Lentils are so easy and don't need to be soaked, just rinsed. Here's a super easy recipe that you can tailor however you like (with veggies, spices, etc): Put one cup of lentils and a tbsp of olive oil in a pan and toss over med heat for one minute (I like red lentils best, but they're all good). Add 2 1/2 cups broth and bring to a boil (you could use water as well, but the broth will provide more flavor). Reduce heat and cover, let simmer for twelve minutes. Season to taste. So simple!

I save money buy buying at ethnic grocery stores. There is a Halal market, and Asian market and plenty of Mexican groceries in my area. They tend to be less expensive than the big box grocery stores.

I also buy foods in their most natural form. For instance, I'll buy fresh fruit instead of fruit juice. I buy oatmeal instead of boxed cold cereal. If I want convenience foods I'll opt for cleaned and ready to eat greens and veggies from the produce department. Also, frozen plain fruit and veggies are very affordable.

I also buy canned beans for convenience. Make sure to get the reduced sodium kind, as traditionally packed beans are a sodium bomb. I get reduced sodium beans for $1 a can at Kroger. Sometimes I can find them for less.

I buy 32 ounce containers of greek yogurt and add my own ingredients. I can find greek yogurt at that size for under $3 at low cost grocery stores like Walmart or Winco.

Bulk is a good way to save money on very expensive items. I buy all my nuts in bulk. Shelled walnuts and almonds are just crazy expensive if you buy them in the pantry section of the store, but in bulk you can find them for less than $5 a pound at times. Usually bulk nuts are never over $7 a pound.

I eat very little in the way of breads or pasta. I've tried to replace those items with rice and potatoes. I cook up large batches of baked potatoes and rice on the weekends, and use them throughout the week.

When shopping for organic produce, I prioritize by whether I peel the item or not. If it gets peeled (like oranges and bananas) I just buy conventional. If I eat the whole food (like celery or berries) I buy organic. That way I can eat as healthfully as possible in a budget. Most of the pesticides are on the skin of the produce. If you don't eat the peel, there is no reason to pay extra for a pesticide free item.

Edited to add: I just realized you aren't in the US. Hopefully some of this info will be helpful anyway.

I've been eating healthy for almost a year now and living with my boyfriend and his teenage son, who don't eat healthy. I can tell you my food cost is way lower than theirs. I eat tons of fruit and veggies. For breakfast I eat oatmeal and fruit. Lunch and a snack will either be a couple more fruits or if I want to cheat a little then maybe a sandwich or soup for lunch. The only "diet" brand foods I buy are dessert stuff that are around 100-150 calories. Dinners may include something from scratch that we can all eat or I have a saladwith baked chicken breast and low calorie dressing.

I assume you already cook as much as possible from scratch. if not, that's the first place to start.
There's a very good website featuring cheap to cook recipes - http://agirlcalledjack.com/category/recipes-food-etc/
Google £1 a day for more useful recipes and ideas.

I find Lidl and Aldi have some fantastic bargains. I check their websites to see when they're selling stuff I like at a price I like even better.
People in the US will say - "shop at farmers markets" - in the UK (and I note you quote your pay rate in £) "Farmers Markets" are incredibly expensive. If you have a street market near you, you may get some bargains, particularly if you go in the afternoon. I've also come across greengrocers selling off produce cheap at car boot sales but you need to know what you're going to do with a whole box of short-dated tomatoes, or apples or whatever! A freezer is useful here.

I think what we call a farmer's market here is what you would call a street market....big difference!

I try to shop each week with a certain dollar amount to spend. I can cook 3-4 meals a week and then we eat leftovers for lunch / dinners the other nights. I have a Whole foods grocery store or Farmers market I can go to. I only buy what is on sale for fruit and frozen veggies and the meat specials for the week. I then make a batch of something yummy/healthy for a treat (for the family) and it has to last all week. My bill has actually gone down and my weight is moving too.

I also find that buying family packs of meat that is on sale is great like chicken breast and can be versatile.

Example. Large pack of chicken. Buy it skin and bone in. You can easily de-bone and remove skin. Why pay someone?

You can put it in crock pot with taco seasoning or salsa. Chicken tacos. Kids love.

You can bake and/or barbecue.

You can grill it. Add with something inexpensive such as pasta with few frozen veggies. Kid friendly.

Always popular grilled chicken sandwiches. Or coat with cornflakes for a baked fried chicken.

Leftover chicken is great in a quesadilla.

Add with great nothern beans, onion, garlic, canned tomates for a white chicken chili.

Chicken and rice.

Chicken salad with diced eggs and mayo (I use light)

Top a fresh salad with chicken.

You can take a couple meats and make many meals. I find pork butt is very versatile also.

Good luck!

Plus when you have leftovers, put in the freezer for another night. Throwing away is a waste of money. I do understand. I have 4 kids. And they're picky. I'm fortunate enough to have a two year old that will eat anything and I refuse to feed him junk very much.