January 2018 Grocery Challenge

MadamMim2013 · 9 January 2018 at 3:35PM

Purchased some fruit in the local market and a few items from various shops (toiletries & cleaning is included in my grocery budget)
£6.85 to add to my total..
Happy with my progress so far, still looking at how to use up foods already in the cupboard and meal plan to save waste!:D

Ginmonster · 9 January 2018 at 4:00PM

I picked up the few bits I needed to last me until the weekend for £7.47 today so still on track to keep it all under control until the end of the month. The only item I didn't really need was an aubergine but I keep seeing aubergine recipes I want to try out so I thought I'd work one into the meal plan for the week somehow.

£62.75/£100

YorksLass · 9 January 2018 at 6:36PM

YorksLass wrote: »

For this week's soup I'm trying curried carrot & chickpea; no recipe - just adding what I think will work.

Soup made this morning - it's just the job for a cold winter's day, easy peasy and cheap as well.

I used half a large chopped onion, 3 large diced carrots, 400g tin of chickpeas, 1.5pt chicken stock (from a stock cube), assorted spices/herbs (curry powder, cumin, chilli powder, dried coriander, S & P) and a generous splodge of tomato puree. Blitzed up, these quantities made enough for 4 portions; half for this lunchtime and the other half will do for another day. It's a keeper.

:)

The planned ham, pepper & chorizo pasta bake for tonight made double quantities so half has gone in the freezer as a hm ready-meal for the CBA days. No wonder the freezer drawers never seem to empty!

MrsPear · 9 January 2018 at 6:48PM

Hello again everyone

What online shop is AS?

So quick update on spends so far
30/12 js online £67.87
01/01 £2.45 - Mr t express - fresh bread, peppers and cucumber
05/01 £75.20 Js online
06/01 Waitrose £9.10 - so not intended. Went in to collect jl order with eldest and intending to buy fresh bread only. But he spied melon, sausages and stuff on deli counter. Tbf he has eaten it all.
Yesterday £7.67 co op - being lazy as out late than usual because of hospital appointment for eldest.

Updated signature.

Need to do meal plan for next week - no sausages!

Last / this week meal plan was
Cottage pie and broccoli, pizza and salad, sausage casserole, roast chicken,pasta with tomoto sauce, sausage and mash (tonight) chicken curry tomorrow.

SilverBird_2 · 9 January 2018 at 7:15PM

Spent £10.85 in L1dl this afternoon - apples, oranges, red onions, carrots, parmesan, milk, eggs, dried yeast and corned beef. Hopefully we won't need to shop again until next week.

MrsPear · 9 January 2018 at 7:20PM

Right boys have helped - with lots of laughter - and for the week coming up we are eating

Fish and chips with peas - all in freezer
Chilli and rice - only need a little mince - I use hairy dieters book
Sweet and sour / Chinese please - need to look online as no idea
Roast - beef or pork - look at offers
Left overs - the creative day usually &#55357;&#56889;
Pasta and delia’s cheese sauce
Eggs and bacon.

Now need to write list - check on lunch and breakfast stuff plus toiletries / cleaning stuff / pantry. I know I need flour.

Hope for £70 spend

ancientmum · 9 January 2018 at 7:20PM

Evening all,
Well the boy has gone back to uni, and I worked out that I have the makings of about two weeks main meals in the freezer and cupboards. I bought cat food and cat litter in December as I had a £10 off £50 voucher.
So aiming to buy only fruit and necessities for the next fortnight, and lots of NSDs.

claireyfairy82 · 9 January 2018 at 7:47PM

Evening,

Went for a top up shop tonight, I've not been well all week but I suppose everyone else needs to eat!

Even managed to avoid paying, don't know how that happened lol.

£91.51 spent bringing my total to £127.56 so far. I'm happy with that as I had to buy pasta, tinned tomatoes, passata and tinned beans and pulses as well as other staples.

[Deleted User] · 9 January 2018 at 8:11PM

Ginmonster wrote: »

Save Dosh - I'm really impressed with how well you're doing cutting out plastic. It's so hard as it's everywhere and there really aren't many places you can buy stuff that isn't packaged in plastic. It's inspired me to see where I can cut back though. I'm going to try and find alternatives for some of the things I get that come in plastic.

BTW - I've made Jack's black bean and peanut stew (with kidney beans as I didn't have black beans) and the sauce came out quite claggy so I just thinned it down with a bit of water.

Thank you, I got quite choked when I read that. It's not that easy and I'm only doing January totally plastic free (I accidentally had a bag of crisps), but I am learning how to massively reduce for February, like morrisons unwashed potatoes, they come in a paper bag and are really cheap (32p kg), with a bit of netting on the front, I can live with that. If everyone just brought their own bags shopping, or got it delivered, bag free, it would make so much difference.

Ended up only buying jumbo oats in the unpackaged store. My friend got a little over excited with the lever on the container, so I ended up with a huge bag. They had no peanuts unfortunately and I have a ton of rice, pulses etc. They were twice the price of value oats, but so much nicer. Have made some oat milk and have added frozen fruits to the pulp, for overnight oats, so really pleased with that. Also £3 at the veg stall on avocados, mushrooms and tomatoes. Found the most amazing store also, which is almost unchanged in over 100 years, where the guy roasts the coffee in the window of his shop, on some ancient contraption, said the shop has been in his family since 1800's, so I'm gonna go there when mine has run out and he said he will do me a special blend, so that's nice. Anyway £4.79 spent. Have updated sig.

TheOhGodOfHangovers · 9 January 2018 at 9:43PM

Hi. Hope everyone is OK today.

I’m back now from my weekend visiting sick relative. Total spend now is £217.84 which is a massive chunk of my total for this month :eek: _pale_

On the plus side, a chunk of the spend was on seeds and compost so that I can start to grow some herbs and salad bits which should help the budget later in the year, if my fingers are green enough! <fingers crossed>

I’ve also had a mass meal plan and should only need to buy for another five evening meals between now and the end of the month. I’ve made three pans of soup today and have the ingredients for another three different pan fulls tomorrow which is a big chunk of the lunches sorted.

I’ve also dug my bread machine out. Made homemade pizza tonight and currently got a spicy fruit loaf baking in there (which smells divine and will probably only last till tomorrow!)

On the whole, I think I’m quietly optimistic but will have to make sure I don’t fall off the wagon later in the month.

Happy budgeting everyone!

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January 2018 Grocery Challenge

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