November 2017 Grocery Challenge

YorksLass

Oops, just found a crumpled up receipt at the bottom of my bag so another £3 to add onto Wk 2's spends that now stand at £21.94/£40. Signature updated.

Week's meal plan done, with everything coming out of freezer/fridge/cupboards, so no more shopping this week. :j Not a hardship for me, I hate shopping.

Sun: Roast chicken breasts, sun dried tomato stuffing, sprouts, mash, gravy
Mon: Liver, bacon & onion casserole, cabbage, mash
Tues: Cod fillet, broccoli, potatoes, parsley sauce
Wed: Spag bol
Thurs: Sausage, braised red cabbage, chips

DH doesn't eat puddings - he'd rather have more dinner, lol - and I try not to have them every day but I think this week could be an exception. I've a rice pudding doing in the sc but there's method in my madness as it means I can use up some cream before it goes ood and I can ring the changes each day by adding banana, chopped apple, sultanas or whatever, depending on what I fancy. If a certain manufacturer can flog us pots of cold rice pud at something like 50p a pot, then I'm sure I can make my own a darn sight cheaper. :rotfl:

BrassicWoman

Merlin's_Beard wrote: »

Slow cooker is definitely on the Christmas list this year so hopefully this will be me soon

I reccomend the wilko multi cooker - soups, stews, yogurt, jam, cakes - £25.

Tink_04

Well this month has broken me!! We had a flood which not only soaked the house it broke the fridge freezer too! Luckily I have a little freezer so food wasn’t ruined but life without the fridge was hard and with the house damp ( and dark as we had no elec for 2 days) everything just went out the window!!

We are now back on track after spending an enormous amount on take out and convienence food! I did a shop today which was £23 and that was our fresh stuff for the week! Sorted and meal plan done.

This is our week 4 as new month starts on 20th and that is my Dec money so I’ve got to get back on track as have bought nothing for Xmas food related either, this is our first year doing a dinner at home and I have no idea what to get or how to budget it at all?

Meal plan this week

M - Chilli & rice (extra made for the freezer too)
T - Sausage & Mash with veg
W - pork chops with jacket potatoes & veg
T - shepheard pie (using left over mash form Tuesday)
F - chicken curry
S - pasta bolignaise & garlic bread

I literally had to buy potatoes, rice, sandwich stuff for DH lunches, veg & cereal at the shops as I had all this in already!!

YorksLass

Oh Tink, that’s really bad luck. Hope you’re sorted now.

On the subject of planning for your first Xmas dinner, it can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. Think about what you want to have – not what the Xmas ads say you should have. Example: if you don’t like sprouts, you don’t have to have sprouts! Also, don’t go overboard unless you want to have a mountain of left-overs to deal with after the festivities have ended. Do you really want/need a starter, main, dessert, cheese & biscuits etc? If not, don’t. To me, it’s a normal Sunday dinner with a couple of extras as treats.

If you have time, could you prepare anything in advance and freeze? Example: Make your own pigs in blankets, mince pies etc .

Check out the Christmas 2017 mega index/Christmas chat thread for loads of helpful hints, recipes etc.

Budget-wise – don’t spend more than you can afford; no point in starting the New Year in debt. Look out for offers at the sm, especially in the run-up to the Big Day. If they’re over-stocked they’ll be reducing prices. And there's usually bargains after the Big Day too.

Once you’ve got this first year out of the way, review what you’ve spent then work out how much that is per week/month and save that money in a Xmas pot for next year.

Another thing some people do is to buy a couple of stock cupboard extras each week (eg teabags, bag of sugar, stock cubes etc) from say, September, and keep them in a box separate from your normal groceries so you don’t have to worry about these things just beforehand. If you don’t use them over the holiday period then you’ve got them for Jan/Feb – everyone finds these months hard dosh-wise.

NewShadow

NewShadow wrote: »

Meal plan has gone ever so slightly - but not completely - out the window...

Okay.

Given the pants week last week and the continuing low morale - I've decided I'm taking my team to lunch this week; probably Thursday. We all need a break and some time out of the office to remember.

The union has just confirmed the pay deal for the next 2 years with the backpay due to be processed for the end of this months pay-packet - not that I'm making excuses - so I'm going to budget £80 for the 5 of us - putting it in the social pot and drawing a line under it. Call it an early christmas outing.

Added to that, I need to get my own head sorted. I feel much happier when I'm in control and I've not got to make compromises or on the hoof decisions because I've not taken the time to prepare and think things through.

