September 2010 Grocery Challenge

sistercas

jintyb wrote: »

Hey Sistercas - I also buy my meat from Costco, there are only two of us so I split the packs into portions suitable for us. I usually buy mince, chicken breasts and casserole beef, sometimes lamb chops or steaks. I also like the rotisserie chickens - lots of meat and really tasty, usually have this with a salad. I dont buy the big roasts like the beef and lamb, but I would if I was feeding a crowd.
I wouldnt say Costco meat is a lot cheaperthan elsewhere but the quality is far superior to any meat at a comparable price.

Hope this helps!:)

thanks Jinty i have bought the cooked chickens before, they are 3 times the size of those in t3sco , really good value

i will have another look at the meats when i next go , as you suggest i could portion it up and freeze it

wssla00

Hi all £3.39 spend in Farm foods- Blue milk, bread, mega wedges and a bottle of cola for the bus lol then, £14.00 spend in Asda for some other bits and bobs including a huge organic chicken reduced from £11 down to £6. It's in the oven now cooking

Have a great day all

cookiemum

cookiemum can i ask what meat you get from costco? i know its good meat but they seem such big packs[/QUOTE]

sistercas - I bought the large mince and chicken packs. The chicken pack was £15 and there were 12 chicken breasts. The mince was about £1 cheaper but I have split into 7 portions. I reckon each portion will feed 4 of us. The chicken breasts are huge. Our local butcher keeps putting their prices up and I do find it easier to bulk buy and freeze.

The only thing you have to be wary of is the other spends. I went for meat and came back with a tray of croissants and pain au chocolate!:)

NickJW

Hi All

Blimey! You don't look or post for a few days and then it takes a few hours to catch up on reading!

I know I've gone over budget this month - £5 spend at Mr S today, plus I need to add up my receipts from the last week or so since my last post.
My boss left on Friday so went for leaving drinks, which reluctantly I have to include this month, because entertainment is included. Bad move on my part - oh well - it really does make me realize how much I spend on that every month, but in October it will most definitely just be food and toiletries!!!

Bit strange this week, because I am 'manager-less'. I've been told to do everything as usual and be my own boss and manage myself (which admittedly I do anyway)...At least I know that I'm secure in my position...:)

I reckon I've spent around £55 extra, but I'll now for sure when I add up my receipts and update later on.

Hope everyone is well!

Want2Bdebtfree_3

Hey All

Congratulations to :smileyhea:smileyheaeveryone who is doing well and Chin Up with hugs to those struggling and therefore feeling down. I have not been on here for over a week as have been on my holidays. Had a week in Blackpool ... I hear you laughing but it was absolutely great Fully recommend. Plus used lots of vouchers etc whilst there... Thank you Money Savers. Walked miles by the sea and chilled. Wow just taken ages to catch up!!!! Plus having to hurry as have puppy school to night for my little bundle of trouble! 51/2 mth longhaired German Shepherd not really so little!!!

Good news is I am on budget for this month.. makes up for last month!!!! Decided although its pay day on Friday going to include that shop in this month to. Need quite a few cleaning bits I have lost track of all the thank you's I could issue as there has been lots of good advice from so many people. So one big thank you to you all.

Frightening to think its 100 days to Christmas .. advice do I include it in this budget or set a seperate one... Answers on a stamp let me know what works... I will need help :rotfl: Have started though as I bought all my warapping paper and cards in Jan in the sales!!

Had my shopping delivered by Asda on Friday as Mr T does not like my card online although I normally shop as Mr T and not only was it all there and I got free delivery but.... they told me to log on and compare after and have issued a £1.24 evoucher as Mr M is apparently cheaper. Result! Have a Mr S voucher to use in Mr T this week but may well be back to Mr A the week after!!!.

I do need to add £10 to my list as I bought some bacon, loaf of bread and mags for OH who is poorly today. Still under though and hoping to be under come Friday : ) Will wait advice on Christmas Budget. Off to Puppy School now - wish me luck!

cw18

franby64 wrote: »

We're still getting plenty of spuds from the garden but they do fall apart when I cook them - just have to keep a closer eye on them!

