October 2010 Grocery Challenge

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Comments

  • Can I be put down for £150 this month? Got to do some serious saving as really need to get together for a house deposit, so really have to stick to budget from now on!

    Thanks for starting the new thread :)
    Mortgage-free wannabe #66 £105/4000
  • Habibiboo
    Habibiboo Posts: 1,582 Forumite
    edited 29 September 2010 at 6:14PM
    Hello:hello: Happy October everyone (well, nearly)!
    Can I sign up for £250 please?
    I'm pretty good with the budget and making do etc, what I'm having trouble with is getting the OH to stop sneaking off to Lidl for "essentials" (beer, croissants, parmesan, random gadgets etc) then coming back and saying "you owe me £20 for shopping". :eek:
    Any hints on how to get him to hear the "we only need to buy milk" mantra? I really want to crack this one in October!
    Stash busting 2014 45 / 60 (balls of yarn)!
    2014 Sealed Pot #2136 ?/£500
    House: Decluttering 322 / 365
    Original mortgage [STRIKE]£149,000[/STRIKE][STRIKE]£117,750[/STRIKE];[STRIKE]£112,500[/STRIKE] MFW 2014#69 GOAL 1: [STRIKE]£109 K April[/STRIKE] ;) GOAL 2: [STRIKE]£103 K by Sept[/STRIKE] ;) GOAL 3: < £100k by end of 2014 MF goal: Nov 2020 - 4 years early
  • Hi.......I've been following this thread for the last two months and think its brilliant!

    My personal circumstances changed dramatically about two months ago (my marriage broke up!)......so my budget to spend on groceries is much less now.

    I have three sons......two away at Uni and one who spends most of his time at his dads house (he's in his last year at school so needs stability)......but who still manages to eat me out of house and home whenever he's here!

    Can you put me down for £200 please? I know I could probably manage on less, but I still have good days and bad days and am not ready to do without the odd glass of wine and bar of chocolate.

    Thank you :)
    Total debt at LBM £26k+
    Total debt now £16,494.40
    Tesco CC 11/2/11 Total - £1,387.20 - Now £0
  • Habibiboo
    Habibiboo Posts: 1,582 Forumite
    Hugs, Snowdonlily - total empathy, there will be plenty of other things you can do without or cut down on before moving to the choc and wine, keep the essentials in as long as they are needed! Good luck with the challenge!
    Stash busting 2014 45 / 60 (balls of yarn)!
    2014 Sealed Pot #2136 ?/£500
    House: Decluttering 322 / 365
    Original mortgage [STRIKE]£149,000[/STRIKE][STRIKE]£117,750[/STRIKE];[STRIKE]£112,500[/STRIKE] MFW 2014#69 GOAL 1: [STRIKE]£109 K April[/STRIKE] ;) GOAL 2: [STRIKE]£103 K by Sept[/STRIKE] ;) GOAL 3: < £100k by end of 2014 MF goal: Nov 2020 - 4 years early
  • Hippeechiq
    Hippeechiq Posts: 1,103 Forumite
    monks wrote: »
    This challenge really makes me question what i actually need instead of what i think i need !!!

    Doesn't it just! Which is all good :)

    I've been meaning to ask......I think I'm probably alone in this, but am I the only one who doesn't batch cook main meals?

    I don't not do it because I can't be bothered, I'm just not very keen on the taste of something that has been cooked, frozen, and then re-heated? I especially can't abide the taste of re-heated potatoes - bleurgh

    With the exception of Shepherdess Pie (minus the mash) Cheese & Lentil Loaf and Onion Tart - which all contain no meat - I cook all my meals from scratch on the day I eat it.

    This isn't a dig at those who do - I wish I could, it would make life a lot easier, but to me, meat never tastes right when it's been re-heated. I just wondered if I was alone in this?
    Aug11 £193.29/£240

    Oct10 £266.72 /£275 Nov10 £276.71/£275 Dec10 £311.33 / £275 Jan11 £242.25/ £250 Feb11 £243.14/ £250 Mar11 £221.99/ £230
    Apr11 £237.39 /£240 May11 £237.71/£240 Jun11 £244.03/ £240 July11 £244.89/ £240
    Xmas 2011 Fund £220
  • Please can you put me down for £220 for October please MrsM.
    DFW Nerd 941 Proud to be dealing with my debt
    August GC £0/£300

  • Here I am, going to deffo have another bash at this during Oct... £80 please :D

    This is just for me and my fussy cat but only groceries ie food/cleaning products.

    Was under last month by £5.48 which I am really pleased about but I had some shopping gifted to me due to hospital admissions etc. We will see how this one goes.. :o

    Considering in Aug I spent about £100/120 this is making a major difference to me!
    GC 2011
    Jan £43.45/£40.00 Feb £55.14/£55.00 Mar £64.88/£120
    I MUST KEEP POSITIVE!!
    :A Time you enjoyed wasting, was not wasted (John Lennon) :A


  • sistercas
    sistercas Posts: 4,803
    Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary Debt-free and Proud!
    Forumite
    edited 29 September 2010 at 7:27PM
    Hippeechiq wrote: »
    I've been meaning to ask......I think I'm probably alone in this, but am I the only one who doesn't batch cook main meals?

    I don't not do it because I can't be bothered, I'm just not very keen on the taste of something that has been cooked, frozen, and then re-heated? I especially can't abide the taste of re-heated potatoes - bleurgh

    With the exception of Shepherdess Pie (minus the mash) Cheese & Lentil Loaf and Onion Tart - which all contain no meat - I cook all my meals from scratch on the day I eat it.

