January 2009 Grocery Challenge

orchid-96

Steel I include dog food in my budget but she is very cheap only costing me a couple of pounds a month (large bag of wagg dry food and scraps from us) but she is only a little wee doggie

Thanks for all the replies about the pork, what I am now thinking is freezing half and using the other half for a stir fry as I do have a sauce in the cupboard that I was going to do with chicken, so Monday it will be stir fry with pork and I am going to do the stew version with chicken instead.....

I might try to cook the second half later on next week in the slow cooker with some veggies and cider and see how it turns out, I won't feel as bad if it is not great if I have already used the other half in a succesfull meal iyswim..

Was going for a nsd today, but could't resist popping into Morrisons on my way past to try to get some branston beans on offer at 75p for 4 (after my 4 ordered from tesco didn't turn up last night) and got those, so hopefully thats it....

I must look into this approved foods lark, looks like its very popular, also someone has mentioned Craggs, are they similiar?

Steel_2

mrs-moneypenny wrote: »

cat foods on mine as i buy it with the groceries. also got the mouse and tortoise food on there but Trog only eats salad so thats hardly a major expense and a bag of mouse fod lasts ages.

What percentage of your food budget is pet food?

sistercas

mummy2mygirls thankyou
I have read the last couple of pages of the thread . I am definitly going to order :j

Compingirl

Hi everyone, update on my challenge, done a huge T shop for all meat fish etc so that should sort us for another 2 weeks at least with top up veg and fruit etc. I normally bake a couple of nice puds each week and make biscuits and buns for the kids packed lunches but had a shocking cold this week so not had the energy & not very hygenic! so have given in to the moaning of nothing nice to eat, no food in house - makes me laugh that one, they mean no chocolate & had to go buy some goodies for kids and hubby! so £6.49 yesteray on Sainsbury value biscuits, chocolate, and buns, a couple bottles of coke and some macoys crisp which were all half price, so not too bad really.
Orchid 96 for a quick pork chop tea I season & grill chops 5 min each side then top with 1 tsp mustard, caremalised onions (do your own or from a jar)and topped with cheese mixed with sage then grilled - fab with mash and veg - even the hubby who won't normally eat pork chops eats them this way
Fallen Angel I do a smoked ham basil and sudried tomato quiche which is so tasty and always goes down a storm

Lasagne from the freezer for tonights tea so no cooking for me tonight
Have a good day
Compingirlx

prophecy_grrl

Had my Mr T delivery, and the actual amount of the order was £52.79 not £53.67 as I first thought - every little helps lol

Off to update my sig now - need bread and milk today but I have been given co-op vouchers so not inclduing the spend for GC or NSD purposes

little_miss_thrifty

Morning All

Just updating what i have spent so far since the 1st Jan...a not very good £118.49 out of £300...BUT, i shouldn't have to buy much other than bread and milk for the next couple of weeks. This spend includes going to the market this morning and getting fresh haddock and 2 bags of veg and fruit (£14). I am going to make soup for lunch/tea (DS has school dinner today so wont need too much this evening). I have also got the bits for tea tomorrow - doing little semi pizzas, with puff pastry, courgettes, cherry toms and cheese. The children should like them this way.

Made a chocolate cake the other day, but as i was chattering away on the phone at the same time, i wasn't concentrating too well and forgot to add the baking powder...it came out very flat, but we ate it anyway, and DS said it was still the best cake he had ever tasted in the whole world!! Bless him (he is 6!).

Cold and icy in Suffolk this morning, but it is not too cold in the house, so i have not got the heating on while everyone is out.

Have a good weekend all. x

SAVVYMUMMY_2

Just updating siggy, spent today £1.06 2lt of milk
50p paper
£1.19 on apples from local greengrocers

jackie_w

Hi There,

Just on to update my spends. So far, ive had 6 NSD's :j :j :j .

Had to go to the shop on the 7th so have spent £56.77.

Jackie xx

yummymummy05

Ahhh, went back to Mr T's today as I'd forgotten rice and Infacol (why do babies have to be so darned expensive!!!) Hope I don't have to go back there again this month though (but probably will!!).

Also popped into the village found out the childrens godmother is coming for lunch on saturday so decided to do a fry up as a treat got home and dropped the eggs getting out of the car and found sausages and bacon lurking at the bck of the freezer so a completely unneccessary spend of £8!!

I also forgot to get cheese slices for HM Burgers for tonights dinner and a bar of chocolate for the cookies (can you make the cookie mix and put it in the fridge until i get the chocolate tonight or is it best to make it fresh for when you cook it?)

Slightly off topic but i think I'm gonna have to re-jig my food plan as I had no idea how much each meal costs!! I'm waiting to get a chest freezer so hope I can freeze more stuff then!

OrkneyStar

Steel wrote: »

Hubby pointed out last night that I shouldn't include the £25 or so we spend a month on cat food in my £100 food budget, as that's a fixed expense. We can't feed the animals less and we've tried everything else and they'll only eat tinned Kitekat.

Does anyone else include pet food?

Yes. Cat gets Lidl or Tesco own- if she does not eat that she starves- result is she eats it! I WILL NOT pander to a cat (can anyone tell she is actually DH's cat?!)
Just on to update sig, spent £5.73 in small food shop about 10 miles from home (went a run in the car as DS's class was not on ). I got 2 Bramley apples, 4 pack Campbells C of Tom soup (4 for 3), local wheat loaf (feeling a bit groggy, will make rolls later hopefully), and chicken stock cubes. Although we are on a yearly budget I am trying to make leaner months from Jan and Feb (under £140-£160) so to carry some money forward, and we seem ok-ish on track (have done 2/4 bigger shops already, so will likely do another 2 at £15-20, and will also need to buy 2L milk once or twice a week on top of that too).