Frugal Friday: Meal Plans

I get home, ask the Mr "What's for dinner?" and get the shoulder-shrugging response of "You tell me!".

That means either curry or chip shop, or if we're feeling active a trip to the hugely overpriced Co-Op for some last minute ingredients. All this day-to-day shopping and take-aways costs a fortune over the course of a month (on average over £500 a month on food and other groceries) so we've decided to make some meal plans and stick to them!

I've chosen 28 of our favourite dinners and split them into four weekly plans. Each week has a good mix of fresh veg, protein (beans and meat substitutes) and a variety of carbs (rice, pasta, potato). There's also a roast dinner every Sunday! Ashleigh and I will be having packed lunches and the Mr will be having soups and sarnies for his lunch.

We'll be doing most of the shopping at Lidl (because it is so awesome) and any other little bits we need at Morrisons. I've allowed £75 a week, and that's to cover all our food and any other household bits and bobs. Week one has gone surprisingly well with no need to pop out for extras (other than bread and milk) yet.

Give it a go, you just might be surprised at how little you need to spend on food!

Total saving - £50 per week.