July 2024 Grocery Challenge

elsiepac

August GC Now Live!

carboot_karaoke

Camping was brilliant, it helped that the weather was so kind

Overall we spent £144.01 although over £70 was fuel and £25 was for last day takeaway.

New totals 
£687/ £469.54

1. Petrol £180 / £120.23
2. Food/Cleaning £350 /£194.95
3. Camping food £100 / £115.45
4. Toiletries £57 / £38.91

Trying to get a plan together for the rest of the month, Ive come up with two menu's for entertaining (7 adults 2 children) Option 1 will cost about £35-£40, Option 2 about £50-£55 but requires less work . What do you think ??

I also need to fill my car with petrol £50 ish. We have plenty of staples, so I'm hoping that we could manage the rest of the month (allowing for entertaining & Fuel) on about £63, that would leave us about £50 to rollover into August. 

PipneyJane

carboot_karaoke said:

Camping was brilliant, it helped that the weather was so kind

Overall we spent £144.01 although over £70 was fuel and £25 was for last day takeaway.

New totals 
£687/ £469.54

1. Petrol £180 / £120.23
2. Food/Cleaning £350 /£194.95
3. Camping food £100 / £115.45
4. Toiletries £57 / £38.91

Trying to get a plan together for the rest of the month, Ive come up with two menu's for entertaining (7 adults 2 children) Option 1 will cost about £35-£40, Option 2 about £50-£55 but requires less work . What do you think ??

I also need to fill my car with petrol £50 ish. We have plenty of staples, so I'm hoping that we could manage the rest of the month (allowing for entertaining & Fuel) on about £63, that would leave us about £50 to rollover into August. 

How about you share with us the details of the menu options, @carboot_karaoke?  I’m not sure I can comment blind.

- Pip

carboot_karaoke

Hi pip
Option 1 would be -  lasagne,  garlic bread ,salad coleslaw and chilli with rice, grated cheese doritos and dips. 
Option 2 would mutton curry, jerk chicken, fried dumplings and rice with salad and coleslaw.  (It's the price of mutton vs minced beef that makes the difference )

Bluegreen143

Sneaking back on here after years of absence. 

Need to get a handle on the grocery budget because I’m currently spending about £700p/m for a family of four - that’s two adults, an 8yo and a 5yo! This includes household items but not alcohol or eating out. 

I run by the calendar month and am aiming for £120 per week max with the aim of cutting down further if possible. 

I’ve recommitted to online shopping, which worked well for me in the past, and doing just one delivery on a Sunday - for ages I’ve been doing 2/3 shops a week and often nipping into M&S to do the weekend shop while DS is at karate next door 🙈

I had my delivery yesterday and got (copied and pasted from my DFD):

TOTAL COST £96.75

PROTEIN & DAIRY
Chicken breast 950g £5.50
4 salmon fillets £8
2 salted butter £3.38
Extra mature cheddar 400g £3
Bacon £1.45

Whole milk 4pint £1.45
Greek yoghurt 500g x2 £1.70
6 bratwurst sausages £3.50

FRUIT & VEG
Cauliflower £1.19
4 sweetcorn cobettes £1.39
Broccoli 82p
Mixed grapes £1.90
Sweet gem lettuce 2pk £1
Chestnut mushrooms 89p
Rocket £1
Celery 75p
Strawberries £1.90
White cabbage 80p
Potatoes 2kg £1.35
Easy peeler clementines £1.29
Cherry tomatoes £1
Apples x6 £1.49
Whole cucumber 89p
Sweet potato 42p
Red peppers x2 £1.18
Red onion 21p
Lemons £1.20
Bananas x10 £1.60
Melon £2
It’s possible we’ll need a little more fruit and salad at the weekend but I’ll try to stretch it and eat the more perishable stuff before longer lasting stuff to reduce waste. 

