In these money-starved times it pays to know how to feed your family on a budget, whether this means cooking from scratch, changing your shopping habits or simply watching what you throw away. Here’s what every recessionista-mum needs to know:

1. A weekly meal plan is essential

To budget efficiently it’s essential, say the experts, to have a weekly meal plan. This is a guaranteed way to save you money on a number of levels for family food. Firstly, shopping with a plan ensures you stick to your budget, secondly it ensures you only buy you food you need and lastly that you come home with produce that can make up meals for an entire week.

If your culinary skills are at basic level build your meal plan around easy basics such as potatoes, pasta and rice and add vegetables, meat or fish each day. Next choose cheaper varieties of your favourites. For instance fish is expensive, but coley and salmon are often on money saving deals. With meat, choose your cuts carefully as cheaper cuts are just as tasty once you’ve trimmed the fat away.

Finally be careful what you buy for snacks, dessert, and for breakfast and to drink – as it’s these food extras that push up food bills.

2. Downshifting and buying seasonal saves you cash

The best money saving trick is to downshift to no frills only where you can't tell the difference, doing this alone can save 15% on shopping bills, typically £800 a year. Also change supermarkets regularly to get the best prices, try the supermarket comparison site www.mysupermarket.co.uk for the best weekly deals and when shopping:

• Buy seasonal produce because it’s always cheaper as it’s in abundance.
• Opt for in shop deals, over your regulars as being a brand junkie doesn’t pay!
• Avoid buying pre packaged or pre cut vegetables and fruit, not only does these not last, but they are also more expensive.
• Shop for vegetables and fruit and local farmers markets – it’s seasonal, so cheaper (www.farmersmarkets.net)

3. Cooking on a budget is easy

Even if you’re no Jamie Oliver you can cook tasty budget meals very easily. Try going vegetarian for one meal a week to save money and build your meal around pasta, potatoes and rice, with a vegetable lasagna or simple vegetable chilli. If you’re stuck for recipes pick up supermarket recipe cards. These budget recipes basically spell it all out for you from exactly what to buy and how to cook. Finally, invest in a basic budget cookbook. Try: How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy Balanced Diet, with Very Little Money and Hardly Any Time by Gill Holcombe (£9.99)

4. Utilising your leftovers saves you money

Being smart with your leftover food is another clever way to feed your family on a budget. Figures show that around a third of all the food we buy ends up being thrown in the bin and most of this could have been eaten. It’s wasted because either we don’t fancy it, we let it go off or make too much when cooking.

The first thing to do is open your bin and take a look at what you throw away. If you regularly discard fruit, vegetables, milk, and bread then the chances are you’re buying too much of it. Secondly check out the alternatives such as longer life milk that can stay unopened in your cupboards for months and powdered milk (it never goes off). With bread consider buying smaller rolls, a half loaf, rye crackers or even break a loaf in half and freeze half of it. Lastly if you regularly waste fruit and vegetables don’t buy 2 for 1 unless you intend to freeze what you don’t use.

5. You can eat out on the cheap

Finally you don’t have to stay at home to stick to your budget. If you’re treating your family to a meal out the trick is to go prepared. www.vouchercodes.co.uk list dozens of family friendly restaurants that offer everything from 2 for 1 meals, to 15% off main courses, and free meals for kids. Eat the way you would at home i.e. forgo the three courses for one course, and share your food, you’ll save money and still have a good time.