May 2025 Grocery Challenge

C_J

A quick trip out this morning.  In Tesco I spent £27.23 on milk, cream, dog food, snack sized cucumbers and ham; because my monthly total has been so good I went mad and also treated myself to a small rolled shoulder of lamb which is now in the slow cooker.  I did also spend £13 (!!) on two comics for the grandchildren, but that comes out of a different budget.

I also called in to my third favourite community fridge just as it was about to close, and for a £1 donation I got a loaf of supermarket white sliced bread (the grandchildren are coming for tea again, and this is the only one they like), 4 baking potatoes, bananas, oranges, green apples, lemons, tomatoes, a bunch of cut fresh parsley, a pack of Kipling angel cake slices, 2 croissants, and button mushrooms. So many button mushrooms.

Much of the fruit will be passed on to my daughter, the grandchildren will also polish off the angel cake slices. I'm currently searching online for recipes to use up the mushrooms, probably a curry of some sort (I have a curry meal kit type thing containing spices, paste and coconut milk which needs using up), and maybe creamy garlicky mushrooms on toast as I also have half a tub of leftover ricotta to use up.

This makes today's spend £28.23, and my total May spend so far £68.26/£160

PipneyJane

C_J said:

A quick trip out this morning.  In Tesco I spent £27.23 on milk, cream, dog food, snack sized cucumbers and ham; because my monthly total has been so good I went mad and also treated myself to a small rolled shoulder of lamb which is now in the slow cooker.  I did also spend £13 (!!) on two comics for the grandchildren, but that comes out of a different budget.

I also called in to my third favourite community fridge just as it was about to close, and for a £1 donation I got a loaf of supermarket white sliced bread (the grandchildren are coming for tea again, and this is the only one they like), 4 baking potatoes, bananas, oranges, green apples, lemons, tomatoes, a bunch of cut fresh parsley, a pack of Kipling angel cake slices, 2 croissants, and button mushrooms. So many button mushrooms.

Much of the fruit will be passed on to my daughter, the grandchildren will also polish off the angel cake slices. I'm currently searching online for recipes to use up the mushrooms, probably a curry of some sort (I have a curry meal kit type thing containing spices, paste and coconut milk which needs using up), and maybe creamy garlicky mushrooms on toast as I also have half a tub of leftover ricotta to use up.

This makes today's spend £28.23, and my total May spend so far £68.26/£160

@C_J, may I suggest slicing/quartering the button mushrooms, gently frying them until soft and then portioning them up for the freezer, to go in meals later?  Most of my main course dishes start “Fry onion with mushrooms, add garlic…”  You can add them freely to almost any mince-based meal or to stews.  They are a good, low calorie, high protein, high fibre dish-bulking agent and are rich in vitamins and minerals.

HTH

- Pip

C_J

@PipneyJane - thank you, that’s an excellent suggestion!

joedenise

One of my favourite ways of cooking mushrooms is to make a stroganoff.  Goes well with rice or mash.

C_J

@joedenise Oh yes, stroganoff! I forgot about that.

There are often mushrooms available at the Community Fridge, of all sorts from normal button mushrooms right up to exotic ones which frankly look a bit scary, so I am always on the lookout for ways to use them up. Earlier in the week I made garlic, mushroom and cream cheese pâté which was nice for a couple of lunches on toasted baguette slices. 

I have subfolders in a ‘Recipes’ tab on my laptop so I have just saved both the stroganoff and the freezing idea to the Mushroom folder. Thank you!

Nelliegrace

May budget for two, £155.

I had to go to the hospital pharmacy, so I visited Asda on the way home for 2x 4pt milk, wholemeal bread flour £1.05 for 1.5kg, Scottish oatcakes, 2x tinned sardines in brine 52p, lettuce, tomatoes and clementines.
£9.69 spent.

@PipneyJane , I found a cheerful yellow plastic measure in the pantry, which holds 50g of muesli, (which has had extra porridge oats added to go further,) and made DH an attractive bowlful with a teaspoon of mixed seeds, a few dried cranberries, half of a banana, a date, and a tinned prune, sliced on top. He said it was plenty, but then had two slices of toast and homemade marmalade! 

I put off going shopping, and as it was busy in Aldi, and there was some football match he wanted to watch, we didn’t dawdle. 


Eggs from the hens and meat from the freezer.
£20.13 spent.

Total £130.14

It is chilly this afternoon, I fancy some hot crumpets.
I found a recipe in the 1954 edition of Country Fare, which Mum used to have, so I have a half quantity of batter in a jug, sitting on a towel I warmed in the microwave.


No leftovers! We had some with cheese and the rest with blackcurrant jam.

K9sandFelines

£8.14 spent at Heron. Came to more than that in total, but my daughter owed me for some bits and to replenish the pepsi Max cherries she's been slugging whilst here 🤭.
Also, absolutely shattered and needed wraps but couldn't bring myself to go out. So used the Just eat code for £10 off £15 which means I spent £8.77. Was debating saving it til Wednesday when they have half price essential but tbh I don't think I'll need those; so it's saved my legs. I also want to start getting coconut cream again instead of milk, as I kept forgetting to refrigerate the coconut milk to get it to set into cream. The only.place to go for that is S@insburys. So unfortunately yes, I could have got most stuff cheaper in Aldi, but with the code it's worked out virtually the same now.

I've inserted the receipt 


So, total to add to signature is £16.90

K9sandFelines

Seems I ordered two oreganos by mistake. They subbed the wraps then they weren't in the bag, which was the whole point of the order.
Good job I ordered bread flour as all's I've got bread wise is some pittas. So making a loaf of bread now.One item missing so £0.56p refunded. I'll add the rest when Ive contacted them about the wraps

Edit.
That was quick, it's all sorted manually.
So £2.16 to add back to signature, and still need to get wraps 😡

carboot_karaoke

Morning everyone, 

 l have just found my receipt from Thursdays shop. 

A total of £61.04 spent, although this included some snacks and miniature bottles of prosecco for me and Mr CK trip to London.  I don't normally add alcohol purchases but I'm letting this one off 😉

New totals £392.29 /£470 

elsiepac

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