December 2010 Grocery Challenge

seductivesmile

Hi all,
Was all geared up and ready to be super frugal this month, and then bang, all the good plans go straight out the window, as i was run into from behind waiting to go to work and subsiquently off with whiplash. so i can't bend to my oven, or reach up to my cupboards... so if any of you know some easy recipes that dont require a whole lot of effort or movement i would be really grateful, i have all the staples etc in my cupboard so that isnt an issue, its just making it!

SS

mrs-moneypenny

sorry to hear about your accident seductivesmile i hope you are feeling better and less stiff soon.

can i try for £300 for december im working on the theory cupboards are prety well stocked and i have £100 in saving stamps for MrM so one week shouldbe [STRIKE]'free' [/STRIKE]already paid for

came in at £10 under for november which for me was pretty amazing.

Long_tall_sally

Oh dear Suductivesmile, how you feel better soon. Not a nice thing to happen.

NickJW

Hi All

Small first spend of the month today - 10p on an onion and £1 on some bread.

Last night it took me 2 and a half hours to get home!! So I didn't end up buying any rice, so had couscous with the chilli.

There were leftovers but I forgot to bring them to work today! :mad: Got to work and realized I had forgotten to bring my debit card to work so couldn't go to Mr S...borrowed a couple of pound off a colleague to get some bread for lunch, to go with some chorizo leftover from yesterday in the fridge at work. Tomorrow I'll hopefully remember to take my leftover chilli + couscous!

And just as I thought the day couldn't get any worse, it looks as though I'll be having a bad journey home tonight because all the trains are down, so I'll be using buses... My nan has cancelled her Christmas meal this Sunday because she lives in the north of Lincolnshire and it's very snowy with few main roads - no-one wants to risk getting stuck there. So I guess I'll be in London this weekend. Then then East Coast trains are having problems so I'm worried if I'll get to Edinburgh next week. Is it wrong to want a stiff whisky before lunchtime? :rotfl:

I'm bored of the snow after one day....

Picklepud

sorry to hear your news suductivesmile hope you are feeling a little better? you could use a slowcooker if you have one just chuck everything in and wait!!

findingmyfeet

mrs mac- can you put me down for £450 for december please.
december isgoing to be an expensive month for food. iam having ten for christmas lunch, ten for a family buffet party and then 6 new years eve!!!! we all take turns but it just so happens mine have all fallen in the same year.......thinking cap on to see how i can keep budget down as much as possible. good luck all

EmptyPurse

Spiggle wrote: »

Hey all,


EmptyPurse we only buy meat from the butcher but haven't bought oxtail this year so not sure about the price of that. Checked with OH (he's off work with bad tummy today) and he thinks mince is around £2.40 per lb and casserole steak around £2.85-95 per lb. No idea on the pork loin I'm afraid. For us, the quality of the meat is far superior from the butcher and is always British, sometimes very local, often free range and or organic. And we make it stretch a long way when we get it. An average meal cost of £1.36 if you make 13 meals from what you have doesn't seem too bad to me but you could make it go even further by adding things like oats or lentils to the mince and casserole steak recipes if you fancy. Hope that helps.

It sounds as though my butcher's a bit on the expensive side, then - the mince was around £3.50 and the casserole steak around £4. But the meat is exceptionally good quality and there isn't another butcher within easy travelling distance (I don't have a car). I might just see how I get on with my budget for the rest of the month before I make a final decision about whether I can afford to continue shopping there. After all, this is my first month!

jintyb

NickJW wrote: »

And just as I thought the day couldn't get any worse, it looks as though I'll be having a bad journey home tonight because all the trains are down, so I'll be using buses... My nan has cancelled her Christmas meal this Sunday because she lives in the north of Lincolnshire and it's very snowy with few main roads - no-one wants to risk getting stuck there. So I guess I'll be in London this weekend. Then then East Coast trains are having problems so I'm worried if I'll get to Edinburgh next week.

Nick, it should be fine by next week - my OH is off to London today on the train after 3 days of flight cancellations so the train is looking ok ATM.
Hopefully the snow will have cleared by next week - Im looking out at over 12 inches just now. I cant get out of the estate I live in but the city centre will be fine.

Is it wrong to want a stiff whisky before lunchtime? :rotfl:

Put the hard stuff on hold for a little while longer!


I'm bored of the snow after one day....

Im bored with it too!

NickJW

Here's hoping Jintyb... At least I'm not going to be flying...I'll just wait to Edinburgh to have the 'proper' whiskey

dooleysdollymix88

:wave: Hello!!

I would like to join too please:D

Can you Please add me to the list for this month with budget of £100 Please Mrs Mac.

Spent £28.64 this week:o in a silly dash to the shops incase of more snow without a list!! And it doesnt even cover the weeks meals!:( Will have to see if I can work some magic!