August 2019 Grocery Challenge

FoxFace

Afternoon all, I hope you are all having a lovely weekend

Yesterday I spent £2 on lunch for 4 of us, a Gr3ggs Vegan roll each (50% discount as husband works for them) and popped the last of the chips in the air fryer and £5.84p for some travel soap and a vegan ginger cake for camping next week ... £7.84p for yesterday.

Today was my "big shop... £40.77p in various shops.

As we are yurting next week, I made a huge batch of granola to take for breakfasts, which was essentially free as I had everything in.

We are setting off tomorrow lunch time I will be making a curry before we go, to heat up for the evening's dinner. That helps to use up a huge sweet potato that I already had in, that needed to get used. I'm also going to make some banana and walnut bread, as I have three over ripe bananas

So that's a total of £48.61p of the week's used... which leaves £31.89p for the week, in case we need anything else

Bluegreen143

No extra spends to report yet but slight change to dinner.

Husband objected to the lentil cottage pie on the grounds we had mashed potato last night (I’d forgotten) so I made a sort of lentil stew (puy lentils with whizzed up carrot/onion/mushroom/celery, garlic, beef stock as no veg stock left, various spices/herbs, tomato pur!e, lashings of EV olive oil) which I threw a bit of small soup pasta into near the end and served with HM garlic bread and roasted sticks of carrot/potato/swede.

I didn’t think anyone but me would be excited by this meal but much to my surprise it was pronounced yum by everyone even meat-loving DH, the fussy 3.5yo ate two(!) portions and the baby who’s refusing to be spoon fed covered herself all over with the lentil mix but did appear to eat a reasonable amount too. Very happy with that and have a small amount left so will freeze to feed kids one evening if DH and I want a “date night dinner” once they are in bed

thriftwizard

much to my surprise it was pronounced yum by everyone

Love it, Bluegreen143 - to be honest it does sound very tasty!

£40 added to my total, between some stupendous bargains at the market this morning - 4 punnets of "doughnut" peaches, which I've known for years as "paraguayo", for £1, 3 x 500g punnets of lovely strawberries for £2, a massive bag of cherries for £2 etc. etc. - and the supermarket. There'll be another £5 at least spent tomorrow, on some decent mince to make Keema tomorrow; I'm feeding 8, 6 omnivores and 2 veggies, who will have daal. All a bit off-piste on the spending front, but we can't take risks with the highly-allergic nephew, and hopefully I can cut back a bit for the rest of the month.

Bluegreen143

Mealplan for today

Breakfast - porridge & fruit for kids and I and think DH had weetabix

Lunch - was thinking either cheese toasties with salad veg/fruit, or maybe mac & cheese as we are short on bread... DH taken ham & pickle sandwich to work

Snack - usually make up a mid afternoon snack plate for DS & I with fruit/veg, think I will include some crackers & hummus too as I want to make some for tomorrow

Dinner - chicken thigh & red pepper traybake with rice & veg

Will need to go shopping. I have agreed to host a gathering with a group of friends, who are lovely and bringing things but I need to provide food too, and they aren’t the sort of friends you can just do cheapy stuff for like my other friends as they are all loaded and go all out for gatherings... was thinking of making HM hummus, loaf of HM bread and cupcakes and serving with smoked salmon, veg crudities, crisps, olives, nuts etc. So nice but not too pricey. And some of them are bringing drinks and pizza.

Also need to pick up butter, coffee and perhaps some YS bread if I can get some.

Fairie

Morning, we've had a number of spends since my last post. We went to the local veg shop, and then a supermarket shop for other bits. We've just started using the local milk man for a while until our renovation and move calms down. Partner stopped off for a snack on his way home from work on Fri, and we had traditional first night of the move fish n chips.

We also unusually ordered pizzas on Saturday. The kitchen is still being painted and I was just a bit done with feeding us proper meals in the chaos and needed a break. They were very nice, but hm ones are so so much cheaper!

Anyway, with all of that our current total stands at £298.06/£550

We are now completely out of fresh fruit and veg again though. Am going to go to the next town today. They used to have a fab market stall that we used to go to regularly as they did bags of fruit and veg for £2. Hoping that they are there today. Otherwise shall use the greengrocers there.

Still don't have my fridge/ freezer, we're hoping to bring it over tomorrow.

I find it hard to meal plan when I'm starting from nothing, so much easier when I have ingredients to chuck together. never mind, shall cobble something together.

Fairie x

Fairie

Bluegreen143 wrote: »

Someone asked about redcurrants and gooseberries - well redcurrant jelly would win my vote & if you’ve not enough, you could add the gooseberries and make a mixed jelly?

With the gooseberries, I used some of mine from the freezer yesterday to make a gooseberry pur!e which I mixed in equalish quantities with custard and Greek yoghurt. The kids loved it!

That was me Bluegreen, Thank you for this. They are still sat in the freezer at the old house, but will need to do something with them when we move the freezer. Gooseberry puree sounds like a good plan, as well as a crumble. yum.

x

[Deleted User]

Like the idea of freezing cake batter. I would think I could freeze in silicon cupcake moulds and then only need to get one or two out at a time, would defrost quickly and stop the temptation of eating a full one. I do traybake as they are easier to cut into squares for freezing. Thanks for the idea.

dan958

12 days down, £23.46/£80 for the month.

I bought a couple of cleaning products, so bit of a more expensive week for me. I am on track for hitting my goal though.

MoneyMission

Afternoon all.

Sainsbobs shop today came to £59.12 plus the weekly milk man delivery of £7.60 so a total of £102.21 / £440.00 for the month so far.

Am going to bake some muffins tomorrow for snacks, plus make and freeze some 50/50 bread rolls ready for school lunches again when they start back.

Already feeling on top of the spending now that I'm 'fessing up on here.

thriftwizard

£8.39 added to my total today, for some butcher's mince to feed 6, and a bag of fresh coriander from the greengrocer. 8 fed at suppertime, on keema mince and/or dahl with bulgur wheat, khobez bread and runner beans from the allotment, with an assortment of HM ice-creams for pudding. I'm kicking myself because I shall have to run up to the supermarket tomorrow for some baking potatoes, having forgotten them today, but it's OH-&-his-twin's birthday tomorrow & baked potatoes are part of the requested birthday lunch-in-the-garden! DS3 is arriving in time for lunch, and DS2 may pop in in his lunchbreak & snaffle some as well, so potentially 8 for lunch, too.

So, I've spent more than half of my target figure and we're less than halfway through the month, though I should be able to get back on track after tomorrow. I'm beginning to think I need to establish a small "catering emergency" fund to cover these unanticipated, though delightful, visits, as it's a bit of a challenge to feed a very-allergic young person on the stuff we normally have in the storecupboard. To be fair, my niece's two youngsters are just as difficult to feed, with equally severe (as in life-threatening) but different allergies; however their parents normally bring suitable food as they're still pretty small at 5 & 8 - OH's nephew is a strapping 6-foot 13-year-old rugby player, and eats like one!

Off now to make up DS3's bed, which will upset no. 1 cat, who thinks it's hers...