November 2007 Grocery Challenge

millionaire_in_training

I managed to wait 10 days between shops this time. I am not going near a shop until next Monday unless I need milk. My trolley was more or less filled with smart price or Asda own make today and I managed to get loads. Spent £22.25 but that included lots of cheap biccies ( keeps the kids happy), Juice, packed lunch stuff potatoes and loads of other stuff. Stuck to my list and as usual am amazed at how much less I have spent. We still have loads of food and snacks so its all good.x

lililou

Would love to join in even though it is the 12th tomorrow. We have hardly any money left for the rest of the month and are a family of 6 although baby just needs milk.

I really need some help with planning out cheap meals for the week. Is this the right place?

Need to buy of fruit and veg for healthy meals and lunch boxes this week. Have lots of pasta already in the cupboard and tomatoes, mushrooms in the fridge, condensed soup.

If I buy a whole chicken tomorrow I wonder if I can get two meals out of it this week.

Also are farm shops cheaper for veg than supermarkets generally? Although I have £6 worth of tesco vouchers I can use this week.

Really desperate here folks and would love some advice for meal planning as I'm not a very good cook either. We have under £200 for the rest of the month for everything including petrol.
Get paid on 29th. 2 weeks and 5 days but have some ebay money and mystery shopping to come my way before then I hope.

tattycath

lililou wrote: »

Would love to join in even though it is the 12th tomorrow. We have hardly any money left for the rest of the month and are a family of 6 although baby just needs milk.

I really need some help with planning out cheap meals for the week. Is this the right place?


If I buy a whole chicken tomorrow I wonder if I can get two meals out of it this week.

Really desperate here folks and would love some advice for meal planning as I'm not a very good cook either. We have under £200 for the rest of the month for everything including petrol.
Get paid on 29th. 2 weeks and 5 days but have some ebay money and mystery shopping to come my way before then I hope.

Hi.Welcome to the grocery challenge. When I buy a chicken (normally to feed 4/5 people, (2 adults and 3 cs). I roast the chicken for 1 meal, then I pick the rest of the chicken and get as much meat off it as I can to use in a curry or for sandwiches etc, then I boil the carcass with onion, a couple of carrots or whatever just for extra flavour. Strain it off and either make soup with it or use it for stock. (I normally use it for stock-to store I pour it into icecube bags (when cool) and stick it in the freezer.
When I'm really pushed for cash I give them less meat and bulk the meal out with more veg etc. I would be tempted to save the tesco vouchers for as long as I can and only use them if I really had to.
I hope this helps.
I look at the reduced items in supermarket, I get some great bargains! this also helps to stretch funds. I look at the cheaper veg as well-normally reduced. If I get loads of veg Cabbage, carrots whatever... I tend to prepare and blanche them and when cool put it in freezer (divided into smallish quantities) so when I get some out I only get out what will be eaten without waste.
Good luck!!!
We are all here to support one another!!!

lililou

Hi Tattycath!

Thanks for some wonderful tips and replying in such an encouraging way.:A

I have just planned out some meals for the week based on what is in the cupboard. I have never meal planned before and usually just get side tracked in the supermarket.
Monday
Homemade Pizza pepperoni cheese + spinach Chips/ salad
Tuesday Chicken roast dinner with broccoli and carrots
Wednesday Pasta bake chicken and broccoli/carrots (leftovers from day before)
Thursday Toad in the Hole
Baked beans
Friday Chinese veg stir fry + egg noodles


I need to buy

Sausages £2
Chicken £4
Ham for lunches £2
Stir fry £2
Onions £1
Broccoli £1
Carrots £1
Apples £3
Tangerines £2
Bread £2
Milk £4

Why does my grocery bill always end up much higher than this? I can't ever imagine only spending this amount but if I do I will be amazed.

I have plenty of non-food stuffs so having seen it like this I should be able to make it.

What do you think? I could list what I have in my cupboards and fridge/freezer but not sure if post will be too long or if there is another place to post for recipes etc...

tattycath

lililou wrote: »

Hi Tattycath!

Thanks for some wonderful tips and replying in such an encouraging way.:A

Why does my grocery bill always end up much higher than this? I can't ever imagine only spending this amount but if I do I will be amazed.

