I recommend Lidl or Aldi, although someone on here said the butchers are cheaper - not where I live though.
Trouble here is I would need to drive to Camberley to find my nearest Lidl or Aldi, so add price of petrol and you make no saving at all, local butchers are few and far between too none in my local village or town, would need again to drive to find one.
Thanks for all advice. Hes hoping for stuff in slow cooker. he loves his meat so I'm trying to find out what would be good to put in it which isn't very expensive regarding meat. he also likes a roast but hes getting sick of processed foods so I need ideas for cheap recipes and cuts meat as what I buy will have to last a week.
Thanks for all advice. Hes hoping for stuff in slow cooker. he loves his meat so I'm trying to find out what would be good to put in it which isn't very expensive regarding meat. he also likes a roast but hes getting sick of processed foods so I need ideas for cheap recipes and cuts meat as what I buy will have to last a week.
As well as thinking about finding cheap meat, I'd have a look at the portion control as that 2kg of lamb for 4 people sounds way too much for one meal. If it's that he is most concerned about processed food, hopefully that means you can make the meat go further in recipes by bulking them out with veg and carbs. Meat stews with spuds, veg and dumplings for examples might make everyone satisfied with 100-150g meat each.
For roasts Ocado often do a great deal on 3 whole chickens for a tenner (or mix n match with other meats) and they are fantastic quality and though they call them 'small' they served 4 for us - really good value for a decent roast bird at £3.33 a go.
Gammons are definitely a good choice for roast, or boiled as well. Cheap but so yummy just boiled and served with spuds and vegs. Asda do a kilo for £3.78 which for 4 should give plenty of meat and possibly some left overs.
I don't know if you do online food shopping but if not it might be worth considering to make use of the £12 off Tesco usually give to newbies, £15 at Ocado etc... I rotate them and er, my accounts, so I'm usually getting about a tenner off after taking the delivery charge into account. They also email you codes if you don't use the account for a while. Ocado often do flash sales as well which you only see at the checkout and there is often 50% off of quality meat including large joints.
I think the best suggestion of all is to find out when your supermarket reduce food and get in there and stock the freezer up.
Well done you for looking into it. They should never have stopped teaching proper Home Economics in schools!
I have to say, Waitrose do some terrific mark-downs if you're there at the right time. I got a boned leg of lamb marked down from £25 to a fiver! Took us a week to eat it mind but it was lovely all the more so for being a steal.
For how many meals, though? Not just one, surely?
If you roast it and have it with spuds and vegetables on the first day, unless the three or four people involved are complete and utter gannets, you'll have loads left over. So that is the basis of more meals/sandwiches for your lunches for the next few days.
Seeing as you say you've got a slow cooker, look for some slow cooker recipes on the internet and they'll give you ideas of what cuts to buy.
My hubby is getting fed up of eating frozen foods like pies, chips and sausage and burgers. I'd start to buy fresh meat but it would cost me a fortune. I had thought of buying stewing beef or a joint but far to expensive.
Not that expensive is it?
I can spin a chicken out over four meals for me and o/h.
Cheap beef like brisket or flank is quite cheap, and makes a good few meals.
I'd worry about how much you want to pay for your food if you find fresh meat expensive.
I think you perhaps have to realise that not everyone is lucky enough to have a budget where the cost of fresh meat is not a concern.
I know when I was unlucky enough to be on an extremely tight budget that fresh meat simply was not for the majority of the time a viable option. I simply could not afford to walk into the local butchers or even the main supermarkets and just pick up some fresh meat. I know there are often deals on but when its a choice between paying £5 for a bit of fresh meat or paying for the electricity the meat suddenly isn't such an important purchase.
I know many turn their noses up at them on here but the fresh meat range at Iceland isn't too bad I regularly got some of the fresh meat like Pork Mince or Beef Meatballs for £1 and they were always lovely. I would use the pork mince with seasonings to make mini patties or turn it into spag bol etc. One pack of each easily did 2 people.
I also used to get packs of frozen mince from there and friends have said the frozen packs of chicken are good.
As others have said Aldi and Lidl are worth a look and I would also say try the supermarkets for reduced stuff. I have got lucky in Morrisons a couple of times and got a pack of the M Savers chicken fillets which I just chop up a bit more reduced from over £5 to just over £2 and does at least 2 meals more if I'm being goo and not doing bigger portions and I try to pick up things that can then be frozen.
Also potentially a long shot but could be worth having a word with your local butcher go in with a budget and see what they can offer for it. One in a market near to me did offer that but at the time I just didn't have the money to do it. I'm lucky now that there is someone local to me who is now offering meat deliveries at a fantastic price and you get a large amount of meat for a really good price including a joint of meat which did 3 meals for 2 people.
