July 2012 Grocery Challenge

GreenFairy

Trying to take advantage of both yellow stickers and the new deals before the weekend crowds hoover them all up...another chunk handed over to Tesco. Going to update my sig now. On the up side, I saved €11.75 in coupons and offers and I've now got a nice stockpile. Enough squash/beans/rice/pasta/dried goods/frozen meat to get us to September.

Rest of the month should just involve Saturday trips to farmer's market to the fruit and veg man and the dairy. Am hoping that my early month stock up will leave me enough wiggle room towards the end that I can order a huge 25kg bag of bread flour.

I think I'll just have to stop looking at supermarket flyers - I have enough food in to feed an army, but those special offers are awfully tempting sometimes!

Florenceem

I got back yesterday - updated my sig with NSDs and a spend of £9.44. Mr F had a spend yesterday which I have to repay him for plus add to my sig. I have been at my DD's in Greenwich - eating her food - did no cooking or washing up. :jToo busy lengthening some curtains. :eek:

DebtFree2012

little_miss_moneysaver wrote: »

Hi DF,
When I worked for a big food company our guidelines were once sandwich fillings were mixed with mayo they had to be discarded in 24 hours. Maybe just add salad cream daily and as someone said (sorry I forget who) tuna should be Ok for four days, although come Thursday I would have a look and sniff and see what's its like for Friday. I say sniff, we once had someone return a tuna sandwich as it smelt of 'fish' :rotfl:

NSD here today and hopefully tomorrow as not planning to go out to the shops. Got MIL's for dinner tonight, wedding Saturday and food for Friday and Sunday is defrosting in the fridge. Got F&v yday so should be ok.

Hugs to all that need them,
LMM xx

This should be fine then, thank you - I will do a special sandwich for Fridays - the "guess what's in it"....

Boodle wrote: »

I'm not sure I would use it past tues... Maybe make up the sarnies and freeze them?

Fab idea too - will try freezing mine first before DD and see how they are

dizzyditzy wrote: »

I worked for a well know food business and the EHO advice on tuna(at that time) was 4 days from time of opening in a tupperware in a fridge at 5degrees or lower. However that was without salad cream mixed into it. HTH

Just spent £10.80 in aldi getting fruit and veg for the week. Sirloin steak jumped in my trolley:D It had 50% off so £1.49 for 250g Spend so far £41.69 will update signature shortly.

Hope everyone has a good day.

Many Thanks!

DebtFree2012

One more question please guys

I buy fresh fruit on a w/e and by thurs/fri it's getting past it's best. Any ideas of what I can put in the kids packed lunches for the last 2 days to keep fruit intake up without ahving to hit the shops again? I will try buying green bananas and hope they ripe in time/not too early....

GreenFairy

Maybe keep a few apples in the back of the fridge - helps them last the extra day or two. Dried fruit is always good though. Apricots are pretty awesome, really toffee-ish. Or maybe a teeny lock n lock pot of stewed apple or other fruit - could make them up on shopping day, pop them in the freezer. Just give them a good shake before putting them in the lunchbox to ensure even texture.

bossymoo

DebtFree2012 wrote: »

One more question please guys

I buy fresh fruit on a w/e and by thurs/fri it's getting past it's best. Any ideas of what I can put in the kids packed lunches for the last 2 days to keep fruit intake up without ahving to hit the shops again? I will try buying green bananas and hope they ripe in time/not too early....

Have you seen the green bags? Lakeland do them, and they really help fruit and veg keep. Only things they haven't worked for me with is mushrooms and bananas, but if you keep green bananas separate from the ripening ones, they ripen much slower.


NSD grocery wise, but all these day trips are quite costly...