I have plenty of non-food stuffs so having seen it like this I should be able to make it.

What do you think? I could list what I have in my cupboards and fridge/freezer but not sure if post will be too long or if there is another place to post for recipes etc...

You have got off to a great start Lililou!! I have just recently started to list all my store cupboard items on an excel spreadsheet, then when anyone takes anything out of the cupboard they mark it down on the spread sheet and when I replenish the item I just cross off their markings!! It works really well for me as I never used to have a clue as to what I'd got and what had been used. Your menu plan looks really good!! There is a thread for recipes... I think it might be in the index, but I can't quite remember, I'm sure some our other friends on here (we are a friendly lot) will be able to help you and will probably give you more better advice/opinions than I have given you. If I want to know a recipe I usually ask on here and someone always helps out.
Keep us posted!!

Jacks_xxx

mikeD wrote: »

That's lovely Jacks xxx, wish I'd 'ave thought of that! But there's accountants for yer, no imagination.

Thank you Mike - it's very sweet of you to say so. :kisses3:

But I'm sure you lack for nothing in the imagination department. They don't call it "creative accounting" for nothing!

Love Jacks xxx

Jacks_xxx

tattycath wrote: »

Hi Jacks.
:T Thank you sooooooooooo much for the hobnob recipe and thanks to the legendary Twinks too.
They are absolutely b___dy gorgeous. I made some today and they are fantastic!!!!!!
:A I just said to my youngest DD that I must go onto MSE and thank you for the recipe and she pointed to the picture of Martin in the corner of the screen and said...'so does he put all the recipes up and everything then?' :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
Got to go I hear another hobnob calling me!!! lol

:rotfl: Awww BLESSS! My daughter thought I was talking to Martin whenever I was typing a message on here apparently! (He'd be blimmin' busy if he had to reply to all of us huh? :eek:

On Debt Free Wannabes ImmoralAngel posts a Sunday Confessional with a big pic of Martin with a halo on it and we all "confess our sins"...My daughter thought it was a serious penance type thing and she was worried that Martin might be cross with us. (Bless her!)

I'm glad you and your family like the hobnobs. We've run out so we're going to make some with choc chips tomorrow. (yum!)

Love Jacks xxx

gunsandbanjos

Hi lililou, one little thing i always find helpful is using www.mysupermarket.co.uk I dont know if you are familiar with the site. But what it does is let you input your grocery list into one of the four main supermarkets. It tells you how much your shopping will be in each one so you can choose the cheapest. And if you go to checkout it will give you alternative products that can save you money! I always do this before i go the shops, it lets me know what the best deals are and i have a pretty good idea how much i'll be spending. Obviously when you're at the supermarket if there are any great deals you should get them, but if you stick to the list it should save you money.:D

Bobbykins

Hi Lililou - just a suggestion for you -

I notice on your shopping list you've put £2 for stir fry plus £1 each for carrots, onions and broccoli so that's £5 altogether..
...how about buying just a tiny little extra each of the broccoli, carrots and onions, then add maybe half a cabbage, a few mushrooms, a courgette and a couple of peppers. If you then slice it all up in a food processer, you have your stir fry, and it should cost you less than £5 in total PLUS you may have a few veg left for freezing AND you know exactly what quality the veg are in your stir fry - I never trust the pre-bagged stuff since I found some veg in it which had rotted! YEUCK!

Anyway, hope this helps save a few pennies!

egon

Hi,

I can't wait for the next month challenge to start.

I didn't join November, as we just moved into our house and everything is still upside down. We spend lots of money this month, but hopefully, we have this under control now.

We have 2 children, 1 boy is 2y 4m and the other boy is 4m and has just started to eat solids. All home made of course.
We are also trying to find out about reusable nappies.....

But, to get into the spirit for the next challenge, I am just planning meals for the next two weeks. OH is now reduced to i fish meal, three meat meals and three veggie meals per week, to cut down on costs etc......

So, I just need to find one more meat meal, and two more veggie meals.
Any suggestions are very much appriciated. (Meat in the freezer is: chicken, minced meat, sausages - sausages casserole already planned-, bacon, unpeeld prawns -why did I buy them?-