Mum shares her budget hacks to feed 5 kids for just $1.40

As a single mum with five kids to feed, Brooke Withingston has felt more than most the devastating effects of the current cost of living crisis.

The 28-year-old told news.com.au that in recent times, she has really noticed the rising costs of everyday grocery items in her usual weekly shop.

With other life expenses such as petrol, rent and bills also skyrocketing, Brooke was forced to buckle down and come up with a strict budget in order to keep her head above water.

With a few simple changes and smart hacks, the Gold Coast local has been able to feed her family with healthy meals for as little as $1.40 a serve.

“The cost of groceries has risen an incredible amount in recent times,” Brooke said.

“I feel like the price of every item has risen, it is crazy. Then on top of that we have all these other expenses.

“Rent has gone up, petrol prices are out of control, and even necessary items like medication have gone up. It is shocking.

“To be honest, I wasn’t very money conscious in my earlier years.

“But since having my children and realising how expensive everything is with kids, I do as much as I can to try and make my money go as far as possible.”

Brooke allows between $150 – $170 each week to spend on groceries to feed her family.

While her three-month-old baby girl Mabel is not yet eating solid food, she has still needed to come up with cheap and creative recipes to feed her other children Edward, eight, Gilbert, six, Odette, four, and Nora, one.

For the five of them, Brooke’s $150 a week budget means she spends $21.40 a day on food, which equates to just $1.40 per person, per meal.

Some of her favourite budget-friendly meals include spaghetti, chicken wraps, lasagne, vegetable quiche, chickpea vegetable curry and chicken pesto pasta.

“I love to plan every meal in advance and stick to it,” she said.

“I always look in the cupboard, fridge and freezer to see what I’ve got to work with. This helps keep you from doubling up on anything.

“It also helps to base your meal plans on things you already have. It makes it so much easier.

“I love shopping at Aldi, I find it super cheap compared to the others. I sometimes will do a top up and Coles and Woolworths, but Aldi is the main spot I’ll choose to go.

“I also order a huge fruit and vegetable box from a company called Funky Foods, they sell all the things that the big supermarkets don’t want because they’re funny shaped.

“But there is nothing actually wrong with the produce at all. The same amount of things from Coles or Woolworths would cost more.”

Brooke also lives by a few smart and strategical tips that she believes saves her big bucks in the long run.

“If I do shop at Woolies, I always click and collect,” she added.

“It’s free, and you’re not tempted to buy unnecessary items that you see while shopping in store. It also helps you to keep better track of what you’re spending, instead of finding out at the checkout.

“Also, before I go shopping at Aldi, I will add everything I need to buy into my Woolworths or Coles cart to compare the prices once I go to Aldi.”

Thankfully for Brooke, her kids are all quite open and excited to try new foods and are happy to eat whatever she has cooked for them.

But she also had some helpful advice for other parents who might be struggling with fussy children.

“My kids are not too fussy, thank goodness,” the mum said.

“But my biggest tip would be to grate up vegetables and put them into things like bolognese sauce. I put three cups of grated veggies in my sauce last week.

“The kids had no idea it was in there! I also hide heaps of vegetables in smoothies.

“It is amazing how much you can hide in those.

“Other than that, just exposure to different foods all the time, and getting kids to help you cook the meal.

“It is amazing how much more they will eat when they have helped prepare it.”