January 2013 Grocery Challenge

mossy

Doing well and very excited because I'm on track to come in on budget!! Budget runs until the 19th Jan and I have £13 left.

I've made a list of things I need and from that have worked out what I REALLY need till payday. Doing my last shops tomorrow at various places but will walk to them so it won't cost me money driving from one place to the next.

Had to buy DD some jogging bottoms and a top for her PE kit. Her bottoms were a bit on the short side, they now match and are nice and fluffy so she's happy. Didn't have the money in her budget for it so had to take it from the petrol money but it should all work out as we only have one week left until new budgets.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend peeps!

JIL

My daughter loves the mini risotto balls that M and S sell for a small fortune for 6, so I thought I would have a go myself using a packet of mushroom risotto mix bought from A1di, I made 14 and they were lovely!!

to do it if anyones interested,
I made up the risotto as per the pack directions in the microwave but used a little less water.
i then let it cool and it became dry and sticky and easily formed into clumps.
I took a half a mozzarella ball, and cut it up into small pieces about the size of the tip of your pinkie. (im sure other cheeses could be used)
Formed the rissoto mix around the cheese.
Then did the dip in flour, egg and breadcrumbs.
then I heated up some oil in a frying pan and lightly fryed them just to seal the breadcrumbs and finished them off in the oven for 15 minutes.

They went really well with a tomato dip.

I know you have to be careful with rice, so I dont know if they would freeze, they all got eaten so its not a problem here.

Tesc0s do something similar as a burger, in the vege section.

Lolkat

A NSD for me, DH had lunch out but that's his money spent not the groceries budget. I made lentil and bacon soup for dinner with enough left to have for 3 lunches.

I've checked my meal plans and the cupboards and I think we're covered until Monday 21st. We may need bread and milk before then but nothing else. I'm so impressed with myself. I've even remembered to take the smoked salmon out of tge freezer for dinner tomorrow.

My biggest struggle is that I keep seeing lots of bargains in the sales. Well they aren't bargains because I don't need them. (Chews fingers to keep away from the buy it now button.)

I'm hoping I can get a really good start to saving this month. February and march are always nice as there are less direct debits.

katholicos

Todays evening meal was sit fry veg with tofu, noodles and cashews in a Sweet chilli sauce. Never enjoy tofu very much no matter how i prepare/cook/bake it.

An absolute first for me is that i have created a 30 day meal plan! I wont necessarily stick to it all the time or even at all, and there wont be any particular order that meals have to be made and eaten.

I am hoping to also, at some point, create another30 day meal plan. It can be hard trying to come ip with ideas for what to cook all the time and i have memory problems anyhow so this way i will always have a meal idea or 30!

We eat mostly vegetarian or vegan, though son and myself still eat some fish and meat, DD is vegan.

My 30 day meal plan:

1 lentil bake and salad
2 mediterranean roast veg served with couscous
3 baked potatoes, fillings and salad
4 vegetarian sausages in hot dog rolls served with fried onions and ketchup/mustard
5. Nut roast, chips and peas
6 red beans and rice
7 pizza and fries
8 quorn bolognese in sauce, served with pasta
9 veggie burgers in buns with salad and relish
10 vegetable lasagne
11 lentil soup
12 veggie tacos
13 Vegetarian sausages with sweet potatoe mash, gravy and veg
14 chickpea pasta
15 fish and chips/ veggie fingers and chips
16 quorn curry, rice and naan bread
17 pasta bake
18 quorn and roasted peppers in soft tortilla wraps
19 vegetarian chilli and rice
20 vegetable pie, chips and peas
21 yellow split pea soup
22 veggie fingers, new potatoes and steamed vegetables
23 quorn meatballs in sauce, with pasta
24 vegetarian shepherds pie
25 roast mediteranian veggies with jacket potatoes
26 sweet and sour vegetables with couscous
27 vegetable dhansak curry with rice
28. Root vegetable soup with crusty rolls
29. Veg stir fry with noodles and cashew nuts

Flip, i forgot to write down the thirtieth meal! Well the plan is downstairs on the fridge so i will have to edit the post to add it when i find out what it is, DOH!!

m155piggy

Grrrrrrr - this should have been 3 NSD's for me as we have been away in the caravan since Friday morning but we had some unexpected guests round on Friday evening and managed to drink all the beer and wine we had in so DH had to go out and get more for the social last night. Whilst he was out he also bought croissants, bacon and sausages as well as sweets for all the kids so there went another £20 !

Also we had a fish supper Saturday night - which was planned - but that still cost us another £14 from the eating out budget.

All in all an expensive weekend so next weeks shop will have to be small! On the plus side we did not get home until after 4 today so at least the shops were shut!!

elizabunny

This is the 3rd time I have tried to write this post and it keeps disappearing:eek:

Had rather a large shop yesterday for some bulk items.
We bought some general groceries for the store cupboards plus
a bulk wash Per*il Bio for £6, a bulk wash fabric softner for around £6.00, 52 dishwasher tabs all in one £6.

This was followed by a trip to the farm shop for a 25kg sack of Potatoes for £10 (so much cheaper than the smaller bags and lovely potatos) a 12.5kg net of Onions for £3.00 and an organic cauli, 2 swedes, 5 large apples and 2 leeks for £4.25

This all totalled around £75. Have updated my siggy.

I am hoping I now have enough in to last for the next 10days or so, although I will need some milk & salad stuff at some point.

Tonights dinner was HM Leek, Bacon and Cheese Pie -yummy.

I will need to make some bread and HM Veggie Soup tomorrow, aches and pains allowing.

Keep warm and well everyone!

PaddyPaws

Can I join in please? I used to do the challenge [STRIKE]every[/STRIKE] most months but fell off the wagon last summer.

Jan is a 4 week month for us so this month's budget is £200 and so far I've spent £49.38

I think I need to have a good browse through the recipes too as we seem to be in a bit of rut with the menu planning

PP

elizabunny

ooooooooooooooooh I have tried 4 times now to write this post and it keeps disappearing.:eek:
The shortened version is we spent £75 yesterday -had to make some bulk purchases (can't go in to our little visit to the farm shop all over again)

I have updated my siggy.

Soup & bread to be made tomorrow, aches and pains allowing.

Keep warm and well everyone:)

Just noticed my last post was there after all -think I have lost the plot -sorry about the duplication.....ooops

queeniedog

Hi guys, I'd like to join the challenge! We are a family of 4 plus dog and supermarket shopping got way out of hand and I decided enough was enough in December. I'm going to set a budget of £450 pm (I am guessing we were spending somewhere in the region on £600 - £700 pm last year with an awful lot of waste) I shopped in Aldi for the first time on Friday and could not believe what I bought for £23 to complement my store cupboard and freezer. I have read all your posts and feel very motivated, thank you! I will keep you posted :0)

Hollygym

Hi everyone.

As a newcomer i must say its great to find some like minded people out there. I think I must have turned into a real geek, as i love to read all the chatter and news on this thread.:jIts great to help motivate me to reduce and watch my spend. I have had a quiet couple of weeks trying to use up my freezer and store cupboard stock. As a beginner I estimated my spend to be £100 for a family of 6. Ambitious it was, and it seems that I haven't come in on budget. I will total my spends and update my signature tomorrow - but once i've paid the milk lady, I will have spent about £110.

Its fascinating hearing how everyone shops. I must be less restrained than most. We live out in the country and so I cannot easily pop to the shops so I bulk buy and try only to "top up" when necessary. I would find it hard to just focus on buying 1 or 2 items almost daily. I do love to hear the latest shopping news.
Thanks for motivating me, and helping me concentrate on my food spend. :rotfl: