February 2011 Grocery Challenge

bertiebots

I forgot to mention the fact earlier that I nearly fell over in sainsbugs:eek: Went down the baking isle to get my bread flour and it was £1.29:mad: I got my few bits and bobs and went to lidl! (69p there;)) I dont know how they can justify the price increases sometimes and sainsbugs bread flour is now the same price as hovis grrrrr!..
When i started making my own bread (thanks to os) it was only costing me 23p a loaf , it has to be at least 50p now and when every penny counts I get quite cross:o Its getting pretty tough to keep my budget down.:(
Hugs to everyone - I have only skimmed through today but get the feeling we all need one at the mo:A!
...ok rant over:rotfl:

Long_tall_sally

Bought bread, milk, fruit & veg, coke & chocolate bars today from Farm Foods & the local market so another £16 spend. I really think I need to go through my cupboards (again) & make myself use up at least two or three things a week.

Hippeechiq - your six week menu is amazing & you eat so well!

I made a tuna pasta bake tonight which OH really like but I thought was a bit bland. I made it with a white, well cheese sauce but think I would be tastier with a tomato & garlic sauce? Does anyone have a recipe for one?

Pinwheel

Hi bertiebots, just to let you know that the white bread flour is 50p in Tes**s at the moment, I can't believe the difference in price either.

PWx

fedupandskint

Only spent £3.49 all week so GC is going well over all - have £40 left for the rest of Feb until 28th so should scrape through

Hippeechiq

katholicos Your golden syrup sarnie for lunch did make me smile. I'm partial to honey sarnies too

boysma wrote: »

Perilously close to my budget at £249.04/£275:( Mind you both freezers are fairly full but it's the essentials that seem to add up .

I couldn't agree more. My freezers are chocka too, but when I worked out this morning what I need to buy next week (excluding what I'm having delivered on Sun) I'm left with about £3 cash out of next weeks money

quintwins wrote: »

were having abit of a family crisis here , were hardly even eating and mil feed the kids for a few days for me,

Sorry to hear that hun :grouphug: I hope things improve for you soon

seductivesmile - well done you on expecting to not have to go shopping for 10 days :T....don't think I'm ever going to be in that postion.

When I got back from shopping today, I had arms like an Orangutan! Had my backpack on and a heavy bag in each hand.....had a face the colour of a turkeys backside when I got in! Lol

I think, given that ¾ of my GC budget is spent on food that I buy and then have to carry home, I've really got to forget about NSDs and go shopping every day, or pretty much every day.

Anyhoo, my spends today of £10.58 brings my total to £144.62

gdyr1945

:jLoved the 'mega healthy syrup sarnie'. Something I haven't had since I was little. Brings back some lovely memories of my grandmother.:)

Must take mind off 'mega healthy' as still trying to lose some weight and improve fitness. Thought I was doing well (about 8lbs in 3 weeks) then I bought some new digital scales; mine were 40yrs old so don't feel too bad. Horror of horrors:eek: I am 5 lbs heavier on new scales:eek:. So have started my weight loss plan again! Walking 20-30mins each day. I have a gravity walker kindly bought by my fitness fanatic DD so I NEVER have the excuse 'weather too bad' plus one longer (1hr) once a week with friend. Also following weights programme in 'Strong Women don't Get Fat'. Boy, I am going to be the fitest oap around! That is assuming I keep going:rotfl:

hugs and kisses to all xxxxxxxxxx

Sue14

Another A1di visit today and another £18.43 spent.

bertiebots

Pinwheel wrote: »

Hi bertiebots, just to let you know that the white bread flour is 50p in Tes**s at the moment, I can't believe the difference in price either.

PWx

Thanks Pinwheel...I might just pop in tomorrow and get a few bags as I have to use te*co car park to visit my solicitor. Trying to use any car journeys I do as multipurpose iyswim;):rotfl: (not even going to start on petrol prices:mad:)At this rate I will be getting a 4 seater push bike with a shopping basket:eek:

martafdz

rosieben and Hippeechiq, thank you very much for the thread and the ideas!!! I am going to give it a go. Somehow I always do the same meals and I am surprised to hear that some of you do not repeat a meal over a whole month!

I am going to do this week:
Fri - roasted chicken breast stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon.
Sat -grilled steak and chips
Sun - roast of pork (leg)
Mon - pork leftover
Tue - Spanish meatballs
Wedn - fish and chips
Thu - braised pork cheeks
Fri - cottage pie (maybe)

I thought I had to go to MrM this Sat to buy meat but I am going to pass and avoid temptation. I will go next Wed/Fri and will pop in somewhere for bread and milk when needed. I might not be that much over this month after all! :T

Thank you very much for the ideas!!

kirsty822001

Hi all ,,cant believe there is only a week and a bit left of feb meals to organise!! I have all meals organised up to next sat,,just gotta shop for a few bits like pasta and rice and the usual bits we need weekly.
I decided to use up 2 manky looking bananas last sat,,made muffins with them,,kids hated them hubby said they were ok and i hate bananas!! hubby took them to work where they were appreciated,,pah wont do that again ;-( It made me mad they didnt like them and were moaning I hadnt made my usual twinks and choc loaf cake or my iced biscuits,,I make these every week so I figured something different would be good,,ah well.
I have about 8 oranges to use up, and more being delivered in my fruit and veg box tomorrow! unless I remind the kids or hubby that we have oranges they just eat bananas and apples. grrrrr
Anyhow I am really REALLY pleased with myself and staying motivated regarding my grocery shopping. I am definitely noticing the huge price increases like we all are,,its stopping me from buying certain things,,I just try to think of a cheaper alternative or try lidl or an own brand, or make it myself which has proved both sucessful and an epic fail LOL made homemade chicken curry last sat,,and a quorn one for my veggie dd and a chinese style curry for hubby who cant eat hot spice food ,,all well and good, it was lovely but it took ages!!!All because I wouldnt buy a jar of curry sauce or paste hahaha
Anyhow have a fab weekend all ;-)