April 2023 Grocery Challenge

Pennypincin

Someone I worked with used to cook a whole beef joint and after dishing up for the main meal, would do the thinly sliced, covered in gravy and freeze in individual portions.
I've been told by people who buy reduced veg, that they sometimes blanch it and freeze it.
If I chop up too many peppers, I freeze them, ditto for certain other veg too.
Im trying to get into the habit of cooking healthier plus cooking an extra meal or 2, especially when I have the slow cooker going.
Then I have at least a meal for the freezer and another for the next day or so.

Adorian

I'm down to £9.10 of my £60 grocery budget for this month already but it's mostly been on things like ice cream and alcohol free wine & beer. Foodwise I've managed to stick to cupboard, freezer and Olio and it's not been too bad so far. I got a haul of carrot batons on Saturday so will be making carrot soup of some kind today, and yesterday I made paneer from 3 litres of Jersey milk I also got from Olio so am planning on making a palak paneer tomorrow with some frozen spinach that needs using up, a tin of tomatoes, and some store cupboard spices. I've loads of rice so that should do me for three decent meals. I have some mushrooms to use up too (Olio) so just need to get some fresh ginger and maybe some fresh coriander and make a little mushroom curry to go with it.

I got some salad, ham and beetroot from Olio too so am eating salad for breakfast/lunch until it's gone or goes off and I put it on the compost heap (nobody else wanted it so it was take it or let it be binned). Olio near me is often carb heavy but I've been quite lucky this week - I've also got some chopped cooked chicken breast that I've put in the freezer and will have with pasta later this month - hopefully with some Olio veggies, otherwise with a store cupboard tin of chopped tomatoes and some onions and garlic I already have in.

Feeling fairly positive about the month, even though there are another 20 days to go - I'm having a good clear out of the cupboards so have a really good idea of what I have in already. I just need to be sensible about treat buying!

Nelliegrace

I do make use of the freezer, @PipneyJane it is my “local shop,” for ration size portions or to put away any surplus. Meat was rationed by price, so you got a bit more of the cheaper cuts. One shilling and tuppence would have bought two good lamb chops or about a pound of mince per person per week, so I ration by price, £2.50 each, or by the amount if I have got the meat yellow stickered. It is about the nearest I can manage to ration book quantities, using the supermarket, and Kilos and grams, and avoiding waste. 

In WW2 you didn’t use the weekly ration stamp it was gone. Most people didn’t have a fridge so they had to shop for small amounts frequently. It must have been difficult for shop owners who were allocated just enough for the customers registered there.

I put the tea and sugar ration into jars at first to get used to the amounts, and because of the metric packs sold now, any left over ration in the jar can be added to the next week.

bunnybrain

I Know I have been quite - have been quietly working behind the scenes and sadly finding out - my budgeting skills are pants (even with and increased budget!) - Things Learned -; I cannot meal plan to save my life - working nights has thrown me off planning and I need to step away from the bread solution to everything 

Adorian

Pennypincin said:

Someone I worked with used to cook a whole beef joint and after dishing up for the main meal, would do the thinly sliced, covered in gravy and freeze in individual portions.
I've been told by people who buy reduced veg, that they sometimes blanch it and freeze it.
If I chop up too many peppers, I freeze them, ditto for certain other veg too.
Im trying to get into the habit of cooking healthier plus cooking an extra meal or 2, especially when I have the slow cooker going.
Then I have at least a meal for the freezer and another for the next day or so.

I blanch and freeze veg - sometimes I roast and freeze it too, especially carrots and courgettes.

Soontobeoap

@number_23 I cube up the roasted beef and freeze in stew sized portions. When ready to use throw them into a pot with fried onion, carrot, mushrooms and gravy to make a lovely tasty stew. Quick prep after your roast but a lovely meal later. DH loves this with dumplings. I also use any tiny off cuts to make up some cornish pastys. They dont take much meat but do provide a lovely filling meal. I am getting quite good at making my own shortcrust pastry now but still buy flakey and puff ready made.

We are still recovering from covid. Apetites not back fully yet. Grandsons did not come to stay. We do not have enough energy! We have plenty of food so we are hoping that this month will not be as expensive as we first thought. Hopefully May will be a bit cheaper too. There is a bright side to everything! 

otb666

i might have a go at dry frying some beans and turning it into meat like jamie did on tv last night. He made fajitis but thinking i can just make it into a beefburger or meatballs instead. still on 400/600 Thats 100 pw for remaining 2 weeks so gonna be tight again.

Suffolk_lass

My go-to for leftover beef - I cube some and split it between a curry and a pie (shortcrust, HM, frozen peas and sweetcorn in the pie, make a too-thick gravy to keep it moist), I slice some to have cold with salad, pickles and a baked potato, and I mince the remnants, with an onion and a thick slice of bread through the mixer (or in the processor), to get all the good bits off the blade and sides. Then I add water to stop it sticking, and seasoning and we have it as-is with boiled potatoes, cabbage and baked beans, or with added seasonal veg and topped with mash for all-in-one cottage pie. Reminds me of the old rubber chicken thread (it just kept bouncing along...). Still no spending today. Running low on bowl fruit and milk but as we are going away on Monday I will see how it goes. They do have shops where we are going, after all!

AnnabelSaves

Hi Everyone. Hope you all had a good Easter weekend! We spent a bit of money, but nowhere near what we used to spend on a weekend like this. 

Friday we went for lunch out. The service was really slow so we got a fairly sizeable discount. Fish and chips in the evening. Saturday I cooked, Sunday we had a Chinese and Monday we had breakfast out, but took sandwiches to the beach and cooked dinner at home. 

Few trips to the co-op to buy beer by DH 

Total spend so far: £218.42/£600 on takeaways and groceries. Eating out budget comes from somewhere else. 

My parents are coming for this weekend, so we'll be eating out the freezer this week and getting creative with lunches later on. 

Soontobeoap

Just been to Sainsburys and bought a 2.3kg piece of gammon for £6.00. It will be lovely when DS and family come for his birthday at the end of the month. I wish I had bought 2 now. They had loads of them. Really cheap way to feed a family for a few days.