I'm eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge

Kirri

Lynsey wrote: »

My £60 for 4 weeks budget may be "up the Swanee", Nestle Factory Shop is now online and my MIL (retired) has access, just ordered quite a bit of "Grade 2" stuff at silly prices, eg, 300g After Eight mints @ 48p per box. :eek:
Some silly coffee prices also, sadly only 6 of each items per order!!

I've only just lost the extra weight I put on when using that bloody shop lol. Got to watch, most stuff was great but the After Eights they were selling last year had no mint in :rotfl: just mintless fondant and I had hazelnuts in caramel but the majority had no nuts and no caramel :rotfl: best deal was the Nescafe 300g for £2.40 or the blue hazelnut sweets for 60p or packs of Breakaway for 26p. We still have stacks of the sweets, I ate too many over my time there and got quite sick of it in the end due to over indulgence!


My vegan month has gone a bit better the last few days - had fake chicken stir fry with nuts and loads of veg, was actually very nice! with houmous pitta and salad for lunches and had to eat more fruit due to lack of vegan sweet things in the flat though I'm going to make vegan chocolate pot desserts out of choc soya milk tomorrow. But now run out of stock for main meals and have to go out shopping yet again and there's not a lot of choice in my local supermarkets so it's all a bit time consuming and expensive.

donnajt

Everybody very happy with today's meals:

Tuscan Bean Soup was a winner, got loads left for lunch tomorrw
Lamb Stew (using up some frozen value chops) with pear barley dumplings etc...so good, even DD who has refused stew or casserole for 12 years dived in and asked for seconds..happy mummy!

Lynsey

Morning all.

Kirri - I believe Nestle had a place in or around Croydon??
I remember a while back, a few years ago now when my MIL worked at Nestle, we got some Kit Kat seconds and they were 100% chocolate, no wafers inside at all - nice second. lol
The coffee is cheap, just ordered 3 different types for next weeks colllection - some Nescafe "Green coffee" whatever that is, worth a try for just over £1 per jar.

Yesterdays shopping:
Tesco:
2 x Special K cereal @ £2.50 = £5
2 x Special K Momemts @ £1.99 = £3.98
4 x Enrituals washing liquid @ £1 = £4
2 x Heinz 5 Beanz @ 85p = £1.70
2 x Oykos yogurts (BOGOF) @ £2.19
Carton of sweetcorn (reduced) @ 25p
Deli ham @ £1.52
Pease pudding @ 38p
2 x Mark Tony ice-cream (reduced) @ 92p per tub = £1.84
Sub total = £20.86
Coupons used 2 x Special K cereal (value £5), 2 x Special K Moments (value £3.98), 2 x Heinz Beanz (value £1.70), 1 x £2 off £20, 1 x £2 clubcard = minus £14.68
Total = £6.18

Food total = £6.18 - minus 2 x £2 coupons (£4) = £2.18
Also bough a Warburtons loaf (share with birds) for 20p last night, so days food total = £2.38
I always take the coupons off my food total to help my budget. lol
I will use them for foodbank stuff .................. eventually. I will more than likely donate again tomorrow.

Naan bread pizzas were really nice yesterday and so simple.
Today, just coffee and digestives for breakfast, ham sandwiches later and a Rachel's ready meal tonight. Hubby is finishing off the Quorn fillets and making another curry - hope that's the last bag of Quorn fillets, but still a couple of packs of Quorn sausages to use up - things you but with coupons or when reduced!!

Trying not to shop today and looking at booking a Groupon meal tomorrow. Should pick up some veg then from a market, just enough to tick-over until I get some reduced stuff. Hope Aldi's Super 6 is good from Sunday.
If I do shop, it will be Sainsbury's late on to have one last chance of cheap veg. I could pick up some cheap Bertolli and use my 38p Brands Match coupon.

I missed the free Matchmakers, hope something similar comes along again - well done to the "early birds".

Lynsey

Kirri

Yes I was in the Croydon office, they are now out at Gatwick. I never tried the Green, used to get the original mainly or sometimes the Alta Rica - my mum says she has enough to last for ages!! I used to bring it all home despite not drinking it as it was such a bargain, I could barely walk to the station some days and used to split bringing it home over multiple days as it was so many kilos worth. I got into bad shopping habits!!! I had one of those solid KK's before too, and walnut whips without walnuts! Have you had a 'lucky bag' yet? I was giving them as extra birthday presents - the kids in the family loved the surprise element!

^ If you're not keen on the Quorn sausages as they are, they are quite good cut up in a tomato pasta sauce.

I can't be bothered to go shopping today so will have to eat a portion of hm moroccan stew out the freezer - last portion yay. Houmous pitta and salad for lunch again and breakfast was a hot cross bun as the bread had gone mouldy. Got a free box of cereal for the next week which appears to be vegan luckily so won't have to make bread for a week or so.

