Getting into the detail

Here is this month’s meal plan. I prefer to plan monthly as it gives me a bigger picture and avoids too much repetition. I make a meal plan in Excel, then to the right, list the main ingredients (one per column). Then at the bottom, I have formulas which count the occurrence of words, so I get a tally of how many times a month an ingredient is used, so I know how much to buy. I know other people use much more complicated methods of calculating their shopping lists, but I think I’d go a bit mad if every single ingredient was tracked (hence sticking to main ones like meat, pasta, potatoes, rice, vegetable accompaniment.

Also, this month is a bit weird because we were in Wales for a week, so it’s 5 days short.

October meal plan
1 lentil toad in the hole
2 Wales
3 Wales
4 Wales
5 Wales
6 Wales
7 burgers of some sort
8 French onion soup
9 calzones
10 Butternut squash risotto
11 spag bol
12 tuna potato bake
13 pork & rice one pot
14 leek & potato soup
15 pancake lasagne
16 roast chicken
17 spicy couscous salad
18 chicken 'chow mein'
19 creamy bacon pasta
20 chicken curry
21 burgers of some sort
22 gnocchi
23 pizza
24 sausage & mash
25 chilli
26 risi e bisi
27 spag bol
28 soup??
29 meatball toad in the hole
30 tacos
31 pancakes

Almost all elements are homemade. For instance, I make my own gnocchi (DEAD easy) and tortillas. I make homemade bread, sandwich fillings and snacks.

Fruit & Vegetables Guide price in £
3 x	Tesco Carrots Loose Class 1 (Approx 100g)	0.18
1 x	Tesco Market Value Brown Onions (2Kg)	1.17
1 x	Tesco Value Dried Mixed Fruit (500g)	0.64
Dairy & Eggs
3 x	Tesco Value Semi-Skimmed UHT Milk (1L)	1.47
1 x	Tesco Value Mixed Eggs (15)	1.25
1 x	Tesco Butter Me Up Spread (500g)	1.00	was £1.26 - valid until: 24/11/11
1 x	Tesco Value Lard (250g)	0.39
2 x	Tesco Medium Cheddar (500g)	4.78	was £2.50
1 x	Tesco Value Grated Cheddar (500g)	1.98
Meat, Fish & Poultry
1 x	Tesco Market Value Whole Chicken (Approx 1.8Kg)	3.85
2 x	Tesco Value Cooking Bacon (500g)	1.50	was £1.00
Frozen
1 x	Tesco Value Sausages (20 per pack - 1Kg)	1.00
1 x	Tesco British Fresh Frozen Sliced Green Beans (750g)	0.84	was 94p - valid until: 24/11/11
2 x	Tesco Market Value Broccoli Florets (907g)	1.72
1 x	Tesco Market Value Sweetcorn (907g)	0.94
1 x	Tesco Value Peas (900g)	0.85
Tins, Jars & Cooking
1 x	KTC Blended Pomace Olive Oil (5L)	6.50
1 x	Tesco Ground Turmeric (45g)	0.58	was 69p
3 x	Tesco Value Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce (420g)	0.78
2 x	Tesco Value Dark Red Kidney Beans in Water (400g)	0.32
7 x	Tesco Value Chopped Tomatoes (400g)	2.31
2 x	Tesco Value Tuna Chunks in Brine (185g)	0.90
1 x	Tesco American Style Mustard (370g)	0.78
1 x	Patak's Hot Madras Curry Paste (283g)	1.99
1 x	Patak's Medium Rogan Josh Curry Paste (283g)	1.99
Packets & Cereals
1 x	Tesco Bran Flakes (1Kg)	1.69	was £1.88 - valid until: 24/11/11
1 x	Tesco Value Porridge Oats (1Kg)	0.75
1 x	Allinson Dried Active Yeast (125g)	0.64
1 x	Tesco Lemon Juice (250ml)	0.44
2 x	Tesco Strong Stoneground 100% Wholemeal Bread Flour (1.5Kg)	2.38	was £1.24 - valid until: 24/11/11
2 x	Tesco Strong White Bread Flour (1.5Kg)	1.36
2 x	Tesco Value Self Raising Flour (1.5Kg)	1.04
4 x	Tesco Value Pasta Quills (500g)	0.72
1 x	Tesco Value Spaghetti (500g)	0.18
1 x	Tesco Couscous (500g)	0.59
4 x	Tesco Value Instant Mashed Potato (120g)**	0.80
1 x	Tesco Value Long Grain Rice (1Kg)	0.40
Snacks & Sweets
2 x	Tesco Value Plain Chocolate Bar (100g)	0.60
Drinks
1 x	Douwe Egberts Real Coffee Medium Roast Filter Blend (250g)	3.14
1 x	Tesco Cocoa (250g)	1.79	was £1.98 - valid until: 24/11/11
1 x	Tesco Value Double Strength Lemon Squash (750ml)	0.34
Household & Pets
2 x	Tesco Colour Liquid Super Concentrated - 18 Washes (630ml)	4.00	any 2 FOR £4.00 - valid until: 25/12/11
1 x	Tesco Value Food Bags Large (50)	0.55
2 x	Tesco Value Wrapping Foil (300mm x 25m)	1.60

Total: £62.72

We do a big monthly shop and then weekly top-ups for fruit/milk/whatever runs out.

* for potatoes because we wound up buying a huge 12.5 kg sack in Wales (totally random, saw them being sold for dirt cheap on the side of the road!!), so therefore didn't need any in the shopping. Also, I won a competition that gave me a load of vouchers for free frozen hamburgers, so I’ve incorporated a bit of beef into my meal plans but not into the shopping list if you see what I mean. We tend to do a big monthly shop at Tesco/ASDA (whatever’s cheapest at the time), and top up weekly from Sainsbury’s/Aldi.

** weirdly, instant mash works out cheaper than normal potatoes (or so close that it’s worth the convenience when you’re using it IN stuff like gnocchi, veggie burgers or to top cottage pie, etc.)
I’ll post more detailed price breakdowns later, including actual spends and whatnot.