July 2025 Grocery Challenge

otb666

£600 per month please

TravelCrystal

Just been to Lidl for first July shop to get a freebie having achieved my £100 spend in June. 

I selected a jar of olives as I have a few uses for them this month.
DH has decided we are going to the beach on Monday to get a sea breeze away from the heat.
Therefore, as I have choir on a Monday needed to think of something easy for my return. So I  am making a spag Bol wannabe.Took out one of my 500 gms of mince from the freezer last night and used my food processor to do lots of chopping. So this morning on my return from shopping I have divided between my slow cookers. Mince, Mushrooms, tinned tomatoes, passata, peppers, onions, carrots, garlic and various seasonings. Should be enough for tonight, Monday and 3 other meals. 

I digress

Tortillas, feta, cheddar, noodles, fruit and veg, yoghurt, milk, mayo, bread flour, foil, washing up and washing machine liquid and baked beans.
Bought some gelatine yesterday to make some mint jelly, tastes lovely ☺️ 
Total spent so far £38.39/£200

I hope you are all ok with the heat

T.C

PipneyJane

themsthebreaks said:

Quick question, please. Has anyone frozen sandwich corned beef? I have Googled, and it says you can, but I wondered what it would be like once defrosted.

The use by date is today, but the meat eaters aren't likely to eat it until next week for lunches. I don't want to chuck it away, but if it isn't that nice once it's been frozen, I don't want to freeze it, either ☺️

@themsthebreaks, hope I’m not too late in responding.  I’ve frozen packets of sandwich meats in the past.  Not a problem.  Each took a couple of hours to defrost and tasted just fine.

HTH

- Pip

Suffolk_lass

@C_J re jars for bottling. As well as Kilner, Mason, Leifeit you can buy replacement pop-top lids for jam jars, which work well for bottling. As a hobby beekeeper we aren't allowed to reuse the lids because the silicone band in the lid degrades. Bonne Maman and the OB equivalents are the easiest, with the wide mouth top. As well as the bay of e and the big river company, you can get the lids from jar suppliers like Bottle Company South or Freeman Harding, or if your local beekeeping association has a beekeeping equipment reseller (we have two), they are often cheaper. 

I also make cordial from glut fruits - essentially a jelly but bottled before the set is reached, and with the Mary Berry elderflower cordial trick of adding two crushed campden tablets to precent it fermenting, they keep for a year. My recently discovered beer making supplier sells those cheap 75cl bottles with a silicone cork stopper, or you can of course, reuse bottles for this. Blackcurrant and gooseberry work really well

C_J

Thank you @Suffolk_lass that’s really useful info!

Pennypincin

I'd like to continue with £40 per week please.
Just for 1 person as a vegetarian.

AnotherNewDay

Hi, I'm joining again for July - and this time with a slightly increased budget of £115 (up from £100). This will be split as follows £45 for 2 ravenous blackcats and £70 for 1 human female groceries, household & toiletries. 
Hopefully, this adjustment will help me stay on track.

Blackcats

£380 for July please.

goldfinches

Thankyou for setting up this thread @elsiepac.

Please would you put me down for 

£150 main GC, £25 Baking Fund, £73.23 Bulk Buy Fund

The main GC covers all food, household necessities and basic toiletries for one moderately active vegetarian woman.

The Baking Fund covers making vegan and gluten free treats for a group of 12 every Wednesday.

The Bulk Buy Fund is for any regular purchase spotted on offer at a reduced price e.g. instant coffee, washing up liquid etc.

JingsMyBucket

@goldfinches I was just reminded of an accidentally vegan chocolate cake I saw today. It’s from the Great Depression era when people were low on eggs and butter. The lift and moistness comes vinegar and oils. It gets rave reviews   https://www.budgetbytes.com/chocolate-depression-cake/