What's in your house to eat?

I always buy the discount meat - terrible as that sounds, it saves me a ton of money. I always have chicken, spaghetti sauce, and pasta on hand. I keep an emergency ration of Ramen (which I fortunately almost never have to eat), and then basics like flour so I can make bread or something if needed.

I'd purchase the following (my ultimate staples!):

Cheerios
Bananas, apples, cucumbers, romaine lettuce, sweet red peppers
Brown Rice
Chicken (lots of it!)
Deli sliced turkey
Hummus
Greek yogurt

It covers carbs, protein and healthy fat

This sounds like some good choices!

breakfast: ready brek with milk (40p)

lunch (eaten in 2 sittings): brown rice, veg, chicken breast, spices (£2)

dinner: i eat the same as lunch (£2)

i also have other things such as protein shakes etc. and maybe a snack or 2. but cooking at home is a definite WIN! the main bulk of my food costs is from meat, so cut that back, and the other items are very cheap!

I don't have access to a bulk store in my area. The nearest one is about 45 minutes away and so savings just get spent on gas to get to the store. So unless I have extra to spend and a huge shopping to do, it's not worth it. Plus food is pretty expensive in my town anyway and there are no farmer's markets or co-ops. Here's what I do:

coupons.com for printable coupons, along with a (free) subscription to Couponmoms.com who sends me both printable coupons and let's me know of sales at various stores like Walmart and Walgreens. Instead of having a subscription to the local paper, I just buy coupons from thecouponclippers.com - there is a minimum amount to buy (I think $4.00) but the savings for that $4 is usually in the $30-40 range. Even if you can't use the coupons right away, you can hang on to them and just use them before the expiration date.

Sign up for your local store's rewards programs. Von's JustForU program is pretty decent at the moment. It tracks what you buy regularily and sends you sales every week based on your shopping along with specials on "things you might like" and coupons.
I usually go through the JustForU specials then try to find coupons that correspond to take my total much lower. Doing this gets me a savings range of 41%-50% usually though sometimes I can get it higher. If you don't have a Vons, just go through your local store flyers and find out what the sales are then find the coupons that go with them. Oh and some stores will let you use a store coupon and a manufacturers coupon for the same item. Store policies do vary so check with them first.

Find the dollar stores in your area - the real dollar stores, not the ones that offer "lower" prices. 99 Cents Only stores usually have a decent selection of produce and other goods. Just beware the carrot slices - for some reason every single bag I've ever bought has tasted funny. They don't take coupons but every item is $1.00 or less and lots of the brands taste the same or sometimes even better than the national equivilant. You'll also sometimes find the national brands there as well.

My boyfriend, who eats a LOT, and I spend roughly $200 a month on groceries. The main portion of our food is vegetables and fruits, a loaf of whole grain bread, whole wheat tortillas, a box of whole grain pasta, almonds, walnuts, or mixed nuts, canned fish, beans and tomatoes, cottage cheese, eggs, and yogurt. Butter, olive oil, frozen fruit, salmon or shrimp, and oatmeal every couple months when we run out. And the occasional steak to share.

Okay, we spend about that for the three of us (me, sister and father), so here I go: Fresh spinach and eggs are a must. Makes a good omelette, or garlic sauteed spinach. I usually keep various "snack fruits" around, like kiwis, peaches, etc. Target makes some pretty healthy ready-made foods, so I get the Archer Farms pizzas (there are some good diet ones) and the Archer Farms samosas (delicious and not bad for you). I make tea using teabags by the gallon, which I drink instead of soda or juice. Lean chicken is a must in the house as well, as is fresh garlic.

Ok, this may not work for everyone, some people, I'm sure have more self control, but I also have a limited budget, plus I feed 3 people during the week and 4 on the weekends on about $75 a week. I buy gift cards, 4 $50 ones for Winn Dixie, and 5 $20 ones for save a lot. That way I know I still have grocery money all month, and still get to hit the sales each week. We only get money once a month, and it was either do this or buy a months worth of groceries at once. With a 14 yr old son, that did not work out well, lol. Winn Dixie often has boneless skinless chicken breasts b1g1 free. I stopped buying bagged salads, just this week, and buy heads of romaine and iceburg now. That seems to be working. Wow. I am getting distracted. Ya, so anyway, its easier for me anyway to shop once a week instead of once a month. Always shop with a list and a calculator. That saves embarrassment, and forgetting items needed for a recipe.