October 2014 Grocery Challenge

findingmyfeet

well im running close to the monthly budget so need to stretch everything we have for the next week or so.

not stuck to my meal plan as life has gone a bit mad, so need to get back on track with that. stocked up well on extra tins etc ready for christmas and about to start thinking of baking and freezing for christmas too. I do lots of baking and freeze but dont really freeze many meals.

Can anyone tell me whch meals freeze really well and still taste good please?. will then have a weekend of domestic goddessness......and see how much i can get made.

Need more milk and fruit from a*dis tomorrow but most other things we have in.

Been given a big bag of apples from a neighbour so need to make as much as possible rom these too. pies, crumbles and tarts me thinks.

Happygreen

A smallish shop yesterday for veg. Still haven't updated the signature...

Smoosh

maria3104 wrote: »

YS, meant to ask, I live around 30 miles from any SM;s. When do the YS get put on. If I was passing through a town with a SM when should I aim to pop in and scour the YS section?

Not likely for me to be on the road, but one never knows...

The times vary quite wildly by supermarket and also on who's working that day etc. Sometimes I'll find my local Tesco does 90% reductions as early as 6pm, sometimes I go and they haven't even been done by 9pm. I'd say usually if you're in the area then it's worth popping in between 7-8:30 to have a look. Although be prepared for chaos! The people in my SM have no fear of diving in with elbows everywhere which does get on my nerves! You have to be in there very quick to get the good YS bargains. Also it's worth trying bigger stores in the area, generally they reduce more stuff and out of town locations can also be good because they tend to be less crowded.

findingmyfeet wrote: »

Can anyone tell me whch meals freeze really well and still taste good please?. will then have a weekend of domestic goddessness......and see how much i can get made.

I freeze anything and everything that will fit into my freezer Pasta, soup, stews & casseroles are all good ones to make extra of along with things like chilli or bolognese sauces. Most things are freezable and reheat just fine, the only things I'd be wary of are anything with a lot of cream, mayonnaise (although I do free egg mayo sandwiches with success) or salad type vegetables as the cream will separate and salady vegetables go soggy when defrosted. Also remember not to defrost and re-freeze meat in the same condition.


Think I'm going to have another NSD unless I'm tempted by anything!

Mrs_Cheshire

NSD for me today, stuck in with the eldest son who has chicken pox

Caterina

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Mrs Cheshire's DS!

Just back from L1dl, £20 food and £15 beer for the boys (from their own change budget so not counted in GC). Updated sig.

Soworried

I stayed within the £5 budget at just over£4 spent.

I'm now hoping not to spend until Saturday when we will need fresh stuff. I hope your son doesn't feel poorly with the chicken pox x

CountingPennies

Right.... time to face the music and update the signature!!

Soooo.... a variety of spends from Mr T's, £26.45, £10.57, £21.98 and £3.00. Along with £6 today from Icelands and an online Iceland shop the other day of £48.06. Now I can see it all typed down i'm fearful I may have gone over already..... *rushes off to total up*.....

Well.... maybe not.... But bad enough!!

Total currently stands at ££380.48/£400

So i basically have £19.52p to last till 1st November :eek::eek::eek:

Plus side, due to crazy spending, I do actually have quite a bit in with quite a few meals I can prepare. Will do a full meal plan tomorrow (like I should have done in the first place) and see what I can come up with!

Negative side is next week is half term. I still have Halloween sweets to buy, i've very little fruit and veg left, and i'm on a diet with not much in the fits around my SW plan.

Right, need to get my positive head on. Considering I forgot it was half term and didn't include it in my budget in the first place I will try my best to go over as little budget as possible! The £19.52 will be used to buy milk/bread/fruit/veg. Then I will eat what I can out the house before I go buying other stuff. I have plenty I can bake with. Wonder if I could make cakes for Halloween treats instead of buying sweets

CP xx

Change4Life

Your meal plan looks great and sounds delicious! We have a Meal Mixer tool which contains healthy, easy to make, calorie counted recipes and a shopping list function which makes it easy to keep track of everything you need. If you're looking to add more variety to your plan check it out. Most recipes serve four adults and cost around £5 to make.

Hope you find this information useful.


HR, Change4Life

Soworried

Change4Life wrote: »

Hi CountingPennies,

Your meal plan looks great and sounds delicious! We have a Meal Mixer tool which contains healthy, easy to make, calorie counted recipes and a shopping list function which makes it easy to keep track of everything you need. If you're looking to add more variety to your plan check it out. Most recipes serve four adults and cost around £5 to make.

Hope you find this information useful.


HR, Change4Life

£5!!!! :eek:

ruby_eskimo

Hi everyone, totally keep forgetting to update here. Did our last October shop on Saturday and we ended the month on £165 spent from the £200 budget. Really pleased with that as I needed the extra cash to top the car up with fuel since we've been doing a lot of driving recently! Well done to all who've kept to budget and there's always next month for those who haven't. See you all in November!