The kids are back at school and mums and dads across the country are busy each morning (or the evening before if you're really organised) making packed lunches. You know what it's like though – after five days of making similar sandwiches you're begging for some inspiration. We'd also like some money-saving packed lunch tips too!
Well thank goodness for The Batch Lady – aka mum-of-two Suzanne Mulholland- who is making a name for herself on social media with her amazing meal planning and batch cooking tips.
Suzanne has shared two ultra-helpful posts on her Instagram page, showing parents how to feed two children for two weeks for just £20.
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The Batch Lady first shared her five-day meal plan which features a range of health packed lunch foods from pasta and wraps to bagels and soup (see image above). Her fans loved it, with one writing: "I really really appreciate you doing all the thinking! Thank you!"
Then Suzanne helped us out even more by posting her packed lunch shopping list.
She told followers: "Here is the shopping list for the 2-week kids school lunch menu plan all coming in it just under £20. Week 1 of the shopping list is when you will buy the majority of the food and week 2 is a shorter list to restock on some fresh bits and bobs for the coming week. Full video coming out this evening. Hope you love it!"
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The Batch Lady
It's absolutely incredible that Suzanne can buy such a long list of ingredients for just £19.31 that will feed two kids for two weeks' lunches. On behalf of all British parents, thank you!
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Suzanne previously told HELLO! how she saves a quarter off the total price of her weekly shopping bill just by forward planning her family's meals.
The Batch Lady's top money-saving tips:
1) Try and choose a shop that has one of those guns that you click as you go along. You can see all of a sudden that you've reached £50. That really helps me rein it back in!
2) Know what you're going to get in advance. It helps you focus on finding what's on the list; you're not swayed by the displays at the end of the aisle and won't end up buying things you didn't need.
3) Meal plan when you're sitting in your house. For example, I make pizza bags. See if there's anything left in your fridge like half an onion or half a pepper, pop them in a bag and freeze it. Then you can add on top of a pizza or into a pasta sauce later on.