March 2011 Grocery Challenge

quintwins

BrownGun86 wrote: »

Right guys, I really need your help!

I have to reduce what I'm spending on work lunches but my problems are that: by the time I get home from work at 8/9pm I can't be bothered to prepare much for the next day, I don't like sandwiches, I never have any leftovers (greedy OH and dog!) AND I'm trying to lose a little bit of weight.

So I've been spending a fortune on low calorie (well, relatively) wraps, salads etc from B*ots, S*insbury's, S*bway, you name it!

Pleaaaase inspire me with some alternatives I can bring from home

you do relise that those wraps and sandwichs aren't really all that healthy? with all the next sauces ect, someone once told me there was the same amount of calories in a big mac and a filling stations plougmans

you can freeze sandwichs and defrost them as and when you need them, if you don't fancy cooking you could get some of those egg noodles and some stir fry veg and watever sauce you prefer mix them together and eat them cold it would only take a few minutes

missfit_2

Hi All. Can I please be put down for £180 this month. Thanks for keeping this going ... good luck all!

BrownGun86

angelatgraceland wrote: »

Assuming you are home on a sunday you could prepare a couple of wraps for Monday and Tuesday in advance? I take in a dish of couscous or rissoto or homemade soup and reheat in the micro at work. Can you do this?

Thanks for your advice. Think I will give wraps a go this week and see how I get on. Any ideas for un-soggy (:p) fillings that would be ok on the wrap for a day or two? I like the soup idea too, as I've got a slow-cooker so could possibly make a week's batch at the weekend. Will invest in a thermos when I next go shopping I think.

jinky67

Got some bonus Italian type sausage, whoopsied.....they are very garlicky, nice stewed sausage dish will be going on there I think
I also bought a packet of pearl barley to try out a "risotto" recipe someone posted elsewhere on the board:j:j
and 3 boxes of stuffing mix reduced to 39p.....I got them for 1p :T

cutiepieabf

rosieben wrote: »

scary when you see it in black and white isnt it? I have to do the same with my craft buying on ebay

Welcome to our newbies :wave: and good luck with your first challenge

Congrats to all who made it near or under budget last month :T

I'm off to do my meal plan for the month and see if I can reduce my sainsbugs online shop booked for next week ....



have a look at this thread

eta forgot to say Sunflower, your Nut, Apricot and Choc Chip Biscuits are now in the index (part 4 for the moment) :T

thank you rosieben - you are a star!! :A

mummyjane

Please can I be put down for £400 this month. After a difficult first try in Feb I am hoping to come in under budget this month - although I now need to include dh tobacco and weekly tipple as well. Cupboards fit to burst and I have a shop coming tomorrow so I am going to have a go at batch cooking for our weekday meals. Has anyone tried freezing hm pizzas? Do you need to part bake them first?

Had my delivery from AF today so we have enough ketchup and loo roll to last for a few months .

sveika

We'd like to try for £50 this month please... Thanks!!

cutiepieabf

Chloris wrote: »

A NSD here! :j. That doesn't happen very often. x

Need to find some recipes for pork pasties for tomorrow. Anyone made any before? It's leftover roast pork. :T

hello!!

i think i would cheat and use ready made puff pastry.

Boil a little pan of pots and carrots cubed, fry off some onion and mushroom, add pork to warm through, after 10mins add pots and carrots to frying pan with a little of the veg water. add salt and pepper/brown sauce/worcester/l&p and simmer. after 10mins if it is too thin add cornflour or bisto. if too thick add a little more veg water. nice to have a thickish gravy but not too runny or it will just make the pastry soggy.
cut your pastry into rectangles - double pasty size and lie on baking tray. add part of mixture to right hand side of pastry, rub water along rim of pastry where left hand section will join, and fold left side of pastry over pressing around rim to hold in the mixture. brush milk over the top and !!!!! with fork.
cook in oven for approx 20mins.

never cooked them but thats how i would do it.

edit: just thought - it would be lovely to add a few spoons of apple sauce too. mmmmm.

Chloris

mummyjane wrote: »

Please can I be put down for £400 this month. After a difficult first try in Feb I am hoping to come in under budget this month - although I now need to include dh tobacco and weekly tipple as well. Cupboards fit to burst and I have a shop coming tomorrow so I am going to have a go at batch cooking for our weekday meals. Has anyone tried freezing hm pizzas? Do you need to part bake them first?

Had my delivery from AF today so we have enough ketchup and loo roll to last for a few months .

I have frozen them. Just make up like normal and then wrap in greaseproof paper (sprinkled with flour) and freeze. No need to part bake. HTH

cutiepieabf wrote: »

hello!!

i think i would cheat and use ready made puff pastry.

Boil a little pan of pots and carrots cubed, fry off some onion and mushroom, add pork to warm through, after 10mins add pots and carrots to frying pan with a little of the veg water. add salt and pepper/brown sauce/worcester/l&p and simmer. after 10mins if it is too thin add cornflour or bisto. if too thick add a little more veg water. nice to have a thickish gravy but not too runny or it will just make the pastry soggy.
cut your pastry into rectangles - double pasty size and lie on baking tray. add part of mixture to right hand side of pastry, rub water along rim of pastry where left hand section will join, and fold left side of pastry over pressing around rim to hold in the mixture. brush milk over the top and !!!!! with fork.
cook in oven for approx 20mins.

never cooked them but thats how i would do it.

edit: just thought - it would be lovely to add a few spoons of apple sauce too. mmmmm.

I might go with this idea! Although will have to hide vegetables for my fussy son. I might even make a veg puree/sauce. And I have puff pastry in the freezer :j. Thank you!

cutiepieabf

BrownGun86 wrote: »

Thanks for your advice. Think I will give wraps a go this week and see how I get on. Any ideas for un-soggy (:p) fillings that would be ok on the wrap for a day or two? I like the soup idea too, as I've got a slow-cooker so could possibly make a week's batch at the weekend. Will invest in a thermos when I next go shopping I think.

i would also invest in a cucumber, an iceburg lettuce, punnet of toms and some french dressing (you could even easily make your own if you are feeling adventurous). total cost of £3.50 for 5 days salad! making your salad from scratch is so much more healthy, tastes far fresher and is much much cheaper. if you spend 5mins chopping some lettuce, cucumber, toms, add some grated carrot, then if you can take your dressing with you to work and put some on before you eat it, otherwise it will make the lettuce wilt.
also - pasta is a good lunch time snack and even if you dont want to bother with sauces and meat etc, how about boiling 4/5 handfuls of pasta, when cooked drain water and add a tin of chicken and mushroom soup, tin of sweetcorn, and some leftover chicken/ham torn up. heat pasta mix through and decant into a few containers. thats 3/4 lunches sorted!
i have soup days where i just cook 3/4 different soups in one go - mushroom, tomato, cheese and brocolli, carrot and coriander, and then freeze them. that intense day of soup making will provide about 16 servings of soup!!

hope this helps.