My HG ones do that if I boil them, but they're amazing if I steam them instead And the added beauty of this (especially now I'm only catering for me), is that once they're nearly done I put my frozen veg in the bottom section of the steamer (in the water) to cook - so only using one gas ring on my hob instead of two :T

kezlou

Hi all, hows everyone been?
Well it hard times in the household of skintness at the moment. Darn car needs a new engine, so we have nish all money for anything including food. So its up to me to save the day. Oh and i need to save up for the rent at the same time too typical.

So i've been batch cooking today, not much as i've had appointments all day. need to have things ready for pack lunches.

I originally had 12 buns - all burnt when the front door went grr - but going to make bread and butter pudding out of them instead.
Another loaf in the bread machine.

Just made four apple/bramble pastries, for the boys.
6 mini chicken/bacon pasties
a big batch of chocolate concrete
A batch of egg moayonaise

got loads of chicken/bacon mix left so going to make little falans from them and a big quiche.
Got tons of eggs so we should be all right.

Just made a big lump of seafood red thai curry, tandoori spinach, nanns and rice. THere's loads so should do a couple of meals.

Just waiting for my poor workie to come home so we can eat, i'm starved.

Hope you all well x

CupOfChai

Evening all, just popping on to add £4.67 to my total as I picked up the rest of what I need for this week tonight. Just some bits of veg mainly, and some unplanned spread as I was about to run out which has added more than I was expecting on to the bill. I did however resist the whoopsies (there are never any really huge reductions at my local supermarket anyway, boooo). Well, I didn't initally resist, picked up a pack of two mince & onion slices, but then it wouldn't go through on the self-serve till no matter what I did, so I took that as a sign and put it back.

EvieSaver

Want2Bdebtfree wrote: »

Frightening to think its 100 days to Christmas .. advice do I include it in this budget or set a seperate one... Answers on a stamp let me know what works... I will need help :rotfl: Have started though as I bought all my warapping paper and cards in Jan in the sales!!

I guess everyone will find something different works best for them but this is what I do (it's very basic):

I allow myself an extra weeks allowance for the final Christmas shop and take my Hubby with me so we can get a trolley each (because we buy so much and also have kids in the seats). We go very early on the last shopping day before xmas eve.

I've found this works best for me as in years gone by when I bought good deals in advance I found that everything was eaten before Christmas and just needed buying again last minute anyway (chocs, cakes, treats etc - oops:o). Also, this close to the day there are usually loads of bargains anyway. We buy so much as we have lots of visitors over the xmas/new year week, I have to get loads of treats and alcohol too. My only exceptions to this are the Turkey (wouldn't want to risk not getting one), the Christmas cake and pudding (I make my own). Also by buying last minute the fruit and veg is as fresh as I can get (can't shop on xmas eve as it's my mom's birthday and a big family get together:beer:).


Hope it helps as an idea - this is just for the groceries though, presents are obviously bought earlier than this!;).

katholicos

Purchased a large amount of food yesterday, but i am not counting it in my budget as it wasn't for me and i got the money back anyway. Dad has just come out of hospital and is going to be ill for a very long time, he is on oxygen and nebuliser and loads of medication as well...anyway, looking after him is a full time job for my mum, so i thought i would do some batch cooking to take the pressure off mum.

Made a months worth of main meals for mum and dad...off the top of my head...

bolognese
chilli
beef and bacon lasagne
meatballs in sauce
chicken curry
chicken pies
liver , bacon and onions
cumberland sausage casserole
haddock pies
steak and kidney pies
beef stew and dumplings
stewed beef and carrot casserole

i'm sure there were more meals but i can't recall them all now. There are lots of portions for 2, of each of the above so now mum doesn't have the meither of thinking about preparing their main meal each day for the next month. Tomorrow i'm going to make them some puddings, already have a list prepared of what i want to make...

blackberry and apple pie
apple and rhubarb flan
brown betty
marmalade tart
mincemeat and apple tart
bread and butter pudding
jam roly poly
custard tart
apple pie
mincemeat roly poly
treacle tart
cranberry and apple pie
syrup sponge pud
spotted !!!!!!
apple cinnamon crumble

Phew!