January 2009 Grocery Challenge

[Mooloo]

Large shopping ordered on line from Mr A. Coming tomorrow. £156 worth. Mind you the swaps suggested on the website saved me a further £21 by switching brands/sizes etc. Hopefully it will mostly last us till the end of the month except for bread and milk, maybe somevegetables.

[gailey]

Thanks queen of string am shattered all this cooking.
Im not normally this well organised and busy
Its 2009 and im totally serious about keeping to budget as we need to be .
We tried so many things in order to cut back

quit tesco 6months ago and swopped for

morrisions/aldis and lidls but prefer sainsburys and nearest

we tried buying more frozen prepacked
tried independnt butchers and greengrocers/farm shop

The result has been better but not within budget so radical change was needed.

As a family we like our fresh fruit and veg

howver we have brought more tinned veg and frozen now as very useful backup.

we buy meat fresh and freeze and defrost as required.

we buying less convieninace food that oh loves like ready meals as not godo value for money but big thumbs up to

breaded fish
breaded chicken
plain fish fillets
chips/wedges as they are okmas occasional nite off the cooking.

fish is cheaper than meat

Oh likes his meat but latly only been using half of what i used to use and padding it out with veg and lentils and even hiding veg he dont like.

What we used to do is what we call live like kigs for 1st week or 2 and then bomb and and not have many standbys.
we even thew away some fresh veg if we overbrought
used to run out of meat very quickly
biscuits/cakes vanished in days!

so then we thourght maybe big monthly shop bad for us we try weekly

however hubby working loads kept running out or not going regular and having tod o expensive top ups at corner shop and completly bombing out of food before went again.
So last week got so fed up even with tired oh and grumpy toddler did lidls and sainsburys as next to each other thur evening oh payday.
The plan was to cook like mad.

will be super lazy next week.

I hope it works its my first month of trying.

We lucky we have huge chest freezer, I currently work from home and enjoy cooking lots of books its just making the time

[keld]

Just updating my signature.

I'm still keeping the spending diary going, it does make interesting reading.

Did my big weekly shop yesterday at MrS and spent £70.88, more than half of which is on fruit, veg, meat and fish.

I've now added totally unnecessary lunches (bought as against home made) to my grocery challenge spend (£44.94 so far ), this is definitely something that has to change. DH likes to get out of the office at lunchtime, which seems to result in too many bought lunches. However once he can see what we spend over a whole month, maybe he'll be a bit keener to take rather than buy lunch.

I'm still hoping to come in on budget, as I'll only do one more biggish shop before February. Then for February I'll have to shave off something, plus it's only a four week month.

[mommyof4]

Hi
Just nipped in to say, my DH has had to shop/cook/feed kids since Monday, hence I don't know how much grocery money he has spent. I have been struck down with norovirus and feel really ill. Probably over budget!!! Got pages on here to catch up with but it'll have to wait.

bye for now

[NewlyFrugalMumof3]

Originally Posted by Steel

It's just me and hubby, and I tend to test out ideas with food and then tell him a few weeks later, because he's one of these people who would insist they taste the difference if he knew in advance. He was quite happy with the diluted milk etc as he couldn't taste the difference. Also, he's adamant he hates swede and won't eat it. I've yet to tell him he's been eating it in mash, pasties and stews for years. I sense that could be a trust-breaker

My sister's husband claimed once he could only have branded coffee because he had very sensitive taste buds and he couldn't tolerate the taste of anything else. So she switched his special Nescafe for Lidl's own - just decanted it into the jar and hid the lidl packaging. That was almost a year ago and he still hasn't twigged.

Sneak it in gradually is what I say.....

Thanks Steel. I will have to be more "undercover" like with my swops and cheats. It's true about my OH too. He wouldn't touch swede if I dished it up separately with his meal, but boy does he wolf down my/my mum's homemade pasties (swede included)!! Hmmm. Am wondering what other items I can 'decant'. Thanks for your tips.

[orchid-96]

Originally Posted by mommyof4

Hi
Just nipped in to say, my DH has had to shop/cook/feed kids since Monday, hence I don't know how much grocery money he has spent. I have been struck down with norovirus and feel really ill. Probably over budget!!! Got pages on here to catch up with but it'll have to wait.

bye for now

Sorry to hear you are unwell mommyof4, don't worry about the gc too much, just get yourself better - I am sure your dh has picked up lots of tips

[angelatgraceland]

Originally Posted by NewlyFrugalMumof3

Thanks Steel. I will have to be more "undercover" like with my swops and cheats. It's true about my OH too. He wouldn't touch swede if I dished it up separately with his meal, but boy does he wolf down my/my mum's homemade pasties (swede included)!! Hmmm. Am wondering what other items I can 'decant'. Thanks for your tips.

