May 2012 Grocery Challenge

Florenceem

166million wrote: »

My partner used to like baking, but stopped because we were eating too much!

You can still bake - just because I make 12 muffins - doesn't mean I have to eat them all right away. I freeze them and just get one out when I fancy a muffin. Same with HM bread.

xxlouisexx56

Spent £4 in Iceland this morning on ys frying steak and 2 packs of mince. That's 4 dinners sorted for this week

Total for the month so far is £29

mummybearx

Florenceem wrote: »

Oh dear - I will have to be bossy again! You were not starving - just hungry/peckish. Very naughty!!

Thank you granny Flo

In my defence (:rotfl:) I had made pasta and mayo/chopped salad for my lunch at 3pm. Then a mix of cleaning windows, organising the shed, planting some more veg, dog walking etc etc meant by the time I stopped it was after 10pm. My mistake was watching Man v Food and drooling over the food (even though I'm veggie hahaha) and then phoning in food.

Will be the last this month, honest!!

Florenceem

zepsgal wrote: »

Thank you granny Flo

In my defence (:rotfl:) I had made pasta and mayo/chopped salad for my lunch at 3pm. Then a mix of cleaning windows, organising the shed, planting some more veg, dog walking etc etc meant by the time I stopped it was after 10pm. My mistake was watching Man v Food and drooling over the food (even though I'm veggie hahaha) and then phoning in food.

Will be the last this month, honest!!

Don't think you can get away with it by saying - you had been busy! Won't wash with this strict nan! :rotfl:

mummybearx

Awwww Granny Flo! Don't fall out with me :A


Want to hear something nice? I made a stir fry last night (using ys duck) from scratch, first time ever!! Normally I buy a stir fry sauce, this time I made one using garlic, ginger, soy sauce, white wine vinegar and sugar. Normally I buy the stir fry veg packets, this time I used spring onions, sliced peppers, courgette, celery and frozen peas and broad beans. Found some egg noodles in the cupboard as well, managed dinner last night without buying 'extras' :T

Dh was impressed, his duck stirfry and my veggie stir fry were both tasty tasty! And I managed to use chop sticks again, a dear friend from Hong Kong taught me to use them when he was here a few weeks ago :j

Florenceem

I won't fall out with you - not my style! :rotfl:

sonastin

Spent £6.02 in L!dl on Friday night taking the total to £31.18 for the month so far. Really must go to Ald! tonight though as the only things in my veg drawer are a very sad looking bit of ginger, a couple of cloves of garlic and an onion. In fact, not even sure if there's a whole onion in there - might just be the skin that escaped from an old one last time I had an onion in there! I do have about 5kg of onions out in the shed though so I suppose that counts. Can't really make a balanced nutritious meal out of dozens of onions though. So ald! it is.

I have to say that I'm slightly bemused by all the folks recommending greengrocers and butchers as cheaper than sm's. I have tried a couple of greengrocers - one was a bit cheaper but that was before I discovered ald! and l!dl - and the other is probably on a par. Butchers have so far been universally massively more expensive than sm, and I've tried maybe 5 or 6 now in various towns/locations/configurations. I appreciate that the meat is a better quality but it certainly hasn't helped in reducing my grocery bills. I've managed to get a good deal on fruit and veg from the market when I've been able to get there when its open but for me, the reality has always been that I might as well shop at the sm.

Is there a trick that I'm missing? Is it just because I don't know what I'm looking for, having always grown up with the sm's telling me what packs/cuts of meat I should be buying? I would really like to support the smaller businesses but at the moment I can't justify the cost. What is the secret to getting a better deal from the butcher?

Florenceem

sonastin wrote: »

Spent £6.02 in L!dl on Friday night taking the total to £31.18 for the month so far. Really must go to Ald! tonight though as the only things in my veg drawer are a very sad looking bit of ginger, a couple of cloves of garlic and an onion. In fact, not even sure if there's a whole onion in there - might just be the skin that escaped from an old one last time I had an onion in there! I do have about 5kg of onions out in the shed though so I suppose that counts. Can't really make a balanced nutritious meal out of dozens of onions though. So ald! it is.

I have to say that I'm slightly bemused by all the folks recommending greengrocers and butchers as cheaper than sm's. I have tried a couple of greengrocers - one was a bit cheaper but that was before I discovered ald! and l!dl - and the other is probably on a par. Butchers have so far been universally massively more expensive than sm, and I've tried maybe 5 or 6 now in various towns/locations/configurations. I appreciate that the meat is a better quality but it certainly hasn't helped in reducing my grocery bills. I've managed to get a good deal on fruit and veg from the market when I've been able to get there when its open but for me, the reality has always been that I might as well shop at the sm.

Is there a trick that I'm missing? Is it just because I don't know what I'm looking for, having always grown up with the sm's telling me what packs/cuts of meat I should be buying? I would really like to support the smaller businesses but at the moment I can't justify the cost. What is the secret to getting a better deal from the butcher?

Can't help re butcher. My DS lives in West Bridgford - has a great greengrocer there - can't understand it as an affluent area so would expect higher prices. When I go to stay with him - always amazed at the low prices for great quality produce. I don't have a greengrocer like that near me!

meg72

sonastin wrote: »

Is there a trick that I'm missing? Is it just because I don't know what I'm looking for, having always grown up with the sm's telling me what packs/cuts of meat I should be buying? I would really like to support the smaller businesses but at the moment I can't justify the cost. What is the secret to getting a better deal from the butcher?

I dont think its a trick you are missing I think it is just lucky if you happen to live in area that have a decent Butcher, Greengrocer etc
I dont but do have a fairly decent market for fruit and veg although often it is more expensive than the offers in Aldi and Lidil. Its just a case of having to shop around.

chelseabun_3

sonastin wrote: »

Spent £6.02 in L!dl on Friday night taking the total to £31.18 for the month so far. Really must go to Ald! tonight though as the only things in my veg drawer are a very sad looking bit of ginger, a couple of cloves of garlic and an onion. In fact, not even sure if there's a whole onion in there - might just be the skin that escaped from an old one last time I had an onion in there! I do have about 5kg of onions out in the shed though so I suppose that counts. Can't really make a balanced nutritious meal out of dozens of onions though. So ald! it is.

I have to say that I'm slightly bemused by all the folks recommending greengrocers and butchers as cheaper than sm's. I have tried a couple of greengrocers - one was a bit cheaper but that was before I discovered ald! and l!dl - and the other is probably on a par. Butchers have so far been universally massively more expensive than sm, and I've tried maybe 5 or 6 now in various towns/locations/configurations. I appreciate that the meat is a better quality but it certainly hasn't helped in reducing my grocery bills. I've managed to get a good deal on fruit and veg from the market when I've been able to get there when its open but for me, the reality has always been that I might as well shop at the sm.

Is there a trick that I'm missing? Is it just because I don't know what I'm looking for, having always grown up with the sm's telling me what packs/cuts of meat I should be buying? I would really like to support the smaller businesses but at the moment I can't justify the cost. What is the secret to getting a better deal from the butcher?

Hi Sonastin, I know what you mean about the butchers vs sm thing. I think it works out cheaper if you buy in bulk from the butcher and freeze some. So buying half a lamb with the less popular cuts as well as the usual ones would bring the price down. I tend to buy the cheap cuts like neck of lamb. For me, it's more a quality thing - I'd rather buy less meat that I know has been treated fairly, rather than sm meat that could have been factory farmed, especially pork.

I'm reading a good book atm, Low Cost Living by John Harrison. Gives some good tips! Apologies if you've all read it already

Have a good afternoon! The sun is actually out atm!:cool:
CBx