December 2011 - Grocery Challenge

rosieben

tigerfeet that is so unfair! I think he has a good plan re waiting to see who gets it.

and I didn't know you could make ham in a panny - I have my sons bm but been looking at the lakeland jam maker - off to check the panny instruction book, thanks

eta that should say - didn't know you could make Jam

quintwins

off to see santa tonight go i have a stew like pork casarole in the oven was gonna make bread but it's too late now so i'm gonna have 2 buy one

jammy_dodger

Mortgagenewbie wrote: »

Gonna do a mega meal plan tonight! Any tips, is it better weekly or monthly, theres 2 of us and our downfall is planning and then changing plans at last minute so the more flexible the better!!

i do a weekly meal plan and shop to this with extras i may need to make it , there is just my DS and me and i meal plan for pack lunches and tea ( breakfast usually porridge / toast )

the rule i have made is that its not set in stone and can be changed if dont feel like making something that particular day as long as i dont have to get new ingredients

so maybe spaghetti bol may become meatloaf

i try and batch cook so there is something in the freezer if i am unable to cook at all to minimise the " sod it lets eat takeaway )



hth
jd xx

boultdj

1st spend of the month, £9.22,

PolkaDotsAndLace

Mortgagenewbie - I have a spreadsheet with meals for the month ahead, but we tend to shop weekly so the week ahead is the only one that's fixed, if you know what I mean (so we can just get what we need for it). Even then I make sure it's a good mixture of meals, so we can always swap say Tuesday and Thursday around if we fancy a different meal than what the plan says!

jammy_dodger

can anyone recommend a web site that will teach how to use spead sheets or an easy one i can download , i dont have a clue where to start and would like to budget and meal plan on them to keep track
cheers

JD xx

recovering_spendaholic

Spent £22 in Sainsburys on Luprak to get the price match with Asda - then bought a load of dog food with the £10 I got back. I didn't need all the Lurpak but it will keep us going until well into the New Year so that's okay.

Lunch was leftover mince (packed lunches for kids) and dinner will be chicken with brussel sprout gratin carrots brocolli and potato. I don't really like brocolli but pretend to like it so the kids will eat it!

I have aldi mince pies for afters, although I have to say that the ordinary aldi ones are nicer than the specially selected ones! I went into the local bakery before and their mince pies which were 46p each last week have jumped up in price to 60p each now! I asked why and she said that it was because the price of ingredients has gone up but I don't think I could ever justify spending £7.30 on a dozen mince pies - and they only use Robertson's mincemeat!!

LavenderBees

A further teeny tiny spend in Mr A's th afternoon for Carrots (so I can make some hm soup), and 4 x 20 Blackcurrant tea bags £2.48 in total. Have updated my signature with total spends so far....was VERY restrained....:)

I have a wholemeal loaf baking in my old Belling BM. The fire is lit, and the pusses are both snoozing peacefully. Cold outside, cosy inside. Love it!

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

L x

HelenPie

jammy_dodger wrote: »

can anyone recommend a web site that will teach how to use spead sheets or an easy one i can download , i dont have a clue where to start and would like to budget and meal plan on them to keep track
cheers

JD xx

Take a look on the first page of the Frugal Living thread. There's a link called My Free Spreadsheet (or similar) which is for tracking spending and has instructions (someone showed me to it just today!)

Sorry. I would post a link my am on my mobile....

Any specific usage questions, pm me and I will help where I can (my job involves not much but spreadsheets so I'm not bad )

H

Good luck.

HelenPie

First spend of the month for me: 75p on a soapnuts sample Well worth it if I like them :T

NSD yesterday and I have a fun-filled day of housework tomorrow so hopefully another NSD.

H