September 2009 Grocery Challenge

11819212324109

Comments

  • cw18
    cw18 Posts: 8,613
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Photogenic
    Forumite
    BTW, does anyone else struggle with working out whether Tesco market value fruit and veg is actually lower in price than the standard? They seem to make it difficult by not giving the weight of their bananas etc so it is impossible to compare like for like. They had 7 bananas in their market value pack for £1, but I bought 6 loose of a similar size for 74p.
    I have been known to hand-weigh a few of the MV packs and select what seems to the heaviest. This I then bung onto the suspended scales in that area of the shop, and then work out how it compares to buying loose. Seems to vary from visit to visit as to which is the cheaper way :confused:
    Cheryl
  • Money_saving_Diva_2
    Money_saving_Diva_2 Posts: 2,914 Forumite
    edited 1 September 2009 at 10:35PM
    Hi all

    Well after a long day in the garden my OH voted for not cooking and ordering a pizza. So we used the two for one delivered free option but it was still nearly £20 by the time he had his sides etc. Still I guess I could take that out of my spending money rather than the grocery challenge budget!

    On the plus side I now have a kitchen full of red onions, green beans, garlic, shallots, carrots, beetroot and tomatoes all harvested today from mine and my in-laws garden.

    Am halfway through a Tescos order and also sorting through my recipe files.

    Here’s a couple of ideas for surplus runner beans and chilli jam as I have loads from the garden at the moment.

    Bean pickle
    2lb Beans (top and tail, de-string and slice into chunks)
    1 & 1/2 lbs onions (chopped up)
    2 tablespoons of cornflour
    1 & 1/2 pints of malt vinegar
    2 tsp oil
    1 & 1/2 tablespoons of turmeric
    8oz soft brown sugar
    1lb Demerara Sugar
    2 cloves of garlic
    2 teaspoon dry mustard
    pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
    • Place the chopped onions into a large saucepan (or preserving pan) with half a pint of the vinegar. Bring them up to just under boiling point and let them simmer gently for about 15 to 20 minutes until the onions are soft.
    • Meanwhile cook the beans in boiling salted water for 5 minutes, then strain them and add to the onions.
    • Now in a small bowl mix the cornflour, mustard, chilli flakes and turmeric with a little of the remaining vinegar to make a smooth paste and then add this paste to the onion mixture.
    • Pour in the rest of the vinegar and simmer everything for 10 minutes.
    • Add the sugar and stir in until it is all dissolved. Then simmer for another 15-20 mins until a spoon pulled across the pan leaves a clean trail.
    • Spoon the pickle into warmed, sterilised jars, and seal and label when cold. Keep for 6 weeks before eating.
    Chilli Jam

    12 large fresh chillis finely chopped
    2 large red onions, finely chopped
    3 fat cloves of garlic, finely chopped
    2 inches fresh ginger, grated (or finely chopped but I find grating easier)
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    2 teaspoons sugar
    2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
    1 tablespoon oyster sauce

    sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • Slit the chillis lengthways, and decide whether you want it extra hot by leaving the seeds in or not! Put them in a saucepan with the onions, garlic, ginger, oil and sugar. Bring the heat up gently until the oil starts sizzling, and then cook on a medium-low heat for about ten to twelve minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar starts to caramelize.
    • Add the vinegar and stir to deglaze. Continue to cook until the liquid evaporates and then mix in the oyster sauce, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season, then pack into clean, sterilised screw top jars.
    • Allow to cool and then keep in the fridge. Or you can freeze it in a suitable container. It keeps for about 10 days in the fridge. Something went wrong with it once and it was way too runny so I just used it as a chilli sauce and dip.. :rotfl:
    Hope you enjoy them. Off to bed now, have to be up again at 0400.

    Diva.x
    To be frugal, you need to spend money wisely, simply spending less is not enough.
    If you can't handle me at my worst then you don't deserve me at my best...
    Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I will try again tomorrow.
  • I've spent £3.11 today on milk and something for tea although I ended up not eating it and having something else. But it has gone in the freezer though so it's not a waste
    Initial Debt July 2020 - £6,772.80
    Debt now Jan 2021 - £6,208.21
    Overpayment pot - £0
  • Fire_Fox
    Fire_Fox Posts: 26,026
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    Forumite
    BTW, does anyone else struggle with working out whether Tesco market value fruit and veg is actually lower in price than the standard? They seem to make it difficult by not giving the weight of their bananas etc so it is impossible to compare like for like. They had 7 bananas in their market value pack for £1, but I bought 6 loose of a similar size for 74p.

