November 2023 Grocery Challenge

wishus

Planned food for the week includes a couple of Jamie Oliver/guest recipes from £1 Wonders:

Mon: Tortelli al magro*
Tue: Crispy pork and broccoli noodles*
Wed: 50/50 Bolognese
Thur: Fish, chips, and peas
Fri: veggie pasta
Sat: cauliflower and coconut curry with red onion roti (have vegan friends coming round to watch Doctor Who, don't know if we're feeding them, but this sounds nice).
Sun: Beef stew and dumplings

Things I have on my shopping list but failed to get: jelly babies - must be acquired for Saturday!!!!!; maggi liquid seasoning (but I can do without a bit longer); bread (I do have a mix in the cupboard though).

* These involve making my own pasta/noodles. Oh dearie help me...

Mad dash between 3 shops to get the stuff for this lot. Used a couple of Perkboxes, and should get 1% cashback from most of the shop, too. Plus, scored a free cat food voucher. Spent £46.88, signature updated!

CoffeeSonata

Checking in with an update. I realise our budget may be a bit high for 2 adults (& two cats wet food).  I also increased it a little to handle three adult guests for five days. 
I am still on track:  Grocery Spending  £321.56/£410.

Leaving £88.44 to the end of the month. 
So that's £44.22 per week.  

For some reason this doesn't feel actually doable.  My brain tells me it is and we have a reasonably stocked fridge, some things and bath cooked meals in freezer and a lot of random cans. 
I think it's because a basic shopping order tomorrow comes to £44.79.  

This does include food to be able to batch cook bolognese and mushroom stroganoff for the next two weeks. 

I guess I thought that at £410 I should have some left over toward next month, maybe it's because I did feed 3 extra adults for 5 days and it's made a huge difference. 

I don't know why this feels like I won't make it and will overspend. Really ideally needed to come in under. 
I think maybe also that I've been ill most of October (whooping cough!), and am in late stages of recovering from surgery so it all feels disorganized and low energy,  which hasn't helped with meal planning and motivation. 
Both have gone out the window mostly. 
Also working against me is broken main oven -  we have a microwave combi which is small and temperamental and cooking in it as an oven isn't easy with timings and one shelf - and some things it just doesn't cook well at all. 
1 working gas ring.  All others are broken. 
I do have a slow cooker. 

I think I just need some moral support and someone to tell me this *is* perfectly doable. I know it is, my brain knows it is, but then £88 doesn't seem to go very far right now.  I think it's planning /decision overwhelm whilst not being very well probably. 

It's perfectly possible isn't it - even with being slightly disorganised/low energy?  

• I know that in the freezer:  I have 4 portions of sausage pasta  - so 2 meals. 
• 2 large portions of vegetable cawl
• a pack of prawns (usually used for stir fry or chinese rice mains)
• 2 burgers and 2 brioche buns (squashed I think)
• 4 x white fish square cube things that were for cats but they hate! 

Multiple random bits and bobs like 3 fish fingers, small amounts of veg. 

 I also have about 7 winter squashes, a full veg box, plenty of fruit including a LOAD of home grown pears and apples and kale. 

And random tins (though need some things like sweetcorn, and chopped tomatoes). 

So I don't know why £88 for 2 weeks for 2 people (and some cat wet food will have to be in there) seems tight. It isn't really is it?

I think I am just still recovering and overwhelmed by trying to keep up with everything and plan.  

Soontobeoap

@CoffeeSonata, I think it is doable. You have at least a weks meals already which would take you to 27th of month, even if you have to eat the same thing twice in a week. Sounds like your tesco order will give you the other few meals left over so only wet food and bread, milk, eggs etc left to buy. It is early days and even if you go over your budget you are learning all the time. I went £180 over budget last month when 12 of is ended up together unexpectedly for a few days so I have cut back a little this month. (only £20 but it all helps). The important thing to remember is that you are in control. You set your budget. You are making yourself accountable. Without this you would have spent much much more. On top of that you have had extra guests, and been feeling extremely poorly. When you have totalled up this month try to cut costsa little more next month and eventually you will find your happy place.

The idea of this forum is to help yourself keep costs down to what you want them to be. We are all different. Dont compare your spends to others and dont stress about it.

Some people keep pet costs, cleaning costs seperate. Others keep their own animals for meat or grow most of their own veg. Some people are dealing with allergys, buying nappies etc so all budgets are very different.

I have learnt lots of ideas from othets on here and have managed to keep my budget much the same as last year. With everything going up I am happy with that.

Good luck. 

elsiepac

EEEK the DECEMBER GC is now LIVE!

HOW are we here already and where did this year go?!!!

elsiepac

@wishus do you have a link to your recipe for" cauliflower and coconut curry with red onion roti" please? it sounds delicious!

Crazycatlady2

I'm at £430 with 1 more Tesco shop to do a £50 Iceland order to use my voucher and a visit to Aldi which will mean alot of items I won't buy again till next year so December should be cheaper by alot 

Blackcats

@CoffeeSonata - well done for trying and for starting out on your journey.
@Soontobeoap is absolutely right - there is so much to learn from others here and unexpected things can affect best laid plans.

could you do a couple of "cheap and cheerful" meals - jacket potatoes with whatever you've got in stock - beans and cheese is always a good comfort food.  How about a soup and sandwich night?  Egg and chips is a perfect cheap and yummy meal.

Pennypincin

Sorry I've not been posting for a while.
I'm really sorry to hear that people are/have been poorly or things have gone awry, I hope things are on the way up and improving.
I managed to save just over £11 from last week's budget, which has been put into the bulk fund.
I made some nice pasta meals using low fat cream cheese, onion and vegan bacon pieces.
£18.51 spent today in Tesco and Sainsbury's, plus a bar of stain removal soap from Poundland.
Again some random odds and sods including eggs and vegetarian protein on offer.
I will run the freezer down, clean it and then refill it one day.
I've at least 10 home made meals in the freezer too.
I eventually hope to get some more reasonably priced Tupperware for more meals to go in the freezer. Although I will need to make sure that I label them in future as it's pot luck as to what I'm taking out at the moment.

goldfinches

@diminua - I tend to regard the very occasional mistake the supermarket makes in my favour as payback for the mistakes they make in their favour IYSWIM so you're nicer than I am!
@LadyWithAPlan - glad to hear you're okay with things overall and definitely goes to show the truth of the axiom 'when someone shows you who they are, believe them'.
@wishus - I'd also be interested in the recipe for red onion roti if you have a link as they sound mouthwateringly tasty, thankyou.
@CoffeeSonata - you've done much better than I did in the months when I wasn't well earlier this year. Food budgeting, meal planning and so on is a huge mental load mountain to climb when you're not well and I do think we're much harder on ourselves than we would be to anyone else in the same situation. Like @Soontobeoap says don't tie yourself in stressful knots, just do the best you can.
@elsiepac - you're right, this year has simply whooshed by. Thanks for the December thread.
@Pennypincin - I get most of my plastic containers from charity shops, and even snapped up a whole load of those cook and store Pyrex ones last year, so it might be worth you having a look in your local chazzas before lashing out.

I popped up to the library this evening, very useful them being open until 8pm Monday through Thursday here, and then nipped into M*rks for yoghurt and silken tofu which came to £3.35 and also bought 2x tinned toms, tinned black beans and flat leaf parsley at Mr T's for £2.95 because M*rks were out of herbs.
The Baking Budget spent £1.10 on vegan jelly crystals at Mr T's because they were new on the shelf and I didn't know whether I'd ever see them again and they'll keep for ages in the cupboard.

That makes my new total £90.53/£170 and my average daily spend is now £4.52.
The Baking Budget new total is now £17.05/£25 with two Wednesdays left this month.

I can also claim another NSD for yesterday which all helps keep costs down. 

mumtoomany

Quickly popping in to declare this weeks shopping. £38.28 over three shops. Lots of fruit and veg bought. Two multi packs of crisps, these will probably last us till nearly Christmas. OH came in with me, so cakes, sweets,etc, bought too! Total spent this year now stands at, £1727.66/£1860. Don't think I'll need anything other than milk next week. Hugs.xx