May 2022 Grocery Challenge

Soontobeoap

I also use a notebook. Seems more real when you physically write it down. Then I update signature on here.

Have offered toake 2 cakes for jubilee day up at my husbands bowls club so I will have to factor that into next month's budget too. There is no doubt about it, the summer is more expensive. We are getting the benefit from the cut and come again lettuces that I planted and the runner beans are beginning to climb up their poles. The cherry tomatoes plants are still quite small but I hope to be picking those in the summer school hols. Strawberry not doing too well but raspberry plant has lots of flowers
🤞That the garden provides us with a little something to boost our food supply. 

Doom_and_Gloom

FrugalHedonist said:

Might be a bit of an odd question but can you make houmous without tahini and subbing it for peanut butter or another nut butter. The child loves houmous but a jar of tahini is pretty pricey 

I've used peanut butter in the past when I ran out of tahini. It was 100% peanuts only peanut butter so I can't say how it would work with other kinds. It did taste a bit different, of course, but it worked fine.

joedenise

PipneyJane said:

Afternoon All

A quick question for you on practicalities:  how do you track your Grocery Challenge shopping?  I'm just being curious.  I use a spreadsheet in the Numbers app on my iPad/iPhone.  Every month, I start a new tab.  (I have a keyboard for the iPad, which makes it easier to note things down.)  

- Pip

I use YNAB to track both my grocery budget and my bulk fund.  I've had a problem with it this month and need to sort it out but I need a bit of peace and quiet to do that so need to wait until DH goes off to golf later this week!

Wraithlady

FrugalHedonist said:

Might be a bit of an odd question but can you make houmous without tahini and subbing it for peanut butter or another nut butter. The child loves houmous but a jar of tahini is pretty pricey 

I use natural yoghurt instead of tahini, if that helps

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening GC'rs

K9sandFelines - I've not had chance to re-look at my menu plan, but I'll try and sort it out just now.  As it happens we did have (sort of) what was slated for tonight, so best laid plans and all, but no, the dish did not spark joy......

I wanted to try the Creamy Carrot Pasta Sauce that I saw on the Tin and Thyme website the other day.  Originally, I had intended it as a pasta bowl, but then thought that the pasta would be better as an accompaniment.  Glad I went with that option in hindsight.  So we had the carrot sauce pasta with a Qu0rn filet (I have 2 left in the freezer - have eventually eaten through the Qu0rn stocks amassed on special offers), the last of the sweetcorn, some green beans and the last of the broccoli.  

I have to say the pasta sauce wasn't for me.  It tasted fine, it was easy enough to prepare (I used my stick-blender), it was silky when I made it and a nice consistency.  But when folded in with the pasta, it seemed to go very grainy and  'claggy' [technical term]. I do have a bit of the sauce left, so I will try to come up with something else to use it for. but I wouldn't rush to make it again.  LG didn't like it - but had no clue there was carrots in it, and actually, they did eat up (with help), the portion on their plate.  As much as anything, I think it was the 'I've not had this beforeness' that they most objected to, rather than any real issue with the sauce.  And I have to say, I can't really find fault with it as a food - I just probably won't make it again.  But it used up the last of the carrots from various MrL boxes (they needed using up), I used a splodge of oil and a bit of crushed garlic and dried parsley, and I had a bag of MrAl cashew nuts in the cupboard from Christmas time when I didn't make a cashew nut curry that I had planned, so nothing was lost - and the result was perfectly edible.



Greying X

otb666

To keep Track on budgets i use a big white wipe board ( one meter by half a meter )and put in prominent place in bedroom ( against front of un used built in wardrobe )so hubby can use/see it. Originally bought for exam timetable for kids. 

bupster

Checking in to say rolling total is 183.20 this month so far on food with a week to go. Out of a budget of £150. Given I live alone this is completely ridiculous. I do have two freezers stuffed with food but that's been the case since the beginning of the month and I just haven't needed to keep stocking up. 

Promised myself no more spends except on milk, and eggs if absolutely desperate (I usually have them for breakfast but I don't *need* to). 

Realistically this is a £200 month. It's down £20 on last month - and actually £45 down on May last year - but my signature shows how far I used to be able to bring the food budget down (albeit a decade ago) so I'm still spending way above what I should be. I live alone! I have a house full of food! If there were a zombie invasion I could throw tins at them and invite the survivors for dinner! ARG! 

JingsMyBucket

Howdy folks, I finally have a spend to declare. We didn't make it to Aldi and Tesco this weekend because we were both exhausted and rather sloth-like on both Saturday and Sunday. FLEH. 

Anyway, we went to Tesco tonight after doing a small walk around the neighbourhood. We spent £12.89 on strawberries, bananas, easy peelers tangerines, a single red onion, 3 loose carrots, a bouquet of flowers, screen wipes (only £1!), masking tape, butter, greek yoghurt, rolled oats, and beef meatballs. The original price was £16.89 but I used a £4 Tesco voucher to reduce our outlay. 

Current totals are £180.69 spent so far. £69.31 / £250.00 remaining.

I still need to hit Aldi up for meat for the freezer. Likely on Wednesday because the next two days are going to be nuts work wise. 

Suffolk_lass

PipneyJane said:

Afternoon All

A quick question for you on practicalities:  how do you track your Grocery Challenge shopping?  I'm just being curious.  I use a spreadsheet in the Numbers app on my iPad/iPhone.  Every month, I start a new tab.  (I have a keyboard for the iPad, which makes it easier to note things down.)  

- Pip

Similar to you, a numbers spreadsheet with separate rows for grocery spend, stores, subscriptions and direct debits, plus treats and entertainment (not included in GC). Then there are columns for each month, sheets for each year, and separate rows for regular savers, interest, dividends and PB wins, and a whole section on Tilly tidying so I can track savings for the "Save £12k in 2022" challenge (except mine is not £12k)

Suffolk_lass

bupster said:

Checking in to say rolling total is 183.20 this month so far on food with a week to go. Out of a budget of £150. Given I live alone this is completely ridiculous. I do have two freezers stuffed with food but that's been the case since the beginning of the month and I just haven't needed to keep stocking up. 

Promised myself no more spends except on milk, and eggs if absolutely desperate (I usually have them for breakfast but I don't *need* to). 

Realistically this is a £200 month. It's down £20 on last month - and actually £45 down on May last year - but my signature shows how far I used to be able to bring the food budget down (albeit a decade ago) so I'm still spending way above what I should be. I live alone! I have a house full of food! If there were a zombie invasion I could throw tins at them and invite the survivors for dinner! ARG! 

@bupster I empathise, as one set for the next Suffolk siege with the amount I have in. I do try and have reduced SM to no more than twice a month, and get milk and eggs delivered to aid in that. I do keep reporting in "Reverse Meal Planning" elsewhere in the Old Style bit of the forum, where we try to cook from stores and discuss alternative ingredients and what we are doing, with similar support from each other.

@Soontobeoap weare also looking to the garden to keep the costs down a bit. I bottle fruit, process tomatoes, and freeze and otherwise store stuff so it isn't just summer. Of course this accounts for some of my stores...