    This isn't a dig at those who do - I wish I could, it would make life a lot easier, but to me, meat never tastes right when it's been re-heated. I just wondered if I was alone in this?

    i dont batch cook ( except bolognaise ) as no matter how much i make it seems to all disappear in one meal :eek::o so i find it best to just make enough for one meal ;)

    going to have to have a tighter month than i first thought as DD1 needs to do a course which hopefully will help her with her future career but it has cost £300 :eek:

    Kezlou i am going to make the calzone this weekend - cant wait - thanks :T
  • kezlou
    kezlou Posts: 3,283 Forumite
    brodie1 i will no doubt be buying a chicken from there in the next few days so i'll let you know how i get on with mine. I normally freeze cooked chicken ready for sandwiches pies etc. Really hope the chicken is nice tasty as generally there the one place i can buy a chicken from thats a decent size and is quite cheap.

    wssla i just use spring onions the same way i use ordinary onions and they always taste fine to me.

    hippiechiq for me it depends on the meal. Somethings like macaroni don't taste that good warmed up. But lamb curry tastes (according to OH and DS1) better reheated.

    Well just finished batch cooking a load of pastry based foods.
    So now we have:-

    8 cheese, chicken and broccoli pasties (had 10 but 2 disappeared into the kids mouths)
    4 mini quiches
    1 large quiche
    6 very large monster buns
    one lot of broccil veg juice
    one pint of chicken stock

    We had this for tea:-

    Chicken, cheese, ham and broccoli pie

    Shortcrust pastry
    200g cooked chicken
    1 medium head of brocoli cooked
    scraps of ham (optional)
    100g cheese
    1 pint milk
    2 tbsp of self raising (can use plain)
    margerine or butter 25g


    Method.
    Pre heat oven to gas mark 6.
    Make pastry here's the link:-
    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=16145993#post16145993
    When the above is done you can start making the sauce.
    Melt 25g of butter
    stir in 2tbsp of self raising flour
    once mixed add pint of milk till all is blended in and has turned into a thick sauce.
    Stir cheese in till melted and leave.
    Boil broccoli till cooked, drain (i keep the veg water for soup).
    Add the cooked brocoli and chicken the cheese sauce and mash it with a fork till there's hardly any lumps. When it is fully mixed in leave it while oyu roll the pastry out.

    Roll out pastry and place the bottom of the pie into pyrex dish and bake till partially cooked. Then place the cheese / chicken mixture into part cooked pastry and place the top of the (uncooked pastry) on top. Place in oven till golden brown. Serve hot or cold.

    I then used the leftover cheese mixture to make pasties.

    Hope the above is useful for anyone.

  • Hippeechiq
    Hippeechiq Posts: 1,103 Forumite
    edited 29 September 2010 at 8:53PM
    claire1234 wrote: »
    also any recipes for a chick pea curry? i was thinking just tinned tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, onion & plenty of spices & herbs? never tried before,

    Re the washing powder, I've just started using £idl's Formil Liquid £2.29 for 28 washes. Been using their Bio one for OH's white shirts, and have just bought their Non Bio for all other washing, and so far it seems ok to me :)

    I've got a Chickpea Curry Recipe although I've not got around to trying it yet. This serves 2

    1 Tbs Oil
    ½ Large Onion (diced)
    1 Tbs Curry Powder (Medium or Mild depending on preference)
    ½ Tin (200g) Chopped Tomatoes & Garlic
    175G New Potatoes (boiled and cut into 1cm pieces)
    ½ Tin (200g) Chickpeas
    1 Tbs Lemon Juice
    1 Tbs Mango Chutney

    Fry diced onion until soft
    Add curry powder and stir over a low heat from 1 minute
    Add tinned tomatoes and 25ml water - cover and simmer fro 10 mins
    Add potatoes, chickpeas and lemon juice and simmer, uncovered for a further 10 mins
    Stir in mango chutney & serve


    My personal circumstances changed dramatically about two months ago (my marriage broke up!)......so my budget to spend on groceries is much less now.
    I know I could probably manage on less, but I still have good days and bad days and am not ready to do without the odd glass of wine and bar of chocolate.

    Thank you :)

    :grouphug: Snowdonlily Several of us have been there hun, you will come through it, but as you quite rightly say, wine and chocolate for comfort are a must :D ....or at least they were for me. Food management is the way to go in order to have enough for your treats.....actually, the correct word there is probably necessities, rather than treats, but you know what I mean :)

    Maybe when you're having a slightly better day, try to plan a few meals, just start with one or 2 and see how you go. If you say use some bacon one day in a pasta dish, see if you can think what else you could use the rest of the bacon for instead of freezing it. It may even help to have your mind occupied, depending on whether you find you can focus on things at the moment - and I appreciate that maybe you can't.

    You'll get nothing but support from everyone on here, so you've come to the right place :)
    Aug11 £193.29/£240

    Oct10 £266.72 /£275 Nov10 £276.71/£275 Dec10 £311.33 / £275 Jan11 £242.25/ £250 Feb11 £243.14/ £250 Mar11 £221.99/ £230
    Apr11 £237.39 /£240 May11 £237.71/£240 Jun11 £244.03/ £240 July11 £244.89/ £240
    Xmas 2011 Fund £220
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