cheap family recipes 

feed a family of 4 for less than £200 a month

The planners are designed for a family of four – two adults and two teenage children – but can be easily adapted to suit any situation. Whether you are a single or have a larger brood, please don’t feel daunted or think it can’t be done unless you’re cooking for exactly four. It most certainly can and our testers have proved it!

Read on for our tips on how to make life easier, however many you’re catering for…

When starting the planner as a single, simply dividing the shopping list by four will give odd amounts so round up to nearest size. This will leave things over but they can be used next month. The first month’s shop will be slightly more than £25 but will average out over time, if you continue the planner for longer.

If following planner one, a single person will need approx 1-2 pints of milk per week – this will vary somewhat, as it’s used in some recipes and also depends on how much you like in your tea. This is not a concern for those following planner 2, as it is vegan so contains no milk or dairy.

You’ll need two loaves of homemade bread per week as a single person following the plan to the letter, including all breakfasts and lunches – which is half a batch of your bread recipe. Simply halve all the ingredients stated except the yeast, which you must always use at least 10g of, however small a batch you’re making of any of the recipes it is used in.

Why Not Try....?

Pasta Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara

cheap family recipes feed a family of 4 for less than £200 a monthPasta CarbonaraThere are 3 slices of home made bread per person allowed for this meal. If this is too much, keep the extra aside for another time. I keep my bread in the freezer, so it's always fresh....

Pasta Amatriciana

Pasta Amatriciana

cheap family recipesfeed a family of 4 for (just over) £100 a monthPasta Amatriciana Why Not Try....?Before putting together our meal planners we surveyed over 600 people to ask when faced with a tighter budget, which things they would struggle to...

Pasta Alfredo

Pasta Alfredo

cheap family recipes feed a family of 4 for less than £200 a monthPasta AlfredoThis pasta recipe is part of monthly meal plan 1 and serves 4 What do I need to make Pasta Alfredo These ingredients are specific to the meal plan ▢ 25 g lard, used on the meal plan, any...

Take care of your family and your budget

Before putting together our meal planners we surveyed over 600 people to ask when faced with a tighter budget, which things they would struggle to give up.

Want to know more about how to feed yourself fantastically frugal food?