March 2012 Grocery Challenge

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  • pipersky
    pipersky Posts: 954 Forumite
    Evening my lovely gc'ers,

    Well budget wise so far so good. Space is gradually appearing in the freezer as I am finally using up what I have in there already.

    It's all about milk consumption in our house at the moment as we are on a mission to secure a cr4vend4le kermit the frog backpack. In order to achieve this goal we have to drink our way through twenty 2 litre cartons by the middle of April!!! We are just over half way. I can see lots of cheese sauces and milkshakes being consumed in the scrumper household :)

    First veg box of the month came today. The best bits are some purple sprouting broccoli and mandarins or clementines which look lovely.

    Will say good night as getting sleepy now xxxx

    Sorry if this has already been said but cravend4le have given out about 7 free codes - it's on their twitter feed and Facebook page. If you don't use either message me and I will find them for you :)
    Part time GCer, NSDer, Comper and (Bad)Flylady :o
    A big shot is just a little shot that kept shooting ...
  • tigerfeet2006
    tigerfeet2006 Posts: 14,030
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    edited 26 March 2012 at 10:20PM
    Tonights dinner was southern fried chicken from The Takeaway Secret with oven chips and corn on the cob. An absolute hit of massive proportions :D

    This weeks shop came to £20 plus I had an Approved Food order of £50.

    I can't believe how low I have managed to bring everything in this month. Though my cupboard is looking very bare and my freezer has not a lot in it :)
    BSCno.87
    The only stupid question is an unasked one
    Loving life as a Kernow Hippy
  • meg72
    meg72 Posts: 5,164
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    edited 27 March 2012 at 6:47PM
    Morning all, heres hoping for another sunny day,spent most of yesterday
    in the garden, its lovely to see everything coming up,the Rhubarb was tempting but only a few sticks ready,so just picked one and dipped it in sugar it was lovely.Noticed loads of new Raspberry canes coming up,
    Picked enough lettuce and wild garlic leaves to make a salad for tea.

    I have really found that it pays off for me to not stock up the beginning of the month but to use up for a week or two and then use the money to stock up on offers at the end, if I can find anything that I need.

    Freezer seems to be as full now as the begining of the month, trouble is
    I take out say 250grms mince and put back three portions of whatever Ive made.
    Slimming World at target
  • ragz_2
    ragz_2 Posts: 3,254
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    Spent just under £9 last night on fruit (Waitrose do the cheapest and best loose bananas), yogurt and a few snacky things. Will only need eggs later and that should be me done spending for the rest of the month.
    June Grocery Challenge £493.33/£500 July £/£500
    2 adults, 3 teens
    Progress is easier to acheive than perfection.
  • pipersky wrote: »
    Sorry if this has already been said but cravend4le have given out about 7 free codes - it's on their twitter feed and Facebook page. If you don't use either message me and I will find them for you :)

    Thanks for this. I am pleased to report we have reached our goal :j
    GC Mar 11 £437.08Apr 11 £459.26 May 11 £485.52 June 11 £423.79July 11 £409.22 Aug 11 £250.10Sept 11 £396.14Oct 11 £382.37Nov 11 £372.55Dec 11 £332.29 Jan 12 £375.19:Feb 12 £349.58Mar 12 £279.66Apr 12 £249.12May 12 £337.66/Jun 12 £362.58/Jul 12 £317.03/Aug 12 £354.02/Sept £439.72/Oct 12 £210.16
  • tigerfeet2006
    tigerfeet2006 Posts: 14,030
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    Well I found out what happens if you put too much of the Costco Kingsland Washing Powder in the machine today :D It bubbles up and seeps out of the washing machine door oops!!
    BSCno.87
    The only stupid question is an unasked one
    Loving life as a Kernow Hippy
  • elsiepac
    elsiepac Posts: 2,550
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    Hi all,

    Just thought I'd post the dish I made last night. It was loosely based on a recipe I found online, and the rest I invented. I was really pleased with the result.

    Ingredients

    For the lentil layer:
    12oz/340g red lentils
    1 large or 2 small onions
    1 clove garlic
    1/2 tsp each of sage, thyme and oregano
    1 veggie stock cube
    optional - 1 tsp olive oil

    For the vegetable layer:
    1 jar arrabbiata pasta sauce (or homemade tomato sauce)
    1 tbsp oil
    2 large onions
    3 peppers, preferably different colours

    For the potato layer:
    2-4 potatoes, depending on size and how big your casserole dish is!
    2 cloves garlic

    Method:

    Preheat oven to 190 (GM 5)

    Lentil layer:
    Pop all the ingredients in a medium sauce pan and mix up a bit, cover with water to just above the mixture, and boil until the lentils are soft and mushy. You will need to top up the water maybe 5 minutes after it's boiling, and I advise you keep stirring every couple of minutes!

    Vegetable layer:
    Heat the oil in a pan, and saute the chopped onions and peppers until just cooked. Then mix through the tomato sauce.

    Potato layer:
    Boil the potato until soft, then add the 2 cloves of chopped garlic and mash it all up. If you want you can add whatever you normally would to mash here. I used 1 tsp of olive oil just to loosen it a bit and it was lovely.

    Put it together and cook!
    Get a casserole dish (I use the rectangle one I would use for lasagne) and spread the lentil mixture evenly over the bottom of it. Press it down a bit.
    Next spread over the vegetable layer evenly.
    Finally top with the potato mix.
    Bake for 30-40 mins until crispy/golden on top.
    Serve with green vegetables or salad. This makes 4 very generous portions!

    Enjoy!

    LC
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Old Style, Crafting and Techie Stuff boards.If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing [email protected] views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
    GC: May 22 £tbc/£250 Vegan 27-8-13
  • p-pincher
    p-pincher Posts: 727 Forumite
    Hi Everyone,

    £27.50 spent this week, this includes small trips to aldi, co op and 2 littlies in Sainburys, various bits and bobs to see us through til Friday. New budget to start on Saturday. Cannot believe ive still got £25 left with only 3 days to go, ive normally got about that much left with about 2 weeks to go so i definitely think that doing weekly shops as opposed to monthly shops suit me better. Shouldnt spend much in the next 3 days, planning a nsd tomorrow x
    March 2014 Grocery challenge £250.00
  • Hi

    I was lucky in waitros4 yesterday. A lovely lady was reducing bread and cakes. There were lots of items on a shelf. I looked at a packet of double choc cookies (5 for £2.50!!!!) and she offered to reduce them for me and promptly marked them down to 29p :) she then asked me if there was anything else I was looking for! That certainly doesn't happen in Mr T!
    GC Mar 11 £437.08Apr 11 £459.26 May 11 £485.52 June 11 £423.79July 11 £409.22 Aug 11 £250.10Sept 11 £396.14Oct 11 £382.37Nov 11 £372.55Dec 11 £332.29 Jan 12 £375.19:Feb 12 £349.58Mar 12 £279.66Apr 12 £249.12May 12 £337.66/Jun 12 £362.58/Jul 12 £317.03/Aug 12 £354.02/Sept £439.72/Oct 12 £210.16
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 9,289
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    First of all my condolences to you and your OH Florenceem but I'm so glad you are back on form in the forum.

    I love the way you chide us all when we are naughty...:rotfl:
    Florenceem wrote: »
    Naughty! If you must have biccies - cheaper to make them plus you know what they contain. Taste better too. I am getting like the Naughty cop now!
    Florenceem wrote: »
    Home made biscuits are more filling than bought ones plus - fruit is better for you than biccies. I am getting good at bad cop!

    I especially love it when we pre-empt your response by spontaneously defending our purchasing mummyof5! I really have missed your posts this month.
    mummyyof5 wrote: »
    ...I havent been buying biscuits honestly...although I have bought some sweets to use as decorations for cake sale at LOs school...having a bake day tomorrow so will be a NSD.
    Today I spent £4.50 In W**kos..£7.00 in MrTs...£4.50 market..salad stuff and more bananas.

    I have been away for two days and not caught up yet but I couldn't resist posting as this had me chuckling away :rotfl:
    Save £12k in 2024 - #2 target is £5000
    OS Grocery Challenge 2024 16.02% spent or £480.73/£3,000 annual
    I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
    My Debt Free Diary Get a grip Woman
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