April 2014 Grocery Challenge

newthrift

Evening :wave:
This weeks grocery spends = £102.90 split across:-
99p store £2.97 / Sainsbury* £6.40 / M&S £2.00 / Ald* £41.34 / Morriso** £13.58 / Butchers £20.80 / Chicken Discount Place £15.00
This looks LOADS but the chicken discount place is a local factory that they pack chickens at for all the supermarkets and they always have over orders ect ect so they are open 6 days a week for the public to go and get bargins. For £15 I got 4 packs chicken fillets (most had 3 large fillets in), 6 packs mini chicken fillets (each pack will do 4 meals for us) and 2 full chickens (there were £3.50 for both ) so I have portioned out and froze so this should last us for over a month. Having the discount out of Daily Mirror for £5 off £40 shop at Ald* I made use and along with getting the stuff for mothers day meals I did a top up of store cupboard stuff and Mozza's I was taking advantage of the 1/2 price nutrigrain bars again as it finishes Sunday!! Hopefully the next two weeks of food shopping I should only need basics + some meat! - Updated my sig already.

SarahB1989_2

Can I be put down for £80 please?

Starting April's budget today, have planned £15/week supermarket-type spends but am off to my parents for the last 1/2 week of the month so it's only a 4 week month for me, leaves me £20 for extras (pub, extra food for when the OH comes to stay, end of term night out). Hoping that if I have a weekly budget as well as a monthly one I'll be better at spending slowly through the month instead of blowing it and having lentil soup week at the end...

£10 spend in Sainsbugs today, picked up some YS meals for the freezer, lunches for next week, and some cupboard odds and ends.

Florenceem

Mr F got 5 Herrrings for £1 at the market today. They were being sold at 3 for £1 but these were the last ones left.
We had HM wedges + smoked mackerel/herring + mushy peas for dinner.
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she_who_can_not_cook

just_the_two_of_us wrote: »

Hi all - quick update after early shop for April! Much quicker doing it all with DH and car.

Have spent £108.92 already:eek: - some of that on stock cupboard stuff and wine for this month - which l bought much earlier in the year.

Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap and cheerful pasta meals - will look through the index too. We have kgs of pasta to use up and have gone off our usual bolognaise.

Now hope for several NSDs in a row. Catch up with you all later xx

http://www.food.com/recipe/tuna-pasta-bake-135808

[Deleted User]

Could you please put me down for $500 this month please. Have managed to come in under budget for March, but it has been difficult.
This month is cousins week, where my three kids send their children to the grandparents so they can experience life as part of a large family. Its a lot of fun, but very tiring and can be quite expensive, as I make sure they have puddings each night, and we tend to do a lot of baking.


harvesting is in full swing at the moment. Today is beetroot day, yesterday we harvested the last of the pumpkins, so will probably make a pumpkin pie for dinner.


Have decided to go down to the beach at low tide and collect some pipis (similar to cockles, although I think they have more flavour) as the weather is starting to turn and a batch of soup is in order.


One of the neighbours has popped in with a frame of honey for us, have uncapped and drained off the honey, separated the honey from the wax and have gathered enough wax to make a candle which I also intend to make today. Its quite a bit of effort, but beeswax candles smell so nice I think its worth it. Put the frame outside for the bees and watched in fascination as hordes gathered for their 'easy pickings'.

Zippy001

Hi Please can I join again and can you put me down for £450.00 this month.

last month, My first month I spent just over £458.00 so will try to reduce.
this includes all food, consumables, toiletries etc for 2 adults 2 children (11 & 9 years)and two dogs.

I will update my signature.

MissOrganised1972

just_the_two_of_us wrote: »

Does anyone have any recommendations for cheap and cheerful pasta meals - will look through the index too. We have kgs of pasta to use up and have gone off our usual bolognaise.

Now hope for several NSDs in a row. Catch up with you all later xx

What I tend to do is type into the search engine something like 'cheap pasta recipes', 'chicken pasta', 'mushroom pasta', 'Philadelphia pasta' etc. You get the picture. Whatever I happen to have to hand. A particular favourite I tried recently was this.... https://www.philadelphia.co.uk/Recipes/Philly-roasted-veg-pasta?r=29543 & if you'd prefer some meat in it, just add a cooked chicken breast.

newthrift wrote: »

Evening :wave:
This weeks grocery spends = £102.90 split across:-
99p store £2.97 / Sainsbury* £6.40 / M&S £2.00 / Ald* £41.34 / Morriso** £13.58 / Butchers £20.80 / Chicken Discount Place £15.00
This looks LOADS but the chicken discount place is a local factory that they pack chickens at for all the supermarkets and they always have over orders ect ect so they are open 6 days a week for the public to go and get bargins. For £15 I got 4 packs chicken fillets (most had 3 large fillets in), 6 packs mini chicken fillets (each pack will do 4 meals for us) and 2 full chickens (there were £3.50 for both ) so I have portioned out and froze so this should last us for over a month. Having the discount out of Daily Mirror for £5 off £40 shop at Ald* I made use and along with getting the stuff for mothers day meals I did a top up of store cupboard stuff and Mozza's I was taking advantage of the 1/2 price nutrigrain bars again as it finishes Sunday!! Hopefully the next two weeks of food shopping I should only need basics + some meat! - Updated my sig already.

You don't fancy sharing where that chicken place is, do you?

MissOrganised1972

Sequeena wrote: »

I'm working through some leftover meals in the freezer as we're going on holiday on Monday. We did end up having frozen pizza last night instead of the meal I planned because we had to take our son to A&E (he had a fall from about a metre high and bashed his nose and mouth quite badly) so tonight we're having yesterday's planned meal - pork shank, mustard mash, veg and yorkies.

poor thing

recovering_spendaholic wrote: »

Do any of you buy meat online? We only have one butcher in our village and I have to say that his meat is not the nicest, and I am increasingly dissapointed with supermarket meat. I would like to try one of the online butchers but am not sure who to use - some seem awfully expensive though.

I have chicken defrosting for tomorrow (making lemon roasted chicken pieces), and a piece of beef for Sunday.

Just going to read through the thread so far now!

I don't buy online, at the moment but in the March GC, someone posted this link
http://www.clarebarry.co.uk/ and recommended it. It is close-ish to me so I was thinking I may pop down and take a look

lovefullshelves

Hellooo:) This month is gonna be a bit different for me as I'm not exactly sure how much I'll end up with to spend on groceries as we're having a personal challenge to live on what i earn:)
So can you stick me down for £100 for the month, but I get a feeling it'll have to be alot less than that!!
Evill laugh as this is to make menfolk take notice of costs!! And choices. Thankyou x

just_the_two_of_us

Thanks for the resipe ideas.

Have added them to my recipes to try file. Also found a recipe for Chicken and Cauliflower pasta and Tuna and broccolli pasta somewhere on t'internet - so that will be a new recipe a week for April.