The £5 meal

Everywhere, it seems, we are being bombarded by the idea that we can "feed the family for a fiver" (I think that is Sainsbury's particular slogan but they are not the only ones!) but to be honest, can we all afford to spend a whole fiver on the main meal every day? That would take the grocery bill to £35 just for the one meal, never mind the puddings, snacks, breakfasts, lunches, and fruit. It seems to me that £5 is a figure for me not to exceed, and often I would like to come in under that, so that the week's cost is around £50 for all our food from the shops.

Tonight, I have served the family with cauliflower and pasta cheese bake - it served three of them with leftovers, and the total cost was just £1.84. They then had a slice of cake each for pudding, and a drink. Some meals do cost more, especially when we are eating meat, but tonight's meal is well under, and last night's pizza would not have cost more than £2 at a guess, so that is another night under the target. I reckon that as a family, we are aiming to have low cost meals at least three times a week, and more often sometimes! Pasta is a particularly good ingredient on which to base a low-cost meal, as I buy it for less than a £1/kg, and sauces can be made at very little cost.