From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Greying_Pilgrim

Shopping done.  £53.30 spent.  No YS'rs anywhere, only got a few n*ctar points and the brazil nuts had increased in price in HB. 

If you have the MrL app, and are a fan of pasta, then fill yer boots, as they had reductions on various shapes for users of the app.  I did buy some grapes in the PoTW.  There also appeared to be a promotion (end aisle) featuring the pasta, tins of tuna and bottles of their passata.  I don't know whether the other products were on offer too (to app holders?), or whether it was a 'recipe idea' to make tomato, tuna pasta for the holidays.  I'm sorry I didn't log what type of tinned tuna it was, nor what price it was at, as we don't eat tuna, but the display was fully stocked.   I suspect MrL must (personally) read this diary, as the avocados were actually £1.39 for two fruits, but 2 packets for £2, which of course would make them £1 per packet, on a par with HB's 99p.........  I still didn't buy them.

Greying X

EssexHebridean

You have reminded me - and the actual maths would need doing on this, but... Brazil nuts can be acquired in T's "snack fruit and nuts" section in little plastic tubs, which are intended to be "snack sized" but in the case of the Brazil nuts, contain quite a decent quantity. They are also usually on 3 for 2, at £1 a pack "CC price". Allowing that Brazils always seem to me to be the nuts that go off the fastest (and often before I use up a bag of them), this is quite a decent way of purchasing them, for me at least. 

Also noted this week is that Lil's have offers on tinned salmon (red and pink) and on halloumi through the plus app - decent enough that they have been added to my shopping list for a re-stock! I too had noted the pasta reductions.

Good tip that someone has decently priced avo's tpp - I'll keep my eyes peeled! (And my avo's, obviously!) 

Greying_Pilgrim

Oh, perhaps the tinned fish was salmon EH - but I thought the tins looked like the tuna .....is MrL brand something like.......Nixia? Nexia? Naxia?  Light blue/white tins anyway.  It seemed to be a 'curated' display, with the pasta/passata and tinned fish.  I wondered if they were all on special offer, or whether Jaymee or someone else was doing a 'feed a family' for 4quid or some such promo.  Although I thought JO's current prog was about seasonal produce, which wouldn't necessarily utilise storecupboard ingredients.  I should have paid more attention and really looked what the offer was all about.  

Yes, brazils can go rancid quickly can't they?  The 200g pouches are OK for us, as between the 3 of us, they last 'long enough, but not too long' IYSWIM.  DH has a portion of mixed nuts daily and LG and me have nuts intermittently, or the nuts will go in a cake, or salad or something.  I have to be careful buying something like hazelnuts - I love them, but usually buy them with a specific purpose/recipe and then end up forgetting about the l/o's and they quietly go rancid 😕  I've given up buying pinenuts for the same reason (even though the sensible thing to do would be to freeze them).  HB brazil nuts are now as expensive as in MrL - they were cheaper 🙁

Greying X

EssexHebridean

No idea about any instore offers Greying, this was just through looking on the app. The salmon tins are mostly pink in colour though IIRC so I suspect you were right with the offer you saw being tuna. (Nixe, is the brand, I think?) 

That "buying for a specific purpose" is exactly what I do with nuts too - and with that same outcome! 

You've also reminded me I must check FF if I find myself nearby in case of decent passata offers! 

kayannie

GP, If we lived closer, I could share with you the 7 avocados I got in my £1.50 Mr L box today! Besides the avocados, I had a family size box of mushrooms, 10 oranges, 6 apples, 6 tomatoes, a carton esch of apricots, blueberries & cherries, as well as 1 pear, 1 onion & 2 packs of herbs! I got there early today & the store was busier than usual so I was surprised the boxes hadn't been snapped up. 
On the subject of the Nixe salmon, I've only had the pink variety & we don't like it at all. It has a lot of skin which needs picking off and an odd taste. I've tried making fish cakes with it, but even then the odd taste is still there. I've not tried their red salmon, maybe that is better. 
KA

