Weekly Meal Plan Week 4 2017 - Plus Top Tips on How to Save Money on your Weekly Shop

Hello and welcome to my weekly meal plan for week 4 of 2017.

I was recently asked how I save money on my weekly shopping and as saving money and meal planning goes hand in hand I thought that this would be the perfect post to write about my top tips. Feeding a family can be one of the biggest expenses each month. It is so easy, whilst shopping, to be drawn in by 'special offers' and 'multibuys' which often result in unnecessary items being thrown into the trolley. Believe me we have done this on many a shopping trip and what was meant to be a small shop ended up being a trolley full and numerous pounds more than we wanted to spend. There are a number of small changes that can be made to help you save money, reduce your food waste and be more of a savvy shopper.

Here are my top tips for cutting your shopping expenses...

The Mince Pie Taste Challenge

The one thing I love about Christmas is the food, especially the mince pies. However I will admit to being quite fussy when it comes to mince pies.

Only the best will do!

So when Aldi asked me if I would like to try their mince pies I was curious to see if we would be able to tell the difference. I decided to get the hubby and my parents involved and asked them to do a blind taste test, just like they do on the adverts.

We tested the Aldi Specially Selected mince pies against my usual favourite Tesco Finest mince pies, Tesco regular and value mince pies as well as Mr Kipling mince pies.

Top left - Mr Kipling
Top right - Tesco Finest
Bottom left - Aldi
Bottom right - Tesco

I knew that Aldi were facing a tough challenge as I adore Tesco Finest mince pies. As soon as they come out in the shops you can guarantee that a box will end up in my trolley!

So how did Aldi's mince pies do?

Let me tell you the results...

mySupermarket's mySuperList App Review

Regular reader will know how I love to save money!

Being on a tight budget I am always looking for more ways to save money on our weekly shopping without compromising on quality.

When I was asked if I would like to review a new app from mySupermarket I saw this as an opportunity to not only save money but to also make shopping easier.

I downloaded the mySuperList app, which is available on both android and iphone, onto my telephone.

It is quick and easy to get going. If you are already registered on mySupermarket you just need to log in using the same log in information. If not it is easy to register via the app.

Once you are logged in you can create your shopping list.

You are able to choose which shop you are going to be doing your shopping with. The app contains prices from Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, Aldi, Waitrose, Ocado, Superdrug, Boots and Morrisons.

After you have selected the shop you are ready to create your shopping list.

I did a search for each individual item that I had written on my shopping list. However if you do not have a shopping list and are looking for ideas on what to buy you can select from the different shopping aisles. Just as you would if you were doing an online food order. You can browse through offers, the various food categories, search through your favourite buys, and even dietary foods.

 

 

Once you have completed your shopping list you can see all of the items in a checkout style format.

 

It is here that the money saving fun starts!

I'm sure that I am not the only person who tends to stick to foods that I buy regularly. I find that this is often because I know the product but also because of time. As I go shopping with 2 year old twins I like to be in, do my shopping and out. If I take a long time the twins get bored and tired and that is when the stress begins.
 

However, with mySuperList, I was able to browse, at home, through other products.
 

When you go to the mySuperList checkout you can clearly see the items which you have selected and the total price is stated at the bottom of the page. This is a great and easy way to check whether you are on budget or not.

 

 

If there are any items that are cheaper or better value you will see a blue circle with a white arrow in.

This is how mySuperList app can help you save money on your shopping!
 

When you open the product information it gives you the option to swap and save.

 



 

 

When you select this option mySuperList will give you a list of cheaper and better value products.

This will be a selection of items which are cheaper in price or more expensive but you get more for your money.

 

 

If any of the products listed are what you would like, you simply select the swap option and the app swaps the products for you.



I was amazed by how doing a few simple swap and saves on my shopping brought it down from £79.81 to £70.32. Just by using this app, swapping and saving I had already reduced my shopping bill by £9.49!

 

When you have completed your shopping list select the "shop completed" option and mySuperList will show you how your shopping list compares with other supermarkets so that you can see how much it would cost you elsewhere. Then you have the option to shop elsewhere if you wish.

 



 

 

I saved my shopping list and used it as I went around the shop.

 

I found that I was able to do my shopping quicker than normal as I was not standing and looking for the better price. I knew which the cheaper products were so I went straight for them.

 

The only problem that I did find with the app was that a couple of the offers were not available in store. But this was not a big problem, it just meant that I had to look for an alternative product.

 

Also I would recommend taking a paper list as a back up. The mySuperList app was not available for a few minutes, which did nearly cause me to have a melt down in the middle of Morrisons! However thankfully it was back up and running in a few minutes.

 

I found using the app list a lot easier than going round with a paper list and pencil in one hand, calculator in the other, pushing the trolley whilst amusing the twins! I only needed my telephone. As I got the items on my shopping list I simply pressed the tick in the corner of the product. This shades out the product so that it is easily visible what is remaining on the list.

