August 2019 Grocery Challenge

sallybunny

Hello, it's been a long time since I last joined the challenge! Please put me down for £100 for August. I have a fully stocked freezer and we're away for a week so hopefully this should do it. This is for 1 adult, 2 children, no pets.

I saved for lots of work on the house over the last few years, spent it all but have finished with a £10k overspend that I need to pay off now. Time to look at every penny to get this paid off.

K9sandFelines

I'm aiming for £300 again this month; but gluten free stuff costs an arm and a leg

Good luck all

[Deleted User]

Hi, can i please be put down for £80 for the month, to include everything, including takeaways, but not eating out, that's a separate budget. i'm now undecided as to whether i'm gonna run down stores, when we have a 'probable' no deal Brexit. I'm not gonna stockpile, i have a ton in, but just make sure i'm covered, until trade deals are secured. What do others think. Tonight i'm going to be having a Waitrose Vegan Cauliflower & chickpea curry YS @ 49p, with salad.

I love the fact you can really easily make different tasty dips, in minutes, with some tinned beans. I've been experimenting. The one below turned out really nice, the cannelini make it nice and creamy and its practically oil free, bar the Sesame Oil. Any bean dip recipes to share would be nice. I made this one with store ingredients.



RECIPE 'Not Quite Houmous' Dip.

1 tin of cannellini beans (drained) - retain some of the liquid
1 tin of chickpeas
a few tablespoons of nut butter (didn't have Tahini)
some garlic (i used puree - its not as harsh and didn't have fresh)
a little bit of toasted sesame oil.

Blend with some of the bean liquid, until right consistency and add a squeeze of lemon to balance it out. I did add cumin, but think I would divide up next time and then flavour batches with different stuff, cumin, paprika, roasted pepper etc.

Suffolk Lass do you have a recipe for the courgette soup.

thrifty-hayley

Put me down for £50 for August please. My month will run from 31st July-31st August as that is pay day. I was aiming for £90 in July and managed to come in around £50 so going to attempt to do it again.

Suffolk_lass

Here you go Save Dosh
Courgette soup with a tiny bit of bite - leave out the chilli if you don't want it spicy

Ingredients

Carrots (2)
Onions (2 medium)
Sweet potato (1 or 2)
Middle bits of a head of celery if you have one in (including leaves)
3 medium courgettes
1 chilli
1 stock pot (veg)
salt and pepper to season
olive oil (or veg; sunflower if you prefer)
good pinch of mixed herbs - my mix is mint, basil, thyme and oregano - twice as much mint and oregano - but anything you like really, not too flowery
water

Method

1. I chop 2 onions and 2 carrots (and the middle of a head of celery if I have some) and a medium (or 2 small) sweet potatoes to about the same size chunks in olive oil (count 1-2-3 - that is enough) until the onion is translucent and the carrot is softening.
2. Add the herbs, chilli (I currently have a jar of chopped red chillies in oil - lazy chilli - don't be too generous if this is your choice), salt and pepper and water and then the chopped courgettes.
3. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and set the timer for 30 minutes and stick a top on
4. Remove from the heat and adjust the salt level to taste.
5. When it has cooled a bit, I use a stick blender to combine and liquidize it - taste at this point too.
6. I store it in the fridge and use 6 spoonfuls a day per person (I say spoonfuls - large serving spoons, not tablespoons, or 2-3 ladles full) and serve it over a bit of (optional) crumbled garlic and herb cheese (or strong grated cheddar) and swirl a bit of cream (if you have any) on top with black pepper and a smattering of salt flakes

jam2019

Hi, please put me down for £60 for the month!

zafiro1984

Hi, It's a couple of years since I last did a grocery challenge so please may I join in again.
It would be good to keep an eye on what I spend and I always work better if I have a challenge to meet. I've carefully worked out what I think I need in August so please can you put me down for £398 as a starter.
If I manage to save something not only will it be an achievement but I wont be saying anything to the rest of the family.
I've just done a spread sheet in excel on all my spends and income and I feel that groceries is one of the areas I can do some saving.

Fairie

Hi, we've not been keeping check of our grocery spending for a while and I think it's time I took back control of it. So this month is going to be a bit of a guess.

Going through the bank statement at a guess we spent about £600 on food items and takeaways in July. We were away a lot and have been rubbish at planning due to an ongoing house move project, which is still ongoing. So I think we can bring this down a lot. Small steps though as recommended in the starting post. So I'm going to shave £50 off this estimated guess and have August's budget at £550

This is for 2 adults, 2 middlesized children and 2 cats. We are healthy, conscientious eaters and we are still in a house renovation project which makes evening eating a bit of a challenge. This should be finished this month though.

I actually did a shop yesterday, which shall start off August's spends at a total of £147.15

I did meal plan, and shop with a list, we shopped at the local farm shop for this week's fruit and veg, and I did a plastic free shop which should do a couple of weeks. Plus a t**co shop.

Fairie x

Fairie

Banana Breakfast Bites (makes 12 small)

1 Banana
2 eggs
3-4 table spoons of seeds/chopped nuts
Handful of barley flakes
2 handfuls of oats
1 chopped apple
Small handful of raisins
Sprinkle of cinamon

Mash banana and add eggs, whisk together. Add all other ingredients and mix together. Spoon mixture into oiled muffin/cake tin. Bake at 180C until lightly browned

I've just whipped this together as I've been using a similar method to make pancakes, but couldn't be bothered to stand at the hob for an hour. Came out really well and have gone down a hit with my girls. I've eaten 3 and I'm full. Saving the rest for tomorrows breakfast, hoping they taste good cold ��

Mrs_Cheshire

Fairie wrote: »

Banana Breakfast Bites (makes 12)

1 Banana
2 eggs
3-4 table spoons of seeds ( I used hemp, Chia and poppy)
Handful of barley flakes
2 handfuls of oats
1 chopped apple
Sprinkle of cinamon

Mash banana and add eggs, whisk together. Add all other ingredients and mix together. Spoon mixture into oiled muffin/cake tin. Bake at 180C until lightly browned

I've just whipped this together as I've been using a similar method to make pancakes, but couldn't be bothered to stand at the hob for an hour. Came out really well and have gone down a hit with my girls. I've eaten 3 and I'm full. Saving the rest for tomorrows breakfast, hoping they taste good cold ��

Thank you for sharing, I wonder if you can make it without the seeds? I'll have to look out for barley flakes.