You can cook just about anything in the slow cooker. Gammon if you can get a cheap joint is lovely done in it cooked in cola and I do my chicken in it and beef as well (not at the same time) although sure others on here will have lots of good recipes. I just tend to throw things in and see what happens.
I spend a fortune on meat and fish, I always stock up my 2 freezers if there are items that are heavily reduced items, buy a lot of chicken using every part of the carcass and tend to buy slow cook cheaper cuts, but it still costs me a bomb.
Good meat is expensive, ultimately you get what you pay for. I'd rather eat less meat but great tasting stuff, than lots of cheap, factory farmed shite
By the time it has cooked, the bone removed, fat rendered out etc, it wouldn't be near 500g per portion. It seems about right to me.
That's another good point when it comes to determining the value of a meat product. The lamb joint the OP mentioned came in at £6 a kilo - she didn't say if it was boned or not, but it will certainly lose some in fat.
Taking those kinds of things into account affects the real value beyond just the direct price per kilo comparison.
Still think 2kg for a family or 4, assuming two adults and two kids, is way too much though.
Working on 100-200g per portion, plus any additional for rendered fat, bone etc is what I'd suggest.
Trouble here is I would need to drive to Camberley to find my nearest Lidl or Aldi, so add price of petrol and you make no saving at all, local butchers are few and far between too none in my local village or town, would need again to drive to find one.
I see what you mean - so is Tesco the only local option?
I don't use Tesco much these days - last time I shopped at Tesco they were pusing two for one, or buy two to get a reduction on the second item offers, and I got lulled into buying more than I actually needed.
Over the years we've been led to believe that competition between the supermarkets was holding prices down, but Aldi and Lidl have proved what a load of rubbish that is.
Fortunately, I have quite a lot of choice within 5 miles, i.e. all the main supermarkets, and 3 Alidi stores, and 4 branches of Lidl.
Currently, I cherry-pick the best buys in Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's, and ASDA.
I had a spend 50 and get 10 pounds off voucher for Sainsbuy's this week, and also a 4.50 price match voucher from last week, so bought a leg of lamb from them at just over 11 pounds (on offer), a pork leg joint (on offer) for 6 pounds, and two rump steaks (on offer) for 6 pounds. Not really cheap, but as things go, not too bad a-buys. I bought a few other of my regular Sainsbuy's value items, and got 14.50 off at the checkout.
But didn't actually save any money, because on my way round saw a large copper-bottomed SS hard anodised stir-fry pan on offer for 16.50 - which I don't really need, but I thought "that really is too good to leave on the shelf, and as I've got 14.50 in vouchers, I will be getting it for only 2 pounds"!
Cupboards are even more crammed now!
But then if I have to eat more stir-frys to justify buying the pan, that must be a good think surely?
We have a sainsburys and a morrisons and a waitrose, all more expensive generally than Tesco, although we get our bread from morrisons 50p a whole wheat loaf and I drink orange squash from sainsburys as their value low cal one 80p is actually quite nice.
If it costs a lot for you to travel to a supermarket by bus or car wouldn't it be cheaper to do an online shop at one of the big supermarkets and get their special offers even with the small delivery charge?
I do this with Asda now for my main shopping. Although Asda is not that far from me I have difficulty carrying my shopping back, due to health issues, and I don't drive. I can imagine it's really helpful for people who live a distance away or have to struggle on buses and fares aren't cheap either. I couldn't afford to pay some of the prices that they charge in little local shops that some people have to use.
I'd have a look at Asda's Smartprice meats. I buy the casserole beef and it's fine.
I live miles away from shops so I always buy online as what it costs me in bus and train fair I save with the delivery charge. Also use supermarket.com to compare prices, you can save a fortune!
Got 2 bags of 1kg big frozen chicken breasts from tesco for £3.99 each and got lots of cooking meats in their 3 for a tenner offer. ALWAYS use the low and high price thing when looking as I've found I can get more for my bucks that way. (compare the amount per kg as well). You just have to be savvy. Remember you can get a nice chunk of meat and cut it upself, avoid pre-cut(unless frozen) as they charge more for the pleasure of cutting up some chunk steak.
Tesco is the only supermarket who will deliver to us a flat with no lift puts the others off. Which makes me quite loyal to them as they put themselves out for me I am happy to be a customer to them.
We have a sainsburys and a morrisons and a waitrose, all more expensive generally than Tesco, although we get our bread from morrisons 50p a whole wheat loaf and I drink orange squash from sainsburys as their value low cal one 80p is actually quite nice.
I find it's best to shop around these days - I used to do all my shopping in ASDA, but what I saved on the swings, I paid through the nose for on the roundabouts. I used to get to the checkout and be quite surprised at just how much the bill was!
