April 2024 Grocery Challenge

AnotherNewDay

Hello -@elsiepac very sorry to hear about your little birdie  

£100 for the month for April please -  running from 28 March. For 1 adult woman, 2 hungry cats -  all food, toiletries and household

PipneyJane

lovemula21 said:

Hi everyone, I’ve made changes to my families diet which has increased the amount I have spent in March. I’ve gone over budget by £116.93. 

My budget for April is going to be £600 for 5 people. I have 5 shops to do and I will need some bulk items too. 

Hi @lovemula21.  If you’re up to it, would you mind sharing the changes you’ve made to your family’s diet?  We may be able to help you source cheaper ingredients or give you ideas for alternatives.

- Pip

diminua

Hi Elsiepac

Could you put me down for £220 this month please? 

As ever that's groceries and eating out except holidays or birthdays. 

This is because I've been consistently a bit over and it seems silly to keep trying to do something I know I can't. 
If I find it makes me spend even more again though I'll review it. 

Thank you,

Diminua

leftatthetrafficlights

I've been awol for a week but my budget doesn't start until 1st just wanted to come on and say how very sorry I am about your loss @elsiepac 😔 

debtfreewannabe321

Hi there I would like to join in again please. My month has already started and it is a nearly 5 week month this time. I have already filled the freezers, cupboards and bought the bulk bits and I feel like I have already overspent on April's budget   

APRIL'S GROCERY BUDGET FOR 4 ADULT PORTIONS £500. 
 
SPENDS TO DATE £245.57/ 500   

That leaves around £63 per week going forward, not sure I will bring this one in on budget, had it been a normal 4 week month I think it would have been alright. I will try my best though as we could do with this one being on budget.

lovemula21

PipneyJane said:

lovemula21 said:

Hi everyone, I’ve made changes to my families diet which has increased the amount I have spent in March. I’ve gone over budget by £116.93. 

My budget for April is going to be £600 for 5 people. I have 5 shops to do and I will need some bulk items too. 

Hi @lovemula21.  If you’re up to it, would you mind sharing the changes you’ve made to your family’s diet?  We may be able to help you source cheaper ingredients or give you ideas for alternatives.

- Pip

Hi @PipneyJane, I appreciate your message, thank you. I’ve switched breakfast cereal to bacon and eggs with homemade toast. I’m not planning to reintroduce cereals because they cause my youngest problems with his gut. The increase in protein means it costs approx £17.50 more a week than previously. This month I’ve bought more bulk items (meat) than I would usually so that combined with the change in breakfasts has bumped the total up more than I thought it would. I’m ok with it for now. I don’t want to change anything food wise but if you know a good place to buy RSPCA assured eggs and bacon cheaper than Sainsbury’s that would be super helpful. 😀

weenancyinAmerica

@lovemula21 Is it all cereals that cause problems? I have trouble with some, but others like oatmeal are fine. If he is fine with toast, maybe it is just some varieties of cereal you need to give up. If toast is okay, have you tried American style pancakes. These can be very inexpensive. It might also be cheaper to cook a regular ham (gammon?) and then slice it up in place of the bacon.  Good luck with your food budget.

joedenise

@lovemula21 - a cooked gammon as suggested by @weenancyinAmerica  would be much better health wise than bacon as that is a processed meat which we are being advised to cut down on.  Perhaps some boiled eggs and soldiers would also be a better option than fried eggs.  I use a lot of eggs for breakfasts as they are filling and relatively an inexpensive protein sauce but I like to have them cooked in different ways:  scrambled (to which I add some spinach (I buy frozen and defrost and chop before adding to the beaten eggs); omelettes.

Again as suggested by @weenancyinAmerica have you tried oatmeal or even just the cheap oats from the supermarket with your son?  Oats is an easy, quick and cheap breakfast, especially if served with some fruit.

These changes would also reduce your food bill by quite a bit.

PipneyJane

lovemula21 said:

PipneyJane said:

lovemula21 said:

Hi everyone, I’ve made changes to my families diet which has increased the amount I have spent in March. I’ve gone over budget by £116.93. 

My budget for April is going to be £600 for 5 people. I have 5 shops to do and I will need some bulk items too. 

Hi @lovemula21.  If you’re up to it, would you mind sharing the changes you’ve made to your family’s diet?  We may be able to help you source cheaper ingredients or give you ideas for alternatives.

- Pip

Hi @PipneyJane, I appreciate your message, thank you. I’ve switched breakfast cereal to bacon and eggs with homemade toast. I’m not planning to reintroduce cereals because they cause my youngest problems with his gut. The increase in protein means it costs approx £17.50 more a week than previously. This month I’ve bought more bulk items (meat) than I would usually so that combined with the change in breakfasts has bumped the total up more than I thought it would. I’m ok with it for now. I don’t want to change anything food wise but if you know a good place to buy RSPCA assured eggs and bacon cheaper than Sainsbury’s that would be super helpful. 😀

Hi @lovemula21.  Having suffered from irritable bowel syndrome since I was a teenager, I fully appreciate your son’s issues.  Everyone has their own triggers.  Hopefully, you’ve eliminated his.

Re eggs and bacon, I buy my free-range RSPCA assured eggs from L!dl (£2.69 for a dozen large eggs).  I also buy their cooking bacon, £1.79 for 1kg.  Are those prices cheaper?  The cooking bacon can be a little challenging, because it’s the ends and off-cuts.  While we examine the packages carefully, you never know exactly what you’re getting.  Earlier in March, we bought two packs: one turned out to be 6 oversized bacon medallions; the other is mainly assorted badly cut rashers.  (I separated and froze the medallions.)

A couple of recipe ideas, for when your family gets bored of bacon and eggs:

• I do two variations of the quinoa muffins from Eat Well For Less.  Since we rarely have ham, I’ll use the equivalent weight of cooking bacon or I’ll substitute a tin of tuna.  (I always leave out the tomatoes because DH hates them.)  The cheapest, regular source of quinoa that I’ve found is actually W8rose (£3.25 for 500g) and I cook the quinoa in advance, following the instructions on the package (in a saucepan, add 2x boiling water for the volume of quinoa, bring back to the boil, simmer for 10 minutes and leave until all the water is absorbed.  I usually leave it for a couple of hours.)
• I haven’t made these yet but I’m planning to do so at some time this month: Welsh Rarebit Muffins from BBC Good Food.
• And then there’s frittatas, quiche, etc.

Hope this helps.

- Pip

LotsOfTea

@lovemula21 Obviously I don't know if any of these would work for your son but if you want to switch it up and use different protein sources you could try yoghurt, cheese toasties, peanut or other nut butter on toast or even sardines on toast (much loved by my son).  
At weekends if you've got more time things like rosti or pancakes are pretty cheap and cheerful to make and can go with lots of things.