feeding a food snob with little money?

[missk1989]

My OH is very funny about food. He wont eat anything other than snacks from aldi and would never eat value range foods. He is a food snob! He complains about meals that come from frozen left overs and picks at some of my cheaper meals even when i think they are really nice. we do eat really well at the moment, making lots of meals in the slow cooker but i think i could cut down quite a bit if i utilised the freezer better and bulked out some meals with veg but he doesnt like that idea either! I was thinking about bulking things like bolognese out with lentils but if he noticed he would refuse to eat it! He also gets funny with any meat free meals so i find it difficult to save that way too. We are a little stretched for cash at the moment so would like to cut down as we spend £50 a week at the moment on us. Lo mostly eats at nursery and i just save protions of our food and freeze them for weekends. Any ideas?

 

[LoveCakes]

I wouldn't change the meals tbh. Sit you oh down and explain to him why you're doing this and that this is his dinner that you have made. He doesn't have to live every meal just to eat and allergies and major dislikes aside it is still food.

You meals sound lovely and home cooked food is nicer than prepacked most of the time.

 

[TTCabundle]

I agree with LoveCakes! You're doing this for a reason and I think your meal ideas sound lovely. Do you have a local market? You could buy some fresh stuff from there, its usually cheaper and is mostly local x

 

[missk1989]

We have a market but its an embarrassment. i just started a new job though in a different town so might check out there market and see if its any better.

 

[TTCabundle]

Good idea ! We go to the market every week and I get some lovely stuff and great deals. We got 20 chicken breats for £10 last week! x

 

[missk1989]

Thats amazing!

 

[RaspberryK]

Wish I could do a shop for £50!
Xx

 

[KayBea]

my ex was the same, he went on hunger strike for 2 days & then started eating what i gave him. his choice, eat it or starve! but im harsh like that. i dont like some of the things i cook if im skint one week, but food is food the taste is gone within 5 mins! x

 

[Caite]

Make him shop/budget/cook instead. I'm sure he'd soon be grateful for what you make him.

Other than that, can't you just buy value stuff and then add things like herbs or garlic or whatever to enhance the flavours a bit? Shepherds pie made with lentils rather than meat is really nice and even my nan, who thinks things like lentils are weird, will eat it.

 

[suzib76]

I think it's quite reasonable as an adult that he be able to choose what he eats tbh. I wouldn't class snacks from aldi as being a snob, I am am sainsbury/marks and spencer shopper and consider that to be high end not aldi!

Ask him what he wants and to come up with a list/budget so you can boring work together and maybe compromise in both sides x

 

[Caite]

I think she means that the only thing he will eat from Aldi is the snacks and not proper food, and proper food has to come from a better supermarket.

I agree that adults should be able to choose what they eat. But, if he's not helping cook and do the shopping, then he should eat what he's given.

 

[suzib76]

I think she means that the only thing he will eat from Aldi is the snacks and not proper food, and proper food has to come from a better supermarket.

I agree that adults should be able to choose what they eat. But, if he's not helping cook and do the shopping, then he should eat what he's given.

Oh yeah I see how that can be read 2 ways. Ooops

 

[KayBea]

oh and i also used to keep old packets of branded stuff & fill with supermarket own brand..

like ketchup, mayo etc, cereals, biscuits, frozen veg & chips, even frozen meat, like mince, chicken breasts etc..
oooops! xx

 

[orange-sox]

My OH was initially like this... We came to a compromise by working out what food items we could and couldn't bare to downshift on, and ensuring there was enough leeway in the budget for my expensive Evian habit, and his ability to eat a months worth of cereal in less than two weeks.

It's still made an enormous difference to our food shop, plus we don't have to compromise on the small amount of things that we do genuinely prefer to buy branded. To save money I stock up on things we prefer branded when on offer. It involved quite a bit of experimentation to start with, and does require a bit of forward planning and stock control... Plus I do an awful lot of comparing toilet roll prices per 100 sheets, and working out if bigger packs truly are cheaper or indeed sneakily more expensive per individual item, it's become a bit of an obsession if I'm truthful!

Once you get going though it's generally easy going, and prevents those horrific "bugger the toothpaste has run out and it's a Sunday night, and I'm working long day shifts all week" moments. My OH is so used to it now he becomes almost panicky when he discovers there are less than 3 varieties of cereal for him to decimate before the next batch magics it's way into the cupboards.

For example:

Heinz/HP reduced salt and sugar ketchup and brown sauce - usually £2.15 ish each in supermarkets... Always buy them when they're 2 for £3ish if possible.
Kellogg's cereals - just stocked up on 6 boxes of Coco Pops, Frosties etc for £10, usually around £3 per box.
cushelle toilet rolls - buy in packs of 24 from local £stretcher for around £7
certain branded cleaning products and toiletries due to my severe allergies - bought 3 sanex body washes for £5, normally about £3 each.
twinings tea bags because I personally think they taste far better - box of 240 are £3.79 in my local £stretcher, they are about £7.50-£8 in Tesco etc.

 

[missk1989]

Thanks ladies.I have managed to sneak in own brand sauces and tinned foods. Our main outlay is meat and he really wont budge on the quality of meat he eats. strangely he can really tell the difference whereas i cant. Im going to try adding lentils to things like bolognese and chilli to bulk it out. Do you think he will notice?

 

[Button#]

To be honest I found the quality of meat in Aldi was excellent. I think it's worth a try with the lentils and if he complains I think you need to sit down with him and go through your budget. It's all very well wanting the best but he will get used to a different taste. My OH went veggie several years ago and it took me some trial and error but I now have a range of hearty dishes that we all really enjoy.

 

[TwilightAgain]

I don't really consider your OH a food snob to be honest. He's old enough to say he doesn't want to eat something. I don't really agree with the eat it or starve mentality with adults may I also say. I get why you're doing it, but if it's that much of an issue i'd just ask him to make his own meals how he likes it but give him a small part of the budget to do so. I definitely think there should be compromise.

 

[missk1989]

I don't really consider your OH a food snob to be honest. He's old enough to say he doesn't want to eat something. I don't really agree with the eat it or starve mentality with adults may I also say. I get why you're doing it, but if it's that much of an issue i'd just ask him to make his own meals how he likes it but give him a small part of the budget to do so. I definitely think there should be compromise.

I totally agree and I try to consult him on what he wants but he will only decide a couple of hours before because he "cant think about food when he isnt hungry" which results in going to the shop each night when he is in charge and spending more than double over 5 says what i spend in a week. I still want to cook the meals he like but i need to be able to make a saving somewhere.

 

[QueenMummyToBe]

I was thinking you could swap packaging etc
Or use the 'cheap' ingredients to make meals
he likes but when he isnt around but if he asks
say you made it with highet end products.

If you are happy to have veggie meals could
you buy a small amount of meat for his meals.

We spend £50 a week on food (£10 a week on
cleaning and baby supplies)

And we split it to have

£10 on meat
£15 on fruit & veg
£10 on dairy and eggs
£10 on cupboard staples/bread/cereal
£5 on any treats.

Obviously if one week we need more of one
category we can shuffle it around but we found
that to be a good split.

xx

 

[wishuwerehere]

Tbh if the quality of meat is an issue i woukd eat vegetarian 4/5 nights a week then buy a couple of nice pieces of meat for the other nights (we don't eat meat every night for this reason!)