January 2025 Grocery Challenge

LadyWithAPlan

Sausageroll14 said:

@LadyWithAPlan Have you considered Olio as I regularly get a few GF items in my collections. I've seen this a bit of a trend through the years. 

I gave up  Olio and TGTG as wasnt enough GF but maybe I can try again - had an issue with logging on as well.

Well done on the no takeaway Sausage roll as well! Having fun fakeaway foods can help in the freezer.

@ancientmum good bargains!

I just did my annual money review and having more clear data - using YNAB now - makes you really see where the cash has gone. I have definitely spent more on going out/meals in the past - luckily the GF restricts me quite a lot that way

Yearly costs
Food - £3,113.92 so  £259.49 avg pm
includes junk  £191.35
meal boxes/take out £126.84
Groceries £1728
Xmas food £184.51
Bulk £92.07
Abroad food  £791.15 - inc food largely at hotel/airbnb and odd meal out abroad (some on work trips so expensed/per diems)

- Does not inc bday meals, coffees etc

FOOD
yesterday's bargainous 2kg ham on the bone is still going despite me freezing most. Made a huge soup stock then ham, pea and black eyed bean soup, delicious blended with a squeeze of lime and some  paprika. Even tastier today.
I have also pressure cooked some more beans to make a bean side dish with more ham!
My oven decided yesterday to not work (its tripping the fuse) so all cooking is via pressure cooker 6 in 1 (has saute, steam etc) and the halogen. Not great for boiling veg so need to figure that out.

joedenise

@LadyWithAPlan - do you have a microwave?  Can cook veg in one with just a little water and covered with a bit of cling film which has been stabbed a couple of times with a fork to let the steam out.

Cassingtonbear

Sausageroll14 said:

Just had to come on and say... We dodged a takeaway. Both really tired after a hectic day and nearly....so nearly ordered via just eat. Freezer food came to the rescue! 

May sound obvious to other people but takeaways are a big blindspot for us. 

Decided to take steps and organise a takeaway for the weekend. Wish me luck! 😁😁😁

Well done for avoiding the takeaway. That is definitely one of by biggest spending problems and one of the reasons why I have committed to this challenge. Back to work on Monday for me so that will be when the evening takeaway temptation starts again.

Sausageroll14

Thanks @Cassingtonbear it's certainly a challenge. It's a toxic little habit we unwittingly slipped into. It's not even like the food is outstanding or even quick. 

I've done a bit of research and taming twins lady (food writer) has suggested crushed tortilla chips offer the best crunch on chicken. As you can probably guess it was a KFC we were hankering for. 

So we are off to Sains*ury's for other ingredients but will pop some tortilla chips in as well. 

t14cy_t

morning all. i collected lots of lovely goodies from olio yesterday, stilton, fancy cakes, brandy butter, cream and antipasto. also went to see my daughter and the grandchildren yesterday, we had a huge food swap!!! getting very creative with my freebies now. dont intend going near the shops for a while!

determined_new_ms

Morning nipped to sm yesterday for milk and picked up ys chicken slices, brandy cream and 6 mince pies. Oh dear didn't *need* any of them! That was a very cheap lesson in "do I need something?". Small sm shop to get things for small grands visiting tonight. HM pizza and popcorn for tea and pancakes for breakfast

LO made hobnobs last night snacks when they are here today 

Mamaofmanybudgets

Good morning everyone! 

Glad to see I'm not the only one avoiding the take aways, the amount of money I had spend in the past years were unacceptable..... and i keep wondering why I can't lose weight 🙄🤣 So that is definitely a habit that needs to go in 2025!

I also downloaded olio again, you guys reminded me. I downloaded it when it first came about but never much on there. I've redownloaded it and will see what it's got in store for us. 

£44.14 / £400 

Since my last post ,
£1.75 in the shop yesterday, just a lil pack of cheese for our cottage pie

Today £30.90 on shipton mill and will be visiting the local food share group later which is £4 

The shipton mill is a 25kg flour and a couple bags of 1kg just to get it to the free delivery at £30.  This will last us a good while though so probably won't have to get any next month. 

Have a great day, it's a nippy one ❄️

LotsOfTea

I spent £48.01 across a couple of shops yesterday, not all of it on sensible stuff. I needed some fruit & veg bits, some ham & sausages and a few non-food bits and that was all fine but then I also got slightly waylaid by the post-xmas bargains. I got a few packets of mice pies at 40p each and a huge Xmas pud for £1.40. Both of those will be enthusiastically consumed by DH & DS over the next few weeks. I also got a festive jam for 50p and a bottle of mince pie liqueur for £9.99. The liqueur was definitely not needed and I should have been more sensible and left it there but it will make a delicious cocktail with some cava (which we do have already). 

I've had a word with myself and resolved to stick to what I actually need in future otherwise the budget will disappear far too quickly. 

£48.01/£300

AnimalTribe

I’ve finally got caught up with the previous pages. I notice most people say what is included in their grocery spends. My grocery budget includes food for 2 (one of them a vegetarian), 2 large dogs, all cleaning, bathroom, personal hygiene products and takeaways. It doesn’t include food eaten on days out as this is taken from the holiday budget.

I used up the last of the Christmas broccoli and the last of a box of out of date eggs to make 2 quiches yesterday. The eggs passed the float test and were fine. I also spotted a single very large Bramley apple languishing in the fridge so I made a mini apple pie. One quiche did for dinner for DH and me yesterday and the other will be used today. I do still have the broccoli stems as this will be added to the next batch of soup. Lunch for DH and me is always a sandwich, salad and fruit.

As I live in a remote location Olio and TooGoodToGo are of no use to me, but I’m glad to see that food is being saved from landfill by others on the thread.

Quantaqa

Sausageroll14 said:

Just had to come on and say... We dodged a takeaway. Both really tired after a hectic day and nearly....so nearly ordered via just eat. Freezer food came to the rescue! 

May sound obvious to other people but takeaways are a big blindspot for us. 

Decided to take steps and organise a fakeaway for the weekend. Wish me luck! 😁😁😁

Good luck   Takeaways are an issue for me too.  I so often get in form work exhausted and just opt for a takeaway.  Unfortunately (or fortunately for my waistline and purse) my favourite takeaway was bought over a few months ago and the new owners have changed everything so it's not an option now, so fewer takeaways all round!