January 2007 Grocery Challenge

strawbsuk76

My first week on this challenge. I would normally spend £80 + at tesco per week.
Did my first shop last night after reading this thread and the meal planing prep etc and my shopping bill was cut by £13
Im very very proud of myself
Lets see how much i can knock off next weeks bill. probably not much as i will need to buy more nappies and wipes and they are sooooooo expensive.

Strawbs x

Loveshopping

Hello

Feeling very pleased with myself, as so far for the week I have only spent £11.29 which for our house is very good. Last night took an inventory of cupboards and freezer so I could put my meal plans together- I hope they work, as im not the most organised person ever.

Am also going to try the BM again as was in Tescos today buying apples and bread and saw the pre-packed BM ingredients which are only 0.52p and I bought a loaf for 0.97p some money to be saved here if all works out I think.:rotfl:

Would also like to ask about freezing and defrosting as before I became a MS I only used the fridge and put things in the freezer with good intentions to use but would end up binning things, I want to know to defrost things does it still taste the same and does it need to go in the fridge while defrosting and when is the best time to defrost and also how long once defrosted do I have to use it. (Hope this all makes sense)

Thanks

loumac

WooHoo! I have not spent a penny on food since Tuesday! ha! No great achievement I know but by now I would have at least given in and brought a dinner at work. Instead I have followed my meal plan and have been using up ingredients in the cupboard.

I think (hopefully I'm not speaking too soon) I can come within my budget this month!

However, I am going shopping tomorrow as I'm out of milk and fresh veg!

brummiebabe

Well, this week has not been too bad! I've stuck to my meal plans (on the whole - except for fish & chips tonight:o ) and have spent the following:

£5.09 Contact lens solution
£5.00 straightening spray
£2.40 on extra milk
£1.20 on cakes (for DSs)
£62.29 at Tesco's for next week's food (all meal planned!)
£8.00 on fish & chips tonight

This week's total therefore is: £83.98

jcr16

i spent another 12.87 in morrison today. bought more stuff than what was on my list but they had the noodles my daugther loves on offer 8 packs for 1 pound muffins were 2 packs of 6 for price of 1 clementines had 33% extra free and my children eat 3 or 4 at a time. ( so do i tbh ) but i still very pleased with myself.

i cooked a huge chicken tonight. and i planned it would do 2 meals. but i think it may do 3 or 4. or sandwiches for lunch times at least. so l peased with that.

lil_me

Spent another £20.85 today in Tescos, but mainly on bargains, half price and bogofs and a few things that were not in stock from my ASDA order. Always find I spend a lot start of the month, then seemed to even out towards the end of the month last time, don't think I could work it weekly, tried before.

brummiebabe

strawbsuk76 wrote:

i will need to buy more nappies and wipes and they are sooooooo expensive.

Strawbs x

Tescos have currently got BOGOF on Pampers wipes - I always tend to pick up 2 packets whenever they're on offer - saves you money in the long run!! Tesco nappies are great too, much cheaper than Pampers!!

jcr16

i second that about tesco nappies. i buy the big pack ( size 5 junior ) and in the pack is 58 nappies for 5.96. imo they are the best i have ever used.

sammy_kaye18

I spent another 18p last ngiht on 2 loaves of bread - god i love working in a coop! so ones on the side and the others in the freezer! will make sure i raid the disocunt bin tonight too just to see whats going - can normally pick up a nice steak and mushroom pie (serves 4 - 6 people) for 20p sometimes

miggy

Loveshopping wrote:

Would also like to ask about freezing and defrosting as before I became a MS I only used the fridge and put things in the freezer with good intentions to use but would end up binning things, I want to know to defrost things does it still taste the same and does it need to go in the fridge while defrosting and when is the best time to defrost and also how long once defrosted do I have to use it. (Hope this all makes sense)

Thanks

(Mega post coming up - sorry!)
Generally speaking, freezing just puts things on hold - so they don't go bad because germs can't breed in low temperatures. Having said that, some fatty things apparently go off eventually, due to changes in the fats rather than bacteria. (That's my understanding - but I'm open to correction!)
The other thing that can go wrong in freezing is 'freezer burn' - if things aren't wrapped well they go manky and dry. That especially applies to meats. It doesn't make them inedible, just spoils the taste.
Things that are in the freezer for years can still be eaten but the flavour gradually goes away.
I know all that is extra to what you've actually asked, but I put it in because it's useful to help you understand about using frozen food.
Some things can be defrosted in the fridge or a cool room, others will say on the packet 'best cooked from frozen'. That doesn't mean you can't use them if they have recently defrosted, just they may need less cooking time and may not be 'perfect' (just edible).
The ones to be careful of are meats, poultry and fish. Once frozen, they can't be refrozen because they have begun to collect/breed bacteria which can only be killed by thorough cooking. If you are defrosting a raw chicken, look up somewhere how long to defrost so there is no ice left, and rinse it well under the cold tap before cooking. Once cooked, it can be refrozen if you want, but only once.
Don't refreeze defrosted icecream (what a shame!) as it breeds great germs and freezing just puts them in stasis till you come to eat them.
Fruit and veg aren't so dangerous to refreeze but it's still not a good idea as they're never so good.
The only thing I know of that can be refrozen safely is bread.
Most things that are bought frozen will taste good when you come to eat them - but I found things like ham, that can be frozen but were just meant for the fridge, lose some flavour. They are still okay to put in casseroles etc.
Yes, defrost in the fridge if possible as the coolness will slow the development of bacteria. Doesn't matter for bread.
How long to defrost? That varies a lot. Some things, of course, don't need defrosting (ready meals, frozen veg etc. can be cooked from frozen; sliced bread can go straight in the toaster. On the other hand a massive Christmas turkey can take days - but it's usually indicated on the wrapping). Use your fingers - has the item gone soft all through? Defrosting meats/poultry can be speeded up if necessary with cold running water.
Once something's defrosted, treat it as fresh. For instance, if the sell by date was three days away when it went in the freezer, it has three days left when it comes out. It's quite a good idea to have a marker pen that belongs to the freezer, both to put new 'use by' dates on things and to label things as they go in to freeze. Unless you are very adventurous, of course! I made a New Year's Resolution to label freezer stuff some years ago and I'm very glad I stuck to it - funny how everything looks the same after a week in the freezer, let alone three months!
You will see most pre-frozen things have guidance on the labels about how long they can be frozen - this applies more to how long they will taste good than to how long they will be edible - things can be frozen for years and still be safe.
Having said that, if the freezer goes off for any reason - use up anything still cold at once, only keep anything absolutely frozen, and chuck anything you aren't sure of, particularly poultry. It's not worth giving yourself food poisoning (believe me, I got it once and now I'm careful!).
Cor - Miggy's Guide to Home Freezing looks as though it will soon be out in book form! Sorry to have gone on at such length! I wanted to be sure I had given safe instructions so I have covered all the aspects I could think of. Take what you want and skim what you already know.
There is a great guide to freezing here: http://www.deliaonline.com/cookery-school/freezing-advice,984,AR.html
Although she says milk/tomatoes don't freeze well but plenty of people freeze milk and I freeze tomatoes.
Have fun!