10 of the Hanns kids live at home with parents Emma and Roy (Picture: Hanns)

Emma and Roy Hann, from Dundee, Scotland, have 13 children ranging from the ages of four to 27.

The frugal parents, both 49, have revealed how some of the meals they make for their large family cost as little as 66p per head.

The 15-strong Hann family use cupboard staples and meat from online food retailer MuscleFood to prepare a variety of meals, costing as little as £8 per meal.

Meals included Cajun pasta and fajitas, plus a big family barbecue that fed 40 friends and family members and worked out at just 79p per person.


The couple ditched the traditional weekly supermarket shop around five years ago and say they’re about £200 better each month as a result.



As their brood grew, mum Emma realised that each week they were buying items that they didn’t really need, like fancy yoghurts and sugary fruit juice.

Dad Roy does a lot of the cooking, making meals from bulk buys like large bags of past (Picture: Hanns)

Purchasing their meat from Musclefood for around £55, including chicken breasts, steak mince, sausages and diced beef, they also buy £33 worth of vegetables and other essentials.

From the £88 spend, Emma and Roy prepare around 112 portions for their clan.

10 of the children still live at home, with the older kids and their partners regularly popping in for meals.

Café owner Emma said: ‘As our family got bigger, naturally it became more expensive to feed everyone, but doing one big supermarket shop every week was actually driving the cost up even more.

‘By doing this, you’re tempted to throw in deals and special offers that you don’t really want or need.

‘Being able to get everything under one roof is obviously really convenient and works for a lot of families, but by shopping around and being a bit savvier about where we buy certain products from, we managed to save around £50 a week on food.’

They spend about £150 on meat every month, purchasing from MuscleFood (Picture: Hanns)

Emma and Roy now buy meat in bulk once a month and freeze it before going to the local supermarket a few times a week to pick up fresh food and other bits.

They now spend around £200 a week on food to feed themselves and the 10 children that eat at home.

But it doesn’t mean munching on basic foods either.

‘We like to mix meals up and keep things varied, but there are a few go-to meals the whole family enjoys which we eat most weeks, like spaghetti and meatballs, mac and cheese, and lasagne,’ added Emma.

They don’t stick to the same beige meals either (Picture: Hanns)

‘We also try to do a roast at least fortnightly, but this can be quite expensive when you’re cooking for all 13 kids, plus their partners.

‘What we tend to do now is get some of the older ones who’ve moved out to bring the mashed potatoes or Yorkshire puddings, so everyone chips in.’

Hampers from MuscleFood mean they can enjoy big barbecues with the family (Picture: Hanns)

Husband Roy, a nurse practitioner, does all the cooking.

‘I took over all the cooking duties about eight years ago as I enjoyed it so much and at the time, we had three little ones all under the age of four,’ he said.



‘We’ve always had a cupboard that’s pretty much full of different herbs and spices, plus essentials like chopped tomatoes, kidney beans, and chickpeas.

‘We’ll nip to the shops for fresh veg every few days, buy big 3kg bags of pasta and rice from the wholesalers, and bulk buy about £150 worth of meat once a month.’

Some of the food that’s been stretched out include an £85 hamper from MuscleFood which was used to feed the family for a week.

They even enjoyed some steak, which they considered a luxury. There were even some leftovers available for further meals.

Their recent barbecue fed 40 people (Picture: Hanns)

‘With so many mouths to feed and tastes to suit, we tend to make one main meal and then includes lots of different sides, just so that everyone has something that they like’ continued Emma.

‘We’re lucky as none of our kids are particularly fussy eaters, but it’s good to provide options anyway.’

What are they eating? Rogan Josh (serves 12) Musclefood diced beef 3 £5.85 Potatoes 8 50p Carrots 4 20p Peppers 2 50p Paste 1 jar £1.25 Greek yoghurt 1/3 of a pot 20p Garlic/ginger 3 cloves/small arm 20p Chickpea 1 tin 40p Homemade chapatis 400g flour/salt/water 40p Salad Half bag spinach, one red onion, one pepper, 10 small tomatoes, dressing £1.20 Total: £10.70 Price per head: 89p Cajun pasta (serves 12) Musclefood chicken breasts 6 £4.20 Penne pasta 500g 80p Chopped tomatoes 3 tins £1.00 Garlic/herbs 3 cloves and 2 tbsp of Dried Italian herds/ salt/ pepper 30p Cheese 125g grated 50p Salad Half bag spinach, one red onion, one pepper, 10small tomatoes, dressing £1.20 Total: £8.00 Price per head: 66p Toad in the hole (serves 12) Musclefood sausages 24 £3.90 Homemade batter 200g flour/ 4 eggs/2pints milk salt pepper £1.00 Mash potatoes 7kg potatoes / little bit butter/milk/ salt/pepper seasoning £2.80 Carrots 1kg £1.00 Gravy 30g flour / 10 stock cubes/ dash of milk and butter and seasoning 30p Total: £8.90 Price per head: 74p

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