Florenceem

I left here on the 2.05 pm train - Friday afternoon. I got home at
lunchtime yesterday - so I stayed at youngest Daughter's for 5
nights in the end. Then eldest Daughter is booked to arrive - staying with her sister for 3 nights.
ED has a 2 day conference in London. On Friday evening
- they are meeting up with a cousin from Australia who is on a world
trip.
I am SO tired - I arrived in Dartford via Chatham at 4pm on
Friday afternoon. YD met me on her way home from school.
Her apartment is lovely - you can watch the boats going up and down
the Thames. They are building more blocks so eventually her view will
be more restricted but she knew that when she bought the place.
On Saturday morning we went to Lewisham - the market there is mainly
fruit and vegetables - very good prices. We found the material shop
that was advertised on the Internet - it was very busy. YD wanted
silk to lengthen the curtains - she got a very good colour match to
the Laura Ashley raised pattern fabric she had as the original
curtains. I got some lace trim for cards.
In the afternoon we went for a walk along the Thames path and saw
The Cutty Sark. Then we went into Greenwich - there are some lovely
little shops and a big indoor market. The market is hand crafted goods
- pottery/leather/jewellery/some fabric goods. I persuaded YD to
start Christmas shopping. I bought some lovely French lace trim.
I started cutting the linings and interfacing for the silk in the
evening. Next morning when I started to cut the silk for the curtains
- realised it was too narrow! I turned it to use the width as the
length. So I didn't have enough for the last curtain - without joining
two pieces - YD didn't like this idea - one little bit! There
were four LA curtains - two are going in YD's bedroom and one
each in the other two bedrooms. Her window is wider than the
other two bedroom windows.
I worked on the curtains all day Sunday plus all day on Monday. On
Monday after school YD went back to Lewisham to get more silk -
they only had a metre - she needed 1 metre 40 cms. So I stitched
two pieces together after convincing her that once the curtains are
gathered up by the hanging tape - the seam can be hidden in the fabric
folds. YD found out that the silk was on special offer - at
£10.50 per metre - if they get more in it will be - £26 a metre!. So
if she wanted one piece on the last curtain - it will cost her + £36. I
have told her - if you don't like the curtain when it is up - I will
take it apart and redo it - somehow - I don't think that will happen.
On Tuesday I finished the curtains and 2 of the tie backs - I needed
more cotton and D rings to finish the other 2. YD is bringing her
school choir to Broadstairs soon so can collect them then. So I have
worked 36 hours sewing! I got more thanks for altering the curtains to
fit from YD's lodger than I did from her.
ED phoned yesterday - could I go and stay for a week while the
builders do her bathroom conversion - in late
August - early September - no I can't - I am away again.
This has been an essay! :eek:

Islandmaid

NSD today...

Was going to make italian sausage stew with HM bread tonight, but DS2 has just told me my bread tastes of nothing, by nothing I think he means no additives little monster, I am not the best cook in the world but I do make a good loaf, friends even ask me to bake it for them, so tempted to bake a loaf with something weird in it for him like a huge dollop of english mustard in the middle.

Hey ho, I will make toad in the hole and if he,s a good boy, he can watch us eat it LOL

dizzyditzy

DebtFree2012 wrote: »

One more question please guys

I buy fresh fruit on a w/e and by thurs/fri it's getting past it's best. Any ideas of what I can put in the kids packed lunches for the last 2 days to keep fruit intake up without ahving to hit the shops again? I will try buying green bananas and hope they ripe in time/not too early....

Dried fruit or tinned fruit in juice. I used to make up mini jellies with tinned fruit in as an end of week treat. You could do cucumber or carrot sticks they'd last.
I've just picked up 1.5kg bacon joint for £1.89 bargain:D problem is I don't need it and can't fit it in the freezers. I am so :mad: with myself I can't resist even though I don't need it. I'll cook it and carve to use for sandwiches.

mummyyof5

Can anyone advise me please???...have been roped into the cake stall at LOs school next Friday...Need to make at least 4 chocolate cakes...always use sandwhich tins then layer with buttercream...can I make cakes in advance...say this weekend and freeze....then just defrost layer up and decorate on thursday night???

Never frozen them before so dont know if possible but I have a very busy week so hoping this will be possible xx TIA xx