October 2018 Grocery Challenge

Doom_and_Gloom

K9sandFelines wrote: »

Just out of interest is anybody on a GF diet on here? I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow due to digestive issues. As i am vegan aswell, i am anticipating it to be a bit of a minefield if my symptoms prove me right; and i doubt i'll be able to keep my food bill down even cooking from scratch :undecided !

Vegan and avoid gluten too. Sometimes slip up with gluten and if it's just a very small amount usually I'm fine but I've also had very bad reactions to small amounts so do my best to avoid it.

I also usually just go for naturally gluten free products too. Rice, potatoes, buckwheat, quinoa etc.
Besan/gram/chickpea flour is useful, can still make vegan omelettes and the like with that.
However I do buy the GF oats for my porridge which isn't cheap.
I buy bfree wraps when reduced and freeze as I like fajitas and the like do the same with their pizza bases too. I do also buy the odd pack of GF pasta, it lasts ages as I don't eat it often.
Bread is a minefield as most use egg whites/egg as a binder or honey as a sweetener :mad:. When you do find a loaf that is vegan and GF it is usually £3+ for a tiny 400g or 450g loaf.
https://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/recipes/recipes-free-from-brown-bread this came out rather well in the past.
I buy tamari instead of soya sauce.

It has made the budget go up a little but not too much. Get the vitamin b from greens, nuts, seeds, legums etc that would be easier to get from wholegrain but now can't. If GF oats are an option do include them.

lauralou93

Well spent £4.05 at home bargains on 3 packs of go ahead bars for OH lunch boxes and 4pints of semi skimmed .
Still plenty of budget left of more fresh stuff , using left over roast with chips for an easy dinner tonight

selloptape

In standard tradition I've found a couple of receipts in my purse that I had t accounted for... Oops! Now added to sig.

Meal plan is done for a few days but not very inspiring- doesn't feel very seasonal, I need to get back into autumn/winter cooking x

Mon - stuffed pasta
Tue - veggie sausages, mash. Veg, gravy.
Wed- omelette, wedges
Thu - vegan risotto

JingsMyBucket

Today was a NSD. I was glued to my desk again and just finished working. The good thing is that I'm getting stuff done!

TOTALS SO FAR:
€136.06 / €300.00
5/12 NSDs

I'll hit Lidl later in the week for dinner party items closer to Saturday including more toilet paper. Tomorrow I'm heading to Delhaize in the morning for:

• eggs
• canned pumpkin
• frozen shrimp (for dinner party)
• limes
• coconut milk
• peanut butter
• unsalted butter
• 2 for 1 soups (sale)
• Kleenex tissues (cheaper than using toilet paper)

Highland_Fling

Good morning everyone
well dry so far here so I have my washing out on ropes. Forecast not good so I will be watching for first spot of rain on window and then it will be a mad dash to bring it all back in before it gets soaked and I have to wash it all again.
Going out for an early supper tonight so I am having more for breakfast than normal and not having lunch. If I eat a lunch I will not be hungry enough for supper and I want to take full advantage of the menu.
Visited the shop for milk and bread and only bought one extra thing. It was a chocolate cake to take to a friend. Would usually bake a cake but I don't have time so shop bought will have to do.
Still trying to be strict and stick to budget.
One of my friends phoned yesterday to say she has now bought a soup maker as I was always mentioning how convenient I found it. She is now a convert.

XSpender

We are now on £375.69/£360.

We are on holiday for a week from Saturday and do not need anything before then unless DH wants some beer on Friday night to celebrate the start of his holidays.

We have spent a lot less this month. Even if we had not been away for a week it would have still been less than we normally spend. Plus we have moved to mainly organic meat and have started getting an organic veg box which has added to the cost.
This month I did a big food shop about mid month and this has helped us avoid top up shops which really add to our overspending. I still have quite a bit in from this shop too.

The challenge will be coming in at under £400 when we are at home for a full month. I am determined to get a handle on our food spending as when I overspend here it derails all of my month's budget.

I am hoping that £20 will see us through until the end of October and my new month's budget. This is to cover milk and lunch stuff until I do a proper shop on 1st or 2nd November.

I also want to eat a lot more plant based food next month so I am hoping this will help the budget.

MadamMim2013

Did a HUGE shop this morning, in both Mr L & Mr A's.. £103 ish total, bringing monthly spends to over £256.. That said I have really stocked up on the basics and the freezer/store cupboard is full! Will still be buying small bits to top up here and there, I'm very pleased with myself so far..:)

pamsdish

Small shop Morries £3.51, hopefully very little needed before going away on hols next week.

Hopeless_Case

Ok not going so well this month - I thought I had it buttoned down for the rest of the month, then OH popped out on Sunday and bought 2 bottles of cava and a 4 pack of beer (we had DS and GF round for lunch but that was bit OTT, there is half a bottle of cava going flat in the fridge and he opened the beer pack so I can't take it back, and it's just sat there wasting money ) and spent a totally unexpected £16.1 :eek:.

Our total now stands at £193.85/£200, with 11 days to go, so we are most definitely going to crash the budget this month, but I'll keep on trying to keep it as low as possible, and record it!

elsiepac

Doom_and_Gloom wrote: »

The mince (£2.50 for 400g introductory offer, usually £3) and burgers (£2, pack weight 227g, again introductory offer usually £3) are the new 'the meatless farm co' ones. Vegan and gluten free. I was really surprised to see it so had to buy it .

Edit : meal was very filling, a bit more filling than the lentil and bean version, not surprising as it is 21.1g protien per 100g as sold and added some beans and quite a lot of vegetables. Also has 5.2g fiber per 100g so good there too. Had a good portion size and have 4 'takeaway containers' on the side cooling now so not bad going there for leftovers. I liked the texture it had and it went nicely into a meal I usually use green lentils in. Next time will remember to soak the lentils and use both though to help keep cost down.

Where did you find this brand of mince stuff? I've not heard of it...