January 2011 Grocery Challenge

CRANKY40

Another £12.18 spent today. It was only supposed to be £7 or £8, but I treated myself to a bag of dried dates, and also bought a tin of tuna so that I can make a pasta bake and use up some of the dried pasta lurking in the cupboards.

Long_tall_sally

Thanks happycrafter for the idea of what to do with my sweet potatoes. I don't have any harissa paste - is there anything else that I could use that might be simialar?

MummyEm

Well done to everyone taking part this month, everyone seems to be doing really well.

I am pleased with where I am so far this month but don't want to get too excited as I can very easily fall off the wagon as I have proved in the past.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what to do with 2 whole mackerel? I picked up a couple whoopsie that are now in the freezer. DH and I like to have fresh fish a couple of times a week but usually have salmon/whole trout/fish pie etc. neither of us have ever had whole mackerel (only in pie mixes I think).

Also DD has requested that we make choc tiffin but I can't find a recipe on the big list, can anyone help?

thriftmonster

Hi can you put Thriftmonster for £400 for Jan

This is quite a serious trim on what we have been spending so the first few months may be a "see how close we can get". Off to see what I've spent so far this month.......

Hmmm - still the £170 includes the veg box for the month and I think about £20 may relate to New Year's Eve - but I'll take it as it stands.

elfen

Have spent around £40 but that includes fruit, veg and a few little treats. Have got £97.58 left for the rest of the month.

zebredy

Budgeted £30-£40 today and really pleased that I came within those figure, thats with having an extra few quid from last year on me (£3-£4 or there about)

Read about some items having vat added to them like squash and crisps so while I was going from poundland to pound-word and the 99-pence stores in Romford, I picked up a 2L bottle of Robinson's for 99p and 2 lots of 5 bags of crisps for a £1 each.

Stupid thing was I spent ages sorting out the cupboards and writing a nice list of things to buy, but I think I must have misplaced it while out, as I couldn't find it anyway Thankfully I wasn't going out for that much and was able to jot down what I remembered I needed while on the way to Tesco on the bus..:rotfl: I dunno

Didn't buy any meat though, but thats ok cause we still have a little left in the freezer, and the farmers market is on, on Sunday in Romford, so gona pop there to see what's what. Not sure if it will be worth it but sure hope so.

Anway after carrying all the cans and cat food from the bus stop to my house I'm knackered. Think I need to go and make my lunch now, before I forget lol.

Oh one last thing - how long can I leave hm tomato sauce in the freezer for before it needs to be eaten. I made three meals worth of sauce and popped it in the freezer yesterday, but pretty sure it's not going to be used till at least Monday or Tuesday..

happycrafter_2

Long_tall_sally wrote: »

Thanks happycrafter for the idea of what to do with my sweet potatoes. I don't have any harissa paste - is there anything else that I could use that might be simialar?

link to a recipe for harissa paste (i have used up my ready made stuff so will try to make it next time)

http://www.foodiesite.com/recipes/2000-03:harissa


try a small bit first I found it quite spicy and I love spicy foods.

bella121984

Ok so my shopping just arrived for the next 2 weeks, and it came to £160.40...there are a few obvious things I forgot to get, like bananas, milk, eggs, and im struggling to fit everything into my freezer...might have to shuffle my menu plan around a bit!! I guess this shopping fortnightly thing take a bit of getting used to :-)

mfwin2019

Spent more than I planned today but lots of reductions in Waitrose (I wasn't planning to go in at all but met a friend who had just come out with bags bulging) so all safely stashed in freezer. I must not look for any more bargains this month - I could only get this lot in the freezer by taking other things out of boxes & putting them into bags to save space. DH is making a batch of curry in the slow cooker tomorrow, that will have to be frozen in individual portions to fit into odd corners. Nearly half way through budget this month (£54/£125) as I planned to use things out of the freezer not add to it. MUST TRY HARDER!!

bramble1

Just went to waitrose to get chopped toms, 59p!!! But did manage to get some bargains.
Apple bake bars reduced to 40p
Mince pies reduced to 19p
Mini cheddar tubes reduced to 29p so got one of each for snacking and lunches.

Total £1.46 spend.

Asda delivery tomorrow!