Well I also decant coffee-and teabags(into the Tetley tin) but the favourite is tomato sauce! Ive got a plastic Daddies bottle which is offten washed out and refilled with Asdas own value or Lidls. Thats what they got for wanting branded stuff. Cornflakes are another one-Tescos own(not the value they are yuck)they are as good as Kellogs and go into my plastic cereal box as do any brand of wheat cereals which look like Weetabix. No complaints whatsoever! Ive admitted to the cereals but not the sauce and coffee/tea.
Sometimes its the only way as they judge by name not by taste otherwise. Suck it and see is what I say!

[nickynoo08]

Thanks queen of string. I had a quick look on tesco online to see what i could get for £40 and was quite supprised. I reckon i'll be able to get all my household cleaning stuff, ladies stuff, shower gels (already got some in) etc to last us the year plus a few large bags of pasta, rice and tinned stuff too.

[Butterflybecks]

Hello,
Just wanted to come and update my signature. Went and did weekly shop last night at Mr T's and only spent £32.86 (£6 of that on cat food and litter). So that bring me to £138.01 total so far for the month and with only one more shop to go I will be under budget by about £30 . Very pleased with my self as this is my first month.

Plus I have managed to teach the cats about money saving and they are back on tinned food!!! saving me lots.

Hope every one else is having a good month

Becki x

[mummy2mygirls]

Originally Posted by angelatgraceland

Well I also decant coffee-and teabags(into the Tetley tin) but the favourite is tomato sauce! Ive got a plastic Daddies bottle which is offten washed out and refilled with Asdas own value or Lidls. Thats what they got for wanting branded stuff. Cornflakes are another one-Tescos own(not the value they are yuck)they are as good as Kellogs and go into my plastic cereal box as do any brand of wheat cereals which look like Weetabix. No complaints whatsoever! Ive admitted to the cereals but not the sauce and coffee/tea.
Sometimes its the only way as they judge by name not by taste otherwise. Suck it and see is what I say!

Oh interesting about the sauce and washing out the bottle.....my dh is so fussy and will only have hp sauce, ketchup and salad cream (cant think of the name but the expensive brand) Bet he wouldnt notice if i done this....might have to give it a go...

[PennyGrabber]

You'll have to let us know if the tuna fishcakes you made were any good - it's something that my children would probably love to make - could we hide some veggies in them too?! How did you make them?
Although I'm not starting the GC until Feb (well, 23rd Jan due to payday!), I've been following the thread avidly, and it's amazing how quickly you can change your habits. That's all I think it is. For example, my children go to their dad's on a weds night, and as I'm by myself, I go wandering around the supermarkets for something to do, and end up spending a small fortune, and money I don't have! That will certainly change, and I won't be going tomorrow!
I had a NSD today, and yesterday, and i only bought stamps on Sunday, so that was a grocery NSD as far as I'm concerned! Three in a row - woo!
I don't know about anyone else, but I feel really good about myself, knowing I'm trying to do something about my money situation, and that gives me the momentum to keep going.
My new mantra for shopping - do I really need this?
And my tip for today - when you're shopping, just because it's gone into your trolley, doesn't mean you have to buy it! I've started looking at everything as I put it on the checkout, and if i'm in two minds about it, it goes back - they normally have an area by the belt where you can put stuff. This saved me over £10 last week!
Well done everyone for inspiring me, and I look forward to joining you for the Feb GC!

[glitterball]

Just updating my signature and it looks like I'm going to be within target. Its my first month and I wonder if I've given myself too much. What do you think is reasonable for one person I have put down £100 whats the experience of other singletons???????.
I usually buy my meat once a year at Costco hence the slush fund that I would put any balance left into.

[elizabunny]

Originally Posted by PennyGrabber

You'll have to let us know if the tuna fishcakes you made were any good - it's something that my children would probably love to make - could we hide some veggies in them too?! How did you make them?

Hi PennyGrabber -My DH loved the Tuna Fishcakes and he is my guide -if he doesn't like it, I don't make it again. I thought they were really yum too. This was my recipe:-

1 tin of tuna (drained really well)
Mashed Potato (I used leftovers from a previous dinner -it needs to be quite firm)
1 finely chopped Onion
2 tsp of Dill and Mustard Sauce (I just put this in because there was some in the cupboard, but I'm sure you could use a substitute like tomato sauce)
HM Breadcrumbs
Salt & Pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together apart from the breadcrumbs. If your mixture is a bit wet you could add some breadcrumbs to it, to firm it up. Divide into equal portions (I made 4 big fishcakes but you could make 8 smaller ones). Pat into rounds and then coat in breadcrumbs. I fried mine for a few minutes in a little olive oil then baked them off in the oven to get them really hot & crispy (I don't have a deep fat fryer).

I'm sure you could hide some mashed up peas or sweetcorn in them too. I will definately be making them again.

tessiebear -how did the marmalade turn out?