    If you check MySupermarket some of the Value stuff is more expensive that the loose fruit and veg! :eek:
    Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
  • lauhen
    lauhen Posts: 437 Forumite
    i have just done the banking, and if i stick to my challenge of wanting to only spend £250 on groceries, (i did put £300 for the challenge, but i only want to spend £250) i should have about £100 left at the end of the month. I really want to stick to this challenge so bad, but i am going to find it hard, as milk and bread come to alot before i even buy fruit and veg, but i figure i have more of a chance if i do it without husband and children there, as they tend to say i want, i want, even husband does, he doesnt realise there is a budget, and he doesnt like me mentioning it, as he feels that we should have enough money to buy what we want. He is right though, we should have plenty of money left, but we dont as we have debt, i need him to acknowledge all of this in one sitting, he knows we have debt and he knows we need to budget, but putting it altogether is impossible in his mind.
  • Good Morning everyone,

    well last nights meal was a disaster. After arriving home later and not starting making it until about seven p.m things went from bad to worse. Serves me right for being smug.

    Had planned to have breaded sole which I could cook from frozen and home made chips. Put fish in oven and peeled and cooked chips only to discover that fish tasted baaaad! :mad: Don't know how this happened but it was awful and could not be eaten, so dinner last night was home made chips, bread and butter and a hastily heated tin of spaghetti.

    Well hopefully tonights meal will not be such a disaster.

    Off now to make up my packed lunch and set off to work.

    Haven't spent any of my september budget.
    It takes a long time to eat an elephant and I'm doing it a bite at a time!!!
  • Bitsy_Beans
    Bitsy_Beans Posts: 9,640
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    edited 2 September 2009 at 8:50AM
    Hello :j
    I've not tried the Grocery Challenge before so I thought this month I'd give it a go to see if it will help keep me on track.

    Can I be put down for £40 per week for me, H and two kids (working to roughly £160 per month). Ideally I want it to be less than this :D

    Gonna be tough but I've done my new meal plans so no reason not to stick to a sensible budget. I really can't afford to spend more than this per week so wish me luck :D
    I have a gift for enraging people, but if I ever bore you it'll be with a knife :D Louise Brooks
    All will be well in the end. If it's not well, it's not the end.
    Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars
  • Bitsy_Beans
    Bitsy_Beans Posts: 9,640
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Fire_Fox wrote: »
    If you check MySupermarket some of the Value stuff is more expensive that the loose fruit and veg! :eek:

    In Sainsbury's they have the electronic scales so for example the basic bananas I've weighed to see what the price would be if they were bought loose - they were cheaper :T
    I also check the price per unit on Mysupermarket or on the tag displayed in store. Not always easy with kids in tow but gone are the days of mindless shopping. I scrutinise a lots of things these days to work out if I am paying over the odds :D
    I have a gift for enraging people, but if I ever bore you it'll be with a knife :D Louise Brooks
    All will be well in the end. If it's not well, it's not the end.
    Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars
  • Flat_Eric
    Flat_Eric Posts: 4,060
    First Anniversary First Post
    Forumite




    BTW, does anyone else struggle with working out whether Tesco market value fruit and veg is actually lower in price than the standard? They seem to make it difficult by not giving the weight of their bananas etc so it is impossible to compare like for like. They had 7 bananas in their market value pack for £1, but I bought 6 loose of a similar size for 74p.

    Im reading a book on getting out of debt at the moment (very interesting) and this says the kind people at the supermarket deliberately move stuff around because us savvy customers remember/know where everything is. Thus by moving stuff around, we go to aisle 10 for the beans and they are gone! thus have to walk past x amount of offers (most of which find ourselves into our basket) to find them in aisle 16. I know this is slightly off topic and I am sure Martin has mentioned this in his feature on supermarkets but the point Im trying to make is in my opinion the supermarkets deliberately trick us.

    No matter what I want to buy, I find myself stood there scratching my head. It has already been mentioned that the biggest pack of something isnt always the cheapest.... but those little labels telling you how much something is, sometimes, price per 100g is featured or per kg or per unit??? and what happens if the item is on offer? is the price correct as what happens if you dont buy the offer and just buy one of? why cant everything be displayed either per 100g or per kg not several of the same product displayed diffently (i.e one displayed per kg, one per 100g etc) And then you go to the checkout and the checkout person scans the stuff so fast you havent enough arms to pack it fast enough so you cant see that those offers you were expecting have been applied and only discover you bought the wrong item to qualify or the offer was on, just not programmed into the tills when you are back home.
  • cw18
    cw18 Posts: 8,613
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post Photogenic
    Forumite
    Flat_Eric wrote: »
    but those little labels telling you how much something is, sometimes, price per 100g is featured or per kg or per unit??? and what happens if the item is on offer? is the price correct as what happens if you dont buy the offer and just buy one of?
    In my experience, the price per 100g/per kg on the shelf edge ticket is still set based on you buying a single item - it has to correspond to the item price on the same ticket. I just with that they'd add the same info to the large 'offer' ticket (though I accept it's not possible where the multi-buy actually covers differently priced/sized items - or one of those 'meal deal' offers)
    Cheryl
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.8K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.4K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 606.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.7K Life & Family
  • 247.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards