August 2012 Grocery Challenge

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  • Nicki_Sue
    Nicki_Sue Posts: 1,261
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    Hi all
    I'm a huge lurker on here so thought it was time to post and join in. I'll start from tomorrow to get myself in to swing for a couple of weeks and then join the list and declare properly from the beginning of September. I have to say, it was the coconut pics that made me get off my bum and post in the end!

    I'm going for £100 a week (this is all food, toiletries, nappies etc for 4 of us), is it ok to include these items or should it be strictly food? Thanks all.
    MSE-ing since 2007
  • Coxy11
    Coxy11 Posts: 4,837
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    Hellooooo! Well we are back from our US holiday, having flown last night. No sleep yet(!) but hanging on in there as will be better to stay awake for as long as we can :)

    MrT delivery came this afternoon so I will be updating my totals shortly. BIL and his two girls here today. He has them for two weeks in the summer (4 & 5 years and soooo cute). We did fresh pasta and sauce with bacon for lunch.

    Will revisit our mealplan for this week when I'm functioning better :o One things for sure tho', need to lose some weight! Off to catch up on what I've missed ;)
    Cross-stitch WIP: Durene Jones Haberdashery Shop 365 1p challenge member No.6 Read 24 books in 2024 - currently reading The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill 1/24
  • jumblejack
    jumblejack Posts: 6,599 Forumite
    edited 28 August 2012 at 12:59PM
    So what happened to my HM coconut milk?

    Coconut and banana icecream.......


    It started with a few frozen bananas and my fantastic coconut milk:

    421B3479-E281-417F-B3B6-CAD71A2A7358-1023-00000134E58DD7C7.jpg?t=1345387953

    I blended em together (peeling off the frozen banana peel with a paring knife whilst donning an oven glove...bbbrr!)

    I added a bit of my blitzed coconut for texture:

    D93D280E-167E-4491-B3C1-FCFEE8C88D0D-1023-000001261BCED228.jpg?t=1345384983

    I would have added a splash of rum but had to make do with this:

    1A3AEC7E-BB32-4A26-8970-CE9F7CA58E3A-1023-0000012624755560.jpg?t=1345384989

    Then I poured it into a suitable container for freezing*:

    FDC1F33B-7525-478B-BBDA-ADBEFF8D9C97-1023-000001257E4DA735.jpg?t=1345384936

    It doesn't necessarily need sweetening but if you have a sweet tooth, feel free to add syrup, honey or sugar. Brown sugar would probably be the tastiest option.

    NOTE:
    *This needs to be taken out of the freezer regularly whilst it is freezing as ice crystals will form if you are not using an icecream maker (unlike the miracle one ingredient banana icecream which requires no churning at all!

    I will add the finished product when it is frozen......:)


    Edit:

    Here is the ice cream (accompanying my HM peach cobbler)

    DE7A6F97-0A08-4609-BCAE-EF076B42A57B-622-000001034139EB30.jpg?t=1346158218
    :A Every moment is a gift. That's why we call it the present.!:A
    Grocery Spend Weekly Challenge (Sat-Fri):£30.50/£40
  • pajama
    pajama Posts: 204 Forumite
    Well, I know I'm not going to achieve my GC this month!

    Spend in Aldi £22.18
    That leaves me £5.60 until 27th which is payday. Will keep spends to the minimum. I have most of the things in for our main meals all next week.
    Grocery Challenge - Sept £205.56/£350.00



  • jumblejack
    jumblejack Posts: 6,599 Forumite
    edited 20 August 2012 at 8:29AM
    So what happened to my HM blitzed coconut meat?


    I turned it into Can't Go Wrong Coconut Confections......


    I roughly mixed 1 part sugar to 2 parts coconut with a tablespoon of plain flour and some almond essence. To this I added a couple of egg whites.

    I rolled into balls and spaced them out on a lightly greased tray:

    BB8BA3DD-AA81-4EB7-9C8D-F8AAFEBEDDD0-1023-0000012FE6FEA55C.jpg?t=1345386738

    Put em in a moderate oven until a pale golden colour:

    310831FC-15EC-4BD2-BE69-74639F93E866-1023-00000133F4C1C36E.jpg?t=1345387787

    They are kinda in between the coconut balls in the index and a macaroon.