Lynsey

Kirri - we used to get boxes of say 20 Findus lasagnes/curries etc for £1 when the shop was doing a stock take.
I ordered some fudge and cheap Areo bars etc. this time - shame it's only 6 of each items ............................... but I'll find a way to "tweak that" next year when I have NO budget. lol
Hubby doesn't mind the Quorn sausages done in onion gravy ................ just wish he's get them eaten so I have the space!!

Change of plans ..................... again!!
Checked Groupon and we have one that needs using today, so booked for lunch. Top class Italian, but the one with expensive bottled water - £2.95 per 500ml bottle!!!!
Soft drinks today I think.

I'll probably pop into Newcastle today now then and have a look at the veg market. Maybe do the M&S Outlet shop also and see if there are any bargains ....................... what a busy day ahead.

Lynsey

TheLincsEffect

Sounds like a cracking day, Lynsey. Have fun!

More of the same for me today (I live a thrilling life!) Finished one box of Special K Red Berries freebie this morning, having HM celery soup (nicer than it sounds) out of the freezer for lunch and not sure what's for dinner as yet.

Going to take a few of the freebie Moments biscuits to my two day training course in Leamington next week. Have about 5 boxes of each flavour, they are really sweet but I actually like them.

Hope everyone is having a good morning. Stuck inside again so more than likely a NSD for me, it'll be my 5th this month if so.

ms_night_ryder

Lynsey is that the veg place.you can never quite get to? Lol good luck.

Woke up and thought I have nothing planned for lunch or dinner, went to the fridge and panic over, just had breakfast 2 apricot crossaints, love them so much, will have a ww meal for lunch, i have taken out 6 Mr w salsa sausages and a tub of cheesey mash, will have that with gravy, sweetcorn and mange.tout for dinner or 5 beans, so a nice easy day with no cooking

Will actually do some cooking tomorrow, I miss it, Suprisingly, taking 2 things out of the freezer hasn't made much difference.

donnajt

Hi Lynsey - your day sounds lovely - hope you managed to swerve the wine

Hi TheLincsEffect - can I have a couple of biscuits with my tea please? only got pink panther wafers - happy to swap lol

ms_night_ryder, dinner sounds gorgeous - never heard of salsa sausages - will have to try to remember next time I am in Billericay cos thats my nearest Mr W.

Cheesey mash - do you make and freeze this yourself - does mash defrost well? I remember when I was weaning DD, mash never used to look very nice once it was defrosted, but maybe that was more to do with formula milk, no butter or seasoning lol!

Feeling terrible today, did manage to finish decluttering the kitchen today tho, even recycled 1/2 my recipe collection, was quite therapeutic watching a pink recycling sack full of papers, magazine cuttings etc leaving the house today

Breakfast - crumpets and tea

Lunch - Used up open packet of crackers, cheese, pickle and cherry toms (that had almost seen better days!)

Chicken Tikka tonight - have "twiddled" with the recipe and hoping nobody notices as its their fav meal - really naughty but I normally use 2x Loyd Grossman Tikka Masala Sauces (I have stash of these from farm shop at 80p rather than Mr T price of £2.20), today I have only used one, a tin of chicken condensed soup and a tablespoon of tikka paste - smells no different so fingers crossed!

Also making a pineapple upside down cake for pudding with some tinned pineapple that needs using up quickly

DH dragged me to Mr T a while ago - he spent £24, but we needed medicine etc so not much food - no reduced food worth buying - I don't know how you lot get so many bargains, managed to get an 8 pack of crumpets reduced to 39p, everyday ones are 37p but only 6 pack, also got some halloween cakes (6 packs) reduced to 50p each - great for packed lunch boxes, buy 1 get 2 free on crisps and 3 for 2 baking goods so got treacle (loads of porridge oats want to make flapjacks), strong flour (pizza/bread) and yeast.

ms_night_ryder

Hey Donna hope you feel better soon, lol the mash is also from waitrose lol, hope the sausages are nice, need comfort food with this weather.

Instead of the ww meal, just had snacks, half a box of sweet Chilli cracker crisps.and 2 mini rolls, both free so taste great lol.

Lynsey

donnajt wrote: »

Hi Lynsey - your day sounds lovely - hope you managed to swerve the wine

Lol
Believe it or not, the place was empty and the owner gave us a glass of bubbly each to apologise for lack of customers!!
Still £1.95 for lime and soda, but only a fiver overall and stuffed!!
Hope you are well.

ms_night_ryder - another lol - no, this was the indoor Victorian market in the centre of Newcastle.

Nothing of any great value in the M&S Outlet, but there will always be another day.

Bought a bag of carrots, a bag of potatoes and a small swede - seemed to be charged 50p for each or rounded up or down to £1.50 - days only spends and only milk and Bertolli really needed this week. I might, only might mind, miss out on the Lidl half-price chocolate this weekend. :eek:

Just snacking now today, but may have that ham sandwich later tonight. Hubby has done his Quorn curry and that ready meal for myself.

Lynsey