The hardest challenge yet

joedenise

Have read your diary from the beginning over the last few days.  You are making amazing progress.

I retired a few years early and have had to learn to live on much less money.  We like to spend our money on holidays, usually in France, in our motorhome.  In order to do this we very rarely eat out, never have takeaways and I cook from scratch.  I generally make most meals for 4 portions so we eat that day and the other 2 portions will go into the freezer for another time.  I also batch cook soups, stews, curries etc particularly when I get cheaper veggies & meat.

KxMx said:

When I make a Bolognese sauce I use mince, a jar of Dolmio, then add frozen sweetcorn, diced raw tomatoes and diced raw peppers.

Dolmio isn't very MSE!  I also find it extremely tomatoey and very sweet.  Much prefer to make my own tomato sauce and add extra vegetables - grated carrots, courgettes, finely diced mushrooms, red lentils, TVP (if I have any in stock), peppers.

Denise

KxMx

joedenise said:

Have read your diary from the beginning over the last few days.  You are making amazing progress.

I retired a few years early and have had to learn to live on much less money.  We like to spend our money on holidays, usually in France, in our motorhome.  In order to do this we very rarely eat out, never have takeaways and I cook from scratch.  I generally make most meals for 4 portions so we eat that day and the other 2 portions will go into the freezer for another time.  I also batch cook soups, stews, curries etc particularly when I get cheaper veggies & meat.

KxMx said:

When I make a Bolognese sauce I use mince, a jar of Dolmio, then add frozen sweetcorn, diced raw tomatoes and diced raw peppers.

Dolmio isn't very MSE!  I also find it extremely tomatoey and very sweet.  Much prefer to make my own tomato sauce and add extra vegetables - grated carrots, courgettes, finely diced mushrooms, red lentils, TVP (if I have any in stock), peppers.

Denise

It's MSE for me as I am disabled. Better/more important things to do with my limited energy than make a sauce from scratch.

I only buy the 750g jar when on offer, with the added veg it makes 4 portions, 2 for me & Mum to eat, 2 for the freezer.

bouicca21

Just substitute passata for the jar of dolmio and add some diced onions.  No extra work, substantial saving.

elantan

boultdj said:

The thing I tend to add to mince to stretch it is finely chopped mushrooms, which for me is the better option as I don't like the taste of lentils and OH will not touch oat's unless it's in a crumble or flapjack's.

we love mushrooms, I will try this net time thanks 

elantan

Hi all,

been busy working, i was on call at the weekend and landed up being called out twice, finally got to my bed at 3.40am so was shattered. 

Money wise we are on target, however, and this worries me, nearly £100 has been spent on alcohol, I have not had a drink this year so it hasnt been me, I also have not had a takeaway this year and we have spent nearly £40 on that so far, we are only on the 18th of the month so this is worrying for me. We are barely spending any money on food as i have loads bought already, just very small top ups being made, bread milk veg etc. 

We have one of those treat meals planned, we are going out with friends this sunday for a meal, this will be my first takeaway for the year, I am looking forward to it and will ensure i enjoy it. It will be my last treat until March 21st when we have to travel down south for a wedding. 

We had some devastating news yesterday that I am trying to get my head around and i know it will affect me deeply and for a long time probably for ever, so I am determined i am going to put my mental health first for a while as i will need to be there as a support for the individual going through and dealing with the ordeal. I think OH will probably increase his drinking as that seems to  be the way he is choosing to deal with things, that is his choice and one i will not involve myself with. He has made an appointment with the Dr for Friday as he feels he will need to up his medication and i have no doubt that will help him also, 

Food wise we have been eating well, ensuring we are getting enough nutrition and healthy foods in. Hopefully we will manage to get within the £500 budget for this month, if we do i will try to have £500 next month also then maybe in April take it down to £450 so it is a work in progress, normally i would go to hell with this after receiving the news i did, but so far i am feeling more determined than ever, i hope it stays this way 

Hope you are all well. 

elantan

P.S Still not liking this new outlay of the site 

helensbiggestfan

Hi Elantan.  It's me LL. I had to change my details because I was locked out, so yes I'm not that keen on the new site either.  Hey ho.  

Sorry to hear that you have some bad news but good to hear that your resolve hasn't weakened because of it.  That speaks volumes about your new determination and positive attitude.  Doubtless there will be times when you are tempted to spend a little more than is ideal but don't torture yourself. Life throws us curved balls. What matters is not that we stumble and falter but what really counts is how soon we pick ourselves up and start again.  

as the oldJapanese saying goes "Fall 7 times, get up 8 times". 

Keep going, you are doing well. 

dreaming

It sounds as if you have a lot going on at the moment - hope things get resolved quickly for you, or you find the strength to see it through.  Wise of Mr El to visit the doctor and I think you should definitely not worry too much about cutting down at the moment.  Best wishes.

p.s. I don't mind the new format at all - in fact I think I probably prefer it.

balabooberlies

Hi Elantan
Boy do you have a short memory !
When you started this thread you were spending 8 HUNDRED a month.  Look at you now.......... you wonderful girl.
Bala
X

Siebrie

Good for you, deciding to enjoy the next meal out! And already looking forward to the one in March! And figuring out that someone in the household is drinking a lot... Is there any way you can inform the doctor of your worries? Alcohol may interfere with the medication, for instance by having unwanted side effects. Will your husband tell the doctor the correct number of units? Does your husband know how many units per day/week he's drinking?