    (If you want them lighter in texture, whip the egg whites first and fold them into the dry ingredients.)

    Optional:
    You could always coat em in chocolate if you fancy.....
    67E7DC79-33B1-4F4D-BFFC-C16C96D3F898-1023-000001830CD40B28.jpg?t=1345447843

    A7EE82CD-A24E-4745-AC74-AEA116A739F9-92-00000002C9925CD9.jpg?t=1345451158

    Now. What shall I do with my other 9p coconut????? Hmmm......
    :A Every moment is a gift. That's why we call it the present.!:A
    Grocery Spend Weekly Challenge (Sat-Fri):£30.50/£40
  • Caterina
    Caterina Posts: 5,919
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    JJ you are a GENIUS! Your coconut recipes are wonderful, a true inspiration. Will look out for coconuts the next time I go to the market.

    Updated signature to show for today's grocery spend, we also spent £9.50 for a plant and card for friends' 30th anniversary party and £63.31 fuel (filled her up). Really irritated that DH did not listen to me the other day when I said we need to fill her up, petrol prices are going to go up. Diesel was already at £1.349 then, today we filled at £1.389 per litre. I know it is less than £3 more but you know what? This indicates the difference between my approach to money and DH's. Admittedly he works very hard and thinks that it is not worth troubling yourself on £2 or so, but I don't get paid for my work, the savings I make are my pay, he does not seem to understand that for me it all adds up to the equivalent to a salary, if I save a bit here and a bit there.

    The amount of money I save ("earn" in effects) by shopping in different places, making homemade stuff etc, would easily add up to a tidy sum. Ah well...at least he is on board for so many things that he never used to be before. He lives a much better, healthier lifestyle now and we are so much better off than we have ever been. Although his salary alone now is very reasonable, it is still less than his previous salary plus my former salary added up (net), and we live much better just by virtue of having me doing all the domestic economy and OS living. He appreciates it, but as far as I can see it he will never be a true dyed-in-the-wool OSer!

    Hope your GCs are going well, enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!
    Finally I'm an OAP and can travel free (in London at least!).
  • JJ, would you be so kind as to tell me how you make you banana ice cream please? Also, could i add some chocolate chips to it? I have about 8 bananas that are on the turn and my lot are not fond of any sort of cake with bananas in. I'm sure they would like the ice cream though. Thankyou in advance.
    FS x
    Jan GC £298.62/£300 Feb £298.01/£300 March £331.06/£300 April £69.96/£300
    Learning to accept the things i cannot change
  • rosieben
    rosieben Posts: 5,010
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    jumblejack, I've added parts 2 and 3 to the Misc and also listed the 2 recipes in the desserts section :)

    re what to do with the other coconut - I think cherries go very well with coconut :D
    ... don't throw the string away. You always need string! :D

    C.R.A.P.R.O.L.L.Z Head Sharpener
  • savesummore
    savesummore Posts: 1,132 Forumite
    Nicki_Sue wrote: »
    Hi all
    I'm a huge lurker on here so thought it was time to post and join in. I'll start from tomorrow to get myself in to swing for a couple of weeks and then join the list and declare properly from the beginning of September. I have to say, it was the coconut pics that made me get off my bum and post in the end!

    I'm going for £100 a week (this is all food, toiletries, nappies etc for 4 of us), is it ok to include these items or should it be strictly food? Thanks all.

    Hi and Welcome :)

    You include whatever you feel like your GC budget- everyone includes different things to suit themselves

    I include all food including eating out, toiletries, cleaning products and pet food but not booze (with OH this would make GC budget hideous :rotfl:)

    HTH :)
    O/S weight loss 2.5 /10lbs (11st 8.0- 08.02)
  • Nicki_Sue
    Nicki_Sue Posts: 1,261
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    Thanks @savesomemore

    What are the odds of not twenty minutes after posting that I was going to join the challenge, the heating element on my cooker blowing leaving me oven-less.
    No joke!

    Oh well. GC with a microwave, stove top, slow cooker and lean mean grilling machine it is then :)
    MSE-ing since 2007
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