January 2024 Grocery Challenge

Soontobeoap

😂 Breaking them in gently then @nellis10.let us know how it goes.

For anyone who has never shopped at Aldi I thought I would post todays shopping bill. I am always pleasantly surprised. I now have enough food for the main meals planned for the next 3 weeks and beyond. I wanted parsley but it was way past its best so home made fish cakes will have to do without it. 

NickJW

Hello everyone...it's been a while since I have posted but costs are going up and I need to reign in spends . I'm going to aim for 300 for 2 to cover January. I'm hoping it can be lower because I have a freezer full of food (made the most of yellow sticker reductions over Xmas). But judging by my spends recently, I am being realistic.I'm also away on holiday for a week at the end of January so it doesn't cover a whole month. Good luck everyone 😊

nellis10

Reporting back that my spaghetti offalese is a success (once i managed to get past the texture of the kidneys!!  )
I've plenty left over for more meals this week and will just need to add the pasta and maybe a little cheese that I will purchase with cream this week (I like cream in my coffee vs milk).

joedenise

@Soontobeoap - have you got any dried parsley?  That would work in fishcakes.

London_1

joedenise said:

@Soontobeoap - have you got any dried parsley?  That would work in fishcakes.

Or some dried mixed herbs might give them a bit of a kick. I chuck almost anything available into my HM food to zing it up a bit. But then I do like 'lively' food, my favourite  to dollop into soup is a good glug of sweet chilli sauce
 seems to be a good amount there for the price

 JackieO

jellybeantinker1

I've done my first shop for January today, popped into Morrisons as it was close by, I usually use Sains & Lidl, but I was collecting something I saw on FB marketplace and thought I'd get some meat as I plan to batch cook some meals in the next couple of days for the freezer. I also got a huge bag of spinach to use with some sweet potatoes I already have, and some leftover cream to make a sweet potato/spinach bake, a cauliflower to add to a batch of curry and some salad bits. Oh, and our traditional duck spring rolls for NYE to go with the mass of cheese and biscuits I got for Boxing Day when we had everyone over, but we ended up not eating!  None were opened, and they should last my husband and I a while! They all have long dates which is good!

I managed to spend £65.08, so out of my £150 for the month, I have £84.92 left, alongside all other items in the freezer, pantry and cupboards! I'm thinking I may have been a little overkeen to set my goal at £150 for the month instead of maybe £200 (usual goal will be £250/month or under, down from the £400 per month I have been spending), but I am taking this as a challenge, hopefully it will improve my meal planning!

Soontobeoap

Thanks @joedenise, i only have dried oregano or rosemary in the garden. I will do a bit of exoerimenting and let you all know what i decide. 

wannalot

Hello all,

I’ve been absent from this challenge for the past few months, after falling ill and spending a spell in hospital. When I’m ill, spending goes out the window as I opt for convenience rather than frugality, but I am hoping to get back into the swing of things now my health has improved. 

I’m setting a budget of £160 per month  for one person, to include all cleaning and laundry products. 

Given how much prices have risen, this is fairly challenging for me, as I am on a meat-heavy diet, but the discipline of trying to keep to a budget is very helpful for me, even if I end up going over a little. 

Any cash left over at the end of the month will be rolled over into a bulk-buy fund.

In January, I am going to eat from the freezer, so most buys will be spent on veg and dairy produce. The freezer is absolutely crammed with random purchases, so I’m sure I will have a few interesting meals! I’ll really aim to keep spends to an absolute minimum, to make things easier when I decide to bulk buy to restock the freezer in a few months time.

ps86edi

**150**

Thankyou for running the group again.  We have had a crazy expensive December and I expect some really expensive months down the line as well. 
I'm hoping to within my budget and if possible save about 25. 

[Deleted User]

First shop of the month done yesterday as we were away last week.  £30 spent out of our food budget with another £11 spent from left over holiday money on some extra bits for our NY day meal.  

Spent today cooking.  It was so enjoyable and nice to have the time to do it. I'm another one who has read about ultra processed food and will be trying to make more from scratch in 2024 - she says as she has another mouthful of Pringles .  Today I made Tomato and pepper soup, HM bread, HM quiche (not the pastry though), Steak Pie (again not the pastry) for tomorrows dinner.