July 2012 Grocery Challenge

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  • meg72
    meg72 Posts: 5,164
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    [QUOTE=PennyGrabber;5443164

    Bought loo rolls yest in t; not impressed with how expensive and carp they are!! I'm so used to getting mine from farmf00ds, that I have really noticed the difference. Will def make sure I get my next load there!!!

    Night all,

    PG x[/QUOTE]

    Have you tried the Iceland ones, 4 for a pound, 3ply and really good,I got fed up of chasing offers and stick to these now
    Slimming World at target
  • meg72
    meg72 Posts: 5,164
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    My quote included the electricity. I asked for my Panny as a Christmas present one year and several people clubbed together for it.

    Todays dinner was chicken, sprinkled with garlic powder and done in the slow cooker, potatoes tossed in butter, carrots and peas.

    Hopefully enough chicken left to make another meal, possibly Chicken and Leek pie but I will have to see.

    Was outside earlier putting the recycling out and my nieghbour came out to put some rubbish in the bin and made the comment she was emptying her fridge of all OOD stuff. I asked her what she was chucking and she said potatoes that had sprouted, carrots that were OOD from the 25th June, leeks 28th June, cheese 20th June, eggs 28th June and that is what I remember, there was other stuff. I said to her that they were perfectly fine and ok to eat and wouldn't poison her and that they were BBD's which meant that the products were best eaten before that date for taste and quality but were absolutly fine after that and if any were going a bit bendy then you could make vegetable soup or pop them in a casserole. Also that eggs would be fine past their BBD and explained the float test. All she had to do with the sprouty bits on the potatoes was take them off.

    My goodness she gave me a mouthful about me trying to endanger her family and how dare I lecture her. I pointed out that this is how I live and we are perfectly healthy and she had been moaning to me last week about the cost of food and how much she was spending for 3 of them (£150 a week) and that this week I had spent £55 on shopping for 5 of us and that maybe she had better take my advice and go onto MSE and learn about food. She dumped her stuff in the bin and huffed in doors :) I was really trying to bite my tongue as she was letting loose at me.

    Oops,maybe you should have asked her if you could have what she was throwing away for your compost bin and then salvagedwhat you could.
    Slimming World at target
  • GreenFairy
    GreenFairy Posts: 379
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    XSpender wrote: »
    What am I missing? What else do I need to do to slash my spending?

    I find a lot of "old fashioned" meals like stews to be really economical. I tend to do one stew, lasagne or cottage pie a week as myself and hubs will both get dinner out of one pot/dish for two or three nights - brings the price per meal right down, even using free range meat (less than €1 a portion).

    I watch portion sizes - small amounts of meat, plenty of veg. Helps balance out things and if anyone complains, just say you're ensuring that they get their five a day :) I also try not to make mash too often, even though I love it, as I could easily eat 3 or 4 spuds worth, but if I boil or roast them I only eat half as many.

    Outside of three main meals if anyone's hungry, there's bread and jam or the fruit bowl. No biscuits, crisps or other snacky things in the presses - started saving a fortune when I stopped buying them.
    Attempting to stay on track in the Grocery Challenge!

    Occasionally blogging at CookingTheBooks!
  • jasmin10
    jasmin10 Posts: 905 Forumite
    edited 11 July 2012 at 9:18PM
    XSpender wrote: »
    I am a bt worried about my budget for next month. Even with working on a decent reduction in my weekly spend compared with this month I still can't see how I can curb my spending to bring it down to the level I can afford next month. Dropping from £137/week to £80/week or less just doesn't seem possible but it must be, other people manage quite well on a lot less:( I need to crunch some more numbers, meal plan every meal, look at cheaper alternatives for every thing I buy, include some cheap meals each week and avoid taking DH when I go to the shop.

    What am I missing? What else do I need to do to slash my spending?

    I'm off to re read the front posts again to remind myself of the basics.

    Don't know if it would help but this what I do and have managed to get by on my £40 a week budget for the 4 of us.

    I meal plan and have one meal out of the week made out of mince and alternate each week what I do with it ie cottage pie one wk and lasagne the next, Sunday is always a chicken dinner so that Monday I can strip it and make a curry out of the remain. Tuesday hm old ww recipe cheesy pasta bake, wed, the meal with mince in, thurs sausage egg an chips or something along those lines, friday breaded fish and chips or jacket, sat hm pizza, garlic bread and chips.

    I also buy a big sack of spuds (25kg or something) for £6, this lasts us about two months covered over in the garage.

    Anyhow, this is the basic sort of stuff I do. Beans etc for lunches and I make bread, blamonge (sp), jelly for puddings, own yogurt and lollies for dd.
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  • tigerfeet2006
    tigerfeet2006 Posts: 14,030
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    Meg, I was a bit slow off the mark there. Just been out to see if I can get the bag but she's put a couple of big bin bags in there on top. It stinks, so it's a no go unfortunately.
    BSCno.87
    The only stupid question is an unasked one
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  • XSpender
    XSpender Posts: 3,811
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    Thank you for the tips GreenFairy and Jasmin10.

    Your budget is amazing Jasmin10. I am feeding 2 adults, 1 toddler (but I don't feed him during the week as he in childcare), 2 small dogs and include all toiletries, nappies and wipes, cleaning and laundry too.

    I do think cutting out snacky things will save a few pounds, £ and lb. These find their way into the trolley more often when DH is with me so going on my own will help. I have stopped buying crisps, we don't need them, there isn't many that are GF and when I do buy them DH scoffs them all in a couple of days so he prefers for them not to be in the house and it winds me up when he does it:mad:

    I have just started eating meat again after 25 years and haven't progressed to red meat yet and my coeliac disease means I can't eat quorn mince anymore :( but I have a lot of sausages in the freezer to make into a casserole and I would like to make a nice chicken casserole if I can find a good recipe.

