September 2009 Grocery Challenge

Julimk

DD & her hamster came home yesterday. Despite me checking with DD’s Dad that there was both hamster food & bedding left he failed to return any, so a small spend on those today - £2.60, both Mr T ‘value’.

I had already told DD that I was not going to buy a full set of new uniform etc. this year, as she will be off to high school next year & will need everything then, so need to make do as much as possible. But this morning her skirt was too tight & she needed some new gym kit.

So spent a total of £10 in Mr T on gym shoes (lace-ups, sturdier than plimsolls but not actual trainers IYSWIM), trackie top & bottom & a new skirt. They only had the one skirt that actually fitted her, but we had another plain black skirt that will do for school. Not actually grocery spends though!

Will have to get some food bits tomorrow, but will do that before I get DD from the childminder. I am totally out of onions & garlic & down to my last 3 cans of toms!

HowlinWolf

Mum gave me three cooking apples from her tree today so that'll be another apple pudding when we finish the crumble I made on Monday.

Botany

Had one sweeeeeeet shopping in Waitrose this evening. I spent £17.96 but came out with a trolley-full and a receipt the lenght of an articulated truck (well, I'm exaggerating a little bit but you get my gist!)

I cannot find the words to say just how much I love a good whoopsie day. Filling up a trolley with lovely items that you can easily freeze and enjoy for days on end, none of which costs you more than 50 pence.

I'm such a happy bunny....... :j:j:j

In fact.... dare I ask.... could Waitrose whoopsies better than sex??? sometimes I wonder.... :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Aaaaanyway, back to the challenge: total so far 59.37/300 --> 240.63 left

tessasmum

NSD today - yay! Yesterday I cycled with my 2 DDs to the village shop just over a mile away to buy the few things we had run out of rather than go to Mr T's in the car 8 miles away - we spent £4.49 on what we needed rather than £££s on a lot more! And saved the diesel into the bargain. I have been sent some Sainsbury's vouchers for £4 off a £40 spend, so I am planning to spend no more than the £40 on my shopping this week - and I am planning to do it alone without distractions and "help"!

Keiss_21

My first NSD of the month today - honest! only in GC terms, not total spending, so no way...I am soooo tired tonight!

Mr T did a big delivery at lunch time, DS2 had a trip to the sports physio and DH bought new shower curtains and rail...maybe this will stop the leaks round the edge!

As I don't include house improvements/repairs or medical treatments as part of my GC total and I count order days as spending days online, then in fact today is my first GC NSD this month!

DH and DS2 are off in search of 18" school shirts (they'll be lucky!). I have said all summer long that new ones would be needed...and as I am stuck at home it is up to the men in my house to sort it out...so no new shirts or trousers yet and school starts next Monday! Hey hoh, I can see him starting Sixth Form with old holey trousers (melted plastic knees!) and sweaty shirts with holes and buttons missing...I can feel a sewing session coming on tomorrow!

Off to bed now and see (or rather hear) if the copy of Paul McKenna on my phone is up to much..
Don't expect a NSD tomorrow, but the weekend looks promising!

Will update my signature tomorrow, too tired tonight

LydiaJ

First Mr T delivery of the month - a day late because I usually have it on Wednesdays. Came in at £37.39 (excluding things that don't count towards the GC), so I was pleased with that. I did succumb to the kids' pestering when the ice-cream van came round to its usual parking place round the corner from where I live, so that was an extra £3 though. But I am still under budget for the first week (aiming for £55 pw plus £30 for extras like having people round).

Tonight I made a packed lunch for myself when I was doing the kids' ones, so that will mean I don't need to go to the canteen at work tomorrow.

cw18

Have done a total stock-take and repack of my freezers today - most of it this evening - and now have my meal plan sorted up to and including 2nd October :T

It never ceases to amaze me how the repacking after stock-take always seems to leave me with loads more freezer space!!! They were both totally crammed full when I started, but I've now managed to get another 8x500g margarine tubs in (4 with tomato & mascarpone pasta sauce for 2 people, and 4 with roasted veg pasta sauce for 1 person which will do me several lunches when DS is at college -- once frozen the contents of all will get transferred into freezer bags to save more space, but I think I actually need to buy some more bags before I can do that ), plus a pack of cheese and garlic dough balls and 500g of turkey mince......... and I still have enough space to replace one of the two tubs of ice-cream DS has finished off in the last week :rolleyes2


But I have a question for those of you that use the Mr A Smartprice curry sauce......

DS loves this, but I don't eat curry. So when he has that I have something he doesn't like (currently have 2 plaice fillets, 6x liver casserole, 6x steak&kidney casserole and 1x beef stew in the freezer for me). It's easy to have side veg with mine, but DS is very resistant to fruit and veg, and won't eat a curry containing either -- and as he's 18 it's getting harder to force it down him.

Current meal plan has curry once a week (quick and easy for a day he's at college), but I want to work some veg into it..... so, as it's not on the plan until he's back at college meaning I can cook it while there's no danger of him walking in on me, I was wondering whether I could boil up some veg and then blend it into the sauce without the taste coming through too much? Looking at the colour of the sauce I'm thinking of small quanities of cauliflower, yellow peppers, carrots, sweetcorn and butternut squash.

What do people reckon And if I add the veg am I best throwing in some extra curry powder as well?

Fire_Fox

cw18 wrote: »

DS loves this, but I don't eat curry. So when he has that I have something he doesn't like (currently have 2 plaice fillets, 6x liver casserole, 6x steak&kidney casserole and 1x beef stew in the freezer for me). It's easy to have side veg with mine, but DS is very resistant to fruit and veg, and won't eat a curry containing either -- and as he's 18 it's getting harder to force it down him.

Current meal plan has curry once a week (quick and easy for a day he's at college), but I want to work some veg into it..... so, as it's not on the plan until he's back at college meaning I can cook it while there's no danger of him walking in on me, I was wondering whether I could boil up some veg and then blend it into the sauce without the taste coming through too much? Looking at the colour of the sauce I'm thinking of small quanities of cauliflower, yellow peppers, carrots, sweetcorn and butternut squash.

What do people reckon And if I add the veg am I best throwing in some extra curry powder as well?

Does he eat dried fruit in cereal, tomato ketchup, baked beans, carrot or banana cake? All count towards five a day! Also if you pad mince dishes with the red lentils trick, that counts as veg. :T Can your DS cook yet? Lots of men get more interested in fruit and veg when they start learning to cook for themselves, and I guess you are hoping he will go off to uni at some point? There's so many dishes you just can't make without onion ... then move onto tinned tomatoes, grated carrot ...

cw18

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Does he eat dried fruit in cereal, tomato ketchup, baked beans, carrot or banana cake? All count towards five a day!

no, yes, yes, no and no in that order.

Also if you pad mince dishes with the red lentils trick, that counts as veg. :T

tried padding with lentils, but he was very suspicious of the 'bits'. I now pad almost 50/50 with reconstituted soya mince instead

Can your DS cook yet?

he's not interested. he'll grill sausages and make B@tchelors savoury rice.... or cheese on toast..... or reheat a portion of the curry and make his own rice..... that's about as much as I've seen him do.

Lots of men get more interested in fruit and veg when they start learning to cook for themselves, and I guess you are hoping he will go off to uni at some point?

He's looking at Uni next September, but hoping for one close to home. And, to be honest, I'm not pushing him to look further afield - mainly as I'll only have even half a chance of not having to sell the house if he's contributing to the running costs, and it would give me another 3 years to find a job/alternative income

There's so many dishes you just can't make without onion ... then move onto tinned tomatoes, grated carrot ...

I hide quite a bit in some dishes, but curry is the one meal that he never has ANY veg with!! And with him wanting it on a much more regular basis (which I can't argue about as he knows it's cheap and that I'm watching the pennies) I'm not as happy about this anymore.

kayjay1809

Spent £24 on some basics and then £4 on two school lunches for this week. Feeling good so far, although a long way to go! Have shouted at hubby about not going in to buy a loaf of bread and spending £20 on 'bargains', he can't seem to understand that they are only bargains if we need them :rolleyes:


Mrs M, can you please add me to the master list, thanks!!