Consumers have been switching to supermarket-own products and leaving behind popular brands, changing supermarkets and collecting coupons for years.
However, with the rising cost of living continuing to put a strain on many households, shoppers are having to get more creative if they want to cut their costs.
TikTok mum reveals how to feed family of four for £1 per meal
One such person is social media budgeting guru, Beth Turbutt-Rogers, who is known by 185k followers by her handle @budgetingmum.
@budgetingmumofficial Ad If you’re trying to do the food shopping on a budget over the summer holidays – here’s how I’m feeding my family of 4 with @Aldi UK ! The ingredients needed for all of these meals cost less than £20 from Aldi, making the meals £1 per person 😱 I’ve included a shopping list at the end of the clip for you to screenshot. If you want more details on how I made these meals head to my blog! Ad #aldi #foodshoponabudget #savemoneyonfood #foodcosts #familymealsonabudget #familymeals #budgetingmum #momonabudget #cheapfamilymeals ♬ original sound – THE BUDGETING MUM💰
Beth is known for sharing innovative budgeting hacks and handy parenting tips.
Recently the mumfluencer revealed that she uses under £20 worth of Aldi ingredients to create five tasty dinner recipes that the whole family enjoy.
The TikTok clip sees Beth shop for five family-friendly dinners including a healthy three bean chilli and a Wagamama’s inspired katsu curry which even features hidden veggies for your fussy eaters at home.
The recipe guide has also gathered over 15k views at the time of writing with many users taking to the comments.
Paired with a heart emoji and two kisses, one TikToker posted: “This is amazing! Definitely going to try these. Thank you this will really help reduce the cost of my food shopping. You angel.”
5 ways to save money on your weekly food shop
A second person commented: “Omg can’t believe that! Look so good as well.”
While a third chimed in: “Amazing, this will make the shopping list much easier!”
Following her Aldi shopping experience, Beth, who lives with her husband and two young children, shared: “Aldi is the best place to get everything you need without breaking the bank.
“As the summer holidays arrive, lots of families will be feeling the pinch when it comes to food shopping.
“Having the children at home might mean that routines are totally different and for this reason you might start to see a rise in the weekly cost.
“But don’t panic! With a little planning and opting for low-cost ingredients, you can get through the summer holidays on a budget and still enjoy tasty and nutritious meals.”
Beth’s full shopping list for these dinners comes in at less than £20 which works out as £1 per meal for a family of four.
The five recipes are as follows with the full step-by-step instructions being available via Beth’s budgetingmum blog.
- Cheeseburger pasta bake with vegetarian mince
- Cheese and bacon potato pie with beans
- Three bean chilli with rice
- Katsu chicken curry and rice
- Bacon potato bake with egg and beans
If you would like to replicate some of the recipes yourself or try the full shopping list, here are all the products included and how much they will cost you.
Aldi shopping list for a family of four for under £20
- Nature’s Pick Brown Onions (£0.95, 3 pack)
- Oakhurst Smoked Bacon Lardons (£1.99, 200g)
- Nature’s Pick Spring Onions (£0.50, 100g)
- Nature’s Pick Salad Tomatoes (£0.85, 6 pack)
- Ashfields Breaded Chicken Steaks (£2.99, 505g)
- Everyday Essentials Penne Pasta (£0.41, 500g)
- Four Seasons Taco Mixed Beans (£0.72, 395g)
- Everyday Essentials Chopped Tomatoes x2 (£0.35, 400g)
- Everyday Essentials Baked Beans x2 (£0.56, 420g)
- Asia Specialities Chinese Style Curry Sauce (£0.99, 500g)
- Emporium Mature Grated Cheddar Cheese (£1.99, 250g)
- Ready, Set…Cook! Chilli Powder (£0.59, 40g)
- Plant Menu Meat Free Mince (£1.35, 400g)
- Everyday Essentials Long Grain Rice (£0.52,1kg)
- Merevale British Medium Free-Range Eggs (£1.29, 6 pack)
- Nature’s Pick Marris Piper Potatoes (£1.59, 2.5kg)
- Four Seasons Mixed Vegetables (£0.99, 1kg)
- Four Seasons Black Beans in Water (£0.59, 390g)
Total: £19.57 (approx. 97p per meal, based on five meals for a family of four).
TikTok mum shares weekly shop budgeting tips
The savvy shopper has also shared some of her top budgeting tips for a weekly shop:
Overlap
Plan meals with overlapping ingredients.
For example, if you’re buying potatoes, buy a large pack which you can then use to make jacket potatoes one night and a potato pie the other.
Or if you’re buying bacon lardons, buy a two pack which you can use for two meals!
Meal plan
This is a guaranteed way to save you money as you’ll have well thought out meal ideas for the week.
This is especially relevant during the holidays when the food shop needs to feed the whole family all day every day!
Go frozen or tinned
Consider buying frozen or tinned vegetables for a great way to inject nutrients to food on a budget.
Go plant based
Swapping to plant-based alternatives can often be cheaper than meat products – and more sustainable too.
Buy in bulk
Bulk buying certain items, for example buying a larger pack of toilet rolls, will work out cheaper in the long run.
This is particularly important during the school holidays when we seem to go through household items far more quickly.
Cook from scratch
Cooking from scratch – learning how to make things like sauces from basic ingredients such as milk, butter and flour can save you money.
This is a great one to pick up during the holidays when we’re not so time poor!
Divide and conquer
Try buying a whole chicken and dividing the meat into several meals throughout the week to make it go further.
Batch cook
Batch cooking can not only save you time, but it can also save you money if planned well.
This means more time to spend playing with little ones during the holidays!
Freeze it
Utilising your freezer to ensure food doesn’t go off before you have time to eat it can reduce food waste and save you money.
Enjoy family time
Eat together as a family! Doing separate meals for children can be expensive, so making meals that are suitable for all the family will help cut your costs.
Particularly during the holidays, this is a great time to make the best of having everyone at home and enjoy eating together.