January 2008 Grocery Challenge

Jacks_xxx

:wave: Morning Lovelies! :wave:

How's it going?

I'm doing Ok on the GC front, and if I keep this up we'll log our lowest monthly spend ever! :dance: :dance: :dance:

I've still got a fairly large amount of pasta, rice and potatoes left despite cooking for a party of 60 this month. I did a hot buffet of chilli, chicken curry and veg curry with huge pots of rice and various salads on the side and big trays of roasted veg and potatoes and sausages wrapped in bacon etc. Everyone stuffed their faces - it was great.

I had to hire some keep warm electric pots from a local catering company but it still cost a lot less than we thought we could do it for so that's good.

I managed to get Typhoo tea bags on special offer at Tesco so I stocked up a bit. No more nasty cheapy tea bags for us for a while! :dance:

I've been sending the fam off in the mornings with porridge in their tummies and a packed lunch in their pockets, but I'm doing scambled eggs this morning cos I fancy a change.

I'm going to need *some* meat before the end of the month as we've run out entirely but I'm delaying buying any cos of all the hooha that's been going on and cos I can't decide what to do.

I've been buying the cheapest I can get and rationalising that it's only whilst we have this massive debt hanging over us, but I feel bad for the animals.

We'll probably go for the the less meat, humanely reared option but what about the cat???

Inspired by Come Dine With Me I might investigate serving the cat things like pigs trotters to reduce his meat budget but I'll have to have a chat with the butcher and see what's possible.

It's the end of week 3 for us tomorrow and our total is sitting at £144.84.
Blimey! :eek:

Even assuming I'll have to buy bread, milk, meat, fruit and veg before payday I still think I'm going to stay within budget.

And I bought 6 months worth of shampoo and showergel this month as well!

I'm going to run everything down from now, and only buy what we need when we need it (unless it's stupendous special offer on something I can store that we use all the time. )

Love Jacks xxx

MRSMCAWBER

Morning everyone

Ok -I have my bottom lip out.... im going to have to go shoping today :wall: It's really only milk i "have" to get today...still it is day 2 of my 3rd week, so i shouldn't grumble really -but heck I hate spending :doh: .

So i will pick the stuff up to replenish hubbies soup supply (to save me going for another shop later in the week)... but that will last him about a month :T

Im still going to spend as little as possible -even though im venturing into the super duper big supermarket _pale_ .. i shall mentally take all you lovely lot with me -that should keep me on track :T ....

Right had best get off -keep up the good work everyone :j

Savvy_sewing

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

Morning everyone

Ok -I have my bottom lip out.... im going to have to go shoping today :wall: It's really only milk i "have" to get today...still it is day 2 of my 3rd week, so i shouldn't grumble really -but heck I hate spending :doh: .

So i will pick the stuff up to replenish hubbies soup supply (to save me going for another shop later in the week)... but that will last him about a month :T

Im still going to spend as little as possible -even though im venturing into the super duper big supermarket _pale_ .. i shall mentally take all you lovely lot with me -that should keep me on track :T ....

Right had best get off -keep up the good work everyone :j

I think your all marvelous. I seem to have lost the plot abit, hence trying to go without a tesco delivery this week. I know I would order too much, as I have for the first time in years and years, strayed from my menu plan, and lost track of my storecupboard? Strange, I have more time on my hands now and everything is behind? Maybe I am on here too much?

Sunnyday

Morning everyone,
it`s soooo good to hear everyone doing so well, i`ll be in the kitchen soon nosing round in the fridge and the cupboards. I updated my meal plan yesterday and i may swap round today and tomorrow yet, it depends on what date is on what in the fridge.
If all goes to the original plan we will be having stirfry with beef tonight and meatballs tomorrow.(finally getting around to doing the recipe off here a few pages back i think)

Nykmedia - i always love pork done in the sc with a tin of tomatoes, some herbs, onions and peppers. If you want something a bit spicier substitute the herbs with bbq seasoning and serve with jacket potatoes and peas.
Another fave is grilled pork steaks with spicy/bbq seasoning HM wedges & green beans.

Well i`ve not updated my sig yet and i`m going to have to ring asda in a little while.
I`ve STILL not been refunded for the things i sent back or the missing biscuits, i don`t know whose to blame the driver or the woman i rang earlier this week on the helpline but when i do ring i`ll be asking about refunding the cost of the phone calls too.:mad:

I`m planning on a NSD day again today and i wish you all good luck in doing the same.
Catch up later, have a good day/
SD

WelshWoofer

Hello again.
Not technically spending any of my food budget this week as I'm working away in Japan (its actually early evening here now) but have been reading everyone else's posts to try and keep on the straight and narrow.
Its very easy to spend too much time on the internet in your hotel room "shopping" and planning deliveries etc for when I get back on Friday.

I'm still on £89 out of £100 spend but I have plenty to last me at least another 10 days (as long as my sister who's visiting next week doesn't mind not eating much meat).

Is it me or is this the longest month ever?
I got paid today but it still feels like ages to the end of the calendar month when my challenge finishes.
Anyone else feel the same?

MRSMCAWBER

Woohooo I'm back from the "bad place"

What have you folks done to me:eek: .... i have become tighter than a ducks doo daa :rotfl: ....
I spent a grand total of €7.16 for that i got:-

a chicken -1400g €2.49
1300g "soup pork" -€0.66
2 tins sweetcorn -€0.90
2 500ml passatta €0.50

bag of frozen peas €0.99
1lt full fat milk -to water down €0.73
250g butter €0.89

the top 4 will make a large batch of chicken n sweetcorn soup (after i have pinched the breast off of course )
and a large batch of goulash soup, once i have added a bit of veg and a few bits n bobs from the cupboard.. and they along with the veggie soup in the freezer will probably cover hubbies lunches for 2-3 weeks :T ... he has really taken to having soup and HM bread for lunch...its been going on for about 4 months now and he doesn't want a change yet :j .... next time i make soups it will be oxtail and some cream of mushroom and then he will have a good selection going.

