January 2008 Grocery Challenge

bails

Hmm, well I am blowing my budget well and truly! But I think it's for the best as it'll pay off over the year... Went to check out the late night reductions tonight, but it was pants! Think I'd better stack up some NSDs now. Will catch up on the thread tomorrow, hope you're all doing well x

CanadaBound

rosieben wrote: »

Good for you! My dd and family have just gone off to Oz to live. I would prefer the snow!

I agree - my cousins are out in Oz and, though they love it, I couldn't cope with that level of heat.

Looking at your sig I am amazed by the amount you have shaved off your grocery bill and am further inspired! :T

Gryfon

I've decided to join you! After doing my budget and realising how scary it is. So this month I don't want to spend more than £300 on food, cleaning products etc for 5 of us. So about £70 a week and this week I've spent £65 so far, should get us through till next Monday though.

catherineblack

singlemum wrote: »

You sound like a girl after my own heart, have all my mums old cookbooks and prefer them to my newer ones. Could never part with any of them though have a weakness for cookbooks lol

Me too! I love old cookbooks - and new ones. I sit reading them for hours - very relaxing!

mrsdoyle1981

Im loving this thread, reading it everyday is helping me to stay motivated and keep on track.

I made bread rolls in the bread maker tonight for tea, and for the husbands lunch tomorrow....need to stock up on more stong flour now!

Previously i would go to tesco or aldi everyday for 'bits', and then every few weeks or so i would do an even larger shop at asda or morrisons, AS WELL AS asking my husband to pick up more 'bits' from sainsburys!! :eek::eek::eek:

Honestly, i feel like im changing my life! Only downside is my son keeps asking when we are going to the shop......wheres that bad mother thread? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Blairweech

Well, my meal plan has gone slightly out of the window. I made a HUGE pan of sausage and bean casserole tonight, planned to have some tomorrow as well (leftover night- if I don't plan these into my menu, I guarantee we have a leftover night and then the plan really is in the bin!) Anyway, I put 2 tins of Somerfield mixed pulses in - we don't use dried as OH hates the texture, but these tinned beans were rubbish (even by my standards). They're really hard and gritty So that pretty much ruined the dinner, except I can't bear to throw the whole lot away, so it will have to be frozen in me-sized portions (OH won't eat it). Now what are we supposed to eat tomorrow???

freyasmum

I went to the local farm shop and got 4lbs mince for £5 and then to morrisons, I got a bag of potatoes and some cheese. Also got a bag of dried apricots for dd as she loves them

So, I have spent £8.12 so far

Lx

Frugaldom

Blairweech wrote: »

Well, my meal plan has gone slightly out of the window. I made a HUGE pan of sausage and bean casserole tonight, planned to have some tomorrow as well (leftover night- if I don't plan these into my menu, I guarantee we have a leftover night and then the plan really is in the bin!) Anyway, I put 2 tins of Somerfield mixed pulses in - we don't use dried as OH hates the texture, but these tinned beans were rubbish (even by my standards). They're really hard and gritty So that pretty much ruined the dinner, except I can't bear to throw the whole lot away, so it will have to be frozen in me-sized portions (OH won't eat it). Now what are we supposed to eat tomorrow???

When all else fails, we resort to pasta or stir fry. Pasta's cheap and cheerful, so I'd plonk for that (20p per 500g) - tin of tomatoes, some tomatoe puree, fine chopped onion, sprinkle of herbs, present it as pasta pesto with a small sprig of greenery on top and if you want to be really extravagant, offer a sprinkle of grated cheese - they'll never know it cost about £1 to make

NYK's WACKY HINTS & TIPS - Ask for a copy of the menu to take home from places that do the 2 for £5.50 (or similar) meal deals. Most of them can be made at home for about £1 once you're in a routine and have the basic ingredients - mince, chicken, tuna, pasta, rice and tinned tomatoes :rotfl:

Sunnyday

Nykmedia,
i confess to having pinched a copy of your meatballs recipe

It sounds scrummy and i`ll hopefully make it on week 3.
*scurries off to amend meal planner*
Thanks for posting it.
SD

MRSMCAWBER

morning everyone

Blairweech, have you frozen the sausage casserole yet? if not could you remove the sausages and then blitz the sauce..may need a drop of water or another tin of tomatoes to let it down a bit... then you can put the sausages back in and "no more gritty beans":D ... and if there is too much sauce ...take some of the extra out and freeze up and you could use it on pasta with a grating of cheese

Well im not going anywhere today -going to sit and cross stitch instead ... hubby has been told he is on guard duty tomorrow so he will go out about 7am and not get back until about 10am thursday... which -looking on the bright side means i don't have to feed him at all :rotfl: .... so that will make the food go a bit further than planned :j ....
I have to slice the ham up today and get that in the freezer, and have a batch of soup to make.... im getting uite obsessive with this making everything go as far as possible
Buying full fat milk and diluting it down has been a hit..hubby says he can't even tell the difference... and it works out at 37cents instead of 66 cents :T so that has now become a permenant fixture ..hmm where else can i save i wonder :rotfl: