March 2025 Grocery Challenge

diminua

£193.31 spent so far this month. I have a fish pie with a pastry top and a fish lasagne in the oven (had cream and pastry to use up) so that's three meals covered this week. As far as shopping goes I definitely want broccoli, tomatoes and lemon, and probably some other veg too. 

K9sandFelines

Suffolk_lass said:

K9sandFelines said:

Can somebody who is good at the search (as it's not working for me) find when I first posted about "Wearth it" toilet rolls? So I can figure out where I'm at with adding them to the budget.
I know they were ordered or arrived on the 22nd of January.So I assumed I first added them on to the February budget.
Thanks 

If you go to your own profile, it's quite quick to scroll back through your own comments, as an alternative way of finding things

That method was so much easier, thanks!

K9sandFelines

Spent £14.15 on Just eat order.Mainly for the cats , as they won't eat their biscuits and then are whinging for more wet food.

Dry cat food was £5.38 per bag which is a bit dearer alone, but if I'd have gone in the nearest shops without the code for dry food, I'd have got less items and spent the same amount. So without the discount off the biscuits I'll call it, £3.43 on groceries

I've got pasta,.rice, 2 x 2l bottles of pepsi max cherry ( I'll quite happily drink the a!di version), wraps, celery, salsa, popcorn, vegan KitKat and pot noodle for that

It saves me walking for now ( I'm under investigation at the moment for leg pain). I was going to go and feed some eggs to the ducks that I hard boiled last week for DD1 & DGD that didn't get eaten; but I'll go tomorrow, as I won't be dithering about with regards to what to do about the cat biscuits.

Also, £8.74 for toilet rolls, and im going to pre add to April as I've got about 30/48 still left. So effectively, if they run past 13th of May, then they've come in even cheaper per month 

JingsMyBucket

carboot_karaoke said:

JingsMyBucket said:

QUESTION: We have about a 500g lump of smoked gammon left in the fridge. In order to freeze it, should I slice it up or freeze it whole? Or maybe 50/50? Slice half of it and leave the rest whole? 

@JingsMyBucket The answer will be dependant upon the "end use" of the meat.

Assuming that its already cooked l would personally slice and wrap individual portions to use for sandwiches etc so you can defrost the correct amount as needed. But if your intention is a cooked dinner for instance, then keep it whole to retain the moisture.

@carboot_karaoke that's what I figured out after I posted. I think I may slice half of it and leave the rest in a chunk. Of course, by now, Mr. Jings has taken several large slices off it. 

JingsMyBucket

@GSDMum I like that random missing Marmite to spatchcock chicken pipeline / swerve you did there. 😂 I thought that was hilarious while reading it. Good luck to your husband and his knee!

@Soontobeoap I love how you’re breaking the habit with your husband! Hopefully it starts to rewire his brain too. 

Today was a shopping day with the usual suspects visited. 

£2.38 at Savers for matches and cough drops. 

£30.14 at Lidl for 2 bags of salad, tomatoes, loose red peppers, kiwi, a big family pack of mushrooms, fresh thyme, 2x Boursin, oat cakes, sliced ham and salami, 2 boxes of frozen fried chicken wings, 2 bags of frozen gyoza (Japan Week), yoghurts, and micro rice/grains. 

£8.68 at M & S for bananas, clementines, Greek yoghurt, puff pastry, and baked beans. 

£310.46 / £350 spent. £39.54 total remaining. 

Some friends of ours went wild garlic foraging and had so much they gave us a large bag of it. I'm going to sauté it with mushrooms (and maybe some leftover gammon/ham?) and make a roasted tomato, mushroom, wild garlic and Boursin puff pastry tart out of it. 

I’ll likely go shopping on the coming Thursday or Friday to refill our fruit, yoghurt, and baked beans stores. Plus, I’ll get something special for the Sunday lunch we’re having with a friend on March 30th. I’ll try my darnedest to stretch the budget to the 31st. Have a good evening, everyone. 