Not everything in Aldi and Lidl is cheaper, so I use the supermarkets for their value items, and a few items that I particulaly like. But I reckon it's possible to save at least 20% in Aldi/Lidl, even if shopping just with them.
I tend to buy in bulk when things are on offer - could you make a monthly trip to ALDI/Lidl and stock up on the cheaper buys? Maybe hitting a few of the supermarket value buys / offers at the same time?
Normally I only visit Sainsbury's once a month for specific items which are good value, but they sent me a sheet of tokens ranging through Dec, Jan & Feb, with 10 pounds off if spending 50, so I've been in a bit more, but I'm not getting drawn into buying their more expensive lines.
I don't regularly use Waitrose, Morrisons, or Tesco, as I find them too expensive. I might pop in if I saw a really good offer on, but that's all.
You are right about the cost of fuel though, it does need to be factored in nowadays.
What times do Asda mark down. sounds a great idea.
I thin it varies store to store, but you can monitor your own shop and work it out. Our big Asda does 2 reductions, one around 4pm in time for the evening rush and a second further reduction on anything that's not sold around 7pm. That can sometimes be excellent, and I've scooped up salmon fillets for 80p etc.
Can you tell us what you would normally spend on a meal, so we can get a better idea of budget to make suggestions with?
Comments
Trouble here is I would need to drive to Camberley to find my nearest Lidl or Aldi, so add price of petrol and you make no saving at all, local butchers are few and far between too none in my local village or town, would need again to drive to find one.
As well as thinking about finding cheap meat, I'd have a look at the portion control as that 2kg of lamb for 4 people sounds way too much for one meal. If it's that he is most concerned about processed food, hopefully that means you can make the meat go further in recipes by bulking them out with veg and carbs. Meat stews with spuds, veg and dumplings for examples might make everyone satisfied with 100-150g meat each.
For roasts Ocado often do a great deal on 3 whole chickens for a tenner (or mix n match with other meats) and they are fantastic quality and though they call them 'small' they served 4 for us - really good value for a decent roast bird at £3.33 a go.
Gammons are definitely a good choice for roast, or boiled as well. Cheap but so yummy just boiled and served with spuds and vegs. Asda do a kilo for £3.78 which for 4 should give plenty of meat and possibly some left overs.
I don't know if you do online food shopping but if not it might be worth considering to make use of the £12 off Tesco usually give to newbies, £15 at Ocado etc... I rotate them and er, my accounts, so I'm usually getting about a tenner off after taking the delivery charge into account. They also email you codes if you don't use the account for a while. Ocado often do flash sales as well which you only see at the checkout and there is often 50% off of quality meat including large joints.
I think the best suggestion of all is to find out when your supermarket reduce food and get in there and stock the freezer up.
Well done you for looking into it. They should never have stopped teaching proper Home Economics in schools!
I buy mince for £4 and it makes about six meals.
For how many meals, though? Not just one, surely?
If you roast it and have it with spuds and vegetables on the first day, unless the three or four people involved are complete and utter gannets, you'll have loads left over. So that is the basis of more meals/sandwiches for your lunches for the next few days.
Seeing as you say you've got a slow cooker, look for some slow cooker recipes on the internet and they'll give you ideas of what cuts to buy.
Not that expensive is it?
I can spin a chicken out over four meals for me and o/h.
Cheap beef like brisket or flank is quite cheap, and makes a good few meals.
I think you perhaps have to realise that not everyone is lucky enough to have a budget where the cost of fresh meat is not a concern.
I know when I was unlucky enough to be on an extremely tight budget that fresh meat simply was not for the majority of the time a viable option. I simply could not afford to walk into the local butchers or even the main supermarkets and just pick up some fresh meat. I know there are often deals on but when its a choice between paying £5 for a bit of fresh meat or paying for the electricity the meat suddenly isn't such an important purchase.
I know many turn their noses up at them on here but the fresh meat range at Iceland isn't too bad I regularly got some of the fresh meat like Pork Mince or Beef Meatballs for £1 and they were always lovely. I would use the pork mince with seasonings to make mini patties or turn it into spag bol etc. One pack of each easily did 2 people.
I also used to get packs of frozen mince from there and friends have said the frozen packs of chicken are good.
As others have said Aldi and Lidl are worth a look and I would also say try the supermarkets for reduced stuff. I have got lucky in Morrisons a couple of times and got a pack of the M Savers chicken fillets which I just chop up a bit more reduced from over £5 to just over £2 and does at least 2 meals more if I'm being goo and not doing bigger portions and I try to pick up things that can then be frozen.
Also potentially a long shot but could be worth having a word with your local butcher go in with a budget and see what they can offer for it. One in a market near to me did offer that but at the time I just didn't have the money to do it. I'm lucky now that there is someone local to me who is now offering meat deliveries at a fantastic price and you get a large amount of meat for a really good price including a joint of meat which did 3 meals for 2 people.
