August 2011 Grocery Challenge

TheBees

Tonight I've made a massive bolognese with lots of carrots, peppers, onion and tinned tomatoes in it as DS17 needs as much veg as we can get into him! We had half tonight and I've frozen the other half.

While that was simmering, I made a chocolate courgette cake! I'm not telling anyone that it's got courgettes in it - I've had a little taste and as far as I'm concerned you can't taste or see the courgettes!!:j

TheBees

Highland Fling - here are some of the smart price/own brand products we buy regularly....

Lixxl - Dishwasher tablets
Bin bags/bin liners
shower gels
mouthwash
tinned tomatoes
baked beans
cooked meats (ham/chicken)
flour

Mr T - Dishwasher tablets
Foil/clingfilm
Long life milk
rice/pasta
penguin type biscuits/choc biscuits
Frozen sweetcorn

Hope this helps

losingpatience

Someone posted on the forum about how to check how many clubcard vouchers you have unused. I knew I had a few, but when I checked there were some from 2009 which I have clearly lost and was shocked I have £35 of vouchers! So I have exchanged them for the finest vouchers so now have £70 to spend on their finest food :T I normally buy my meat from a farm shop but I think I'll use the vouchers to stock up on meat but I don't know how to account for this £70 in my grocery challenge. I wouldn't normally spend £70 on finest food ( infact I don't ever buy their finest food ) so do I class it as a £70 spend or a £35 spend?

supersally01

Evening all, really late declaring for July, and posting for August. I would like to be put down for £375 again please. Loads of things happening in my life. OH has quit his job to work in Iraq:eek:, meaning I will need to relocate to North Wales.
Need to rent out the house, pack up, and find a new job!!! Not to mention starting both children in new schools!!!:mad:
Will be worth it in the long run, aim to be mortgage free by 40!!! LOL!!!. I will be able to drop my monthly amount, as he will only be back for 2 weeks out of 12, so money saving all round!!!!:j
Hope all are well, really need to catch up on all the posts! Will keep you all updated on my progress!!:)

cutestkids

Did our main monthly shop today and spent a total of £199.17, hope to stay within my budjet as all we will need is top up fruit and veg, milk and bread towards the end of the month.:)

CherryPie

losingpatience wrote: »

I don't know how to account for this £70 in my grocery challenge. I wouldn't normally spend £70 on finest food ( infact I don't ever buy their finest food ) so do I class it as a £70 spend or a £35 spend?

I wouldn't class it as a spend at all. I don't include any spends when using club card vouchers.

:j

emmad5689

Morning all, Wednesday I sent my mam to shop for me and as she bought my shopping with hers she hasn't told me how much yet and I want to know so I have gone on Mr Ts website and priced up what I got so adding £5.77 for that. Yesterday was a NSD but today I will be popping for a few bits from Mr T, going to dreaded dentist and it's the closest sm plus got my vouchers yesterday, hoping for a no spend weekend but then got two shopping deliveries coming monday and tuesday which is gonna be a massive chunk of budget but I have meal planned the month and so should then only need the months things from the other shops such as discount places and dog food and then fresh stuff so hoping I can make budget this month.

quintwins

i don't include vouchers in my total, unless i've bought the vouchers (at the moment i have £20 on love2shop vouchers i'll use in iceland i bought for £15 so will count £15, and a £10 tesco voucher i bought for £8 so will count it as £8)

another nsd today gonna do coctail sausages mash and beans for tea, my youngest doesn't like sausages but will eat coctail sausages and since i found a reduced packet buried in my freezer we'll have those


we use alot of tesco value stuff (we don't have a asda here) such as

toothbrushes (ours end up down the toilet so nice and cheap to replace)
baby bath (for in soap dispensers)
cling film
tin foil
toilet roll (i've noticed the new bigger packs are abit harse tho so we'll prob change soon)
tinned tomatoes
corned beef
all fruit and veg (compare price with local farm shop and usually go there but will get value if running low and i'm there)
pasta
spagetti (tinned and dried)
wipes
sweetcorn (tinned and frozen)
frozen peas
frozen mixed veg
frozen chips
biscuits (we prefer value custard creams
ready salted and mixed selection of crisps
orange squash
mince (we use half of these and bulk it out with the above pea and sweetcorn onions and carrots so i know it's higer in fat but it tastes fine and i think we balance it out abit)
cooking bacon (hit and miss what you get but 99% of the time we get rashers or strecky bacon and use it in sandwichs)
brillo pads
washing up sponges
rubber gloves
noodles (we do these as a quick tea with peas and sweetcorn and soy sauce)
part baked bread
jelly
angel delight
dried fruit
quiche (usually make my own)
marge (use for making bread and baking)
flour
mayo
red sauce
mustard
pickle
jam
peanut butter
chocolate spread

meg72

CherryPie wrote: »

I wouldn't class it as a spend at all. I don't include any spends when using club card vouchers.

:j

I wouldnt count these either. I used a £2 gift card that i got in Asda
because they overcharged. I got smoked haddock and some Seabeam reduced from £4.47 to £2.15 but only count 15p as a spend.

My total spend for this week is 95p

greent

There are some threads on the site about what people have tried and loved and hated. It is very much a case of trial and error, though - what one person loves another will hate, so just try one of something at a time - don't go buying masses, just in case


Things we like/ use here in the green house:

• Sains basics tinned pineapple pieces (pizza), tinned sliced peaches (fruit flan) and tinned mandarins (cos I love 'em as is!)
• Sains/ Tesco mozzarella - pizzas, occasionally in pasta bake
• Pasta shapes (penne) from all 3
• Pasta sauce in jars - occasional standby for DS1 if we're having quick teas (pre scouts) - although I usually get Aldi's Giseppe brand at 18p/ jar
• Sainsburys basics jarred curry sauce and sweet and sour sauce. Or Asda. Not keen myself, but handy to throw over leftover roast chicken and add some more veg to for quick dish for the kids
• Frui & Veg - peppers, onions, apples - although I'll more often than not buy from Aldi
• Cheapy shower gel @ appx 10p - good for handwash dispensers, giving to the kids for school trips etc (don't care if left in teh showers) I also mix it in with branded shower gels to stretch them out
• Baby bath/ baby shampoo - used in kids baths because they use masses of bubbles whether it's cheap or not - we have a big pump action dispenser bottle (a funky one) that I top up with this.
• Baby wipes - stocked up on packs at 9p and 18p from Tesco & Sains - handy to keep in car/ take out for day trips. Not as nice as Huggies for bottoms, by far - but good enough for the above. Also use them to wipe over loo seats at home (small boys....) and things like tables in cafes out and about
• Sains & Tesco honey - now 99p a jar!!:eek:
• Sains basics white/ milk/ dark choc - I use it in chunks when baking cookies
• Plain & self raising flour
• Chilled apple and orange juices
• Garlic bread from teh chiller
• Hard butter (although Kerrygold is only £1/ pack in T's right now - cheaper than value!)
• T's & S's caramel wafers..
• Chocolate mousses
• marmalade (I'm the only one who likes it in our house and I can't be bothered to make it for me - I use one and a bit jars a year)
• Golden syrup (for flapjacks)
• Porridge oats - for flapjacks and twinks (I don't use them for porridge - I like Scotts or Quaker for that..:o)
• Foil, clingfilm, sandwich plastic bags
• frozen yorkshire puds
• custard
• sainsburys tights for DD for school - she gets holes in them almost every day, so why pay M&S prices?!:rotfl:

What I definitely won't get:

• Fab softener - tried T's and had to give it away. Have enough 'free' stuff from T's DTD promotion for a year, anyway:D
• Eggs (have to be free range and I usually prefer large ones, rather tahn mixed sizes)
• Meat (we only have free range (preferably corn fed) chicken, Scottish or Irish steak mince and britsh pork joints. An occasional lamb shank and very occasional deliveries of meat from an organic supplier)
• Sausages (full of rusk)
• Bread
• Jam (homemade, Bonne Maman or Aldi's Grandessa for me, please!)
• Bacon - has to be British, dry cured and thick cut (main point being British, though - and value etc usually is EC)
• T's value fat reduced cocoa - tried this a couple of weeks ago - much paler in colour, less flavour and gives much drier cookies
• T's value rice crispies _pale_
• T's value tea bags - flavourless dust, imo:p
• Cornflakes
• T's value rice

There are some brands I won't compromise on (Kelloggs cornflakes, PG Tips and others) but we use a lot of supermarket own 'standard' labels and shop more at Aldi (I struggled to spend £5 when I first went there but can now spend £30-40 no problem) I prefer Sains basics to either A's smart price or T's value - from a taste point of view. I also find their basics cheaper than T's for somethings and much better quality.

HTH - but it's only my opinion - and others will disagree with it!