I don’t usually post this sort of thing but it was something I googled quite a lot in the lead up to Florence’s first nasal Flu Vaccine and frankly I was none the wiser by the time the appointment came around. Florence is quite wary […]
Life with a young family is unsurprisingly busy and keeping on top of all the playgroups and appointments and work bits can be a bit of a challenge, especially when baby brain comes into play. I have been using my phone diary for a while […]
Our budget is really tight this month what with Christmas just happening and S going from weekly to monthly pay in his new job so I’ve been really focussed on trying to make sure we are as efficient with our money over the next month as possible and finding ways to make what we do have go that little bit further. My main concerns were making sure the bills were all paid and that we could put food on the table. With the bills taken care of, my attention turned to the grocery shop and making a plan to see us through the month.
I always find that shopping for two weeks at a time tends to work out more cost effective in the long run. I’ve taken it a little further this month though, and stretched it out to make a whole months worth of meals.
I actually really enjoyed the planning process. We all sat round one evening and offered up suggestions for things we might like and it’s given me so much more inspiration for dinner ideas. Plus, having over 30 different dinners already listed and allotted to certain days has taken away the whole having to decide what we’re going to have each night and turning to the same old thing because it’s easy and you know it’ll get eaten.
Usually, my weeks shopping bill for 5-7 of us comes in at around £120. This time, it came in at just under £300. For a whole month worth of meals.
If you’re looking to do something similar or just after some different dinner ideas for your family I’ve popped our meals for the month in a list below!
Wednesday: Roast Chicken, roast potatoes and vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots).
Thursday: Chicken Fajitas (using leftover chicken) with rice. Plain chicken, veg & ricefor the children.
Friday: Scrambled Eggs on toast
Saturday: Picky Picnic Tea – sausage / cheese rolls, chicken nuggets, sweet potato wedges, crudités
Sunday: Birthday Dinner out using taste card 2 for 1
Monday: Chilli Con Carne with rice, garlic bread / Oven baked cod with rice and veg
Tuesday: Beef / Chicken burgers, homemade ‘slimming world’ chips & salad
Wednesday: Ham, Egg & Chips with baked beans, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms / V without the Ham
Thursday: Pizza night!
Friday: Cottage Pie / Fish Pie, carrots, peas & brocolli
Saturday: Tuna Pasta Bake
Sunday: Roast Chicken
Monday: Spaghetti / Vegetable Bolognese (My Recipe here) 
Tuesday: Leek & Potato Soup & Crusty Rolls
Wednesday: Chicken / Cheese & onion Pie & Mash with vegetables and gravy
Thursday: Chicken Paella
Friday: Burritos
Saturday: Salmon, tinned Potatoes & Veg
Sunday: Roast Beef
Monday: Chicken Curry
Tuesday: Beef Stew & Dumplings
Wednesday: chicken and broccoli pasta bake
Thursday: Jacket Potatoes with Cheese & Beans
Friday: Fish, Chips, Peas and grilled tomatoes
Saturday: Tacos & homemade wedges with salad
Sunday: Peri peri chicken, sweet potato mash & homemade coleslaw
Monday: Sausage & Mash
Tuesday: Breakfast for tea – a Full English!
Wednesday: Chicken Kiev’s, boiled potatoes, peas & brocolli
Thursday: Easy Cheesy Pasta
Friday: Vegetable Stirfry
I’ll be sharing some recipes for some of these easy family meals over the next month and will come back and add links to them as I go. 
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I was talking on instagram stories he other day about out family advent calendar for this year and I how instead of just toys & chocolate we were going to be filling it with activities to do in the lead up to Christmas. I really […]
Hallowe’en. It is the marmite holiday of our time and people seem to either love it or hate it. Personally I love it as for me, it signifies the start of my favourite time of year. These magical few months It’s always been a big […]
We are huge fans of Julia Donaldson tales here and Florence’s absolute favourite book is Room on the Broom. As we enter the season of magic and with Hallowe’en coming up I’m busy planning a host of spooky toddler friendly activities to keep Florence & William entertained throughout the next few weeks.
Today I’m sharing some really fun Room on the Broom inspired snack ideas which I think would be perfect additions to your Hallowe’en feast! What’s more they are mostly healthy and eaten together make up 3 of your toddler’s 5 – a – day.
As well as cute snacks they could each be combined as a meal or even be served up as party food – if you’re planning a Hallowee’en do I’ve no doubt these will go down a treat with your younger guests!
Each of the five super simple treats represent a different character in the film — aside from the witch herself so if anyone has any ideas on how to serve witch & chips I’d be really excited to hear them! And of course, not forgetting the all important broom!
This is pretty much as simple as it gets. I just used a cheese string and peeled back sections about a third of the way down to make a broom end.
Peel & Half a satsuma, draw on some green eyes within writing icing, add a pink mini marshmallow for a nose and some little yellow cheese triangles for ears. I totally forgot them, but you could add whiskers too!
Oh, this was my favourite one to make! Probably because out of all of them it’s the one I considered more of a treat. I placed giant chocolate buttons on a scotch pancake to make the dog’s spots. Blueberry eyes & a marshmallow nose. 
This could not be more simple – take a slice of cucumber, place a blueberry on top for the eye and a little triangle of cheese for the beak.
For the frog, Half & core an apple and place flat side down on a plate. Using cream cheese stick two cucumber half slices on top for eyes, blueberries for pupils & a ham tongue. Easy peasy.
Not only were these really fun and surprising quick to make, Florence absolutely loved them too. We read the Room on the Broom story while she ate and then made a broomstick from a wrapping paper tube. I love theming her food to coincide with our play and am really looking forward to a month of spooky snacks!
With Christmas coming up and space in our house limited I’ve been having a bit of a toy overhaul over the last couple of weeks, taking a look at how to effectively store them as well as selling, donating and bagging some up to put […]
After a particularly miserable week plagued with illness here I was determined that this weekend would be filled with memory making and quality family time to end a rather lovely summer. The first weekend of September was always marked off in our calendar before we […]
