October 2016 Grocery Challenge

elsiepac

Good morning everyone!

I spent £4.33 yesterday on loo rolls, shower gel, and 4 crusty bakery bread rolls...

However my total is still at £79.07 and just within budget because I had enough points on my Co-Op card! Yay! I really like their new points system, much better!

Last night for tea I didn't have butternut risotto as planned because a friend came over until about 8 and I was tired and hungry when she and her kids left! So I just used butternut, the last bit of a cauliflower, a red onion, a courgette and a YS yellow pointy pepper and roasted them, and had with Linda M sausages I had in the freezer.

These were new Linda McCartney sausages - Chorizo and Red Pepper. I was NOT a fan. I ate them but I won't buy again, the normal ones are far nicer. Luckily I got them on offer at £1 anyway!

Still hoping I won't need to spend anything before I get paid Wednesday - I have a whole butternut in the drawer (totally forgot I had it!), lots of potatoes, a broccoli, some YS green beans, two peppers, a cucumber, some spring greens, some mushrooms, 1 red and few white onions... I think that's it veg wise. I may struggle lol but we'll see. I also have a plain tofu and a smoked tofu, plus tons of grains, beans,noodles, etc.

Plan (to be updated)
Sat 22 Sep
Lunch: Tofurkey and cucumber sandwich using rolls from the freezer (this might be a wrap as I forgot to take out rolls last night and don't have a microwave!)
Dinner: Harissa, aubergine and chickpea stew from the freezer, with pan fried polenta and boiled broccoli/green beans
Sun 23 Sep
Lunch: Bean salad
Dinner: Quorn breaded fillet, mashed potato, mushroom gravy, broccoli and green beans
Mon 24 Sep
Lunch: Meal out with family (my mum and dad are just back from a 5 week holiday in the States which they started in Washington, then did the whole of the proper old route 66, incorporated a couple of nights in Vegas, and ended up whale watching in Monterey Bay, driving up the Pacific Highway and finishing up in San Francisco! So we have a lot to hear about and luckily it's my day off work!)
Dinner: If needed, it'll be something light, like a quick veggie soup - tbc
Tue 25 Sep
Lunch: Something from the freezer to take to work
Dinner: Whatever is left in the house!!!

pamsdish

Always enjoy your posts elsiepac, although a carnivore I find a lot of your meals appeal, p.s.I don`t want to panic you as "C" is approaching, it will soon be November, has October passed you by.

FrugalinShropshire

Shopped in Morrisons last night to pick up a few bits that Aldi's didn't sell. Although OH will eat Aldi's digestives, he does it under sufferance, so as I had a points coupon I treated him to his favourite named brand. Poor man has also has to endure a box of Welsh Brew tea being used up, but luckily for him I bought his favourite again from a well known county:rotfl: is this man spoilt or what? Actually what with his beer for the fortnight, Dad's biscuits and DS requesting jaffa cakes (morrisons savers 35p) my shopping came in at £14.30. I hope I satisfied the family's needs with that:T

[Deleted User]

elsiepac wrote: »

African peanut stew

Sounds lovely - do you have a recipe.

elsiepac wrote: »

These were new Linda McCartney sausages - Chorizo and Red Pepper. I was NOT a fan. I ate them but I won't buy again, the normal ones are far nicer. Luckily I got them on offer at £1 anyway!

Looking to try these too, where are they on offer for £1.

thriftwizard

£70 again at the market yesterday. Sigh... I'm going to come in at least £50 over budget, and that's not counting today's £20 at our local food festival - I'm putting that under the otherwise-unused Entertainments budget! To be fair, if I spend the same next week, I'd be justified in only adding 3/7ths of it, as from Monday onwards we're in November. But that'd still put me £10 over... ah well! It's still a learning curve...

Florence_J

The OH is ill, so stocked up on paracetamol and lemsip, as well as milk, Orange Juice, a tub of chilled ready made beef bolognese, and he said cryptically that he wanted 'a treat' so i bought him 2 packets of chocolate buttons as he is a chocolate fiend!

