Jamiedodger's 2010 Journey

beanielou

Im plodding on as usual

Happy grocery challange!

JAMIEDODGER

I have been busy this morning:) I have written out a 14 day meal planner, which looks quite boring compared to the ones on the meal planning thread, but its what we like:)

I have written up a shopping list for tesco but also one for lidl, iceland and a couple of other small shops too. There are 19 days until the end of the month and my budget is £225. I will try and do a large tesco shop next week (will need to add to the one I have already started) I shall stock up on the cheapy stuff at iceland the following week including milk which is cheaper than tescos (and free delivery).

I have made a jelly for pudding tonight. I haven't got much stocks in the main food cupboard so will be making most meals from the freezer for the next few days. Tonights dinner will be either pasta and cheese (kids love it but i dont!) or sausage rolls chips and beans, will see what they fancy later.

DS3 has further restricted his own diet in the last few months, he now will not eat meat (except pepperoni off the top of a pizza or chicken nuggets) this makes it really hard when it comes to meals for him. This means he eats a lot of snacky type meals. Very healthy ones though:)

From september all the children are on free school meals which should help things a bit. I shall just cook a main meal in the evening but no lunchboxes to make. (yay).

I have allowed one trip to our local pie shop a fortnight, they sell the most amazing pies:) This is our little treat. I will probably cook up some chips and gravy to have with this, or potatoes and veg depending on my mood!

Off to make kids lunches now as they are getting hungry!

JAMIEDODGER

Im starting to feel really enthusiastic about all this again:) I have managed a NSD today, although I could really have done with getting some fruit in, I decided to wait until tomorrow. I have arranged with ex to go to tesco's in the morning and he will come and sit for the children:)

I know I didn't want to go into tescos because I preferred a home delivery but I want to buy fruit and veg and sometimes theirs can be a little suspect. I have written a list and am determined to stick to it:)

The boys have gone off to their dads now and they will eat there tonight. DD, DS3 and I have had our dinner and I have crossed off from the freezer list and adjusted the shopping list accordingly. I am so determined to stick to my budget of £225 this month.

I have not cooked from scratch for such a long time! This is where I think the increase in shopping has started from. I have relied too heavily on convenience foods lately and I am determined to change that. I am going to start simple though as I dont want to scare myself off the idea!

I have spent a lot of today looking at threads on here for meal ideas. I have sat down with the kids and asked them to give me ideas of what they would like.

If I could save just £50 per month on my grocery bill then this could seriously help pay my dad back much quicker than I had planned.:T

Anyway, I have had a very productive day!!

Spirit_2

Jamie - it is lovely to hear your story again through your diary.

It sounds as if you have had a positive outcome after a troubling time.

Posting here yields such positive energy does'nt it?

Spirit

JAMIEDODGER

hi Spirit:) Hope things are ok with you?

I am off to Tesco this morning while ex sits with kids. I have a shopping list made out and lets just say its a lot different from my ones of late!

We shall see how much this lot costs me....

I don't need much milk as I have plenty in. I plan to buy a few packs of meat to separate, large bag of pasta, fruit and veg, some baking supplies of which I have none in at all!!

For my first week back in to it, I would be happy if I have made some cakes and biscuits and one meal completely from scratch. Starting simple for the first week. I have found my old Be-Ro cookery book which was getting dusty on a shelf! I will have a look through later and see what I can make with my new ingredients:)

I now have a long list of meals that the kids like (and dont like), which means I can adapt certain meals to accommodate what each child likes. I have quite a lot of plastic tubs to use for leftovers to freeze so that makes it easier when a child doesn't like a certain meal I am cooking. Hopefully my food wastage will go down too!

I have had a look at my receipts for the last few months and I have been spending a ridiculous amount of money on food!! It is really scary!!:eek: I plan to stop all this now! The grocery budget is really the easiest way to start saving money and usually my first stop to start clawing back the pennies. I may not see much drop in the amount spent in August, but I expect September will show dividends!

I still have a few bits of school uniform to buy, unfortunately two of my children had to have complete new uniforms as the schools changed them! I have also bought most of their winter clothes, although I still have a few bits to get for DS2 and most of DS1!! This will include new trainers. I have a trip planned to Sports Direct in early September to buy it all. Not looking forward to that bill!!! However, once bought, the kids will not need anything until spring:) I like to only shop twice a year! (my parents used to do it this way and I have continued it lol)

I know I will need a new washing machine in the next 12 month as mine is on its last legs, I will also need a new airer as the winter approaches, my old one fell apart last month and I had it for 8 years!!

These things are on my list to buy, but I will be looking around for a bargain:) I hope to tuck a little away in savings after I have paid my dad back.

