January 2012 Grocery Challenge

freyasmum

I've been thinking and the £2k figure seems rather high when you look at it for the year - especially when my cupboards and freezer are full

So, with any money left over I'm gonna treat myself to 1) a kitchen aid (candy apple red :cool: -currently £400), 2) a grating attachment (£145) and free up some cupboard space from my existing processor, and 3) a stick blender (triblade, circa £70). That comes to a grand total of £615, so we'll see what's left. Any the year hasn't even begun :rotfl:

tessie_bear wrote: »

hi...just eaten the last bit of christmas meat...it was all nice the only thing i have left is a tub of double cream...any ideas ?

Some kind of quiche or tart? Quiche is perfect for using up little bits of things that would be not quite enough when used on its own and looks much more than the sum of it's parts.

You'd need the filling ingredients - anything you've got in... cheese, onion, ham, mushroom, chicken, any stilton left over would be nice with broccoli (if you like stilton, that is _pale_), a few eggs and the cream. And obviously a pastry base. That's dinner for not much more expense?

My favourite right now is mushroom and thyme - 250g or so mushrooms, chopped up very finely and fried in butter with few pinches chopped thyme leaves until all of the water comes out of the mushrooms and then goes back in. In the custard goes 2 whole eggs, one yolk, a medium size tub of cream and 50g parmesan. Season well and bake in a 180* oven till golden.

ClaireT13

Well it had to be done. Our big shop from F***foods has been successfully completed at £76.03 :eek:.

I've got to check just how many meals this will cover but think I have most of the month covered. Obviously need to do top up shop with bits and pieces to go with the meals.

Onwards and upwards!!

Claire

oldtractor

Just a thought, in 2011 I started to grow my own veg and fruit. Its a massive saving. But when I do buy veg I have tended to just get cheapish stuff ,but still buy variety. I think this next year I will have one week a month whereby I buy the cheapest only,even if its just carrots for a week. the rest of the month buy a variety. this way costs should reduce quite a lot. or maybe try tinned tomatoes instead of fresh veg for a week. Also have a week of very simple meals only HM veg soup,beans on toast,that sort of thing. Should make us appreciate the other stuff more. Good idea?

tessie_bear

thankyou freyas mum a quiche is a great idea...sans stilton as i think its yuck...red leicester for us

love the kitchen aid....id go for pink..i hope u manage to get one

Fruball

It would save money but would be a bit boring imho.

If you have an Ald! near you, meal plan around the super 6... usually 39p or 69p a pack... Our Ald! is great for fruit and veg plus I buy ham from there as it is HALF! what the Biggies charge, and nicer!

Something on toast once or twice a week is a great way of saving... beans on toast, cheese on toast, egg on toast etc.

HM HG veg soup is perfect, add some HM bread and a HM pudding and you won't feel deprived

I've been thinking for a while that we could still eat really well IF I meal planned around the 3 for £10 (or 4 for £12) meat offers in MrT - for instance large 10 pack sausages, 1 whole chicken, 1 gammon or pack mince... These should easily last me and DDs a week plus Ald! super 6 veggies and fruit, a large bag MrT Value potatoes (perfectly fine when i've bought them) if they aren't in the super 6.

I spend way too much on food and, disgracefully, a throw a lot out

sausage mash and beans one day, 2 sausages would be fine for 3 of us if thinly sliced and tossed thru pasta with a simple HM tomato sauce, the last 2 sausages for DDs in a bun as a hotdog.
The chicken would bounce into at least 3 meals for us, probably 4. Gammon would do a roast dinner meal, a pasta dish and sandwiches/toasties/frittata, chicken and gammon pie.
Mince would do burgers one day, and bolognaise/lasagne the next, bulked out with oats/lentils.

Thats about 11 days of meals costing just £12 for the meat.

I just need to get back in the habit of cooking from scratch and making yummy leftover meals.

mommyof4

Hi please can I join? Could you put me down for £200 for Janauary please? Thats for me, DH and 2 DS's, pluse two hungry dogs and 3 cats (and 1 cat missing, but praying he comes home).
Risingfromtheashes - I would be interested in the online stores you have used to buy cat food. One of my cats is allergic to biscuits so can only have meat. The others have meat and biscuits for snacks in between.

JulieGeorgiana

Start buying frozen veg, it has loads more vitamins and is much fresher... and also much cheaper!

I buy fresh veg only if I HAVE to and stick to frozen (and tinned on occasion).

A bag of mixed veg goes perfect in anything and with anything! My family eat much more veg now too

Frugal I wish my Aldi was closer... the Super 6 are amazing value for money and would save me a fortune!

Old Tractor A lot of people do a Soup and Pudding night to save money, also try Meal Planning (I started a thread earlier today) you can then just buy what you need and reduce waste. I bulk out a lot of meals and freeze a few portions to build up my 'stock' which helps cut costs... or save on cooking!

slowlyfading

:hello: can I join please? Finances are going to be very tight for us for the time being as I've lost my job so need to keep a close eye on everything we spend, including food.

There's just me and OH, and I want to be put down for £120 please. I know it seems like a lot, but I'm not too sure how much we actually spend on food in an average month, so it seems like a good aim. I'm hoping for lower though!

Redouble

I am visiting family tomorrow and won't be back until the 3rd, I then have about a weeks worth of meals in my freezer (will have to grab some pots and veg) so I will be off to a good start

Although I will have a £50 cattery bill to pay so I thinking perhaps I'll pay that out of the grocery fund which will leave me £150 for the rest of jan.

I am feeling very very motivated at the moment, I really hope it lasts!

elly2

Hi am hopping back onboard for 2012 (only managed to get to march before i got sidetracked) can i do a weekly budget of £60.00 weekly.
This is for 1 adult 1 teen and 2 lo's 2 dogs 3 cats and 11 degus :eek::eek:.
There will be 2 adults to feed every other month when my dad is home, i pay for the cat food and some of the degus food, but happily my dad pays for the dogs food .
My budget will start from tomorrow but we have heaps in the freezer so will do a stocktake on sat of what is in there and what meals we can rustle up.