July 2022 Grocery Challenge

PipneyJane

Soontobeoap said:

thanks @PipneyJane, I am a big fan of the flat zip lock bags. The large size fit my freezer shelves beautifully and you can eradicate all extra gaps around boxes. I think I am going to be decanting shopping into those when it comes!! I am very interested to know how you gat so much into your door shelves my fronts don’t come up high enough to hold 2 containers one on top of the other.

when they make these fridge freezers I don’t understand why they always make the fridge side bigger than the freezer side. I would much prefer it the other way round.

All I can say is that I thoroughly recommend Samsung Fridge-Freezers.  That’s the brand of the old one, the one in the photo, which had door shelves wide enough and deep enough that they would comfortably hold 3 soup containers, sitting flat and secure in the shelf.  That made it easy to stack another set on top.  (Soup containers like this one, which I’ve bought over the years and re-use.)

The current fridge-freezer is no where near as well designed.  For example, there is a lip on the inside of the door shelves, so the same containers end up tilted.  It is smaller on the inside, too, and doesn’t have half as many door shelves or as much flexibility.  The old freezer was deep enough take a goose or an 18lb turkey; not this one.  I had to wedge my Christmas goose upright and remove a shelf in order to fit it in.

Also, after years of wondering why everything at the top ended up frosty, I noticed that whenever the fridge door closed, the freezer door would bounce. It’s a Kenwood and it’s rubbish.  (I had to buy it blind, when the other one failed after 15 years, in the hot summer of 2018.  I half expect it to die in this heatwave.)

- Pip

Smoosh

Last spends (hopefully) of the month done.

£39.24 on cat food that will last ~36 days.

28p on hash browns (YS from £1).

£3.39 on 6 pints of milk, feta and paracetamol.

Picked up some tomatoes and raspberries from olio yesterday. 

Last weekly shop done this evening. £2.98 in the first shop on a loaf of bread (YS - 11p from £1.25), 2 lemon iced buns (YS - 30p from £1.25), 2 noodle meals with gyozas (YS - 13p from and 16p from £1.25 and £1.30), plant based bhajis (YS - 10p from 77p), veggie meatballs (YS - 20p from £2.75), plant based "duck" pancakes (YS - 30p from £3), plant based yoghurt (YS - 10p from £1), a pack of coconut (YS - 10p from £1), vegetable soup (YS - 20p from £1.99), 3 packs of mashed potatoes (YS - 16p each from £2.50 each) and 2 pizzas (YS - 40p each, unsure of original price).

Next shop was £6.68 on ketchup, 4 litres of fizzy drink, 1 litre of juice, baked beans, garlic mayo, 4 toilet rolls, 8 wraps, a tin of tomatoes and broccoli.

Final shop was £4.92 on broccoli (YS - 11p from 73p), carrot sticks and hummus (YS - 15p from £1), smoked salmon (YS - £1.12 from approx £7), beef hotpot ready meal (YS - 52p from £3.49), vegan fish and chip ready meal (YS - 52p from £3.49), 500g skyr (YS - 25p from £1.69), 4 assorted pastries (YS - 19p each from 99p each) and local strawberries (YS - £1.49 from £2.75).

Had to rejig our intended meal plan for the week as I couldn't get cucumber, baking potatoes or olives. In no particular order:

1. YS pizzas

2. Olio noodles in a soy and sesame sauce with onions and broccoli. With the YS plant based duck pancakes

3. Thai takeaway

4. Pasta in tomato sauce (made largely from olio tomatoes) with YS veggie meatballs for OH, I'll just have mine as is

5. At my mum and dad's for dinner

6. YS sausages for OH, cauliflower cheese grill for me, with YS mash and beans

7. YS sausages for OH, cauliflower cheese grill for me, with roast potatoes (from garden), roast onions, broccoli and gravy.

Breakfasts: YS yoghurt with fruit, YS pastries, YS toast, cereal

Lunches: YS ready meals, wraps, YS cheese and onion rolls, cheese and crackers

Snacks: crisps, cereal bars, YS cake slices, homemade banana bread/muffins 

Puddings: YS yoghurt with fruit, YS iced buns, YS scones, ice cream

That takes us to £237.49 so £7.49 over budget. I'm still pretty happy with that as we have a full freezer and we're not quite as horrendously over budget as last month! I won't declare yet just in case, but that *should* be it. 

pamsdish

Popped up to A1d1 as the doors open, wanting more salad, fridges broken can`t sell, picked up a y.s. chicken, cooking in Ninja as I type, walked next door to Filco, pop in a few times a year, more empty spots where produce used to be, it`s a huge shop surely they can`t be taking enough to warrant rent/rates, got a bag of salad, was offering 2 for ? but doubted it would keep, a spanish onion and my t.v. mag.

Finstickle

popped to the co-op yesterday for some fruit & veg - £5.05

Found a receipt I'd not tracked from earlier in the month - £15.05

New total £291/465 leaving £174 for the rest of the month.

I need bread and eggs today and then will do a big shop Thurs\Fri, which means this week's shopping should come in under £10 for the week - the benefits of being away.  I'm going to use the money to stock up on meat and fish as the freezer is pretty bare right now!

CynicalPinnacle

It's too hot to give the details but there have been spends, we are currently at:

£381.21 / £550, with £168.79 left to spend.

Doom_and_Gloom

We've spent £50.82 since last post between A&C and Mr S. 

£218.82/£250.
£31.18 left. 

LittleGem

Well we are officially over budget £161/£150 but I think we’ve bought an awful lot more ice creams and drinks this month, and as it was our first month doing the challenge so £150 was a bit of a guesstimate. 

Finstickle

Popped for bread and eggs.

Got YS organic and carbon neutral eggs - £1.38 down from £5.50 for a dozen!!
Got YS stir-fry veg (£0.88) and YS asparagus (£1.47) as realised we didn't have enough for tonight's dinner

Also needed 2 x magnums 

Updated total £300/£465

London_1

No food spends at all thank goodness, but a hefty bill for some new glasses. Belt tightened and purse firmly shut for the forseeable future 
JackieO xx

Soontobeoap

Another £120 spent today on a big Tesco shop. We had it delivered as it is much too hot to do anything else. As others have mentioned there were more ice lollies and ice creams this week which pushed the price up.

I did manage to cram everything into the freezer with careful balancing. Might even be able to get the pack of peas that I need too. grandsons finish school on Thursday and come to stay Friday. Their school has not closed in this heat. My Granddaughters are on half days. Can’t wait to see them all. Love the summer hols. Just hope the children get some good weather for it.

I really hope to stay in budget this month! Good luck all.