Greying_Pilgrim

kayannie - you are so kind in offering to share your bounty.  Although, if we lived closer, I rather suspect I'd be your MrL perusing the contents of the boxes with £1.50 in me hot, sweaty little palm........ 🤣 

Your neck of the woods came up in conversation today.  Happy memories 😁

I don't eat tinned fish at all, so haven't tried any of the MrL offerings.  But it's good to know your experience, as I can't imagine fish - even in tinned products - is cheap.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening MFW'rs

I love seeing the sunshine, but I'm afraid it's too hot for me at the mo 😞

A chum agreed to a suggestion for a 'playdate' tomorrow and has come up trumps with a discount code to make the activity cheaper.  I love discovering 'incognito' MSE'rs 😉😁👍

I made 'dirty rice' for tea, having made a batch of PC tommie sauce first (which yielded 2 extra portions for the freezer) and then steamed some basmati and cooked up the last 4 veggie sausages from the bag.  I steamed some MrS mixed veg (stamf0rd st) and some frozen sweetcorn.  Mixed some tommie sauce into the rice, along with the veg and chopped up sausage.  Served with diced tomato on top - which I sprinkled chipotle chilli flakes over for DH and me, and left untouched for LG.  Clean plates all round - YAY!  A bottle of the organic passata utilised for the sauce (along with a load of veggies), and 4 sausages stretched to feed us all.  The dirty rice wasn't too hot by the time it had been mixed together, and using the PC to do the majority of the cooking (rice primary done by absorption method in another saucepan) meant the kitchen didn't get too hot.  Yoghurt and banana for pud.  

Today I yet again find myself grateful for chums, online and in RL 😘

Greying X

kayannie

Greying_Pilgrim said:

kayannie - you are so kind in offering to share your bounty.  Although, if we lived closer, I rather suspect I'd be your MrL perusing the contents of the boxes with £1.50 in me hot, sweaty little palm........ 🤣 

Your neck of the woods came up in conversation today.  Happy memories 😁

I don't eat tinned fish at all, so haven't tried any of the MrL offerings.  But it's good to know your experience, as I can't imagine fish - even in tinned products - is cheap.

Greying X

As long as we didn't come to blows if there was only 1 box left! 
We don't buy much fish, especially tinned, but sometimes MrL has a special BOGOF offer of that particular kind. 
KA

Greying_Pilgrim

Ha ha kayannie - I'm too good natured to come to blows over a MrL box - although if it was us two vying for the last one, I suspect you would good naturedly offer to share some of the bounty, so we might both be winners 😁

Cooler start to the morning with us, although the sun is up and has his hat on already......  

Life admin and a couple of chores to do this morning - including clothes washing - and then we're off for our activity this arvo.

Tea will most likely be veggie burgers and oven chips.  I did get a bit of a YS haul on...... Monday? from HB, which included; 9 crumpets (50p), 4 wholemeal baps (25p) and 4 teacakes (25p), so I will use those baps for tea.  At the moment everything is in the freezer, primed for an emergency lunch or cooler weather for afternoon teacakes and hot chocolate 😁  Yesterday in HB (different store) they had YS'd 2 packets of their 'large' wholemeal baps (not alot of difference in size between them and the 4 pack I got), to 45p apiece.  Given that MrL has 6 wholemeal baps for 49p normal price, I left them where they were. I find sometimes that whilst large bread baps are OK for sandwiches, they can sometimes 'swamp' a burger.  Each have their place I guess.  

Can't think of anything else MSE at the mo, so I best crack on and start gathering the wash load.

Ta for popping in.  Appreciated.  

Greying X

rtandon27

Morning GP - joining you in the (slightly) cooler weather & laundry on the go!

Technically it's a vacation day for me, but I've already worked an hour and got laundry in!

MSE activities for the day include balancing a budget and doing some legal paperwork (YAWN) - both tedious in and of themselves, but my future self will thank me!

I'm loving your yellow sticker haul!  I'm currently waiting for a neighbour to post her bread haul on 0li0 as veggie burgers & oven chips are in our plans as well, and we do not have any buns in house atm!