May 2011 Grocery Challenge

sistercas

managed a nsd yesterday and hopefully another one today as well

supplemented the guinea pig food with grass and dandelions ( along with kale and carrot) nessie what do they need to keep their teeth from growing does normal veg help to wear them down or do they need something special to gnaw on ?

hopefully wont need to go to the shops till friday as i have plenty in

susan946

espresso21 wrote: »

Quick question - is there a way when I come on to this thread, to go straight to the last post I read? I always have to guess at the page number! Thanks!

Sometimes the view first unread (or whatever the exact words are) seems to take me to the last message - then I have to scroll back. Find if I thank messages as I read it works - unless I have posted on that page - in which case it takes me back to my post. That's not really the point of the 'Thanks' button - but it works. Also find if I miss a few out it will still go to the point where no more posts have been thanked. It might work if you just thank the last post you read. More research needed I guess!!

Son and family came round for supper yesterday and I defrosted a whoopsied chook with new pots, cauli, and carrots. Fresh fruit for afters.

Popped down to M&S food for some extras yesterday. I know, I know - if you're trying to be MSE why, oh why do you go to M&S? Well, truth is I haven't been well and I have a lot of back problems that make walking difficult. M&S is small. Walking round the larger, and cheaper supermarkets is a struggle with the back prob and being poorly as well........just couldn't face it!!

Will update spend later!

Sue

Fisyear

I have been enjoying this months grocery challenge, am up to £168 and we are halfway through the month. I am going to do a shop at Morrisons this morning to use the voucher in the News of the World. There isn't much I need as the cupboards are quite full, but they do have a few bargains there that I want to stock the cupboards with. I shouldn't need to get a full shop next week.

Akasa

What a great idea this thread is. New to the forums and feel it's a bit late to start this month's challenge as half way through. I may try to join in next month or the one after that though! So, if I start today, and keep a track of everything we spend - I then look at our months' spend and try to decrease for when I join in the challenge?

Do you include everything you buy in your 'shopping'? For us, it's not just food and cleaning stuff - we have 3 cats so litter and cat food is a biggie for us every week...

123budget

Payday in two weeks so only one more shop for May budget.

We are going to Twickers to watch Rugby 7's this Sunday so to keep costs down we are taking our own picnic food.
Have got sausage meat and HM pastry in freezer so will make some jumbo sausage rolls.

Was also going to make corned beef pasties for the first time - can these be eaten cold?

Also going to take some filled baguettes and a couple of family bags of crisps and a couple of flasks.

susan946

Akasa wrote: »

What a great idea this thread is. New to the forums and feel it's a bit late to start this month's challenge as half way through. I may try to join in next month or the one after that though! So, if I start today, and keep a track of everything we spend - I then look at our months' spend and try to decrease for when I join in the challenge?

Do you include everything you buy in your 'shopping'? For us, it's not just food and cleaning stuff - we have 3 cats so litter and cat food is a biggie for us every week...

Sounds like a good plan, Alaska.

I think everyone just includes what suits them. I don't separate out cleaning products, medicines, newspapers, for example from my supermarket bill, because I don't see that it would help me; but someone else might want to concentrate just on food items and so they would do that. That's one reason you can never really compare what one family/individual spends with another. We are all just doing personal challenges to control/reduce our spending and to share ideas to make the pennies stretch further.

Hope you come on board next month.

I'm off to put mince mix in sc. Wine and stock already simmering, lentils soaking (yes, I know I don't have to but old habits and all that!), veggies chopped so time to get going.

Then off to update siggy with hubby's Tessies spend on Friday:eek::eek::eek: and my more modest M&S yesterday.

Sue

quintwins

morning all, today shud be a NSD i only have £20.18 left to do me the month and i need to pay the nursery 2 weeks snack money so thats £8 gone already, however i'm hopeful it's only 2 weeks and i don't need anything for this week, next week i'll need fruit and veg, milk and yogurts which is very do able on £12 so looks good, aslong as i don't get tempted by extras

Hippeechiq

Hi everyone - having a bit of a rough time, so keeping myself to myself.

Not had the chance to read back through the thread, so hope everyone is ok

Mothership if you're around hun, could you explain the water crystal thing to me please.

I've got flowers on my tomato plants now, so was wanting to plant them up into my wine bags today, but having read the box, it says to "prepare" the compost with crystals several hours before planting up to allow the crystals to swell - well I have nothing to "prepare" it in

I'm using compost out of grow bags and have no wheelbarrow or such to mix the compost/crystals in. Is it not just possible to mix them in as I put each plant in my bag? or does it really have to be "prepared" first?

I'm going to be in a muddle if it has, as I have 13 plants to plant up, and if I have to mix one bag at a time, wait, then plant up, I really don't know if I can be bothered using them. I really can't be doing with the hassle at the moment.

Living_proof

dibblersan wrote: »

Living Proof not sure what size you're after, but asda have the 1kg tubs at £2 which works out a pound per normal 500g tub.

if you only want the smaller tubs you could decant into washed out ones before freezing?

That's great to know. I have a gentrified cover for the 500g tub and have always avoided the big one and had no idea that you can freeze Flora. I limited myself to half a dozen at a time as that's all I would use by the sell by date. My family think I am really strange as I have a "thing" about the price of Flora, but I suspect it's one of the very few things other than Bonne Maman strawberry jam where I am brand-loyal.

Mothership

Hippeechiq wrote: »

Hi everyone - having a bit of a rough time, so keeping myself to myself.

Not had the chance to read back through the thread, so hope everyone is ok

Mothership if you're around hun, could you explain the water crystal thing to me please.

I've got flowers on my tomato plants now, so was wanting to plant them up into my wine bags today, but having read the box, it says to "prepare" the compost with crystals several hours before planting up to allow the crystals to swell - well I have nothing to "prepare" it in

I'm using compost out of grow bags and have no wheelbarrow or such to mix the compost/crystals in. Is it not just possible to mix them in as I put each plant in my bag? or does it really have to be "prepared" first?

I'm going to be in a muddle if it has, as I have 13 plants to plant up, and if I have to mix one bag at a time, wait, then plant up, I really don't know if I can be bothered using them. I really can't be doing with the hassle at the moment.

Here I is All you do is mix them with the soil, water and plant up, no hassle and you don't have to wait. Go back in a few hours and water them again the gel will absorb a lot of water. You only have to do this the first time. Happy gardening
So sorry your having a tough time, BIG hugs to you! xxx