August 2012 Grocery Challenge

MoneyQueen

Hi,
Can I also join this challenge please?A bit of background about me first. Just two of us and we have a monthly budget of £160 at the moment but will like to reduce it further. I am also trying to clear down the store cupboard and freezer so only buy fresh fruit and veg, milk and eggs.

We only eat organic and do most of our shopping in Wholefoods as I like shopping there and then do a top up shop from Tesco every week for stuff we can't find in Wholefoods.

MQ

Caterina

MQ how do you manage to eat only organic on such a low budget? I have dropped all my organic food purchases now that I have to save money! Still got quite a lot of organic pulses and grains from past stock-ups, bulk buys and AF shopping, but I could not afford to go 100% organic again! Suggestions are very welcome, thank you.

Another NSD of my NSW/end with DH. Easy today as I wasn't feeling well so was very glad to spend most of the day at home, apart from a visit to water the allotment. Lots of stuff growing now so this will help my GC enormously, no need to shop for veg, apart tomatoes, for a while now!

Good night all.

medsdemon

Managed to fit in a visit to the sm yesterday and do our much needed big shop. SHOULD only need bread/milk top ups this coming week as spent a whopping £87.34. Did get in lots of tins and packets for the storecupboard, and plenty of meat so need to sit today and make a mealplan. Not sure what to cook for today. Have some rare at home time so may do some cooking for the week...not sure what yet. Maybe a saucepan of Mushroom Soup and I fancy making a rice or quinoa salad for my lunch at work tomorrow.
And also need to add £4.94 on for our snacks and drinks we bought yesterday morning before we went hillwalking.

NickJW

MoneyQueen wrote: »

Hi,
Can I also join this challenge please?A bit of background about me first. Just two of us and we have a monthly budget of £160 at the moment but will like to reduce it further. I am also trying to clear down the store cupboard and freezer so only buy fresh fruit and veg, milk and eggs.

We only eat organic and do most of our shopping in Wholefoods as I like shopping there and then do a top up shop from Tesco every week for stuff we can't find in Wholefoods.

MQ

Welcome to the thread!

How do you manage to go so little when shopping in Wholefoods? I've been in them a few times and have always been so shocked with the prices - especially for meat - that I walk out! Are you working on a vegetarian budget?

Suffolk_lass

Just realised this is a six week month for us, due to the vaguaries of DH's salary payments.:eek: Not sure how that will work (feel a freezer and use-up fortnight might have to happen)

Two of us are away for the week but have stocked the fridge for DS. He is under instructions to pick runner beans twice while we are away (as are neighbours) or we will come back to construction girder quality beans!

I'm now stocked up on pasta but I intend buying bread flour (25k sack) and rice (20k sack) before the end of the month from my stock-up funds (in anticipation of price rises due to poor harvests).

I've never successfully stored potatoes or apples in the autumn/winter but this year we have decided to cook and freeze. So we also have four large containers of cooked crushed new potatoes in the outside freezer. That is the one frustrating thing about growing our own fruit and veg - it all comes together! - Gave away maybe 4k of runners on Friday and the same amount is going to D-MIL's sheltered housing complex for her and her pals this afternoon.

Has anyone made black butter before? It's a spiced apple spread...

Have a good day
SL

Billie-jo

Creeps back in waving a large white flag - can I please rejoin. Its about 12 month since last on here due to illness which has taken the best part of year to recover from. Haven’t bothered with the GC at all in this time but would now like to have another go at it.

There is myself, DH and my mum - she doesn’t live with us but is here once a week for a meal plus sometimes I take her a meal down depending on what we are having and we have an adult son who is here occasionally (holidays and some weekends) and also 3 grandchildren often - especially in the holidays while the parents are working
I am aiming for £260 pm (£20 more than this time last year) and this is to include food, toiletries, newspapers, flowers and cleaning items it does not include meals out, diesel or alcohol. I also have a fairly decent stock of items which will help and two freezers which are almost always full. I hate to throw out any food if possible and cook most things from scratch if not feeling ill. I also meal plan every week plus try - don’t always succeed - to cook one new thing a week as found we were getting fed up with the same old things. Plus I have just started to do the second purse idea again.

Have spent £36.16 so far this month or at least since have been keeping a total so fully expect this month to be under budget, the real test will be next month but will use the rest of this month as a practice.

Kitchenbunny

Right, my mealplan is made and my shopping list written up ready for next week. First shop will be tomorrow morning, although it'll be a shorter one because I won't have as much time - lots to do before work!

Today IS going to be an NSD. We don't need anything and I'm loathe to go out anywhere because it's the last day of the Olympics. Going to miss it, too. Going to have a jambalaya for tea with the one lone chicken breast too small to do anything decent with, and some bacon & chorizo from the fridge. I've no mushrooms but no one will miss them and I'm not going out especially.

Hope everyone has a lovely day. Take care all.

K xx

savesummore

Having a NSD today :j although have had to update signature as I spent £3.60 last night at the chip shop :eek: (im on a diet too :rotfl::rotfl:)

Well I have lost my meal planning spread sheet we have a seperate box thing that stores things from the computer (Yes I know I have no idea about technical stuff!!) and the hard drive melted or something

OH has backed up the box thing but that was two weeks ago- he is hoping to be able to reinstate info from last back up so hopefully not all is lost- fingers crossed everyone

That just leaves me with all the 'stuff' for this weeks meal plan but no actual plan and I cant remember exactly what we were going to have- this week could be interesting food wise :rotfl:

mummyyof5

Large shop done for this week..£40 in L**ls

£20 in MrAs

and £12 in I**land so £72 to add...also got picnic stuff as hoping to take littlies out for the day tomorrow

BBQ for tea...just using some stuff out of freezer and an I**land BBQ pack bought some weeks ago.

xxlouisexx56

£76 spent in tesco today, which isn't too bad as last weeks was only £33!

Doing weekly shops is working out much better for us