January 2010 Grocery Challenge

elf06 · 7 January 2010 at 10:58AM

well i decided it far too cold to go to Mr T for the bits I needed (local weekly paper and rolls) so changed the lunch plan (now soup and bread both of which i have in

) and nipped up to my very small spar and got the paper and a lolly pop for my very well behaved DS (a little bribary involved as he didnt want to go out :rolleyes:)
So total spend of 95p which I will now add to my sig...........

BigMummaF · 7 January 2010 at 11:08AM

laurasavon wrote: »

....and some milk (bit they only had the big 4 pinters left which we won't use )

Do you have any empty plastic bottle that you could use to freeze some of the milk, or else make basic white sauce in little batches to freeze? Then add things like cheese or mushrooms etc when you've decided what you're having. Another solution is luvverlee milk puds such as rice or 'macaroni', with the last one made from any pasta...

slowandsteady wrote: »

....Have a few opened bits in the fridge to use up-beef, 6 sausages and cooked pasta and sauce....Dunno what to do with them....
....i am getting the urge to do a big shop (i neither need anything nor have room), so now after carefully going through GC last couple of months i know its just become a habit rather than a necessity so i am learning and i will resist!
....

Methinks:- chop up the sausages, stir into the pasta & sauce, bit of grated cheese on top & whop in the oven for a pasta bake. Beef--cubed, add mixed veg & par-boiled potato, pastry crust on top for a meat pie

Know what you mean about buying out of habit too

I went to get the milk & eggs yesterday as I knew I wouldn't want to even attempt the ice today & had to force myself to just walk past the pasta..

pink_numbers wrote: »

....
I have lots of food I can't eat, such as red meat (not a bad thing), gluten, sugar, anything fried, fizzy drinks, nuts, etc.

I could save so much more money if I could eat things like pasta....

I know it is more expensive, but MrS had begun doing their own version of gluten-free bread mix, pasta etc. And I think I've stumbled across recipes for making your own biscuits & things from the flour. Just had a very quick look & there's things here, here & there's also some good stuff on the BBC Good Food site.

Anyone else watch the Hairy Bikers t'other night? We recorded it & at long last, there is a cookery programme about proper food that you can eat every day :T About flippin' time, cuz how many of us have the ingredients they use on Ready Steady or have to go on a three year trek to find something for a Delia :doh:

franby64 · 7 January 2010 at 11:18AM

Did I say something the other day about only spending £15 before next Tuesday - such foolishness!!:doh:
When I actually sat down and thought about it I realised that I did not have enough stuff for the kids especially now the schools are shut and I have to feed them all day - so that one went straight out the window as I spent £11.50 yesterday!
Then again I might be able to last for 6 days on £3.50:rotfl:
No more rash resolutions!

[Deleted User] · 7 January 2010 at 11:19AM

huston_kw wrote: »

We spent the morning making bird feeds with the bairns, we keep the drained fat from mince meat. Melt it on a very low heat, in a bowl add some seed, nuts, oats, mixed fruit and bread add the fat and plain flour - role it in a ball around some string and leave to set and then you can hang from trees. I spent time this afternoon watching the birds feed from it - the little robin that visits each year never moved from the feed most of the afternoon - we made six - so that should keep them going for a while.

Thats a great idea - another snow day for us so we will try that out today!

elf06 · 7 January 2010 at 11:26AM

We do the bird feeders (at mums house so my cat doesnt destroy the birdies

) by just adding breadcrumbs (from any stale bread) to any fat after cooking (did it sunday with the fat from their roast chicken but can be done from sausage fat etc) and mixing well, put in a plastic bowl/container and chill until hard. The birds love it

ETA - i dont usually use the nuts/seeds etc but its a great idea!! We also used to do this when I was little by melting lard ina pan then adding the bread and any other bird friendly leftovers

ceebeeby · 7 January 2010 at 11:28AM

This was the first page email.

Because I'm using the ideas and menu planners on a daily basis, I hope you don't mind if I archive the previous weeks plans as we go, and use the front page for people to see what ingredients I've got left so they can make some suggestions for the following week.

So, here goes now for week 2!!

ORIGINAL FRONT PAGE

I am brand new at this meal planning thingamy, having never had a go at it before. I'm not a brilliant cook - but will do my best. I really need some help from some inspirational O/S friends!!

There are four of us in the house. 3 are meat-eaters. 1 (me) isn't, but I eat fish. I'm not worried about me, because I literally could live off of beans on toast if necessary (although I'm also trying to lose weight!!)

I need to cover all food needs between now and the 28th Jan including lunch boxes.

In my fridge / freezer and cupboards I have:

Last updated 3rd January 2010 - Takes into account everything used up until 10th January

Freezer
2 1 packets of uncooked diced turkey
1 packet pork mince
Loads of bread / crumpets / pancakes etc.
12 burgers
1/2 pkt frozen chips
1/2 pkt frozen beans
1/2 pkt frozen onions
Loads of ice-lollies!
4 2 Birds Eye Chicken Steaks
Full pkt veggie mince
Full pkt veggie bacon bits
1/2 pkt mince pie / cake pastry
4 3 pkts fish pie sauce
1/2 pkt smoked salmon
4 1 microwave meals (3 suitable for veggy, 1 meat)
1 pkt smoky bacon
1 black pudding
pkt potato scones
Newly Added
Pork Bolognaise Sauce Bulked with Fresh Veg - Enough for Two Meals
Carrot and Sweetcorn Spicy Veg Pasta Sauce - Enough for Two Meals

Fridge
Processed Cheese (2 pkts)
2 packets value ham
1/2 carton orange juice
tonic water
Enough milk to sink a battle ship (was whoopsies!)
2 pkts of salad
Lots of butter / marg / trex - enough to last month
1 pkt cheddar slices
1/2 pkt duck pate
1 pkt cheese spread
6 eggs with use by date of 29th December.

