January 2012 Grocery Challenge

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  • gailey_2
    gailey_2 Posts: 2,329
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    I managed to avoid the trail round the SMs yesterday on a special offer hunt. Instead I just bought 2 meals for 2 for £10 from M&S with a voucher we had. The savoury elements are in the freezer, the wine is in the rack, we are having the trifle for dessert today & DH & I sneekily had the Millionaire's Shortbread desserts after the children had gone to bed last night! :rotfl:They were divine! I am not counting that towards my spend because the vouchers were a gift. Therefore a bonus for us :T

    Today I am going to be cooking. A nice day in the kitchen. A couple of questions though.

    I am making a spaghetti bolognaise. I will be using 500g of mince. Normally this feeds the 4 of us nicely. However, I was thinking of adding red lentils to the mince to, hopefully, stretch it to 2 meals. How much should I add and should I add any extra liquid?

    Also, I wanted to make some savoury bread. I bought some buttermilk to do this last week but did not get around to it. The buttermilk is out of date. I have never bought or used buttermilk before. Any idea how I check whether it is off or not? Smell? Appearance?

    Many thanks in advance for your assistance.

    m&s stuff sounds lovley.

    lentils I add aprrox small handful so about 100-150g as buy red lentils in 500g bag.

    I have cooked them by themselves in small pan then added at last min.

    however if doing spag bol from scratch and simmering down as i use passatta and wine in mine may be enough liquid and time to add the lentils and they would cook with the rest as does not take long.

    I forgot to add yesterday was pester power from my 5year old they so brand orientated shes forever saying seen this on the advert.

    She thinks if I feed her baby brother follow on milk he be healthy from the inside and be able to walk hes only 9months!Not sure if shes confusing dog food add for formula:rotfl:

    Anyway brought her pack iced buns in tesco reduced treat 25p.

    yogurt ailses the worst.

    She keeps pestering me for those flipping cadbury choc mouse button thing think was 2 for 79p in sainsburys.

    I comprimised

    value choc mouse shocking 35p now:eek: but low cal as not convinced much choc in it!

    value choc buttons 35p

    ok so 70p together

    but 4choc button desserts:D

    Now wondering what else I can copy.

    she thinks co-op value fromage frais is munch bunch as comes in coloured pots so she can easily identify flavours she annoyingly only likes apricot.

    its 52p so now 2p more than others as they rose from 44p to 50p last few weeks:mad:

    yesterday brought natural yogurt lidls 49p on offer.
    going to add some stewed fruit to make muller corner.
    crushed up biscuits or flakes work well too.

    brought some ellas kitchen fruit pouches in sainsbury on offer at 50p but so sloppy more like drink so going to stir in and flavour the natural yougury divide into small tubs and work oujt what a saving a big tub is?

    Anyone else got any tips on how they mimic kids faves with cheaper versions the discerning fussy litle consumers/diners they now are!

    Also discovered sainsburys basic cheese /tomato pizza frozen best value at 50p as bigger than the mini chilled value pizzas I had been buying them at 50p each so saved myself 50p yesterday but got fleeced on value popcorn at £1 as was 75p in lidls:(.
    pad by xmas2010 £14,636.65/£20,000::beer:
    Pay off as much as I can 2011 £15008.02/£15,000:j

    new grocery challenge £200/£250 feb

    KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON:D,Onwards and upward2013:)
  • kerri_dfw
    kerri_dfw Posts: 4,556
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    £18.07 to report for this weeks veg box. I might buy from the SM this week as I'm not convinced its cheaper. Although will have to do like for like so all organic.
    Diary: Getting back on track for 2013 and beyond
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  • Flat_Eric
    Flat_Eric Posts: 4,060
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    Had home delivery yesterday so I am now well stocked with hand soap, toilet roll and cat food ! fridge is rather full too!

    Trying to use up contents of freezer so we can defrost it and get it a bit more organised.

    Although I have been saving my receipts, I don't know where they are and not really sure how much has been spent this month. With an express store next to my office, its very easy to nip in and buy something and promptly forget/mislay the receipt.

    Not sure will get back on track with this but will be meal planning later and determined to keep proper track in Feb.
  • Ninno820
    Ninno820 Posts: 765 Forumite
    :pUber excited - please forgive me!

    Its freezing here and all I want to do is snack. Nothing in house but trying not to spend - have already declared a NSD for today. Solution - make a cake from the ingredients in the house - hmm.

    So i rubbed 8oz sr flour and 4oz margarine and then added 4oz sugar and mixed together. Looking around I had a handful of sultanas, two appleas from befre christmas and an orange from before christmas. Solution - I peeled and chopped the apples and added them together with the rind of an orange - remembering to squeeze the orange juice into ice cube trays in freezer for future use of course - and the sultanas. add a beaten egg and milk and stir. Sprinkle a little sugar on top of the mixture once in the cake tin to add a little crust and cook at 18o degrees C for 30 - 45 mins. Hey presto a beautiful and tasty cake. Not slimming I know but OS.

