A supermum-of-16 has offered a glimpse into what it’s like to make dinner when you are a part of ‘Australia’s largest family’.
Jeni Bonell and her husband Ray, from Queensland, have a super-sized family consisting of nine sons and seven daughters, aged between six and 31.
The 51-year-old mother – who spends an average of $450 on groceries every week – treated her family to breakfast for dinner on Friday night, consisting of scrambled eggs, toast, baked beans and bacon.
A supermum-of-16 has offered a glimpse into what it’s like to make dinner when you are a part of ‘Australia’s largest family’ (the dinner pictured)
The 51-year-old mother – who spends an average of $450 on groceries every week – treated her family to breakfast for dinner on Friday night, consisting of scrambled eggs, toast, baked beans and bacon (pictured: the three dozen eggs that were cooked)
Jeni explained her husband Ray even cuts the toast with a pair of shears to save time when they are doing such a big bulk cook (pictured)
She shared photos of the epic cook-up, which included three dozen eggs, entire loaves of bread and endless tins of baked beans.
Jeni explained she cooks one and a half dozen eggs at the same time in her ‘banquet fryer,’ before leaving them to ‘warm’ in the oven under foil whiles she ‘cooks the second lot’
Jeni explained her husband Ray even cuts the toast with a pair of shears to save time when they are doing such a big bulk cook.
‘I’m cooking dinner. Bacon, eggs, beans and toast,’ Jeni posted on Facebook.
‘I asked hubby to sort out the toast. Please butter and cut and put on plates.
‘I turn around to find him “saving time” by cutting it with the kitchen shears.
’10/10 for ingenuity. I still can’t stop laughing,’ she wrote.
Jeni also explained that she cooks one and a half dozen eggs at the same time in her ‘banquet fryer’.
She then leaves them to ‘warm’ in the oven under foil whiles she ‘cooks the second lot’.
Jeni Bonell and her husband Ray, from Queensland, have a super-sized family consisting of nine sons and seven daughters, aged between six and 31 (the family pictured)
Jeni’s post comes just weeks after she shared a snap of their Friday night takeaway order of four large family bundle meals from Hungry Jacks (pictured)
Jeni’s post comes just weeks after she shared a snap of their Friday night takeaway order of four large family bundle meals from Hungry Jacks.
This included eight beef flame-grilled Whoppers, eight cheeseburgers, 40 chicken nuggets, 16 fries and 16 soft drinks – and cost $131.80.
In the past, Jeni has also shared a snap that illustrates what it looks like for her to ‘pop to the shops for bread and milk’.
She usually does on a huge supermarket shop at the start of the week to stock up on pantry staples, fresh meat, fruits and vegetables, spending an average of $450.
But the stock only lasts the family half the week. Jeni returns to the store mid-week to pick up essential items such as milk, bread and fresh produce.
In the past, Jeni has also shared a snap that illustrates what it looks like for her to ‘pop to the shops for bread and milk’ (pictured)
Jeni usually does on a huge supermarket shop at the start of the week to stock up on pantry staples, fresh meat, fruits and vegetables, spending an average of $450 (pictured shopping)
In one of her mid-week shops, she picked up six bottles of 3L milk, three loaves of sliced bread and an array of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The haul included 2kg carrots, four punnets of strawberries, two punnets of blueberries, 1kg grapes, 400g of cherries, 600g of grape tomatoes, 4kg potatoes, two salad kits, a punnet of peaches and a bag of apricots.
‘When you just need milk, bread and some fruit and vegetables,’ Jeni wrote on Facebook, alongside a huge grocery haul of her ‘quick shop’.
Her grocery bill came to an estimate total of $132.67.
Dozens of people were amazed with her shop, with one joking: ‘You don’t need to join a gym. So much weight training going on, lifting the milk jugs.’
To keep costs down, the mother previously said she always buys homebrand items, stocks up on half-price products and buys fresh meat and fresh produce in bulk (pictured with Ray)
Jeni and Ray (pictured) say their family typically goes through 50 litres of milk per week, but they are trying to cut down on dairy at the moment
To keep costs down each week, the mother previously said she always buys homebrand items, stocks up on half-price products and buys fresh meat and fresh produce in bulk.
‘I tend to buy up whatever we need to make meals for that week to add to our supplies or if I have something that I find that’s on special or half-price or it’s a great bargain, then I will buy up on that product and we will stockpile it,’ she said.
‘We’ve bought certain ingredients to go with certain meals that we are going to make this week – and the rest of it is basically we are just filling the cupboards back up to what fits in the pantry.’
Normally the family would drink through 50 litres of milk per week, but Ms Bonell said last year they are trying to cut back on the dairy.
‘We’re trying to pull back on milk for a little bit just for budget sake so [I bought] six three-litre bottles, and we’re trying to get by with just 12 three-litre of bottles per week,’ she said.
This means the family is currently drinking 36 litres of milk a week.
To find out more about the Bonell family, you can follow them on Facebook here.