BREAD
6pk hot dog buns 89p
Seeded bread £1.05

STORECUPBOARD
Tinned chickpeas 49p
Tinned black beans 49p
Conchiglie pasta 1kg £1.29
Tinned tomatoes x3 £1.17

TREATS/SNACKS/DRINKS
2 tubs olives £5
Pretzels £1.50
Pringles £1.75
85% dark chocolate £2
Biscuits 85p
Orange juice cartons 3pk £1.69
Cola x8 £5.60
Pot noodle 90p
Crisps 6pk x2 £2
Party mix crisps £1
These are literally all for DH, except the dark chocolate, and if the kids have a few crisps at the weekend 😂

HOUSEHOLD
Kitchen roll x2 £2.38
Kids’ toothpaste £2.20
Extra strong bin bags £4.50
Mould remover £4
Antiseptic wound wipes x2 £2.30
Cotton wool pads £1.50
I forgot laundry tabs so going to get those today.

Mealplan as follows:

Breakfasts:
- Peanut butter toast, porridge or cereal for the kids, usually with a banana 
- I tend to have Greek yoghurt with nuts, fruit and a tiny bit of dark chocolate chopped in, or milkshakes
- DH usually skips, occasionally has cereal

Lunches
- leftovers
- beans or egg on toast
- sandwiches/toasties 
- all with veg sticks or fruit
- DH tends to have a bacon or ham sandwich most days 

Snacks
- I’m a mean mummy and the kids only snack on fruit/veg sticks during the week, or they can have a handful of nuts (DD doesn’t like though) or a glass of milk (rarely taken up now by either). 

- At the weekend they still get F&V and there are some sweets in or they can have some of DH’s crisps. 

- I’m on a diet so don’t snack during the week either 
- DH is snacky in the afternoons and evenings and has things like toast, olives, hummus, crisps, salted nuts etc. Its unfair that he’s so tall and can get away with this!! 

Dinners
Su - black bean & sweet potato enchiladas with a mixed salad 

M - brisket pot roast with roast veg & potatoes 

T - lentil soup with HM bread

W - tandoori style chicken with veg curry & rice 

Th - salmon, HM chips and veg 

F - hot dogs, corn on the cob, HM coleslaw 

Sa - chicken tomato pasta with salad 

PipneyJane

carboot_karaoke said:

Hi pip
Option 1 would be -  lasagne,  garlic bread ,salad coleslaw and chilli with rice, grated cheese doritos and dips. 
Option 2 would mutton curry, jerk chicken, fried dumplings and rice with salad and coleslaw.  (It's the price of mutton vs minced beef that makes the difference )

Thanks for the details @carboot_karaoke.  Both menus look yummy.  Thoughts:-

1. I appreciate the price differential.  Mutton is hard to obtain and expensive.  Will it be appreciated by your guests?
2. When you have a moment, please share your mutton curry recipe. (I love mutton.)
3. You could assemble the lasagne and garlic bread tonight, thus cutting down the prep time needed on the day.  I’d make the lasagne in a roasting pan - that’d be large enough for 9 hearty eaters - and it won’t crack when moved from the fridge to a hot oven.
4. Do you really need to offer a choice of main course?  By the look of things, nobody is vegetarian.
5. Are you cooking from scratch or using bought sauces?  The former is cheaper and often doesn’t take more time. (If you need recipes, please ask.)

HTH

- Pip

joedenise

I think I'd go with option 2 but  I'd be doing chicken curry rather than mutton curry (unless you're able to get mutton cheaply!).  That way you would have time to spend with your guests.  I'm assuming you'd be using slow cooker and or pressure cooker to cook the curry and jerk chicken.

I always find lasagne a faff to make so unless it's actually been requested I'd be reluctant to make it!

carboot_karaoke

carboot_karaoke said:

Hi pip
Option 1 would be -  lasagne,  garlic bread ,salad coleslaw and chilli with rice, grated cheese doritos and dips. 
Option 2 would mutton curry, jerk chicken, fried dumplings and rice with salad and coleslaw.  (It's the price of mutton vs minced beef that makes the difference )

Thanks for the details @carboot_karaoke.  Both menus look yummy.  Thoughts:-

1. I appreciate the price differential.  Mutton is hard to obtain and expensive.  Will it be appreciated by your guests?
2. When you have a moment, please share your mutton curry recipe. (I love mutton.)
3. You could assemble the lasagne and garlic bread tonight, thus cutting down the prep time needed on the day.  I’d make the lasagne in a roasting pan - that’d be large enough for 9 hearty eaters - and it won’t crack when moved from the fridge to a hot oven.
4. Do you really need to offer a choice of main course?  By the look of things, nobody is vegetarian.
5. Are you cooking from scratch or using bought sauces?  The former is cheaper and often doesn’t take more time. (If you need recipes, please ask.)

