January 2017 Grocery Challenge. NEW BEGINNINGS!

thriftwizard

A couple of NSDs here, because I've gone down with this horrible cough/cold bug and have had to make do with whatever's already here. Which has been no hardship as we're fairly well stocked up! Back off up to bed in a mo...

GreenFairy

Another NSD today. Need to buy a packet of pasta tomorrow, as I only have 300g left and that won't feed the seven people come over tomorrow!

Also found out today that payday isn't til the 27th instead of the 20th as expected...that means both our December and January mortgage payments have to come out of the one pay period. Just as well the freezer is full

elsiepac

freyasmum wrote: »

Anyhoo, long story - I am making a fruit loaf and a victoria non-sandwich cake, all with ingredients we already had in the house. The fruit loaf looks and smells delicious (the hardest part is waiting for it to cool!) and the victoria is still in the oven. I didn't have any sandwich tins - forgot I got rid when we moved... along with my loaf tin liners and hand mixer; what possessed me, I'll never know! - so it's been made in a round cake tin. Fingers crossed it comes out ok

I'm sure it'll be fine and your fruit loaf looks delicious! Care to share your recipe? I'm sure I can adapt to be vegan

medsdemon

First NSD today, but should have 2 more at least following as have milk and cat food in and I'm on my own for a few days which means I don't really cook or eat much. ( hm salad and pickled veg with a little leftover potato dauphinois did me just fine.)

I am consciously trying better to not spend on lunches at work too and so far been healthier as well. Tomorrow I will take an orange and a banana and a sweet potato to bake and have with salad. Then I might make a veggie chilli for dinner if I'm feeling unlazy. If not it'll be egg on toast ��

freyasmum

Elsiepac for some reason I can't quote you, but the fruit loaf could hardly be simpler.

You need:
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup sultanas (or other dried fruit)
1/4 margarine

Melt in a pan and leave to cool.

When cool, mix in 2 cups of self-raising flour and 1 egg. Bake for around 45 minute ls at 180*, or until a skewer comes out clean.

nannygladys

Hi everyone

Back again with a small spend on eggs, milk, yogurt and confession time a packet of crisps and sandwich!!! So it's the end of my week and out of my £25 I have £12.21 left in my GC challenge purse so that now goes in my treat purse and a new £25 goes into the GC purse and I start again.

It won't always be this low it's only because I have such a lot in, even household cleaners, washing stuff and bathroom stuff!!!

So had 2veggie sausages, wedges, sprouts and kale for dinner tonight. Going to dds tomorrow for lunch, she has made soup and I've made the crusty bread (well the breadmaker has!!) She lives frugally too.

Nannyg

elsiepac

freyasmum wrote: »

Elsiepac for some reason I can't quote you, but the fruit loaf could hardly be simpler.

You need:
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup sultanas (or other dried fruit)
1/4 margarine

Melt in a pan and leave to cool.

When cool, mix in 2 cups of self-raising flour and 1 egg. Bake for around 45 minute ls at 180*, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Wow, that's incredibly simple! Thanks!

Super easy to veganise as well - just sub non-dairy milk such as almond.
Instead of the egg I could use 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground linseed [flax] mixed with 3 tbsp water and left to sit for 10 mins), or half a mashed banana, or or even commercial egg replacer, which I don't bother with generally!

I'll be doing a shop at lunch time today - it's mainly for fresh stuff but also includes oats, red lentils and stock cubes, as I get through a lot of those and my supplies are running low enough for me to panic!
My shopping list is based around 4 recipes for different salads (craving fresh stuff after eating all possible meals from the freezer) - 3 of which I will make tonight and me and mum can have as much as we want of each of them (it's our weekly dinner and film night starting up again now Christmas period is over). the 4th I included because it quite neatly uses up the leftover ingredients from the others! :T

1. California Citrus and Almond Salad (This is a leaf/greens based one, and is using up oranges in my fridge)
2. Four Bean Salad (fairly self explanatory - 3 tinned beans plus green beans and red onion and a nice dressing)
3. Italian Pasta Salad

These are the three we are having for tea tonight (I'm hoping for lots of leftovers for lunches for the rest of the week, but me and mum are both greedy so might only be one lunch worth :rotfl: )

4. Cold Noodle Salad (uses up my 2 bendy carrots plus the other half a cuke from the pasta salad - I have all the dressing ingredients in and I already have rice noodles opened in the cupboard. I also have frozen edamame so uses up some of my freezer too! Bonus!)

My 4 recipes this week are all from the 2nd Thug Kitchen book - Thug Kitchen: Party Grub.

t14cy_t

nsd yesterday, waiting until sunday i hope. x

WantToBeSE

Thank You Fran, kkffoo, elsiepac, Meg72 and anyone else who shared their stories and advice.

It's something i am definitely working on. I know (logically) that there is food in the house, we can all eat enough..but as soon as i see space on the shelves i feel awful!
I have definitely been improving though, the pantry is almost empty, there is only about 20 tins left now. Brings me to near panic every time i look at it, but i know there is still food there.

It's a work in progress. Thanks for your support, i dont know what I'd do without this thread and all you lovely people

pamsdish

2 spends last night in morries and lidl, £3 morries, ys items £2-50 lidl, quite happy wih that.
Lost my freezer book, it was a A4 sized old book I was using, so big I kept it on top of the re-cycling basket, think it`s been re-cycled, have several old hard back diaries, so gotta stock take freezers and start anew