November 2021 Grocery Challenge

goldfinches

@joedenise - thankyou for the compliment.
@carolinerunner - my baking trays are the Delia online anodised aluminium ones and I use the bake-o-glide liners she recommends which are also silver in colour so that's why they look so lovely and clean in the photo. They were an expensive treat when I bought them but having had them for a while now I am sure they were worth the price. 

I've managed a NSD today and have also been foraging for windfall apples and snaffled these in less than five minutes from the grounds of a local hotel on my way home from a cold and sunny bike ride.

JingsMyBucket

Brava @goldfinches! What a good haul. Are those edible in their current state or do they need to be cooked?

diganddog

New total: £82.24 / £320

£54.13 spent this week on our shop.

this was for;
margarine, cheddar, bottle of rose, asparagus, milk, Turkey slices, ham, yoghurts, bacon, sausages, double cream, broccoli, chorizo, bananas, baking potatoes, bleach, rubber gloves, shake n vac, washing up liquid, sweets, 2x pasta sauce, carpet freshener, dishmatic refills, peppers, crumpets, tortilla wraps, crackers, mini rolls, cereal, toilet ducks.

big spend this week, but I needed to replenish our cleaning bits and bobs - was also feeling a bit of pressure due to not being able to get my usual delivery slot for the past 3 weeks so now we’re trying out different supermarkets.

I think I may go back to going out to do a proper weekly shop, getting a delivery was purely a time saver for me so maybe not a necessary spend.

pamsdish

£18.81 over the weekend in A1d1 and Morries

Suffolk_lass

JingsMyBucket said:

Brava @goldfinches! What a good haul. Are those edible in their current state or do they need to be cooked?

@JingsMyBucket they look like Bramley apples (often the trees are too tall to allow them to be picked, so you have to wait for them to fall). They are an excellent cooking apple and also good for juicing as a little bit tart. We cook them baked, whole, in the oven with the core removed (a knife run round their "waist" to stop them boiling out) and either sultanas (raisins) or dates in them and a little juice from oranges. Lovely and tart, best with custard or ice cream if you listen to my household.

If they are bruised from falling, they can be bottled (canned), frozen or cooked and frozen. We often fill take-away boxes we have accumulated with stewed un-sweetened bramley apple, to use with yogurt for breakfasts or in desserts.

If picked and perfect, they will keep all winter in a cool, mouse free place

sarahj1986

sarahj1986 said:

sarahj1986 said:

Hello all

its been a busy few days here

Ive kept the receipts. I used to do this but stopped and that’s why I feel like our spends have gone a bit chaotic in recent months. My husband working loads probably didn’t help. He’s only working part time now and our daughter is in nursery. This is giving me so much more time to keep control if spending, meal plan, make things in advance etc 

Anyways!

€78.95 spend over several shops. This does include some Christmas treats. We went into Lidl on Thursday as they had special buys on. We got pjs for our daughter and slippers for hubby. I’ve deducted that cost from the above. I’ve got to get more water and milk today from Aldi but that should be it. We are doing a big Carrefour shop for next week which will have all the bulky items in it. I’ve gotta make this last as much as I can in November. It will obviously include many fresh and frozen items. 

Just to update this 

€12.85 spent this morning. I didn’t intend to spend that much BUT they had reduced meat, pork mince, chicken breasts and pork chops. I’ll happily use those next week or following week. All bagged up in the freezer. Discount of 30% off which is great. I also got the big bottle of washing detergent as that was on special offer. 

€188.20 left with our big shopping coming next week too 

€22.35 spent today

i went up the other end of Palma Nova to get Lidl and Mercadona specific items - pasta, cereal bars, chocolate, mince beef, yogurts, cakes and Lidl special buys of Christmas presents (deducted from the total). I always treat myself to sushi from Lidl 30% off not bad and I love it. 

€165.85 left

shopping due to delivered tomorrow. Some of it is for December so I’m going to deduct an amount off the spend based on what we will use. We tend to bulk buy tins, cans, toilet rolls etc every 6-8 weeks. We shouldn’t in theory need very much for a good 2 weeks. Certainly don’t need any meat or fish for at least 2 weeks. Fresh items like fruit and veg maybe. I’ll update you on that tomorrow 

jozbo

Lovely looking apples @goldfinches I haven’t seen any about that I can forage but will keep my eyes peeled. We have a cool garage that we can store in over winter although everything attractive to rodents is sealed up in sturdy plastic boxes.

L1dl shop today of £34.31 which included a £10 side of salmon for the freezer for guests later this month, some non alcoholic fizzy grape juice for Xmas as well as the week’s food. Hence hasn’t all come out of grocery budget which is getting confusing . Nevertheless I have tried to balance my ‘spaces’ on starling and the Christmas gift/food budget is now at £0 - eek.
grocery budget is £31.87 which will be challenging but we should get the L1dl £10 off by our next weekly shop I think. Plenty in the cupboards and freezers again now. 

Finstickle

A couple of top-up spends for me

£13.30 in Sainsburys - conditioner, pulses, fresh bread and pizza for Sat night
£8.15 in Co-op - eggs, milk & weetabix

Current value: £227.52/£550

LadyWithAPlan

@Suffolk_lass I also cook my cooking apples the same way when I have the oven on for other things. I have not tried adding dates though .. I find dried fruit and nuts impossible to keep in the house, as soon as I buy them I eat them all within 2 days - this includes sultanas etc !! It is very annoying when I want to bake sweet treats. 

Grocery Challenge  £55.65 / £140  + £6/ £100 bulk 
On way back from booster and flu jab spent £28 in Waitrose but over £8 back on cashback, then home for 2+ days ill  + £2.65 Sunday on some sweets, crisps and sparkling watre so a bit pointless spend TBH.

Luckily I had put a FR chicken in oven in the morning before  walking to Doctor for my FLU/COVID jab last week (which knocked me out for 3 days as I was already ill)  and cooked loads brown rice so had chicken to eat and fair amount of nibbles including some GF DF bars that helped me thru feeling awful..

Plus today I made chicken stock, half went into a very delicious chicken soup with the last bit of the chicken that I have had 2 huge bowls already and may well not manage to freeze any as it will all be eaten!... and the other half of the stock will make up beetroot soup today as I have some in, some of that I will manage to freeze.

My freezer is rammed - no second hand or free ones around me available at present  - I may yet swoop in and get a black Friday deal if I can see one for under £200 (and cash back!) 

Now I have this bulk store pot started I  will see where is best to bulk buy online /offline  stores such as pulses, brown rice , dairy free milk etc - any suggestions welcome.


Free Money £14.58/£100
£8.34 from  Shopmium/Green Jinn offers - there is a great Japanese coffee Shopmium offer on 50% at Waitrose - you can do it 6 times on diff blends. It is still on.


Nov NSD             4/15     (M/T/F/S) 
hopefully today as well (Monday) I have run out of eggs, DF milk etc but I could wait a day or so.
Not spending much at all elsewhere, some new aeropress coffee filters, nothing really on entertainment  this week as ill.
Need to start the Xmas shopping... I have £400 only in the gifts pot as I add to it ach month but it seems there are birthdays every month including one in December ...

pamsdish

Tried to calculate my missing amounts, given up and guessed at £250, staying at S.I.L. weekends, contributing veg and some meats, so a very rough approximation.