April 2022 Grocery Challenge

MissRikkiC

A full fridge and freezer stock take done this morning and a revamped meal plan is to be created, to make up for the boring one we have written already. There is enough to not shop for much at all imho so will see how we go! 

pamsdish

Back from a break in Norfolk, contributed to exes while there about £50, going to try to manage with what food I have in freezer until Friday.

Suffolk_lass

Naturelover22 said:

Hello,
Monday again! This month is flying by.
Added up our spends for the month so far and we are on £148.51 for food, household and pet. £6.20 was treats for work as my husband starts a new job this week.
It is very interesting to narrow it down actually and we have spent a fair bit on socialising without doing anything special.
Food shopping is going well, it was Sainsbury's yesterday as husband needed diesel and the cats eat their own brand cat food. Then a top up in the Range of cat litter as Sainsburys have discontinued their cheap one.
I have been reading the discussions and I am enjoying learning more about everyones lifestyles and ideas what to do with the food.
We will have family round on Sunday so need to plan for that, probably roast lamb but have not decided. We are having a day out on Saturday and I think I'll suggest a picnic rather than more spending out and about, maybe just buy a hot drink while we are there.

Try Morries for their basic one - half that price

atrixa

Here to report a £12.92 spend in Mr M this morning. I decided to stock up on more tofu while it was on offer. This brings my monthly total to £131.37/£135.

There's no way I won't go over from now until payday, but at least tea tonight is entirely out of cupboard stores (Lentil Bolognese) and I might be able to get a soup out of what I've already got in the house.

QueenJess

Needed extra cheese, milk and bananas (send DH to the corner shop so nothing else spent!).  Came to £5.28.

Spent £81.92 / £200 (+£100 for stock up shop)

Greying_Pilgrim

Phew!  Achieved another NSD today.  I realise it's immaterial if you have 29 days of NS and then blow the budget on day 30! 😂  But it feels like a small achievement anyway 😊 We had leek and potato soup for lunch, which used up the second leek from the MrL box (the two I have used in soup were the 2 least trimmed, so the darker green leaves did go darker green with cooking, but I only partially blitzed the soup, so it was more 'rustic' in appearance anyway.  The potatoes were out of the MrL box too, and whilst not quite as floury as the very last of my farmgate potatoes, were good none-the-less.  It was dreich weather-wise here this morning, so soup was a good choice, and meant i didn't use up so much cheese/bread (for sandwiches), and loaf crusts were ideal 'soup mopper' tools.

Lentil bolognese for tea.  I cooked a whole packet of green lentils in one go - doesn't seem to take that much extra time/energy.  I have put 2 portions (enough for 2 more bologneses), into the freezer.  I used some of the casarecce pasta (3 for a £1) from HeR0n F00ds to accompany.  LG munched up the pasta, no bother.  They had had a little phase of being picky about pasta shapes 🙄but fingers crossed they have come through that now, and will munch pretty much any shape/type of pasta - which is good for the budget 👍

I may well swap around the meal planner between tomorrow and Thursday, as we may have less time tomorrow for 'cooking from scratch'.   

I'm away to think up some ideas for next week's meal plan.  I like to keep some flexibility until i go shopping, seeing what's available to buy, but need some back up ideas too.

Greying X

joedenise

I tend to try and add a couple of HM ready meals from the freezer into each week's menu plan as they can just stay in there if I manage to get something when I go shopping.

Ginmonster

£9.11 spent today on sweet treats for everyone at work. 

I'm concentrating on using up what's in the fridge at the moment as we're going away over Easter and it's been great for stopping me going to the shops. Yesterday DH and I shared a couple of very disappointing cheese & red onion hot cross buns turned into much tastier cheese toasties and a leftover veg fajita from the day before all done in the toastie maker. It wasn't pretty but it used up what needed to be used. Today I made some gigantes plaki (Jack Monroe recipe) for lunch with salad and garlic bread. Tea will be a noodle stir fry with a leek, some red cabbage, red pepper and about a third of a block of halloumi that needs to be used. 

I've got some of the gigantes plaki left so I'll probably have that on toast for breakfast tomorrow and let DH and DS eat the last few proper-flavoured hot cross buns. I'll do a fridge audit tomorrow and work out what the rest of the day's meals will be.

£32.23/£200

MissRikkiC

It’s like I can’t resist buying food even when I don’t need it! Poor planning was the cause for some, but the bulk was because I unexpectedly passed a traditional bakery on my travels today and don’t have one similar locally. Will deduct from the pot shortly and considering moving the rest of what’s available less milk and cheese money to elsewhere so it can’t be spent! 

ragz_2

Around £10 spent today in MrT (£1.50 of which was a few bits for the food bank box) as I didn't take lunch to work and I had evening clinic as well as my usual 8:30-5:30, so needed to eat something. Horrified that a tuna sandwich (which I was craving) was £2.20, so had pitta and humous instead. Stocked up on tomato puree, passata, cat treats and pittas for the DCs to make pitta pizzas in the air fryer plus a pack of bourbon biscuits each (cheaper to buy them a 39p pack of biccies each than to make treats!). 

DH had make Bolognese so when I got home I made Bolognese pitta pizzas for myself, because I fancied it and I had spaghetti yesterday. Now I have a sore, burned mouth!