    Incidently the initial part - flour, marg and sugar works with cherries as well.:p
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  • dobs wrote: »
    hi all have updated my spends in signature, can see i am going to go over the 200 i wanted to spend, hubby has been buying extras but have had a horrible last few days with our little old jacksy being put to sleep yesterday so i'm not going to mention the budget to him :(. Anyway am thinking of doing the shopping myself next month and trying not to get extras.

    So sorry about your dog, we have a cat and they do become part of your family. Would be devastated if anything happened to her xx
    Ninno820 wrote: »
    :pUber excited - please forgive me!

    Its freezing here and all I want to do is snack. Nothing in house but trying not to spend - have already declared a NSD for today. Solution - make a cake from the ingredients in the house - hmm.

    So i rubbed 8oz sr flour and 4oz margarine and then added 4oz sugar and mixed together. Looking around I had a handful of sultanas, two appleas from befre christmas and an orange from before christmas. Solution - I peeled and chopped the apples and added them together with the rind of an orange - remembering to squeeze the orange juice into ice cube trays in freezer for future use of course - and the sultanas. add a beaten egg and milk and stir. Sprinkle a little sugar on top of the mixture once in the cake tin to add a little crust and cook at 18o degrees C for 30 - 45 mins. Hey presto a beautiful and tasty cake. Not slimming I know but OS.

    Incidently the initial part - flour, marg and sugar works with cherries as well.:p

    Well done to you, you should feel proud that no only have you used up ingrediants you already had to make something yummy but you have saved money as well :D

    Tracey
    Officially debt free :j
  • freyasmum wrote: »
    She's been at her dad's all weekend and will have been filled up with rubbish - pizza, chips, chicken nuggets, ready meals. In fact, he once said to me when he was on the phone while I was cooking dinner (we were having steak) that she had wanted to eat his steak when he'd had it. I said why, what did she have? One of those frozen chicken dinnery type things, he replied. I said well no wonder! I don't buy overly processed foods for her, she's never been used to them (his dad couldn't believe it when she was weaned on braised steak with mash!) and she always eats the same as I do. Once when I dropped her off, he had her 'lunch' ready for her... a cut up processed cheese slice and a halved cherry tomato. Really :o

    I have the same problem, my 2 dd go to their dads on a Sunday and he has to give them sunday lunch but he never gives them a proper lunch and they are usually hungry when they get home. Last week he gave them chocolate and a muffin, not exactly healthy food, grrr.

    Tracey
    Officially debt free :j
  • Linz4383
    Linz4383 Posts: 319
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    tracey12 wrote: »
    I have the same problem, my 2 dd go to their dads on a Sunday and he has to give them sunday lunch but he never gives them a proper lunch and they are usually hungry when they get home. Last week he gave them chocolate and a muffin, not exactly healthy food, grrr.

    Tracey

    wot is it with dads n not feedin the kids rite!!! my ex is exactly the same! winds me up ded bad!!! especially on a saturday wen i dnt get bk home with her til 6.30 then i have to start cookin her something!! coz all shes had at t time in sum biscuit n carp like that! ARGGHHHH!
  • Another £4.04 to record for me went to S and got some plain yogurt,2 packs of baked and sunbites 6 packs and a bunch of grapes, so i'm over my target for the month but not by too much, i am going to try and keep it where it is.
    Lose 28lb 3/28lb
    SPC Member 1522/2012-£264/ new pot 2013
  • Mr T delivery just arrived. Was trying to get through the month without it but we were down to 2 loo rolls. :eek:

    So Jan's budget is taking a bit of a hit but stocked up on enough that I shouldn't need Feb's delivery. That's the plan anyway. :o Total spend was £79.96 but that includes some household things (new saucepan as an example) that come out of a separate budget. So declaring the grocery spend at £60.96.
  • KazLA wrote: »
    Hoping someone can confirm if my toilet rolls are a bargin! Regina 12 rolls (3 free) from Family Bargins for £2.49. It says 170 sheets per roll, but I don't hv an old packet of Mr A or T own brand which we normally use to see how this compares. The sheets are really thick (and embossed with a pretty pattern which makes them seem v luxurious!). I noticed smart price are nearly £2 for only 6 tiny looking rolls.
    This is one of the best brands you can buy I think myself! Yes-a bargain indeed and their kitchen roll is also excellent!
    Annual Grocery budget 2018 is £1500 pa £125 calendar month £28.84 pw for 3 adults
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