July 2008 Grocery Challenge

Thanks Mandymoo - am off to make some! hope you are feeling ok today? Dink1

morning all,

feeling rough today, OH's man flu has spread to me and now i have a hacking cough. not good as need to see a friend on the weekend who is preggers and don't want her to catch anything.

have some soaked oats for breakfast (never tried before) and am grating an apple in and drizzling with honey.

need to get tissues and more cough syrup so won't manage a nsd unfortunately.

ioiwe x

Morning all

Havent had to time to update for ages this thread grows and grows must have pages to catch up on feel I have to though or I might miss a good recipe or tip from all you lovely people on here, done alot better this month with the help of Aldis and farm foods with the odd bits from Mr T and better menu planning plus trying to cut down on the wine as this comes out of my shopping budget, hope Mrs M is ok looking forward to seeing her back on here when she feels up to it.
OH went prawning last night so gots loads of free prawns for tea having them with salad and new pots yummy
managed 4 NSD days in a row now did go to see mama mia last night (brilliant only time I have been to cinema and everyone clapped at the end and sung) but my friend paid for me only £3 a bargain anyway, as I drove and petrol comes under different budget
keep up good work everyone promise to try and be on here more often.

Morning all. A rather gloomy day here hope it clears and the sun comes out later.

Angelnikki I would like to declare £367.06 for this month as I finish on saturday and wont be needing anything between now and then. I dont know if your going to be doing the August challenge but I would like to say £340 for August (runs from 20 Jul-21 Aug).

I went over by £17.06 which I dont think is too awful seeing as £14 of that over-spend was for baby formula which will last me 2 or so weeks. Plus I also spent £11.86 on BBQ bits which I hadnt planned on and was out-voted (and seeing as its DH's money and he wanted a BBQ who was I to say no!). So I would have come in under but nevermind.

I keep a spend diary and write EVERYTHING down which I have found to be a big help in seeing where I am spending and those bits and bobs that I dont really need but that add up.

I have one party to cater for this month, which is a big party for my daughter's naming day but I think my in-laws are going to share the cost with us which should help. Would be great to come in under-budget for a change lol.

Nothing much planned today but a NSD for sure. I have to take DD2 (12 weeks) to have her jabs this morning which I am not looking forward to - must bribe my mum or mil to come with me as I hate going on my own!

I am planning to have a HUGE baking session at the weekend for DH's lunchbox and to freeze for the party next weekend. I wonder how much will be eaten before it hits the freezer!!

Hope everyone is okay.
x

I made twinks last night with treacle, sultanas and linseeds. I made them bigger as the mix was much stickier without the coconut in it. I found it really hard to mix this time. Was a little concerned about how well they would work but they were fantastic. A definite one to repeat I think and as treacle is only 28p per jar it works out cheaper than syrup (unless you got the free syrup!).
We had roast beef with courgettes, carrots, sweetcorn and cheesy potatoes last night. As DH was cutting the grass I had to carve. I'm impressed, I managed to do thin slices so we have 1/2 left. Tonight it's pasta and pastrami with veggies so we'll have a stew or stir fry tomorrow with the beef.
Whenever I do stirfry DH moans if there's no sauce so I always grab the marmalade out of the cupboard and use 1tbsp marmalade with a dash of vinegar and about 1 cup boiling water. I bung it all in and let it coat everything. Then serve.
Actually, thinking about it, it had better be stew as I've got another pack of roasting potatoes to use and they won't last long. I can shove them in at the same time and use the bottom shelf for a cake.
Still got plenty of milk and bread and only 1 school day left so shouldn't need to get fruit or milk or bread until Sunday. If there are no whoopsies of bread then I'll make some.
I was so shattered last night that I had my bath and went for a little lie down after (8pm). I woke up at 12.30 with DD telling me off for having the light on (DH turned it on and didn't bother turning it off) and thought there was no point getting up then so I stayed in bed. Got up at 7.30 this morning thinking we were running late as kids had been hassling us for about an hour to get up so hit panic stations and we were all ready for the day within 15 minutes.