Dancing in the Rain

moneyonmymindsam

Wow you seem to be doing good on the eating to me... I mean no malteas3rs for breakfast :-) lol

Longing for pay day too, Thinking of you and always wishing you well.

Sam x

redofromstart

Tea, but not TV. Rarely watch it.

I really like having the veg box, and like you say I mind the waste so eat better by default.

beanielou

I need to nail food shopping too

RosaBernicia

moneyonmymindsam wrote: »

Wow you seem to be doing good on the eating to me... I mean no malteas3rs for breakfast :-) lol

Longing for pay day too, Thinking of you and always wishing you well.

Sam x

:rotfl:;) *passes Sam a caramel egg*


Rosa xx

Fortune_Smiles

Hi DIA

I used to love getting my veg box in Kent and you've prompted me to look into getting one again here in The Shire.

I have a weekly budget and get everything delivered once a week. I don't pass any shops day to day so would have to make a special trip if I did top ups... so I don't.

My process is/was:

• check what I have in the fridge and freezer
• see what's coming in the veg box
• check my diary so I know when I need a quick fix and when I have a bit more time
• menu plan around that and to use up anything that's sulking
• shop on-line at one store (food, cleaning products, everything)
• re-jig the menu plan if things change.

I usually do my menu planning and shopping at the start of the week, Monday if I can. And I plan Thursday to Wednesday - not sure why but it works for me.

I also keep a few quick meals in the freezer for when time is tight or I'm feeling under the weather - fish and chips, filled pasta, that sort of thing. And we eat half freeze half on some meals, again so that there are a few things to hand when needed.

Recipes are quite varied because I like to experiment and try new things but I do have some favourites which reappear because they are either quick or save on washing up or are delicious :rotfl: My favourite site for meal planning is BBCG00dF00d as you can search for particular ingredients but I also like the T£$c0 and Waitr0$£ recipe sites.

It might not be most MS way of shopping for everyone but it works for me. We usually eat healthy, home-cooked meals and come in on budget.

Right, off I go to look at veg box options...

Fortune x

beanielou

My food shop can be erratic so I cant offer any help. Sorry.

RosaBernicia

My food shopping is rather random and I've never bothered with delivery as I drive past the supermarket on the way home from work.

The things that have helped are:

• buying meat on offer and freezing it
• making sure I have easy things in the freezer (gf pies, prepped chicken things, frozen risotto) for when I'm back late or ill or unexpected stuff happens
• keeping frozen veg on hand - together with easy mains, means that there is always something passably healthy doable in a half hour without even having to go out for fresh veg
• keeping UHT milk as a back up
• keeping double of gf basics and favourites that can be hard to find (eg I always have extra risotto rice, gf soy sauce and Wa1trose gf fusilli, and I've started buying three chunks of my favourite cheese when in that shop)
• using the C0-0p round the corner for top ups of juice, milk, gf bread, fresh veg, washing up liquid etc - combined with full cupboards and freezer, this helps keep me out of Wa1tro5e and away from unnecessary temptation.

Rosa xx

moneyonmymindsam

...Me too Rosa on UHT Milk for a break in case of emergency type senario.

I have swapped bread for crackers lately which sounds odd but has worked surprisingly well for me.

I do have a lot of condiments, spices, sauces etc. I genuinely have no idea on food spends ( maybe I do... just probably don't want to admit how much it really IS) :huh:

I have way to many toiletries shampoo's, conditioners etc I've always been that way.

That could be on my new budget list - keep a food spend diary .. so thank you for the idea/ reminder .

System

I shop once a week on a Sunday , go armed with a list . I check my freezer and fridge before I go. A lot of weeks my dinner comes out of the freezer as I batch cook in advance . This week is all about soup as I have lots of homemade in the freezer .

Your plan sounds good DIA .

jvr

Long time lurker who loves your diary... always find it heartening to see I am not the only one that struggles with food especially the just need to grab a few bits error that leads to massive overspends... also stealing this back up milk option. I used to freeze a mini milk so could defrost overnight if realised I was low but this means I have to remember the night before!