    I am going to have another look at my meal plan and add in a couple of pasta bakes as I have 2 tonnes of GF pasta in the larder from lots of freebie samples and the leftovers will do for DH lunch.

    We don't eat puddings but I do like something sweet at work and tend to bake a cake and biscuits for me to eat during the week. I am going to make better use of my prescription certificate and get flour mixes to bake with. I have only had one scrip so far so I am still learning what items work best for me.

    Our dinner plates are quite large but I have 2 smaller ones I might start using to cut our portions. Our waistlines will thank us I am sure:D
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  • ikkle87
    ikkle87 Posts: 8,449
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    edited 11 July 2012 at 10:29PM
    How do you do your corned beef stew?

    We normally get a big pan and cook all the veg we want in the stew, so today had potatoes, carrots, swede, onion, cabbage. When the potatoes are almost fully cooked take some of the water out and add gravy granules to it then pour back in pan (can add more gravy to the pan if needed or to thicken) chop a tin of corned beef into cubes throw in pan, stir and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. I always have mine with brown sauce. Its comfort food in our family lol.


    eta: where i'm from it's known as corned beef hash but I know other regions know that as something different.
    You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

    xx Mama to a gorgeous Cranio Baby xx
  • MrsCD
    MrsCD Posts: 1,787
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    edited 11 July 2012 at 10:34PM
    adelight wrote: »
    I just went to mr S and on the way saw that there's a wednesday market nd it's so much better than the saturday one!! Good value, big variety of stuff and it's so organised with aisles and baskets. Got courgettes, aubergines, peppers, garlic, grapefruits and the biggest cauliflower ever. And milk and cheese from mr S. Must update my sig now.
    Good to see you back - adelight :)

    Happy anniversary - Helen Jelly

    Have a good trip away Florenceem

    NSD for me again :T I was really pleased with myself this afternoon, as I needed to bake a cake for tomorrow, but forgot to buy marg to cook with when I did my shopping on Tuesday. So I hunted online and found a brownie recipe on Good Food which didn't need marg, just a small amount of oil. I made it this afternoon, and it looks lovely.
    Tonight I used some of my 'treat purse' money to go to an open air theatre production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. It was hilarious! Well worth the money! And even better knowing it was paid for by saving the money I would have spent in the SMs. :T
    2024 Fashion on the ration 0/66 used
  • Hi all :wave:
    Hope everyone is well. Sorry can't remember exactly who did what. Tiger can't believe your neighbour! Pity you couldn't get your hands on that food!
    Flo hope you enjoy your trip, don't work too hard.

    Just reading back over the day, well yesterday now I guess!
    Went to Mr T on Tuesday evening with my list. I needed mint for today's dinner, but only if it was whoopsied and I found a plant for 40p. Only to be told I've got it growing in my garden.....I did not remember that! Also got an iceberg for 25p:) I stuck to my list. I fed OH before we went, but of course now his pudding tummy is growling at him! He snuck in some c@dbury pudding which were £1 :mad: got @ctivia yogs as we're half price at £1.50 for 8. I work on no more than 20p per yogurt so we only buy these when on a great offer! Got two lots as got a good date on :) anyway it was a spend of £14.16

    So today (Wednesday) my sister comes up and wants to go to MrS. This seems to be getting a weekly habit, had I have known I may not have gone to MrT yday. But as mobility is limited I take advantage of a trip out (am beginning to sound like my gran!). So thought I'd grab a loaf whilst there. Well......massive whoopsie time there! Got massive bag of sugarsnap peas for 40p. We're going to have tinned veg for Friday so these will replace. Would have paid the ridiculous full price! Put nets of apricots were reduced to 20p each. Somehow 9 ended up in my trolley ;) so I've got crumble, pie, tart, or just with custard on possible uses! Has reduced rhubarb too, OH's fav crumble. We have a plant but it's just planded this year so have been told not to cut it, so will make a crumble tomorrow with that. Am ashamed to say I got wooed by some 44p donuts :( so we had those for pudding with a couple of apricots. Also got some other little reduced bits inc reduced cheese (blue cheese so naughty :( ) Came to £5.09 in total :eek: Although my sister is constantly asking which is the better value, or would I buy this one or that one so maybe my money saving ways are rubbing off? She even used lentils in her spag bol last week ;)

    Have dinners sorted for the rest of the week and hopefully enough fruit. Will prob run out of bananas though. Seem to spend so much money on fruit and veg. I think maybe it's because I'm at home and snack a lot. I drink loads so I don't think it's thirst. Often kept busy too, I've always been a grazer. Just have to start rationing it a bit I think. Does anyone else have to do this? Had a load of bendy carrots which have been chopped up and frozen too so it looks like my ,freezer is rammed again.

    Enougn rambling from me I think. Off to update my sig, going to look very close to target. Just need to get to the 23rd :)

    Hugs to all that need them
    LMM
    :j Baby boy arrived 22nd August 2012 :j
    :jSecond menace arrived safely 13th February 2014
    :j
    Debt Free Wannabee 2015
  • ikkle87
    ikkle87 Posts: 8,449
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    Lmm I'm the same since getting pregnant and becoming mainly housebound. Find I eat loads of fruit as it gives me a bit of a pick up and it's better for me than crisps and sweets x
    You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.

    xx Mama to a gorgeous Cranio Baby xx
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