 

I even managed to save more money in store by finding in store offers and bargains! I used the money that I saved to buy some well deserved treats!

 

I would definitely recommend mySupermarket's app mySuperList. It made my shopping trip cheaper, easier and less stressful!

 

Visit mySupermarket to register and for more details.

Click for information to download the iPhone app

Click for information to download the Android app

 

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All opinions and view are my own and 100% honest.

 

Weekly Meal Plan - Week Commencing 13th January 2014

After Christmas and a huge car repairs bill we really are tightening our belts.

This means that I have not got as much as I usually have to spend on our weekly shopping.

I cook our meals from scratch so it is not too hard to cut back here and there.

One way that I have always found I can save money is by meal planning for the week.

I look at what I have in my freezer and work meals around what I have in and buy what I need as opposed to buying willy nilly. I also love looking on the reduced meat and fish section in the supermarket. Most, if not all, of the meat and fish that is on offer can be frozen so if they have any good offers I stock up my freezer for a cut of the regular price!
 

So here is my first weeks meal plan for 2014!
 

My meal plans will not be restricted to certain days. I will be listing 6 meals that I will be cooking over the week. I'll only be listing 6 as we go to my mum and dads for our Sunday dinner!

 

Week Commencing 13th January 2014

 

* Beef and Chunky Vegetable Pasta

I make this with steak mince, red onion, garlic, courgettes and peppers in a herby tomato sauce. I find that this is a really versatile meal so I always make more than I need so that I can make an easy alternative meal the following day!

* Italian Style Cottage Pie

With the left over beef and chunky vegetable sauce I will give it a twist and create a new, different tasting meal. I will use the sauce as I would a cottage pie and top with creamy mashed potatoes. I always give the top a generous sprinkling of grated cheese that go lovely and crispy under the grill!

* Creamy Chicken and Tarragon Pie

I love making a good, hearty pie during the winter months. I always find pies to be warming, comfort foods. I am also taking part in Keynko's 52 Cook Books so this is going to be this weeks recipe!

* Toad in the Hole

When I looked in my freezer I found that I still have sausages left from Christmas so I thought I'd make a family inner this week and do a toad in the hole with roasted carrots. I love to add not just sausages to my toad in the hole and will be adding some roasted carrots to the mix this week!

* Beef Stew

I also found in my freezer some lovely casserole steak. So one day I am going to put a stew in my slow cooker and leave it to tenderise for the day! Dumplings will be added to this dish of course!

* Tuna Couscous

This week I bought a bag of couscous for a change. This week I plan to make a tuna couscous dish with mushrooms, red onions, diced peppers and garlic. This will be my easy meal for the week. This one will be saved for a day when time has not been on my side!

I am linking up my weekly meal plan with At Home With Mrs M's Meal Planning Monday. Take at look at some other meal plan here...
http://athomewithmrsm.blogspot.co.uk/

 

Twins Christening on a Budget!

After the horribly difficult and upsetting two weeks it is now time for me to focus on something positive. Something to be happy about and to celebrate as a family.
The twins christening!!!
I am now starting to feel excited and daunted about their special day. We put off their christening for various reasons.
I do have my beliefs and have a strong faith. However I do not practice my faith, I do not regularly attend church or regularly pray but I do believe there is a god watching over us and I do believe that there is a place for us when we leave this world. I get comfort from my beliefs. However hubby hasn't been too sure about it. Another influencing factor was the village school that the twins will go to. It has very strong links with the village church and they do regular community services. Also Joseph was christened when he was a baby and both me and hubby are christened so I didn't want the twins to not be.
After quite a bit of persuasion hubby agreed for us to arrange a christening and made me a very happy mummy and wife.
Before the summer holidays I arranged a date, 13th October. We have chose who will be the twins God parents and that's about as far as we have got! At the time it felt like we had a long time to arrange everything. Then all of our priorities changed. Grandads health deteriorated and I completely forgot about the christening.
Now that we have laid my grandad to rest it is nice to have something positive to focus on.
Now I can start to plan!
We are holding the christening on a tight budget. We cannot afford to take everyone out for a fancy meal afterwards so we are going to try and cater for it ourselves to keep the cost down. I have looked at invitations when I have been out but, surprisingly not, I have not seen any twin christening invitations. To buy these, as all twin items, they are more expensive. So to save a bit more money I am going to design an invitation so it will be exactly what we want. This is the first job that I need to get cracking on with. The christening is in 4 weeks!
My jobs after the invitations have been sent will be to find outfits for all 3 children, decided what food to serve, decided on what cake to have and what puddings to serve!!!
Luckily I won't have to do it all my own, Im sure that hubby, my mum and mother in law will be there to help as much as they can.
I do know that we have got a lot to do over the following 4 weeks but we will make it a lovely day for our families.