December 2008 Grocery Challenge

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there Philsmum

Sorry -no diet ...I actually stopped dieting and using the "D" word:rotfl: ..no low fat, low sugar stuff and went back to butter not low fat spread, full milk not skimmed .....
as little ready made stuff as possible -all home made so I know what is in it -plus im sure all this additives make you crave more :mad:
I have started back with the proper eating this morning -it all went up the swanny when we went back to the UK when I was losing my sis :rolleyes: -still I promised her I would get to target -so Im getting my bum back in gear
oohh the other thing that I found worked for me is thinking about how much money I would be "eating" -so even if I thought oooohhh a cake I could have that instead of lunch I then thought "not at that price" :rotfl:

recovering_spendaholic

Hello everyone - I have joined in the grocery challenge twice during 2008 and both times failed miserably so one of my NYRs is to try and manage my grocery spending and (hopefully)consequently reduce the size of my BMI at the same time, using Mrs M as a great example for both aims!

Mrs M - can you put me down for £250 for January? That is more than I want to be spending but as I spent an average of £120 a week:eek: (and sometimes more..) in 2008 then that is a reasonable starting point. I have a meal planning/grocery spending notebook all ready and am determined to get my spending under control. My biggest problem is my phobia of empty cupboards - If I get to less than 4 tins of tuna or beans I start to panic and that is just nuts! I am also aiming to eat less meat next year as I do think it impacts upon my digestion and IBS, so that should help me spend less too. Well done to all of you who have done so well this year!

mouseymousey99

I'm with you re the empty cupboards recovering, where does that come from? I 'guard' things and have to have a 'spare' of things in the cupboard.
No idea where to start with this - x2 of us at home 24/7 - so if the figure covers everything?? I'll say £250??
Mrs M - good to see you.
Not thinking diet either - but thinking eating well, no rubbish and 5 a day.

angelatgraceland

tessie_bear wrote: »

saving..turkey pasta recipe really easy and not a proper recipe.......right put some pasta on to boil i used quills....fry some chopped bacon and a chopped onion and a chopped pepper in a bit of olive oil....in a seperate pan make a white sauce(melt nut of marg add tablespoon flour cook a bit then add milk stirring until u reach required consistency i like mine quite thin .....a bit of nutmeg is nice if u have it/like it) chop up some turkey then drain pasta and stir all pans ingredients together slop into oven proof dish sprinkle on grated cheese and bake in oven 10 mins to melt cheese and brown a pit.....i served it with a salad...........u could put other veg in if u needed to use it up i hope u like it and it uses up as much turkey as u want rid of tess

Ah It is a proper recipe now! Its yours! And-its on the internet-I declare it a "proper" recipe! Who needs big household names when we have "real" people on here>? Well done Tessie.

recovering_spendaholic wrote: »

Hello everyone - I have joined in the grocery challenge twice during 2008 and both times failed miserably so one of my NYRs is to try and manage my grocery spending and (hopefully)consequently reduce the size of my BMI at the same time, using Mrs M as a great example for both aims!

Mrs M - can you put me down for £250 for January? That is more than I want to be spending but as I spent an average of £120 a week:eek: (and sometimes more..) in 2008 then that is a reasonable starting point. I have a meal planning/grocery spending notebook all ready and am determined to get my spending under control. My biggest problem is my phobia of empty cupboards - If I get to less than 4 tins of tuna or beans I start to panic and that is just nuts! I am also aiming to eat less meat next year as I do think it impacts upon my digestion and IBS, so that should help me spend less too. Well done to all of you who have done so well this year!

Now I just can't help myself here-you joined in twice-which means that you left us which is why you didnt suceed(we dont do failure on here). Lesson to be learned-don't leave us-stay with us for the year and you will see the difference. We all have blips-just taking part in any capacity-even if you go over every month, will help you-we can all testify to that. Believe in yourself-one step at a time and "report" in every day!

lola34

Can't declare for Dec yet but it'll be close:o

Can I be put down for £250 for Jan need to be realistic and I don't want it to be too much of a jump

SAV3R

Hope everyone has had a great Christmas, I know we have. The turkey has finally gone today, we did give into calling at takeaway for chips and gravy at lunch to accompany it, didn't feel like cooking after hitting the sales. That is another story - how does everyone cope with sales, some queues went around the whole store! We just got a couple of things then came home - took 20 mins to get out of car park!

Well, surprise surprise, I went over budget again. I am declaring at £489.90. However since starting
this challenge in April, I have saved £536 over the 9 months compared to last year. As the prices of food have gone up dramatically I am not to dissapointed with this. :T I intend to reduce this even more for 2009. I seem to have one of the largest budgets on here so I am sure with some hard work it will be achievable. I think I need to re read some of the basics on here.

Can I please leave the budget at my usual £400 for Jan, do plan pn it being under though. It is DS2 birthday - we often have a big family buffet - not sure what we're doing this year.

Happy New Year and good luck for 2009. :beer:

JayneC

Hi All,

I'm afraid I've lost track completely what with those 'extras' that seem important at the time but end up in the fridge for weeks and then usually the bin!!A crime I know, lol!

Anyway I've already used some of Jan's money (I start on 25th, but got it early this month cos it was Christmas!!) which I havent counted. So I'm going for £200 for the rest of Jan.

And I'm going to try harder to check in more often. I was much better when I visited daily so I'm going to make it a Resolution!

Hope everyone had a good CHristmas and all the best for 2009.

XX

gailey_2

Juts thourght I checkin hope everyone had fab xmas.
Our goose was lush nd chicken good value who would have thoufrght lidls do free range chicken was urprsed and quite a large one for £6.
Hubby is now impressed with lidls andthinks its better than aldis and wants to go regular I think its ok for fruit/veg and store cupboard itesm amybe bit of household and chese.
God k nows what im doing with frozen lobster any ideas gratefully appreciated.Went bargain hunting xmas eve no barginas large co-op or somerfeild so ended up in mprrosions but not huge amounts there? gues im unlucky.

Ate well so far but due to costcutting this year lacking chocolate which is probably good 4 new year diet.

rosieben

angelatgraceland wrote: »

Ah It is a proper recipe now! Its yours! And-its on the internet-I declare it a "proper" recipe! ....

And its now in the proper recipe index on the front page

savingfortravel

Thanks for the turkey pasta and ham pie recipes.
Much appreciated!
SFT