Sainsburys 5 Family Meals for £20

Let's face it, we're all feeling the pinch a little bit at the moment.

When we were really feeling it him indoors suggested trying the Sainsburys 5 Family Meals for £20 as a way of controlling the budget.  I have to admit, it's been one of his better ideas!

One of the best things about using their planner is that it gives you a shopping list.  If you've ever had to go shopping with 2 small children and a baby in tow you'll know how impossible it is to do the necessary working out of what quantities you need, which is cheapest, what you are going to cook with it and whether you will use it all!  It has taken the hassle out of food shopping.  I follow that list and then I don't have to worry about buying food for dinners, just breakfast and lunch.  It's so much easier!

Another bonus is not having to sit there at 4pm wondering what to cook for dinner!  Instead of having to search through the cupboards and fridge deciding what to cook, I have it all laid out for me.

All the recipes are really simple to follow and don't require weird ingredients which is always a bonus as I really can't spend more than half an hour preparing food with a breastfeeding baby and the aforementioned monsters.  I mean children!  The recipes also have sneaky ideas for including vegetables - one week asks for frozen spinach which is included in 2 or 3 of the meals and sort of disintegrates into the dinner so the children don't know they're eating veg!

He himself has liked all the meals I've cooked from the plan so far, which is amazing as I've done well if I get an "it's alright" from him most days!  The kids also seem to enjoy the meals.

Something else I've found really good is that although the recipes call for ingredients I may not have used before the ingredients will be used in different ways across 2 or 3 different meals.  So instead of buying something and using it once and then not knowing what to do with the rest, all of it gets used within the week, so nothing is wasted.

And of course the best bit is you've fed the family 5 meals for just £20!!  Of course, store cupboard ingredients aren't included, such as oil or stock cubes etc, but if you usually cook from scratch that shouldn't be an issue.

I've really enjoyed cooking from them and because I have I really wanted to share my experience with other mums struggling to work out what to feed a hungry family!  I've been able to add to my repertoire and it means we've had something different from my staple meals of Chilli, Spag Bog and Curry! 

This post wasn't sponsored by Sainsburys, and in fact I usually take my list to Tesco and buy the equivalent there.  But it's a handy thing to have!