[orchid-96]

Thanks for the tuna fishcakes recipe, I am going to give them a try for my littluns...I was just wondering though, could I use shop bought breadcrumbs? I have a tub of them in th cupboard (a little out of date) but havn't been opened, do you think I could use them?

DH made a lovely soup tonight that we had with leftover baguettes, it was 'moroccan chick pea and broad bean' and it was delicious, he made enough for another meal for the 2 of us, but have told him in future to double up so we can get more out of it, tried to get the littluns to taste it but they turned their noses up (typical)....nearly managed a nsd but as I was a bit early for my opticians appt I nipped into the quality save shop nearby (a lot like home bargains) and picked up a few bits that were really cheap as I was low on snacky stuff, they had whitworths stuffing mix fo 10p a box and those amoy straight to wok noodles for 19p a pack (with enough for 2meals in) I also picked up some unusual dipping type sauces that dh loves and at only around 29p each I don't mind...so another £3.54 to add so still looking ok for this month....only hope I can keep it up!

[PennyGrabber]

Thanks eliza! Sounds good, and I'll try that with DD (3) and DS (2) at the weekend!
orchid - if you've got the breadcrumbs, use them and see, otherwise they may end up going in the bin - rather use them now while they're only a bit out of date!

[elizabunny]

Originally Posted by orchid-96

Thanks for the tuna fishcakes recipe, I am going to give them a try for my littluns...I was just wondering though, could I use shop bought breadcrumbs? I have a tub of them in th cupboard (a little out of date) but havn't been opened, do you think I could use them?

Hello orchid-96 - Sorry I'm not much use here because I have never used shop bought breadcrumbs -but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Also, I really don't know how long after the date they would be edible - I think there may be other OS who may have used them before so hopefully they can help you out more than me.

I'm hoping to grow broad beans this year so maybe -if you don't mind you could post your soup recipe -it sounds lovely!

Just remembered another NSD for me today -so 3 in a row!

[bunnygirl007]

Hello everyone, I have been seeing the Jan Grocery Challenge on people's sigs all over the forum and wondered where the thread lived! Now I've found you all and what a great thread it is - please can I join for Feb?

I've started keeping a spreadsheet to record my groceries that I'm buying each week so 1) I can get an idea how much I need to budget for next month and 2) I'm finding it very useful to highlight where I have bought uneccessarliy i.e. a one off treat I won't be repeating.

I've got loads of store cupboard and quite a bit of frozen stuff so am thinking of listing it all on another spreadsheet so I can see what I've got without standing on my head looking in cupboards and hopefully make use of lots of things that have been lurking in the cupboards for too long and also start menu planning.

I've only got 2 full weeks of shopping listed so far but both weeks have come in around £68 something - I don't think I've missed any spends. This is only groceries though not anything like money for school lunches or me if I'm working aay from home (I'm a home worker).

I'm feeling quite excited to be starting this challenge but like a lot of things I start the novelty soon wears off and I start falling behind so guy's please keep me going and give me a virtual kick up the bum if necessary.

Also where can I get Twinks Hob Nob recipe please? It sounds great. I've been doing choc brownies a few times but could do to leave the choc for a while.

[elaina79]

Hi I am new to all this so please be gentle with me.

My budget for Jan is £400 for 4 of us (soon to be 5). Kids have just started getting free school dinners so that should cut my bill a bit. Total so far for this month is £281.45.

[angelatgraceland]

Twinks Homemade hobnobs
8oz sr flour
8oz sugar
8oz porridge oats

8oz margarine
1tbsp golden syrup
1tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp bic soda

mix flour, oats and sugar
melt marg, syrup and water in a pan
stir in bic soda and add to dry mix, mix well,
make smallish balls and put on greased tray and flatten slightly with a fork,
180oc Gas 4 for 15 mins,
cool on the tray, you just want them golden in oven not brown


These are nice-they must be cos we ALL like them on here! If you go to the very beginning of this thread you will find the recipe index and links too-there are many there you will find useful so do read the first few pages of the thread. They are put on each month so will also be on febs thread.

[angelnikki]

Hiya bunnygirl007, elaina79 and all newbies welcome to the challenge. If you look on the first page of this thread you'll find lots of info and the recipe index (thanks to rosieben for doing such a great job keeping it up to date) which has links to loads of great recipes including Twink's Hobnobs. HTH

I've just had my third spend of the month. My MrT delivery came to £80.91. This included £6.42 on nappies/wipes, £13.09 on toiletries and 80p on household stuff. So only £60.60 was on food.

I have decided to fully chicken out . I always buy free range eggs but not FR chicken because I didn't feel I could afford free range on my budget. But now that I've managed to reduce our spends, thanks to the GC, we can afford to only buy free range chicken (and pork) too

My total spend at the end of week three: £247.84 / £350

Off to update my siggy...

Nikki x