Right better get dressed as my ex will be here in 20 mins!!!! Will report back later after I have been to tesco!

beanielou

You could try Freecycle for a WM & an airer.
Have a good weekend.

JAMIEDODGER

Thats a great idea Beanie! Will have a look...

Back from Tesco.....total spend £93.38. This leaves me with £131.62 until the end of the month!

I am really pleased with everything I bought. There were some non food items like cleaning products and toiletries and some labels. When I got home I split up the packs of meatballs into smaller portions. Its one of DS1 fav meals but the other kids don't like it. This means I can cook him some up without having to make a massive batch. I bought some steak, bacon, burgers, sausages and a chicken and quite a bit of baking supplies. I have added the new stuff to my freezer list, so I can see at a glance exactly what I have.

The kids have chosen their meals tonight from a list of older things from the freezer that I want to use up, mainly because their packaging takes up so much space! I bought a huge pack of breadrolls (ds3 will only eat these and not sliced bread), large pack of pasta, a big pack of eggs and a huge pack of cheese.

I also bought some packet soups which I think are better value than tins. I have some on the go for lunch:) I bought some ice cream, cones and strawberry sauce instead of forking out a fortune to the ice cream man!!

Hopefully this lot will easily last me two weeks, especially adding in the supplies I already had. I will have to add in milk and fruit/veg before then. This afternoon I have promised DD we can make some fairy cakes:) hopefully they will last longer than just today!

All in all I am really happy with what I bought, no major bargains but also no real convenience food either. A good start!

brummiebabe

Hi JD - nice to see you back x

Glad that you are trying to get back on track after what must have been a very stressful few months!!

I shall keep lurking with the occasional post......;)

JAMIEDODGER

Hi brummiebabe:)

Morning all, I am planning on doing a bit of cooking today, not quite sure what yet though, possibly some twinks as I haven't made any in ages and I know my kids love them:)

I have scoured this site for more ideas for recipes and have written loads down:) I may cook up some jackets for the kids tea when I have the oven on. Three of the kids like them, I may also make up some mash for freezing into portions and possible a batch of rice.

I will be getting some meat from the freezer to defrost so I can do some cooking tomorrow. I think we may have a roast on tuesday! Been looking at the rubber chicken threads for ideas:)

Wash on as the weather has cleared a bit and I am hoping to get it on the line.

Pushing for a NSD today:)

JAMIEDODGER

Morning:)

Managed my NSD yesterday:)

Had a bit of a disaster so didnt get as much cooking done as I had planned. I had a major leak in my hallway which turned out to be two leaks. One from my boiler, which will need a new part and one from the tank. My HA sent an emergency plumber out and he completely drained the system leaving me with no hot water until at least today.

That in itself is not a huge problem as I can just wash up using kettle water for the time being. Kids had strip washes in the kitchen before bed. I hope they will be able to replace tank today, then I can use emmersion while the part for the boiler is ordered. No washing will be getting done until it is fixed!

What I did manage to make wasnt that much. Big batch of rice in remouska, then 4 jacket potatoes. Also boiled some potatoes and made mash. Rice and mash were put into individual portions and put in freezer, then added to freezer contents list. That should make my work a bit easier when kids want different meals.

DS1 had JP cheesy beans for tea. DD dad was here yesterday when leak happened and treated us all to KFC. None of the rest of us were hungry for much tea, so the kids had a bowl of cereal and I had a ham sandwich:)

I took the chicken out of the freezer yesterday, its in the fridge. I think I will cook it either today or tomorrow. DD is staying at my mums tomorrow night so she wouldn't be here for a roast and she really likes them, so it might be today after all.

I have a list of ways to use up my leftover chicken as I have been reading the rubber chicken thread. I am planning to use the carcass for stock but we will see if that happens. I would love to make soup with it, which will do for some lunches this week.

I will boil up some eggs for Ds2's sarnies as he adores egg mayo (just like his mum). Didn't get to make the twinks yesterday so hopefully will make some today.

Freezer is quite full still, as I seem to be adding to it not taking away:rotfl:

I only have two things on the shopping list at the moment, DS1 has requested gammon and we are nearly out of marmite! I am sure this will end up a much larger list by saturday:D I am keeping an eye on the milk as I only have 4x4pts left. This should last me until wednesday. Will need to go to a shop then and buy some more. I really resent paying the price at the co-op and also tescos, but I don't think I am going to get a chance to go to Iceland yet:( although that might not be a bad thing as I would probably overspend anyway.

Thats enough waffling now. I have my fingers crossed that I will have hot water by the end of the day!:D