March 2014 Grocery Challenge

Mama10

skintmum2012 wrote: »

What a fantastic idea thank you I am going to try my food plan like this next month


To all the bottle feeding mummy's as I put eailer in the month I have spent a lot of little formula bottles for when we are out. I got to thinking today would it be an option for me to carry 2 flasks one with boiling water and then I would put a little of that in the bottle when I wanted to make up with the formula and then one with cooled boiled water and I would top up the bottle with that. Does that make sense? I am thinking it's pretty much what my prefect prep machine does at home?

Hi, yes that makes sense. I also have the perfect prep machine and that's exactly what it does so that the boiled water kills the bacteria or something in the milk then the cooled water gets it to the correct temperature. I like you though buy the ready made cartons when out and about although am never far so on average use one carton a week or fortnight.

No spend day for me today. Everyone seems to be doing well. I really enjoy reading through all of the posts. I have a cold and really run down but have managed to escape my quick fix takeaway craving for tea the last Two nights and rustle something up from home.

GettingOrganised

I'd like to join in this month too. I'm going for £250 for March (1st to 31st). This is more than my Feb budget of £200, but I'm going to try to use the extra to pick up some bargains to start filling up the freezer and cupboards which should reduce my grocery bills later on. This looks like the way to being a savvy shopper like the rest of you.

LittleBill

Hi

Oh .. very slow in putting my hand up!

Could you put me down for £200 please

Thank you

LittleLateBill

[Deleted User]

Blew $108 of March budget on the first day.
However, the supermarket was offering 40c per litre off petrol, if $200 was spent. As fuel is a big expense for us, it made sense to take advantage of the offer, so $100 on groceries and $100 on restocking the wine cabinet. I just bought everything that I would have later in the week, so the dastardly sm does not retain any more of my cash than usual.


Dinner last night was a bbq, mussels, pork ribs, hm sausages, potatoes and chips, followed by hm passionfruit ice cream.


Tonight is roast chicken with all the trimmings, followed by the last of the ice cream- which was supposed to last three meals, but DH really, really liked it.


Today I am making another batch of tomato soup to freeze for winter.

recovering_spendaholic

Frizzle what is your planning sheet like? I have tried several but it always gets unwieldy!

Was having a NSD and all was going well until I went to cook the mussels I had bought in Tesco yesterday - over half were dead and they smelled iffy so I made pork chop with baked sweet potato and salad - after tea I took the mussels back and got a refund and then impulse bought: on offer Kettle chips, Foxes biscuits and Cadbury mini eggs - they also had the Discovery meal kits for £2 and, as we love the stand and stuff tacos I got two of them so that meant a nearly £10 unplanned spend:eek:

Net cost was only £3 though because the CSA in mr T gave me £7 back instead of £3.50 "for the inconvenience".

Will be roasting a chicken tomorrow and will make ratatouille to go with it,and will possibly make a little bit of garlic bread.

Hope you are having a good weekend!

Florenceem

Had some spends today - will add them to sig.
For dinner we had HM Shepherd's Pie + baked beans.

Frizzle_2

recovering_spendaholic wrote: »

Frizzle what is your planning sheet like? I have tried several but it always gets unwieldy!

Was having a NSD and all was going well until I went to cook the mussels I had bought in Tesco yesterday - over half were dead and they smelled iffy so I made pork chop with baked sweet potato and salad - after tea I took the mussels back and got a refund and then impulse bought: on offer Kettle chips, Foxes biscuits and Cadbury mini eggs - they also had the Discovery meal kits for £2 and, as we love the stand and stuff tacos I got two of them so that meant a nearly £10 unplanned spend:eek:

Net cost was only £3 though because the CSA in mr T gave me £7 back instead of £3.50 "for the inconvenience".

Will be roasting a chicken tomorrow and will make ratatouille to go with it,and will possibly make a little bit of garlic bread.

Hope you are having a good weekend!

I use the blank planner off netmums website but you could easily make your own. Days of the week along the top and then four rows of empty boxes. I have started putting the date of the first day of the week because on numerous occasions hubby has read the wrong week and been disappointed with dinner when he got home from work! Lol!

LittleBill

Now ... Having begun January with an averagely stocked freezer (lots of bits and bobs plus some packs of meat) .. I had an-tip-u-lated having an empty freezer at some point!

I thought that considering that i had only spent £100 in January and £200 in Feb .. exactly half of our normal conservative budget of £300 per month over the two .. that there would now be hardly any stuff left and at some point, i would need to bite the bullet and 'invest' in a big freezer re-stock ... ? ... Yes you would say

I have just checked and here is what i bought meat-wise over the two months ..

4 x 500g Minced Beef, 1 Small Rib Beef, 1 500g Salmon Fillets, 1 x Shoulder of Lamb, 1 x Chicken, 1 x Duck ... Both the last two were used entirely for Chinese New Year bash, so not really counted as part and parcel

I have done a Freezer Inventory tonight ... and this is what i currently have 'LEFT' ...

5 x HM Spaghetti Sauce
3 x HM Chilli
1 x HM Lamb Stew
2 x HM Pasta Bake
1 x Sm Portion Cooked Ham
1 x Sm Portion Cooking Bacon

1 x Cooked Turkey
1 x Raw King Prawns
1 x Smoked Mackerel
1 x Toulouse Sausages
2 x Minced Beef
1 x Pheasant
1 x Tesco SF Chicken (the boys made me buy it)

3 x 3 HM Dumplings
3 x HM Mashed Potato
2 x Cooked Potatoes (ready to roast)
1kg Cooked Basmati Rice
1kg Cooked Chickpeas
1 x Swede
1kg Garden Peas
1kg Skinny Chips
500g Chopped Red Pepper
300g Chopped Green Pepper
Small portion Green Beans
Small portion Petit Pois

1 x Butter Chicken Curry Sauce
2 x HM Enchilada Sauce
2 x HM Salsa

1kg Blackberries (hedgerow rustled 2013)
Small bag Blackcurrants
500g Raspberries (home grown 2013)
4 x 3 HM Mini Sponge Puddings
2 x HM Chocolate Sponge Puddings
Ikea Cinnamon Rolls

... plus ... Frozen herbs of all sorts, some bread, HM stock, HM soup etc, etc, etc, as that bloke in the King and I would say!

Freezer not empty! Where did i go wrong?

Answers on a postcard

LittleSorryForTheLongPostButMakingAPointAndWillNowMakeThemShorterBill

lynnejk

A BIG welcome to the newcomers :hello: and good luck everyone with Mad March.


Added my £24.98 overs from last month to my 'Bulk Buy' budget so will probably get some meat next weekend (trying to force myself to continue freezer dunking)


I managed an NSD to start the month but will have to shop tomorrow. I had some money-off shop coupons from Mr T but notice I now have to spend £60 :eek: each time so won't be using all of them. Will use a £9 off one tomorrow to get some shopping and top up to the £60 with wine (separate budget), but the money comes off the food IYSWIM :rotfl:


Hope you all have a super Sunday
Lx

LittleBill

recovering_spendaholic wrote: »

The other night I made Weetabix brownies and they were really nice - I didn't put any flour in them - used a recipe from Nigella. Really cheap way to make 12 brownies which were really chocolatey:
4 crushed weetabix ( I used the chocolate ones which I had in and no one liked)
50g sugar
2tbs cocoa
100g melted butter/marg.
1 egg
100g dark chocolate ( used the 30p smart price dark chocolate)

What a fab recipe! Only thing is: have no Weetabix .. Do you or anyone else think anything else could be subbed for the Wetta's?

Could you use oats?

LittleExperimentalOrJustMentalBill