With that in mind:

- I've made up my usual oat, chia seed, honey, banana and dried fruit porridge mix for the next three days - just add milk and microwave when I'm in the office.

- I've made three lots of roast chicken, fruity couscous and mixed beans for pack-up lunches - expecting the team lunch to be Thursday given that's the day everyone is most likely to be in.

- And I've written a meal plan that will let me use up some of the mountain of eggs I'm accumulating in the fridge - including having made some banana bread as a healthy indulgence

As often happens when I actually make a plan to use up what's in the house - I'm also thinking I can push my planned delivery back a couple of weeks to early December or at least the last week of November so I'm removing it from the total until I decide.

I always think I need to buy more 'stuff' but with a bit of thought it's easy enough to turn not much into something good and it keep the hands and mind busy in a productive way

No spend this weekend so total spend so far* still = £48.14/£150 fud + £23.25 social

*not inc pending Ocado delivery of c.£66 or team lunch c.£80

lynnejk

Evening all

Spends this weekend were
Morrys = £24.89
Al*i = £17.02

These means we are on £102/£200, which seems to be okay as shouldn't need to go to shops again until next weekend.

Hope you all have a money-saving Monday
Lx

Suffolk_lass

I did a quick check in Morries on Saturday and the stickers are on the freezers, ready for the meat - I plan to buy a small Turkey Crown to cook just for cold and sandwiches - they are £14 this year, up from £12 last year. In the past I have bought vast Turkeys and spent half of the holiday processing leftovers. While I still intend getting maximum value from the bird, by meeting my catering requirements in this way, I can present a premium bird to my guests and still be generous to unexpected drop-ins without burdening us with the national debt.

Merlin's_Beard

iammumtoone wrote: »

You can still do a simple meal plan and buy everything for the week

For eample for 7 days worth
3 ready meals (not ideal but needs must - pick out three on the day whatever you fancy)
- jacket potato (cook in microwave) beans and cheese topping
- packet frozen fish in sauce, ready made mash, frozen peas
- pizza and garlic bread
- egg/omelette and frozen chips
- fruit enought to eat two different pieces a day

All simple and quick not the healthiest but at least you get variety and its not forever, the fruit will mean you get at least 2 a day which is better than nothing and needs no cooking/prep.

Good luck I know what is like to have nothing but work on your brain, hope it eases up for you soon.

Thanks for the suggestions - have a big bag of potatoes to microwave and even found some YS veg so not totally unhealthy!

Supermarket spend today £33.63, but done this month's non-food shop bits - including spending plenty on cold remedies, which wasn't planned until this morning! - so not totally unhappy.

Now up to £64.86/£100

K.Mack

Hi,

I've just read through the initial post and think it would be beneficial for me to join,but will put my name down for next month. My husband and I routinely allocate 180.00 (and then some!) per month for food, so definitely think this can be improved on!
The dog has his own budget (we get a delivery of his food each month via direct debit). I have two little furry pets who I don't have to buy for that often to be honest.
We used to be a bit more organised but our work routines changed and we have extra bills now, so have become a bit lazy. I also have the problem planning things so they merge into each other. For example yesterday I cooked gammon joint for dinner and today I made carbonara with some of the left overs. I still have a small amount of leftovers and the cream from the carbonara so what should I do with them?
Or I will make something different then the rest of the ingredients go to waste because I don't know what else to make with them.

Do you guys have spreadsheets of everything? I made one years ago but could never keep to it!
Would I be better breaking up the spends in to weeks?

Please note my husband is no help whatsoever when it comes to these things. He hasn't any interest in helping meal plan.

Sorry for the long post!

[Deleted User]

Had some spends of £6.69, wanted cabbage & carrots to make coleslaw, salad bits, plus some multipacks of crisps happened to fall into the trolley, without me noticing !!!! got some other bits too. That really is it now. Have updated sig.

K.Mack wrote: »

I still have a small amount of leftovers and the cream from the carbonara so what should I do with them?

You could throw into an omelette, top a pizza, add to savory rice, stir fry, the gammon that is.

K.Mack wrote: »

Do you guys have spreadsheets of everything? I made one years ago but could never keep to it!

No. I hate extra work. I've added a sig on here, which I update when I have spends.

K.Mack wrote: »

Would I be better breaking up the spends in to weeks?

Trial & error I would say. I do a monthly budget, but I divide the money between weeks. If you spend more in one week, you can pull back in another or vice versa. Doing a stocktake, when initially starting off, really helps, then mealplan with what you already have in stores, just buying extras to make up the meals. Good luck.