You can cook just about anything in the slow cooker. Gammon if you can get a cheap joint is lovely done in it cooked in cola and I do my chicken in it and beef as well (not at the same time) although sure others on here will have lots of good recipes. I just tend to throw things in and see what happens.
4-500g of meat per person
Blimey. 200g of meat is more than enough for me
That is a lot of meat my husband only has about 125g and he is I have always thought a big eater.
By the time it has cooked, the bone removed, fat rendered out etc, it wouldn't be near 500g per portion. It seems about right to me.
That's another good point when it comes to determining the value of a meat product. The lamb joint the OP mentioned came in at £6 a kilo - she didn't say if it was boned or not, but it will certainly lose some in fat.
Taking those kinds of things into account affects the real value beyond just the direct price per kilo comparison.
Still think 2kg for a family or 4, assuming two adults and two kids, is way too much though.
Working on 100-200g per portion, plus any additional for rendered fat, bone etc is what I'd suggest.
I see what you mean - so is Tesco the only local option?
I don't use Tesco much these days - last time I shopped at Tesco they were pusing two for one, or buy two to get a reduction on the second item offers, and I got lulled into buying more than I actually needed.
Over the years we've been led to believe that competition between the supermarkets was holding prices down, but Aldi and Lidl have proved what a load of rubbish that is.
Fortunately, I have quite a lot of choice within 5 miles, i.e. all the main supermarkets, and 3 Alidi stores, and 4 branches of Lidl.
Currently, I cherry-pick the best buys in Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's, and ASDA.
I had a spend 50 and get 10 pounds off voucher for Sainsbuy's this week, and also a 4.50 price match voucher from last week, so bought a leg of lamb from them at just over 11 pounds (on offer), a pork leg joint (on offer) for 6 pounds, and two rump steaks (on offer) for 6 pounds. Not really cheap, but as things go, not too bad a-buys. I bought a few other of my regular Sainsbuy's value items, and got 14.50 off at the checkout.
But didn't actually save any money, because on my way round saw a large copper-bottomed SS hard anodised stir-fry pan on offer for 16.50 - which I don't really need, but I thought "that really is too good to leave on the shelf, and as I've got 14.50 in vouchers, I will be getting it for only 2 pounds"!
Cupboards are even more crammed now!
But then if I have to eat more stir-frys to justify buying the pan, that must be a good think surely?
I do this with Asda now for my main shopping. Although Asda is not that far from me I have difficulty carrying my shopping back, due to health issues, and I don't drive. I can imagine it's really helpful for people who live a distance away or have to struggle on buses and fares aren't cheap either. I couldn't afford to pay some of the prices that they charge in little local shops that some people have to use.
I'd have a look at Asda's Smartprice meats. I buy the casserole beef and it's fine.
Got 2 bags of 1kg big frozen chicken breasts from tesco for £3.99 each and got lots of cooking meats in their 3 for a tenner offer. ALWAYS use the low and high price thing when looking as I've found I can get more for my bucks that way. (compare the amount per kg as well). You just have to be savvy. Remember you can get a nice chunk of meat and cut it upself, avoid pre-cut(unless frozen) as they charge more for the pleasure of cutting up some chunk steak.
I find it's best to shop around these days - I used to do all my shopping in ASDA, but what I saved on the swings, I paid through the nose for on the roundabouts. I used to get to the checkout and be quite surprised at just how much the bill was!
Not everything in Aldi and Lidl is cheaper, so I use the supermarkets for their value items, and a few items that I particulaly like. But I reckon it's possible to save at least 20% in Aldi/Lidl, even if shopping just with them.
I tend to buy in bulk when things are on offer - could you make a monthly trip to ALDI/Lidl and stock up on the cheaper buys? Maybe hitting a few of the supermarket value buys / offers at the same time?
Normally I only visit Sainsbury's once a month for specific items which are good value, but they sent me a sheet of tokens ranging through Dec, Jan & Feb, with 10 pounds off if spending 50, so I've been in a bit more, but I'm not getting drawn into buying their more expensive lines.
I don't regularly use Waitrose, Morrisons, or Tesco, as I find them too expensive. I might pop in if I saw a really good offer on, but that's all.
You are right about the cost of fuel though, it does need to be factored in nowadays.
I thin it varies store to store, but you can monitor your own shop and work it out. Our big Asda does 2 reductions, one around 4pm in time for the evening rush and a second further reduction on anything that's not sold around 7pm. That can sometimes be excellent, and I've scooped up salmon fillets for 80p etc.
Can you tell us what you would normally spend on a meal, so we can get a better idea of budget to make suggestions with?
ETA: is it 3-4 adults?