Anyway... i didn't get everything i planned as i worked out that it was going to cost me a fair bit more...they were this much more:-

• lettuce 30c
• cucumber 50c
• onions €1
• potatoes €1
• apples €1
• carrots 40c
• broccoli 50c = €4.70 more it would have cost me -about the same as i have just spent on hubbies soup stuff:eek: so they can Nelly and so in the morning i will tootle off to ALDI and get those ... I swear i don't know what is happening to me. Mind is a win win situation... as it saves us cash -plus i need the exercise to keep this weight shifting :rotfl:

anyway I had better go and catch up with the weight loss thread... keep up the good work folks :T .. not long now until the end of the month..and then off we go again -with a nice clean slate

LynneJ

Hi, I'd love to join this. I have already started on my own for January. My budget is £203.00 for January for the 5 of us myself, husband, 2 teenage children and a 9 year old and 1 cat. All cleaning materials are also included in this. I am trying to manage all our debts so any money I can save us on food will help. I am saving all receipts as we go so will be able to tell at the end of the month if we have managed. Any tips would be great as we just do not have any more money than this by the time we have paid all bills and credit cards. When money runs out we end up putting the extra food on credit card. It is vicious circle. Anyway, I will stop rambling now.

theamazinggem

i think i must be going to a special more expensive suppermarket than the rest of you.

spent 55p yesterday on a pie for my lunch because i was really hungry and weak willed.

went to the opera last night which was brilliant, my mum was sooo pleased, she said it was a dream come true so well happy with that. dinner wasn't too bad, £24 for 3 for 3 mains, dough balls and a bottle of wine, can't complain.

anyway that's the birthday festivities over with until next month when it's my birthday!!!!! and i get to go to edinburgh for a few days and stay in a nice hotel. will probably still be making packed lunches each day tho!

got horrible sore throat today, tho at least had to make a load of phone calls to bosses this morning at work, so they've heard me husking away sounding ill. should make up for not telling them i was leaving early yesterday and then getting found out...

got one measley bagel for my lunch today. going to have a rummage in the tesco express reduced eisle later i think, they had loads of stuff yesterday but i couldn't carry it to london and back!

i'm really enjoying reading all you guys posts. it's helping me get back into the mindset i had about a year ago (we were in australia and living on about $200 a week for two including accommodation...) and think about what we can eat rather than what we want to eat. i lost so much weight just by eating lentils and chickpeas most days... i put on 2st in 4 months when i got back!!! it's actually made me ill returning to this lifestyle, sitting at a desk all day, eating whatever i want, not exercising and all that.

i'm sposed to be getting hold of my life! and it's completely not happening at the moment.

argh! sorry. i'm ill and have pmt. it's all true, but you kids don't need to listen to it all...

Irish_Mom

Hi Everyone,

Still off sick but felling better- I'll be back to work tomorrow.
I came in underbudget last week but this week will be a problem
All the meals went ok last week but DH didn't like the bacon roll on Monday night-shame it such a cheap meal.
The majority of this week is rubber chicken. I was meant to cook it on Saturday but it was still frozen:eek: , a normal occurance in this house -our turkey was still frozen on Xmas day even thought it had been out for 2 days!!!!! So a quick spag bol on Sat.
I did the roast chicken on Sun and steamed potatoes but was too sick to do anymore so told DH andDD to make veg and gravy for themselves- what did they do - they had chicken,potatoes and a bit of coleslaw:rotfl: Oh well at least there was a load left.
Yesterday inspired by previous posts I made a chicken curry and bombaypotatoes/aloo sag with the left over steamed potatoes which went down a treat.

I took the rest of the chicken off and made a white sauce to go with it and added some chopped gammon left over from Xmas so today I will make shortcrust pastry and put together a chicken and ham pie- its the first time I've made it so I am looking forward to see what it tastes like.

I also made chicken, veg and pearl barley soup yesterday I just need to blitz it today and freeze it into individual portions for my lunches.

On Sat I also made oatcakes, Twinks hobnobs and digestive biscuits. The digestives are not sweet at all even though I added sugar so I'll use them as savoury. I also made youghurt which I strained until it made cheese so I want to experiment with it this afternoon and add black pepper ,frozen prawns etc to see if it could be another lunch.

Whatever it is I cannot make soda bread or scones- I fail time after time so I looked back on old treads and have been inspired so I am going to have another bash today using the whey which is left over from the strained yoghurt:rolleyes: How OS is that I wouldn't have attempted this a few months ago

This site really makes you think about how you use the food and as you say they are not leftover -they are ingredients.

Thank you to everyone here who posts- it will take me a few years to read the wealth of material on the site but our tummies and wallets say its worth it:T

IM

The meal plan for the rest of the week

Tonight Chilli and rice
Wed Pizza
Thurs Chicken and ham pie
Friday fishcakes

sweetpeas_2

hope u soon feel better irish mom. im off work again this week with pulled muscle in my back, so have sympathy for you!

anyway, braved tesco express (doc told me to stay "active"), spent £18. will update my sig.
got enough stuff to use with my truck load of fruit and veg i got in for a tenner beginning of week (also in my sig), so far this week spent £28

xx nog xx