HTH

- Pip

Thank you for your opinion Pip 

1) I know the mutton would be very welcomed by our guests, l heard one say they hadn't had it in ages which prompted me to consider it. Having said that if l said l was making beans on toast they would be equally grateful.
2) Tbh the recipe as in quantities etc is in my head, l will make a list of ingredients  which might be helpful.
3) I completely agree, l cook the mince and assemble it in the morning, then just have to pop in the oven. 
4) Probably not, its just something we always do in case of preferences. It should mean there will be at least one thing they like. 
5) Everything is from scratch, lasagne has courgettes, peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms which adds a lot of time prep wise. I do find it a faff so always make 2 at the same time. If l make a curry l season and freeze the meat. Then the day before we host ill cook the curry mutton on the hob it can take ages. So that in the following morning l can skim excess fat that has risen to the top and gently reheat before guests arrive.  

But chicken curry suggested by @joedenise is another good idea (significantly cheaper) and would follow the same preparation process as a mutton curry.

carboot_karaoke

joedenise said:

I think I'd go with option 2 but  I'd be doing chicken curry rather than mutton curry (unless you're able to get mutton cheaply!).  That way you would have time to spend with your guests.  I'm assuming you'd be using slow cooker and or pressure cooker to cook the curry and jerk chicken.

I always find lasagne a faff to make so unless it's actually been requested I'd be reluctant to make it!

Thanks for replying , l think l might just swap the meats. There is a butcher locally who sells mutton for £12 a kg but chicken is about £3 a kg, so definitely a significant saving.
l cook the curry the day before and season the chicken so on the day its a case of popping chicken in the oven cooking rice & reheating the curry.

Yep !! l know what you means about lasagne a real faff that's why l always make two (one for the freezer). But Its also a firm family favourite so overall worth the hassle, at least the second one we eat   

PipneyJane

carboot_karaoke said:

carboot_karaoke said:

Hi pip
Option 1 would be -  lasagne,  garlic bread ,salad coleslaw and chilli with rice, grated cheese doritos and dips. 
Option 2 would mutton curry, jerk chicken, fried dumplings and rice with salad and coleslaw.  (It's the price of mutton vs minced beef that makes the difference )

Thanks for the details @carboot_karaoke.  Both menus look yummy.  Thoughts:-

1. I appreciate the price differential.  Mutton is hard to obtain and expensive.  Will it be appreciated by your guests?
2. When you have a moment, please share your mutton curry recipe. (I love mutton.)
3. You could assemble the lasagne and garlic bread tonight, thus cutting down the prep time needed on the day.  I’d make the lasagne in a roasting pan - that’d be large enough for 9 hearty eaters - and it won’t crack when moved from the fridge to a hot oven.
4. Do you really need to offer a choice of main course?  By the look of things, nobody is vegetarian.
5. Are you cooking from scratch or using bought sauces?  The former is cheaper and often doesn’t take more time. (If you need recipes, please ask.)

HTH

- Pip

Thank you for your opinion Pip 

1) I know the mutton would be very welcomed by our guests, l heard one say they hadn't had it in ages which prompted me to consider it. Having said that if l said l was making beans on toast they would be equally grateful.
2) Tbh the recipe as in quantities etc is in my head, l will make a list of ingredients  which might be helpful.
3) I completely agree, l cook the mince and assemble it in the morning, then just have to pop in the oven. 
4) Probably not, its just something we always do in case of preferences. It should mean there will be at least one thing they like. 
5) Everything is from scratch, lasagne has courgettes, peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms which adds a lot of time prep wise. I do find it a faff so always make 2 at the same time. If l make a curry l season and freeze the meat. Then the day before we host ill cook the curry mutton on the hob it can take ages. So that in the following morning l can skim excess fat that has risen to the top and gently reheat before guests arrive.  

But chicken curry suggested by @joedenise is another good idea (significantly cheaper) and would follow the same preparation process as a mutton curry.

You’re my kind of cook, @carboot_karaoke.  I’m certain your guests will appreciate whatever you make.

- Pip