October 2017 Grocery Challenge

mumof3.12kindebt

Please can I join you.
I go shopping on a Monday. And budget £50 a week. 2 adults. 8yo 3yo and 6 month old.

Trying to eventually get it down to £200 a month even on 5 week months which works out to £40 a week. But with 2 in nappies (3yo has additional needs and formula to buy) I don't think it will be possible for a little while yet so just concentrating on Sticking to £50 a week at the moment which in June was around £70 so I've shaved £20 a week off already.

XSpender

£8.62 spent in the co-op puts me on £41.22 for week 4 and £240.22/£350 for the month with 2 weekends of shopping to do.

I am still aiming to come in as close to £300 as I can

NewShadow

NewShadow wrote: »

New total = £93.48 on food/drink + £28.65 for 'Social' stuff.

Small spend today.

No need to have spent anything - I went out for a mooch and then ended up putting my hands in my pocket. £4.97 on bread, sausages and sausage rolls. Better than wasting £20 and I'll use them but didn't need them...

The Plan

[strike]Bacon and cauliflower pasta bake - Saturday/Sunday[/strike]
Buffet lunch at an event on Monday lunchtime, so soup and sarnie for Monday dinner if I'm hungry.
I've potatoes to bake for lunches at work this week Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday
Chilli in the slow cooker Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday dinnertime
Friday is always leftover day.

£98.45 on food/drink + £28.65 for 'Social' stuff.

I've now got £25 in my purse and don't expect to spend any more than that for the rest of the month!

Doom_and_Gloom

Since last post I've spent £12.31, while OH has spent £7.93.

Bulk - £67.57.
OH - £23.44/£56.43. £32.99 left
Me - £20.44/£31. £10.56 left.

Over all budget.
£111.45/£155.
£43.55 left.

Edit: CattyCatX that was really harsh of them to do to you. In the past I've gone out to eat with friends who have expensive tastes and earn more, they would never dream of splitting the bill. We pay for ourselves. I'm angry for you even more because they have disregarded any options you have after they said that they would be fine with anything, basically, and then made you pay out on top. How selfish of them!

[Deleted User]

£15 on 4 jars of coffee....£30/£300 current total

Doom_and_Gloom

OH spent £3.42 today. Thought it would be a NSD but we found an old £1 so OH went shopping.

Bulk - £67.57.
OH - £26.86/£56.43. £29.57 left
Me - £20.44/£31. £10.56 left.

Over all budget.
£114.87/£155.
£40.13 left.

chocoholic_chick

Went to Sainsburys for a change, its even more expensive than I remembered! Spent £42.37 which included kitchen rolls and washing gel which should last a month or so. Also thought I'd treat us to a joint of beef for dinner today which was just over £12 but sadly it wasn't that great. I've sliced the leftovers so have 2 lots for the freezer to do us another 2 roast dinners and some in the fridge to make sandwiches with for OH's lunches.

I also defrosted one of the plum and nectarine crumbles I made a month or so ago to have as pudding. Made the recipe up as we had a glut of fruit that needed using so wasn't sure how it would turn out but it was delicious. Also had a busy day in the kitchen making chicken and mushroom curry (2 portions for 2), Lasagnes (3 which will each do 2) and a beef, chorizo and mixed bean chilli (4 portions of 2) so my freezer is nicely restocked. Worn out now though!

Need some more batch-cooking freezer-friendly ideas, sick of making the same things all the time now.

Total spends now stand at £155.50

To

Cherry_Burton

Hi all,

So far this month I have spent £60.06 of my £100 budget. I've been to ALDI today and I've bought my food for the week so I shouldn't have to buy much else until next Saturday. The only things I might need are milk or bread, but I really shouldn't need to get anything.

I think £40 should see me to the end of the month so I should be able to come in on budget for October. Fingers crossed!

CB

lynnejk

chocoholic_chick wrote: »

...... Also had a busy day in the kitchen making chicken and mushroom curry (2 portions for 2), Lasagnes (3 which will each do 2) and a beef, chorizo and mixed bean chilli (4 portions of 2) so my freezer is nicely restocked. Worn out now though!

Need some more batch-cooking freezer-friendly ideas, sick of making the same things all the time now.........

Here's a few that I use

beef bourgignon,
lamb casserole,
rabbit stew,
moussaka (and the dish like moussaka with pasta in it)
tuna pasta bake
macaroni cheese
chicken/pork sweet and sour
chicken chasseur
any roast can be sliced and frozen in portions
hearty meal-in-a-soup
HTH

Spends this weekend of £26.65 in A*di

Hope you all have a great week
Lx

elsiepac

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend so far! My friend came around for dinner last night and I managed to stretch what I was planning for one meal, into two - and it had the advantage of using up some of the older veg in my fridge (I did a pan of roasted med veg odds and ends, with the equivalent of a tin of chickpeas [I cook my own and portion into tin size amounts] and then served it with wholewheat spaghetti and the last half of a jar of vegan pesto).

Completed my week 4 shopping yesterday - £14.28 between A1di and Mr T which brings week 4 to £19.87 in total. 69p carried over to week 5 which starts on Thursday, which gives me £21.25 for week 5.

I had to buy a 5kg bag of potatoes in a1di as they were the wonky ones, and they were a million times better than the more expensive and named ones! But I thought 5kg for £2 was very good as long as I get through them!!

I'm trying a new way of prep for the week based on a blog I've just discovered which I really like - it keeps it quite simple. Basically it involves choosing a couple of recipes for the week and making on the weekend, plus cooking 1 or 2 grains or beans for the week, and making a dressing and also maybe a sauce or houmous or nut cheese that can be put with other bits to make lunch bowls quick and easy. It only involves a slight couple of changes to the way I plan and prep at the moment, so I'm giving it a go. My aim is that it'll make my lunches a bit more exciting and easy to put together and therefore discourage me from the occasional bad choices I make or buying extras! Also save me time on some weeknights. Anyway, we'll see!

I have made:
Sunflower seed "feta"
Green tahini dressing
Cumin Dressed Black Bean and Quinoa Salad
Mustardy Sweet Potato and Lentil Salad
Cooked a big batch of chickpeas (plus already have cooked black beans and cooked cannelini beans in 1 can portions in the freezer)
Cooked a big batch of brown rice - some of which will be used in a Brown Rice and Lentil Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

All of this is made from totally "normal" ingredients, nothing exotic. The most decadent is the sunflower seed feta, but they are a pretty cheap seed anyway!
Here is today's lunch (you can see some of both salads as above plus blobs of the "feta"):


Tonight's dinner (I was going to have the stir fry but it got too late):


And I've packed tomorrow's lunch - you can't see the big pile of mixed leaves hiding under the toppings! (there's that sweet potato and lentil salad again - you can use it like a spread or dip, or sandwich filling, or as it is, it's really good!):


Already having bits prepped is paying off, as tonight I was so busy I couldn't think about food till gone 10pm, so it was amazing to have some bits I could throw together to make a balanced meal.

I want to have the stir fry tomorrow night, but I'm going to only cook one portion as it'll be nicer fresh later in the week, but I'll make the peanut sauce for the whole amount of portions, as again that'll save me a few minutes later in the week!


................................£220 Budget
Date.......Shop......Amount.....Remaining
26 Sep.....Ocad0.......£43.08....£176.92 (STOCK)
26 Sep.....Ocad0.......£20.62....£156.30 (WEEK 1)
26 Sep.....Ald1........£16.44....£139.86 (WEEK 1)
26 Sep.....T3sc0.......£22.38....£117.48 (WEEK 1)
28 Sep.....Ald1........£12.58....£104.90 (WEEK 2)
28 Sep.....T3sc0.......£36.31.....£68.59 (WEEK 2)
28 Sep.....T3sc0.......£06.92.....£61.67 (STOCK)
5 Oct......T3sc0.......£20.55.....£41.12 (WEEK 3)
10 Oct.....T3sc0.......£03.05.....£38.07 (WEEK 4)
11 Oct.....Local.......£02.54.....£35.53 (WEEK 4)
14 Oct.....A1di........£05.94.....£29.59 (WEEK 4)
14 Oct.....T3sc0.......£08.34.....£21.25 (WEEK 4)