Cupboards
Lots of pasta
Jar of curry sauce
6 2 tins soup
4 tins beans
1 tin meatballs
1 tin tomatos
4 tins rice pudding
4 tins sliced peaches
Loads of cereal (incl. porridge, weetabix, rice crispies etc.)
Tea / Coffee / Hot Chocolate
All sorts of home baking stuff (except sugar) incl. 2 jars mincemeat
Herbs /spices / gravy / stock cubes / Ketchups (every flavour) (lots)
Lemon chicken sauce
bolognaise sauce
chilli sauce
2 pkts stuffing
value pkt noodles (kids love this)
4 pkts instant custard
Biscuits / chocolate / Xmas Pud / Mince Pies / Sweets galore
1 pkt fajita wraps
2 pkts chicken soup
2 pkts instant cheese sauce
50 40 pkts crisps!
2 apples, a melon and some rather brown bananas

Extras
All cleaning / bathroom stuff except dishwasher tabs / soap powder / prob need some loo roll mid month.
6 sachets cat food (she has 2 per day and costs £5 a box :eek:)
Enough rabbit, fish and hamster food except hay for rabbit as so cold (she's going through a lot).

I've worked out that we have about £25 per week that we can spend on top of what's listed above (but needs to include the cat food, hay, dishwasher, soap powder, loo roll and sugar), but I don't even know where to start with how to make the money stretch. To be honest, if we could get it down to £15 per week, that would put me in an even better position, as I'm currently about £40 overspent on my whole months budget.

I'm off work until Wed so could do some home cooking (and could do more during the weekends), but need to have 'fast' food once back at work because we're all so hungry when we get in.

I am so grateful for any suggestions whatsoever in order to make this all eek out, and am happy to walk to ASDA tomorrow for any additional ingredients to make this work.

Thank you so much for any suggestions x

Shopping Added to the Original List (with cost)

2nd Jan
Dishwasher Tablets - nil
Soap Powder - nil
Cheap Cat Food - nil
2 kg fresh carrots - nil
1 pkt fresh veg stir fry - nil
1 pkt green beans - nil
3 tubs whoopsie double cream - nil
1 pkt sugar - nil
1 pkt spagetti - nil

5th Jan
8 pears
1 bag cooking apples
4 satsumas
3 packets cook your own popcorn (salt)
2 packets Quavers
24 Mince Pies - probably only going to the birds as we already have millions!!!
(All cost nil - as was left overs from my Gran)

BigMummaF · 7 January 2010 at 11:54AM

elf06 wrote: »

We do the bird feeders (at mums house so my cat doesnt destroy the birdies ) by just adding breadcrumbs (from any stale bread) to any fat after cooking (did it sunday with the fat from their roast chicken but can be done from sausage fat etc) and mixing well, put in a plastic bowl/container and chill until hard. The birds love it

ETA - i dont usually use the nuts/seeds etc but its a great idea!! We also used to do this when I was little by melting lard ina pan then adding the bread and any other bird friendly leftovers

Apparently the RSPB have said NOT to use fat from poultry..saw it on the telly leading up to crimbo when folk were being told not to tip the fat down the drain. There's a bit about halfway down the page here.

Just found a link to a thread about the Hairy Bikers new show :j

huston_kw · 7 January 2010 at 12:07PM

BigMummaF wrote: »

Apparently the RSPB have said NOT to use fat from poultry..saw it on the telly leading up to crimbo when folk were being told not to tip the fat down the drain. There's a bit about halfway down the page here.

Just found a link to a thread about the Hairy Bikers new show :j

Thanks, for link. They say lard is fine so I will use cheaper lard in future.

mrs-moneypenny · 7 January 2010 at 12:09PM

yesterday was an NSD:T

but milko didnt come so we used up the last of the milk at breakfast which meant i had to go shopping today as he still hadnt been.
spent £2.70 in mr S milk, cabbage and cucumber.

tea last nigt was mash veggie sausages and peas with some cookies for afters (christmas pressie not hm)

planning a hm veggie lasange for tea probally soup for me and DH at lunch all kids took pack up

carrieon · 7 January 2010 at 12:14PM

Another NSD today me thinks. Only had 1 day since christmas so not bad. had a nice roast chicken last night with all the trimmings. I got 3 chikens (quite large) before christmas on special offer. So out of the remainders of last night have made a lovely chicken and noodle casserole for freezer and also chicken curry for tonight. So i'm quite please with that. The chickens were £10 for the three. If i can get 9 meals from all three that meens it has cost me a little over £1 to feed three of us. Obviously not counting veg.
Onwards and Upwards.
By the way this thread is getting so long. (interesting though) Every time i turn around its another 2 pages long.
Helen.. My thoughts are with you. I hope everything goes well with DH. Chin up. x

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January 2010 Grocery Challenge

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