March 2021 Grocery Challenge

Suffolk_lass

PipneyJane said:

Thank you for the new thread, @elsiepac.  Count me “in” with a budget of £140 for March, although it may increase - apologies in advance - if there there is any cash left from February to roll into it.  That £140 is for all grocery/supermarket spends for two adults, not just for food, and covers every meal plus treats.  The only exclusions are for meat purchased from the butcher, which comes from a separate fund, and Easter Eggs/Easter chocolate which will be purchased from the Christmas Fund.  (I usually make pots of Coconut Rough for Easter, rather than give commercially made chocolate eggs.  It’s cheaper and I can use better quality chocolate.)

Our month will run from 1st March to 31st.

- Pip

Is that the Australian stuff?

joedenise said:

@PipneyJane I move any excess into my bulk fund if there is anything left at the end of the month but if I go over then I'm short the next month!

The Coconut Rough sounds nice.  Any chance of a recipe please?  I've only got a couple of grown up children and a couple of grown up grandchildren so usually give money for Easter but might work out cheaper to give something like this!

Yes, I was going to ask - the recipe I have uses cocoa

PipneyJane

Happy to oblige @joedenise and @Suffolk_lass. Yes, coconut rough is an Australian sweet. It is only sold commercially in winter, in Australia, because the coconut oil makes it melt faster.  

Coconut Rough Recipe

375g chocolate, either drops or bars broken up (I use 50:50 70% dark chocolate : milk chocolate)
60g copha (pure distilled edible coconut oil, sold white and hard in a jar or bar)
3 cups of desiccated coconut

Method

1. Break the chocolate up into small chunks if necessary.
   
2. Line a couple of baking trays with non-stick/silicon paper.
   
3. In a bowl suspended over a saucepan of boiling water, melt the chocolate and the copha and stir well to combine.
4. Stir in the desiccated coconut until well incorporated. Switch off the heat.
5. Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the lined baking trays. Refrigerate until hard. It makes 30+ generous dollops. 

Here are mine just before I put them in the fridge to harden (photo taken a couple of years ago).



- Pip

[Deleted User]

Hi elsiepac, please put me down for £180 for March. Sorry I missed last month. Life got in the way for various reasons. Thanks again for running the thread.

ancientmum

Hello elsiepac, thank you for the new thread.  Please put me down for £75 for March.  I'm hoping to have some left over from February to add to it  after my month ends on 28th. 
That coconut rough sounds nice PJ,  can you use the solid coconut oil sold in H & B or Gropetree?

Jellybaby

I'm going for £250 for March.  January was  my first time ever doing this challenge and I started with a low budget as the freezer and cupboards were rammed but still went over as I made the mistake of asking my son to shop for me a couple of times!  I was over in February too slightly, even after increasing the budget, but having studied the receipts again I can see a few areas to improve on!  

Dia_Pita

Hi elsiepac, please could you put me down for  £200  from 24th Feb to 23rd of March. 
I have missed target last few months, need this thread to keep me on track.

elsiepac

Budgets updated to here

Hettyhound

Hello All, hope you are keeping well.  I’m aiming for £200 again in March although I think it might be tight.  I went £3.75 over in February and March is considerably longer.  My challenge this month is a more comprehensive meal plan that includes everything not just evening meals!  It those pesky snacks and forgotten lunches that all add up 🍇🍎🍌🧁🍪🍫

Potternerd

Hi could I please join? I’m going to start March from tomorrow as that will give me 5 weeks.  I would like to restrict myself to £450 for those 5 weeks to cover food, alcohol , toiletries and cleaning stuff.

Shortie

Hi, I have been away from the Forum for a loooong time and am really in need of the community feel that this place has

So with that in mind, I budget £250 every month for food, pets, toiletries, etc... That's for 4 of us - 3 adults (well, 1 is nearly 18) and 1 teen.  I have a seperate budget for takeaway, it's not huge, but this £250 doesn't cover takeaways.

My month starts at the very end of the previous month so I'll start end of Feb for March if that's okay.
I am also starting to shop in mutiple places so will see how everyone else tallies up their shops - just amounts, or listing what they got, etc.
One thing to note, under pets in the budget I include my chickens. They are mainly pets but they do give us eggs which then helps with the fodd spends, so their feed will go into this aount