July 2020 Grocery Challenge

taka

Hi Could I be put down for £167.40 for July please (£5.40/day) for the calendar month. Thank you! This is my pre covid budget which usually included the odd meal in the canteen at work. Ideally I want to come way under this... however I need to do a big stock up as I am currently running down my freezer so I can defrost it and want to stock up on some more varieties of storecupboard type foods too.

Can anyone recommend a decent (non leaky!) food pot/flask for hot meals eg curry / stew / pasta etc?

My work will start back in a couple of weeks and we've been warned microwaves will be out of bounds at least for the next few months. My hours will prob be different, my commute longer (double unless some bus routes are restarted! ) and the canteen will be shut so bringing a warm meal from home would be very helpful!

joedenise

Think I'd stick with a Thermos branded one.  They're usually very good and available from loads of places and in various sizes to suit your appetite.  No point in buying a 500ml one if you like to eat more than that!  And of course conversely no point in buying a 700ml one if you only eat 250ml of food!

XSpender

@taka - I have a Stanley food flask that keeps food warm all day.  It wasn’t cheap but it works well.  

elsiepac

Budgets done to here

@taka ditto what the others said really - also Chilly's bottles make a hot food container and they are top quality (and top price of course!). Also MonBento do the Element which is an insulated box - haven't tried it but again their other products are top notch and it has good feedback.  I use a Contigo flask for coffee when I'm in the office and it's excellent - if they do food flasks they're bound to be good.

Doom_and_Gloom

I love the Kleen Kanteen brand. Have the water bottle, coffee cup and the 16oz (473ml) double walled food flask/canister.
The food canister does 8 hours hot or cold, is leak proof, shatter proof (dropped it badly many times so can say this is true) and doesn't hold onto flavours from foods. Wouldn't be without it.
They are pricey but in my honest opinion well worth it.

lantanna

£5.54 today, bread, cheese and ham. £24.46 left for my weekly target

thriftwizard

Having bu88ered up June on the grocery budget front by losing track completely in the first week - hangs head in shame! - I'd like to aim for £450 on July, please! Our month runs from June 30th to July 31st, so is a 5-week month, and I'm feeding 4 adults (with 2 different diets) plus the odd family guest at weekends, now it's allowed again. Plus 3 cats, 2 cockatiels and 9 chickens, which may go back up to 12 shortly. Things do seem to be a bit more expensive, but allotment produce is now coming online, as it were, and we're eating some home-grown at nearly every meal now. I think I'd have done OK in June, in the end, but don't know for sure. I will need to order in some flour from the mill, but will try to keep it in the main budget this time.

Suffolk_lass

taka said:

Hi Could I be put down for £167.40 for July please (£5.40/day) for the calendar month. Thank you! This is my pre covid budget which usually included the odd meal in the canteen at work. Ideally I want to come way under this... however I need to do a big stock up as I am currently running down my freezer so I can defrost it and want to stock up on some more varieties of storecupboard type foods too.

Can anyone recommend a decent (non leaky!) food pot/flask for hot meals eg curry / stew / pasta etc?

My work will start back in a couple of weeks and we've been warned microwaves will be out of bounds at least for the next few months. My hours will prob be different, my commute longer (double unless some bus routes are restarted! ) and the canteen will be shut so bringing a warm meal from home would be very helpful!

Thinking laterally (as you do), if you have access to a power point and a washing up point, you could consider this to keep in the workplace for your exclusive use and bring appropriate food in as you do now

taka

Thanks everyone for the food flask (and mini slow cooker!) suggestions. We had another online meeting about the return to work yesterday and frankly it left most people even more confused than before! We may have access to microwaves and definitely access to hot water but not necessarily in our normal work building - possibly we will need to go elsewhere on campus or even occasionally be in marquees between work sessions / during breaks etc. I think a food flask will be a good idea whatever it turns out to be and useful for days out etc anyway.

It is my birthday in Aug so I'd love to get something useful and usable like a food flask! My Brother & SIL have recently had a wee baby so are rather sleep deprived (and shell shocked!) & we are all trying to declutter (and since Dad passed away last month we have his larger, even more cluttered home to sort out too) so something easy to buy online that will actually be used will hopefully be a winner for all of us!

snowbird20

Please put me down for $200 USD.  June has been terrible...just lost my mind on food spending.  Have to regain control in July.