Am £6.13 over the £168 budget, but due to a M A S S I V E shop at the start of the month and me living in a different city/country for three weeks plus a weekend away means our cupboards and freezer are absolutely stuffed. More than stuffed. So whatever we spend over this month I will deduct from next months food budget to stay under the yearly budget of £2040 we are aiming for.

Which in theory should be very, very easy to do.

My month ends on the 26th so just a few more days to go.

BeTheChange

Up to £229.05 now. My month ends on Wednesday and I will need to buy a few bits like milk before then but should keep it within budget. Off now to plan budget for November and get signed up.

just_trying

Oh my spent to much today, bought sweets for Halloween stuff for son and daughter, not strictly grocery but nearly £90. My dd said we've not got enough sweets, caught her eating them....aarggh. Mum do you remember how many we had last year, yes because I was answering.

t14cy_t

wonderful YS spends in morrisons on fresh fish and meat, spent £12, original price was £52!!!! freezer full again!! have a peaceful sunday everyone. xx

elsiepac

pamsdish wrote: »

Always enjoy your posts elsiepac, although a carnivore I find a lot of your meals appeal, p.s.I don`t want to panic you as "C" is approaching, it will soon be November, has October passed you by.

Ah, thanks Pam! And you're absolutely right, I don't even seem to have registered that we are in October!! Oops! Thanks for the heads up :rotfl:

Save_Dosh wrote: »

African peanut stew
Sounds lovely - do you have a recipe.

These were new Linda McCartney sausages - Chorizo and Red Pepper. I was NOT a fan. I ate them but I won't buy again, the normal ones are far nicer. Luckily I got them on offer at £1 anyway!
Looking to try these too, where are they on offer for £1.

The African Peanut Stew is from the Oh She Glows cookbook... Here you go. I used butternut instead of sweet potato as 0 WW points! plus didn't have a fresh chilli so I added 1/2 tsp chilli flakes instead!


As for the sausages, I bought them in Mr T but it was a good few weeks ago, they've been sat in my freezer, so not sure if still on offer...

_______

So yesterday did not turn out as planned, in a good way! I had my haircut up at mum and dads in the late morning (haridresser goes to their house and does all three of us, only costs me a tenner and she's ever so good!), then mum asked if I wanted to stay for lunch! I said yes and to be fair I did end up making it for us all!! Just a lovely bean salad with random bits mum had in as she hasn't stocked back up after their big holiday.


Then I totally forgot I was going round to a friends for tea last night! So I had a huuuge roast round there making two free meals in one day! Just look at the size of the meal she gave me!!

Nut cutlets, roast potatoes, roast carrots, roast onion (my idea, don't understand why people don't always do them!!), stuffing, broccoli and gravy. Yum!
She even made stewed cinnamon plums and apples for dessert with vanilla ice cream (she keeps a pot of Swedish Glace vegan vanilla ice cream for me there - it's very good by the way and cheap compared to other vegan ice creams), but I had to decline dessert as I was so stuffed, so I had a lovely cup of decaf Earl Grey instead!

So now I only have today, Monday and Tuesday before my new budget starts... all change then!

Sun Lunch: (was going to have roast but as I had it last night I shan't bother!) Breaded Quorn fillet, mashed potato, mushroom and onion gravy, boiled broccoli and green beans
Sun Dinner: Soup from freezer or a sandwich
Mon Lunch: Out (yay!)
Mon Dinner: Soup/stew from freezer (maybe with a vegetable accompaniment)
Tue Lunch: African peanut stew from freezer to take to work
Tue Dinner: Bean and pepper chilli from freezer with brown rice, broccoli, and maybe another vegetable depending on what's left

I may cook off some dried chickpeas today and make them into chickpea cutlets to freeze. These are very nice and a much cheaper alternative to store bought vegan "mains". I'll post the recipe if I find it and therefore make them!!

I'm off to hunt out recipes and start a proper plan for November! Have a great Sunday everyone!