May 2011 Grocery Challenge

dibblersan

cutiepieabf wrote: »

DS is down for packed lunches every day in school now to reduce that cost, which just means we will be getting through more bread than usual.... any ideas for good kids lunches?

my oh likes pork lunchen meat and branston. i can't stand it myself, but it's 22p per 100g so cheaper than anything else.

i prefer buying a joint of gammon or pork when it's on about £3 per kg or rtc and slice it up. i bought an electric slicer cheap years ago and a £3 smoked joint can do 30 odd sarnies without them being stinted on taste or texture. it's much nicer and better quality than cheap packs of ham.

I make up a few doz sarnies or wraps and then have them all in foil in a draw in the freezer. i'll grab one on the way out to work and have it at lunch with my soup. i also like to have slices of cake wraped and ready to grab.

might work for your son? then he can take a sarny he fancies - maybe code them so roll's are cheese savory (cheesy coleslaw with yog or salad cream not mayo so freeze well), sliced white bread are gammon or pork with apple sauce, rtc lamb wraps with mint jelly.

gives him a bit of choice

EDIT: found this and thought it might be useful for a starting thinking point.

http://www.netmums.com/food/Lunchbox_Ideas.101/

tessie_bear

hi...had a few spends today...in asd$ ald$ and popped in to sainsburys and spent a fiver in there...seemed to spens quite a bit but all bits and bobs no real meals as such...i think prices have gone up a bit since last week...some special offers though...aldi super 6 are good value this week i thought

asda had 4 tins of heinz chopped toms for £1 which i thought was good...i also got a lovely coloured bag of the value peppers ...no green ones

take care tessa

clearandfree

Hi everyone
Had a spend of £39.21 bringing me to a monthly spend of 139.28. Usually I shop on a friday but as things are tight i thought I would use up what we had indoors and shop monday. The fridge/freezer was pretty empty but had enough for the weekend and even made a fruit cake and some rock cakes. I hated being stuck indoors but I got some gardening and tidying done and it was ok. best wishes.

cutiepieabf

dibblersan wrote: »

my oh likes pork lunchen meat and branston. i can't stand it myself, but it's 22p per 100g so cheaper than anything else.

i prefer buying a joint of gammon or pork when it's on about £3 per kg or rtc and slice it up. i bought an electric slicer cheap years ago and a £3 smoked joint can do 30 odd sarnies without them being stinted on taste or texture. it's much nicer and better quality than cheap packs of ham.

I make up a few doz sarnies or wraps and then have them all in foil in a draw in the freezer. i'll grab one on the way out to work and have it at lunch with my soup. i also like to have slices of cake wraped and ready to grab.

might work for your son? then he can take a sarny he fancies - maybe code them so roll's are cheese savory (cheesy coleslaw with yog or salad cream not mayo so freeze well), sliced white bread are gammon or pork with apple sauce, rtc lamb wraps with mint jelly.

gives him a bit of choice

EDIT: found this and thought it might be useful for a starting thinking point.

http://www.netmums.com/food/Lunchbox_Ideas.101/

that is a great help thank you. i hadnt thought about putting sandwiches in the freezer. i guess i didnt know what would or wouldnt freeze well. any other things that DO freeze well?
thanks again.

dibblersan

just found this
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/16724

that might be of help.
to be honest i add heat my rolls and wraps at work as i always put something in them like cheese or sauce and they're really nice toasted from frozen - this is something i do for lunch when i'm home (5/10 mins in 'moska) fish cakes and a chilli sauce are also really nice and different in a roll or wrap.

Chloris

NSD here! LO chicken and sweetcorn pie and veg. Mouse cake for pudding - well that's what my 3 year old is calling it, it is chocolate sponge :rotfl:.

katholicos

Dug some pre-baked (by moi) potatoes out the freezer and thawed them in the halogen then cut them all in half, grated cheese over them, some homemade butter and garlic, then nipped out to cut some chives, coriander and parsley and added them to the spuds. Now they are cooking away and smelling yummy, really looking forward to having my meal!

espresso21

Having a really bad day here. I thought I had more money than usual in my bank account as I hadn't had any really big expenses. However, just checked it and I have £25 to last me to the end of the month and we're only halfway there. My mobile bill came today too and is more than double what I thought I should be paying even though I hardly make any calls and mostly text (and I have unlimited texts on my tariff) so I thought I would phone them and see if they could change my account to be cheaper, but they said the only other tariff they could put me on would actually offer me less and cost me slightly more so now I really don't know what to do. Sorry all, but I am really down in the dumps tonight as I just don't see a way out of this. I need to start saving and paying off things, but I can't even make it to the end of the month so I am just getting in deeper and deeper. Maybe I should just stop eating - it would be cheaper and the plus side is I might lose some weight! I am really proud of you all though - you seem to be doing so well.

JIL

nessie216 wrote: »

Sistercas - i was going to say the same as JIL - great minds think alike!

Any fruit wood as long as it hasn't been sprayed with pesticide/chemical or has a disease i would give to my guineas - don't waste your money on the chew toys you can get from the pet shops!

I used to have a guinea that had problems with her back teeth - but the vet said it could be due to her old age, even after some dentistry the teeth trapped her tongue so she could barely eat or drink - i ended up feeding her with a seringe but we lost her

Totally off the MSE subject - does any of your guineas sing?

By sing do you mean the wheeping noises they make? Mine go mad when we are pulling grass up around the trees and paths in the garden, obviously know the sound of grass being picked, this is even when they are in their runs and have access to get their own. I have also got them to wheep when I shake the shed keys.
From an MSE point I started composting all their used bedding last year and have some great compost this year. I mixed it into some raised beds where I have planted some mixed leaves, I will share the spoils with them!!!
I have heard them make other noises other than wheeping a bit like a chirrup but this is few and far.

katholicos

espresso21 wrote: »

Having a really bad day here. I thought I had more money than usual in my bank account as I hadn't had any really big expenses. However, just checked it and I have £25 to last me to the end of the month and we're only halfway there. My mobile bill came today too and is more than double what I thought I should be paying even though I hardly make any calls and mostly text (and I have unlimited texts on my tariff) so I thought I would phone them and see if they could change my account to be cheaper, but they said the only other tariff they could put me on would actually offer me less and cost me slightly more so now I really don't know what to do. Sorry all, but I am really down in the dumps tonight as I just don't see a way out of this. I need to start saving and paying off things, but I can't even make it to the end of the month so I am just getting in deeper and deeper. Maybe I should just stop eating - it would be cheaper and the plus side is I might lose some weight! I am really proud of you all though - you seem to be doing so well.

Mobile phones offer lots of benefits, but monthly plans can be a right pain. Last year i had to sort my DD19 contract out for her...ended up she had to buy herself out of an appalling service which only worked intermittantly...i'm sure lots of peoplelike Virgin, but i despise the company...had lots of problems with them when i had them for broadband and cable. I'll never go back to them.

Anyway, just want to say, don't starve yourself...do you have any food items in your cupboards/fridge/freezer that we can help you work out a meal plan with? If you lived nearer i'd do my best to help bundle up a food parcel for you.