November 2010 Grocery Challenge

auditbabe

charleybabes wrote: »

hi there

weve had some bills go out and have a few to pay that has left us pretty short until next week
i would say we have about 40 to feed us up to about tuesday... thats two adults and two children.. one of school age ... so need to include pack lunches into the shopping budget aswell

has anyone got any tips on healthy family meals that are pretty cheap,
luckily i dont have to buy nappys this week as i bought in bulk the other week..
i have some chicken thighs in freezer and a beef joint..
pantry mainly has baked beans and a couple of tins of toms. not much else..

http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/
Try here I can assure you there is no other site like it. Every recipe has been tested and in the pipeline are packed lunches.

mandco

struggling with the budget spent nearly £60 in the last couple of days which leaves just £30 till the end of the month :eek:
did pick up quite a bit of baking stuff. quite a bit of cheap f&v and some freezer stuff so hopefully wont need too much more.

milks a big expense use about 8 pints a day usually but with the cold weather hot milk & cocoa are increasing our usage might try diluting it a bit with water and hope they dont notice

was hoping for a nsd today but needed some calpol and ended up with a nice joint of beef :think: was 1/ price though and should do 2 meals and maybe some sarnies

overall I think i'm not doing too bad for a 1st attempt even though I've spent a fair chunk of my budget I am thinking twice before buying ,have not brought cakes/biscuits/crisps like I usually would and have a rough idea of what meals we're having rather than thinking theres nothing to eat and getting a takeaway or going shopping and spending £20 on junk

adelight

£1.64 at lidl on kilo carrots, aubergine, sausages and tinned toms.
Also got some 99p handwarmers. They need to be submerged in boiling water for 10 minutes, was thinking that if I clean them in hot water first, I could boil them in water with veggies steaming on top Stop me if it's going to posion me!

I'm struggling with the GC a bit after a big first spend. Kilo carrots, kilo potatoes, 1 sweet potato, 1 aubergine, 1/2 squash, 1 parsnip, 1 leek, 3 banans, 5 oranges and frozen cauli/peas/sweetcorn is plenty for one person for 2 weeks!! I even have a stuffed sweet potato and pasta sauce in the freezer! I need to stop panicking that I'm running out of food when I have loads I'll need soy milk (60p) and some fresh f/v(£3 max) later in the month but I'm up to my eye balls in frozen meat!

welshkaz

mr t braved the wind and delivered £54 with a massive saving of £30 so i was well pleased with that...

NickJW

Okay - I thought I would try a bit of a 'downshift challenge' and bought 5 cans of Mr T basics tuna. OMG - it was DISGUSTING! I've just had to my tuna bagel away because I couldn't stop gagging. I'm now having a bowl of cereal for lunch:mad:

Tonight I need to look through the bin to find the receipt because on Saturday I am going to try and return them - I have 4 cans I'll never use again, and it's only £1.58, but when doing this challenge that sort of money makes a difference!

Hippeechiq

Cooeeee everyone :wave: - hope everyone is ok.

Been MIA from the forum so far this month as it's been a tough 2-3weeks with my daughter.

I've also got a urine infection which has left me feeling a bit shattered, but I'm on anti biotics as of yesterday and although still tired, the infection is much improved

Thanks very much to Longtallsally Rosieben & Spiggs for your support and concern :kisses3:

On the GC front, I came in under budget for October, albeit by only £8.28. Still, that's better than being over by £8.28 However, I've already spent just over half my November budget, although, on checking my October figures, at the same stage last month, I had spent
£189.88 of my budget. That said, my November figure will shoot up over the weekend, as I have an A$da delivery coming for about £50 on Sunday and I need to get some Pork Loin Steaks and Chicken Thighs currently on offer at £idl - oh, and a double pack of sausages from M&S, so it wont look very well at all come Monday!

adelight

NickJW wrote: »

Okay - I thought I would try a bit of a 'downshift challenge' and bought 5 cans of Mr T basics tuna. OMG - it was DISGUSTING! I've just had to my tuna bagel away because I couldn't stop gagging. I'm now having a bowl of cereal for lunch:mad:

Tonight I need to look through the bin to find the receipt because on Saturday I am going to try and return them - I have 4 cans I'll never use again, and it's only £1.58, but when doing this challenge that sort of money makes a difference!

Value and 99p store tuna is genereally revolting. Buy good brand tuna in bulk when it's on offer, four tins of princes is £3 at Iceland and Lidl atm- bargain!

misscousinitt

Hi

You could make a pasta bake with a tins of chicken soup, cooked pasta, some veggies (see Super 6 etc..) and top with a little grated cheese.

Good luck.

xnatalie81x

770g tesco mince (3 for £10)
tin value beans (29p)
tin value carrots (18p)
4 baking potatoes (3/4 of one chopped small for the pie, rest for mash) (FREE MILK N MORE ORDER - SAVE £10 FROM DAILY MAIL)
1/2 jar mushroom anttipasto (approved foods - 17P)
1.2 jar courgette antipasto (af - 17P)
sugar (about a tablespoon - 2p)
passatta (carton - 39p)
tom puree (small squeeze - 10p)
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (1.75/2 as one was used for last weeks chicken pie - 88p)
1/4 pot tesco value gravy (7p)
basil (10p - guess but sure less)

(I think that was everything) = £6.33 + spaghetti 20p = 6.53

TODAY, became
a cottage pie for dinner tonight
spag bol sauce for dinner tomorrow
a mince and potato pie for dinner sat

I will top cottage pie and bolognese with cheese (free from milk and more order) and pasta with bolognese and the pie will be served with some cabbage left in the fridge and probs the last cauli still in my veg box in the garden - this is for 1 adult and 3 children - but me and my 7 yr old eat the same portion size :eek: so effectively 2 adults and 2 children

Also made loaf bread in BM and 21 fairy cakes which are frozen in sandwich bags for kids' packed lunches. - should last a week

I did my main shop 1st Nov for the month and my top up shop will be around 14th nov (eggs/potatoes/cake cases/sandwich bags/milk etc) Am going to be well under budget this month :A but have been very very organised and careful, and eaten at mums a couple of nights (although i did pay her back by making dinner for my dad twice)

Mollina_Girl

Another NSD yesterday:T
Have just been to Morri5ons and spent £28.12, sig updated.

Everything was on my list except 3 bags of Scampi which were half price.

I should only need veg & milk until next Thurs so I'm really pleased with this.:j