Pennypincin

Hi everyone, apologies for not posting much and keeping up with the posts.
Lost the plot and have spent £30.20 in Iceland, Sainsbury's and Tesco.
Mainly on some fresh vegetables, some slimming world meals, eggs, reduced tofu, basic tuna, basic savoury rice, bananas and a small tin of baked beans.
I've shocked myself with how easy it is to get through money. I shouldn't be really, and my memory is failing me as to how I've managed it.
Not just the food budget.
I looked at my online banking app and was surprised at how quickly it's gone and I've just been paid.

PipneyJane

Pennypincin said:

Hi everyone, apologies for not posting much and keeping up with the posts.
Lost the plot and have spent £30.20 in Iceland, Sainsbury's and Tesco.
Mainly on some fresh vegetables, some slimming world meals, eggs, reduced tofu, basic tuna, basic savoury rice, bananas and a small tin of baked beans.
I've shocked myself with how easy it is to get through money. I shouldn't be really, and my memory is failing me as to how I've managed it.
Not just the food budget.
I looked at my online banking app and was surprised at how quickly it's gone and I've just been paid.

@Pennypincin - that’s why I have multiple savings accounts, a “bills account” for the mortgage, etc, and keep my personal spending separate.  My salary gets paid into my personal account on the last working day of the month, then everything is automatically transferred out to the relevant pots and whatever is left is my spending money.  Everything else is quarantined in my mind and can’t be spent on non-designated items.

@GSDMum hope your husband’s operation goes well.

@Suffolk_lass glad to hear your husband’s recovery continues to go well.  There was a food/diet program on Channel 4 a couple of weeks ago which you might find interesting:  Eat Smart: Secrets of the Glucose Goddess .  It was the talk of my office this week.  (It’s available on their player for another 20-ish days.). 

I have a spend to declare from Friday:  £10.48 spent in L!dl on tinned sweetcorn (4x65p), 400 cotton buds (89p), 1 dozen FR large eggs (£2.79), 1kg onions (99p), 1kg frozen sweetcorn (£1.49), 900g frozen peas (£1.09_, and 0.8kg loose potatoes 63p (at 79p/kg).

That brings our March spend to £153.18/£165, leaving £11.82 for the rest of the month.

We will need to buy some veg and, possibly, some more milk before the end of the month.  I’m still working out a meal plan.

- Pip

Suffolk_lass

Ah thanks @PipneyJane, I did watch a couple of those. She's the French Biochemist with ten principles. It's not sugar that is the issue here, it is the amount of fat he was eating (late at night, systematic snacking). Unless I am missing the point you are making? 

I understand the need to smooth the energy spikes, having studied nutrition as part of my degree, way back when. Her ten hacks were all old medicine principles. Just updated and marketed for today's audience.

PipneyJane

Suffolk_lass said:

Ah thanks @PipneyJane, I did watch a couple of those. She's the French Biochemist with ten principles. It's not sugar that is the issue here, it is the amount of fat he was eating (late at night, systematic snacking). Unless I am missing the point you are making? 

I understand the need to smooth the energy spikes, having studied nutrition as part of my degree, way back when. Her ten hacks were all old medicine principles. Just updated and marketed for today's audience.

Understood, @S@Suffolk_lass. I was thinking about the triggers behind your DH’s late night snacking and whether it could be due to blood sugar spikes/drops and the insulin cascade.  (In my DH’s case, his snacking is definitely due to a massive sweet tooth.). 

You might like my hummus recipe:

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas, drained but save the liquid
1 generously heaped teaspoon tahini paste
1-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt

Method

1. Combine the chickpeas, oil, garlic, tahini and a pinch of salt in the food processor.  Blend, adding liquid from the chickpea can as necessary, until a smooth paste is formed.  (If there isn’t sufficient liquid from the can, add water.). 
2. Stir in extra salt, to taste, if you need it.
3. Turn out into a ramekin dish - or two - and store, covered, in the fridge.
4. To make fancy when serving, sprinkle over a little paprika.

HTH

- Pip

@elsiepac - another for the recipe index.

elsiepac

Hi all, it's that time again... the

March GC is now Live!