Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

good_advice · 21 April 2015 at 2:34PM

This morning I went to my favorite supermarket to do the weeks shopping.

Here is a photo of part of my shopping.
The Tesco's own items.

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spring%202015%20121_zps2idq6hfj.jpg?1429621936640&1429621942500

I bought some other brands too!
A large box of Yorkshire tea for hard water for him indoors.£5.79
I am a coffee drinker.
Stork for baking
c/nut cornflakes were on offer £1.57

Lots more fruit and veg not in photo.
x3 milk lasts a week.

Used £5.25 in coupons
Total bill £49.75. Works out £16.58 a person.

3 meals a day for 3 adults and snacks.

I noticed the Tesco grated cheese was 250g = x2 for £3
while the 500g packet of the same cheese was £3.50.

I will also be using my store cupboard things.

villagelife · 21 April 2015 at 6:32PM

I have been using food from the freezer. We had salmon last night and tis evening I've got to decide what to do with 3 sausages - probably sausage casserole

good_advice · 21 April 2015 at 6:53PM

Villagelife - sounds good using food from the freezer.

I have x1 mid tall freezer.
The top drawer has veggi adult DD own buys.
The next has frozen chips and frozen veg.
The bottom x3 has a mixture of frozen bread, pizza, steak pie, few joints = cut from a larger joint into x3. We eat one and freeze x2.
Few bags of mince. I buy the 750g tray and split it into x2 bags.
Some chicken breasts and x2 pcts of sausage rolls. Battered fish fillets. 6x 1/4 lb burgers.

There, and I did not even have to go and look in the freezer to know what is inside.
Can anyone else list the contents of their freezer without peeping?
Sometimes I have HM meals in there like casserole or lasagna, but not at the moment.

I know some families have x3 freezers.
My personal views is that is using alot of electric just to store extra food. The shops are open every day.

EllaTheHouseBunny · 21 April 2015 at 7:07PM

Hi all,

I'm new to this MSE business, having been a massive spender and waster of money. I recently had my light bulb moment and since then have been very careful not to spend unnecessarily (about a week or two so far!) but today's the first day I've really got to grips with the new lifestyle - feeling quite pleased with myself! I have cooked soup and veg chilli from scratch, made peaches and cream ice lollies, baked scones (all from store cupboard) and shortened 4 pairs of old jeans that were on their way to the bin into shorts for my 6 year old. Hoping to list a few items on Ebay later, if not then tomorrow. Really enjoying the challenge! Thanks all for the inspiration!

silvasava · 21 April 2015 at 8:50PM

Good advice - my tall freezer has drawers and I've labeled each drawer. Meat, 2x veg drawers, Bakery ( for bread and frozen pastry etc) Fruit' and the small bottom drawer has things like Icecream and HM frozen puddings.
Vhalla - did chuckle as I've just bought DH his quota of Cola and stood in the SM with a calculator working out which packs were the best value (15 cans for £4. 60 something) I looked at the reduced cabinet - passed on a dozen large free range eggs for £4. Stopped in my local lidly - £1.50ish for a dozen large free range!!!!
You can no longer afford to shop in one SM

vhalla1478 · 21 April 2015 at 9:12PM

Evening All,

And welcome, Ella, you seem to have made an amazing start; good for you!

I'm a bit late tonight as I've been trying out this dish (it was on a cookery card from Morrisons) 'poison tasting' it for you. It's brilliant, especially as it uses a cheap cut of pork and even better, if you're counting calories, it only has 462 per serving.

Pork with Sage and Blue Cheese - serves 4

500 grams small potatoes, sliced into rounds, 4 pork shoulder chops, 2 red onions peeled and cut into wedges, 2 tbsp. sherry vinegar, 2 tbsp. olive oil, tsp smoked paprika, tsp caster sugar, tsp crushed red chilli, 10 grams fresh sage, 100 grams blue cheese.

Place potatoes, pork chops and onions in a large baking dish. Drizzle over the sherry vinegar, olive oil, smoked paprika, sugar and crushed red chilli flakes and season. Marinate for 1-2 hours. Heat oven to 200 degrees/gas 6 and roast for 25 minutes, then add the sage. Bake for another 5 minutes or until the pork is cooked through and no pink meat remains. Remove from oven, crumble over the blue cheese and allow to melt.

Truly scrumptious!

Have a great evening, Folks,

Viv xx

meritaten · 21 April 2015 at 9:31PM

vhalla - I made the 'treacle tart' to your recipe and took it up mums yesterday - she eyed it a bit uncertainly, but on tasting it the delight on her face was worth millions! her verdict - 'It tastes like mams'! I can tell you my eyes were leaking! my mother is 83 and treacle tart was her favourite treat when nan was alive. I didn't taste it as I don't like 'sweets' but OH had a small slice and he said it was the best he had tasted. So THANK YOU!
EDIT - I left the tart with mum - I wouldn't be surprised if she has already eaten it !

vhalla1478 · 21 April 2015 at 10:02PM

Thank you, Meritaten. So pleased your mum loved it . I was wondering if it had gone down well.

Viv xx

cheerfulness4 · 21 April 2015 at 10:22PM

OOh I must try that Treacle tart after that lovely recommendation from Meritaten's mum! My son is so addicted to the stuff. And I'm not adverse either. :drool:

Welcome to the thread, ELLA.

You have definitely hit the floor running with all that work you've been doing. Well done you! :T

Catching up with my shopping and trying to stay on the straight and narrow.

SAT 18-TUE21ST APR

DAY 18-21

Money Spent Today - £13.39 Vouchers Spent - £0
Money Spent in Total - £61.84 Vouchers Spent in Total - £0
Money left in purse - £1.16 - Float left- £0/£15
Jan non-foods left- £0/£15

18th - 300g Nescafe @ £4.89 and 350g Extra Mature cheese @ £1.55 from Aldi. I used £6.40 from our extras budget and the remaining 4p from my grocery budget.
Also from Morries - 1x pk 20 swing bin liners @ 99p. (I used the last 74p from non-foods budget and the remaining 25p from our grocery budget.

We also spent £5.16 on 1x milk@ 88p, 1x 500g clover @ £1, 1x cottage cheese with chives @ £1.20, 1x orange juice @ 69p, 1 x smoked bacon @ £1.39.

19th - we spent £1.74 on 1x frozen chips @ £1 and 8 bananas @ 74p.

20th- NSD

21ST- We spent £6.20 on 1x milk @ 88p, 1x savers soft cheese @ 52p, 1x 1kg granola @ £1.99, 1x YS garlic pork pate @ 25p, 1x YS Hovis seedy batch @ 19p,
1x YS 6 med eggs @ 25p, 1 x YS Rankin soda bread @ 25p, 1 x YS pk 4 croissant @19p, 1x YS 250g mature cheddar @ 79p and 1 x YS 280g mature cheddar @ 89p.

My freezer isn't getting emptied very quickly.

The YS bargains in the bready department are really filling it up. That said, once you take half a loaf out at a time it does make a large hole.

I'm exhausted as lots of running round done with DH off work today. We've got plenty done in the garden too but I'm gutted that only 2 of my parsley have survived those awful gales recently.
None of my sweet peas can be found and my broad beans got hammered. Back to square one tomorrow.
The only up side was that I discovered a planter from last year with 'bunnytail grasses' that had reseeded themselves so I don't need to re-sow. They already have their cute little bunny tails on them. :j
I've divided them between two pots and I've got me a head start finally!

Off to bed in a mo. See you all tomorrow.

Lynplatinum · 21 April 2015 at 11:39PM

Evening

Well the good - I had a massive turn out of my clothes today. As my sons no longer live @ home I had an empty wardrobe sitting there (waiting for guests! :eek:) So in to it went all the clothes that will fit me properly when I am again a size 16 (really a size 16 - of you get what I mean

I also emptied my chest of drawers and re packed it - dear friends I have thrown out 25 items of clothing - some to rags - some to car boot pile - and some so disgusting they have had to go to the bin!! (e.g.why have I in various places gotten myself 10 t shirts and 3 pairs of trousers for painting/decorating in???). BTW they included my 'nellie the elephant' trousers - when did I have so little self-respect that I thought they looked OK???

The bad - no YS bargains at my little co!p tonight - was a few moments later getting there and all bakery items and cold meats/cheeses were gone.

The Ugly - I overheard 2 of the staff chatting and saying - 'where do those two customers put all the YS bread they have been buying?' Now why does this make me feel uncomfortable? Is it 1) if these folks are just hoarding bread then that is thoughtless and unkind to the rest of us who could use the YS stuff. On the other hand maybe they have a large family or are buying for several folk who cant get out at that time due to infirmity or children) OR is it 2) that it was hearing staff chat about customers (having worked in several retail environments I know and understand it happens but I have always made sure that other customers could nt hear - especially when I managed the CS)

I would be v interested to hear your views.

Anyway bought lovely plumbs (on offer £1) and crumpets (on offer 64p) instead so within my £2 Tuesday budget

Viv I wanna try your pork recipie but today the forum wont let me copy and paste into word so I ll try to save it again tomorrow - it sounds YUM. I dont have any blue cheese but I strongly suspect that feta will do a similar job - if not as melty!!

I intend to follow that waist trimming exercise - good one to do in front of the telly!
Nite all

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Make do, Mend and Minimise in 2015

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