May 2012 Grocery Challenge

abitofhelp

cleggie wrote: »

Hi guys.
We have a local farm shop near our town, and it has opened up a new shop in town, just a 5 min walk from me. It opened up today and i am trying to stop myself from going to have a look and buy some yummy stuff!
I think it sells fruit, veh, meat and a few dairy things.

The thing is, its not a 'buy it now before its gone' kind of thing...the shop wont suddently disappear overnight, and i NEED to rememer this! It'll still be there when i next need fruit/veg/meat etc

Does anyone have any nuggets of wisdom in regards to farm shops? Do they normally cost more/same/less than SMs? I can imagine the quality is better, but if i cant afford it,it makes no diference!

We have two farm shops close by. The posher the farm shop looks the more expensive the items will be. The posh one is part of the local estate and they grow a lot of their own produce. They have a fab deli counter. I use it for treats or taking the yougest to the pick your own. They also have a nice cafe and play area for kids. They also have chickens and pigs outside. The other one buys a lot of stuff in.It looks a bit grotty from the outside but is clean and well presented inside. It is a lot cheaper than the other and it is cheaper than the supermarkets. It also stocks local milk & meat.

[Deleted User]

meg72 wrote: »

OMG do hope I have not made a mistake here, cant try it yet as I have a lot to use up first. will let you know. I have used the marg in baking and found it OK though.

Thanks for the tip about the marg - i was wondering where i would sneak that in. Im sure there are ways to use the cheese and you will find them (please tell me when you do), maybe melted with a bit of flavour, but at the moment i have things more appetizing in my stores, so they can stay put.

[Deleted User]

meg72 wrote: »

I am thinking these would be great with bacon bits for a
dinner, will try them later in the week as have frozen rice to use up.

Yes, i was eyeing them up, i was thinkig bacon, onions, mushrooms and some spices, to make them more flavoursome, plus add a bit of mash, mix and fry, i know the mash sounds weird, but i have been experiementing with it with pasta, and it really works.

abitofhelp

oooohhhhhh spicy rice cakes mixed with a few little prawns. I think i will have to cook some rice especially. Its like the herby cheesy bread all over again. Well done jumblejack

[Deleted User]

abitofhelp wrote: »

oooohhhhhh spicy rice cakes mixed with a few little prawns. I think i will have to cook some rice especially. Its like the herby cheesy bread all over again. Well done jumblejack

mmmm sounds nice as well, i bet you could get loads of combinations going.

fozziebeartoo

Welcome to all the new joiners - I am addicted to reading this thread! :j

I needed a taxi to go and fetch and bring home DGS from Nursery but DD gave me the money so I can decare it a NSD for me.......and not before time

I forgot breakfast in the rush to get out.

Have LO HM quiche from the freezer for lunch.

Defrosting HM cottage pie base which DGS will have with mash for his tea and I am defrosting YS pork for me which I will stir fry with a YS sauce and onions and mixed peppers from the freezer. I will have it with rice.

Lovely sunny day here, hope everyone is enjoying it!! :T

cleggie

Just made millies cookies (with almond essence instead of vanilla)..YUM!

Mrs_Cookie

Ohh they sound nice Cleggie, will look for the recipe, need to do some baking for the weekend, chocolate orange muffins for today.
Well I've meal planned based on cupboard and freezer contents from now until the 27th June :eek: This includes all evening meals, breakfasts, pack up for Mr C and my lunches and treats. Using what I have in and batch cooking/freezing for another meal later that month I can feed us for that long I don't know whether to be pleased or mortified at how much stuff I have in. All I'll have to buy will be sandwich meat, fruit n veg, spuds, milk, cheese, yogurt and cat food. The plan includes a week of proper lunches for both of us, as Mr C is off work for a week in June, all breakfasts and snacks. As long as I make my own bread as and when we need it and stick to the plan I'm sorted and I didn't even look at the recipes on the front page yet but still have 29 different meals + 6 repeats from cook 1 / freeze 1 sessions.

Come the end of June the freezer will be almost bare, so I was wondering after that whether to work on a weekly system whereby I only have in 1 weeks worth of food plus a couple of extras for change of plan, unexpected guests etc. Or whether to do a monthly shop and work from cupboard/freezer every month, how does everyone else do it and what do you find works best for you?

Fiasco55

NSD for me yesterday. Dinner was salmon with salad. Lunch today was LO salmon in a roll.

I am having dinner with a friend tonight and because it is such a nice day we will be eating it out on the balcony. I just need to scrub down my table and chairs down first.

abitofhelp

I go shopping weekly, the only thing i seem to have cut down on is the multiple trips per week. These used to increase spends drastically. To the point where say 3 extra trips would cost more than my normal shopping budget. We probably spent between £400 - £500 per 4 weeks before i started this challenge. You will find your own balance as time goes on. For me, oh, two kids, well one child the eldest is 18 soon, i shop once a week. However i always like to keep the pantry & freezers well stocked, we, well i mean i,cook from scratch most days. I tend to bulk cook curries, chilli etc so have enough for leftovers for another meal to freeze. I also like to make most of our bread, cakes, pizza dough etc. It does take time to organise yourself, i also work full time as well as care for my family & help to look after my dad. It is doable though.