August 2025 Grocery Challenge

C_J

Hello everyone.

First visit of the month to my favourite £1 Community Fridge. There didn't seem to be quite as much on offer today, but I still came away with:

4 baking potatoes
1 large red onion
Bag of carrots
1 red cabbage
2 large fresh beetroot
Salad cress
Broccoli
Courgettes
1 summer squash
Lots of spring onions
1 punnet of sugardrop cherry vine tomatoes
Bag of watercress and rocket salad
Celery
1 large avocado
2 oranges
2 apples
2 ruby grapefruit
4 bananas
1 punnet seedless black grapes
2 blueberry muffins
1 small sliced sourdough loaf
1 Warburton's sliced wholemeal powergrains loaf
1 large pack potato sticks
1 2kg bag easy cook rice
1 pack Waitrose sliced ham
1 Pret tuna and cucumber wrap
1 Pret egg mayo sandwich
1 Waitrose pack of 2 ready-to-cook chicken breasts in a coronation marinade
1 Duck and noodle salad bowl
1 Waitrose Thai chicken curry and rice ready meal for two
2 bags mixed Italian fresh herbs
4 red chilli peppers
2 large bunches of sunflowers

and also: 6 bottles of baby follow-on milk (!). I didn't want them but they had stacks and insisted everybody had to take some, saying it can apparently be fed to cats/dogs/hedgehogs but I'm not sure! I'll check online before leaving any out tonight.

The sandwiches will be lunches on Thursday and Friday, the duck noodle salad can be dinner tomorrow. The coronation chicken breasts will make two evening meals, with a little bit of rice and some of the broccoli. The Thai chicken curry will make two meals as well, it's a large pack. There are enough ingredients to make a ham salad with red cabbage and carrot coleslaw plus maybe a few cheeky chips from one of the large potatoes. Another potato can be baked for a lunch early next week, with a salad side. There are ingredients for soup, a courgette pasta dish, avocado on toast, and I might turn the summer squash and tomatoes into a curry as I've also got spinach in the veg garden.  That will pretty much see me through until the next Fridge opening, I'll probably only need to get some milk in the meantime.

August total so far £38.14/£150


ETA: internet says animals incl hedgehogs should not be fed baby follow on milk as they are lactose intolerant (which I did kind of think already).  The bottles have a use by date of 11th August on them so if I am quick I might be able to get them to a baby bank in time for them to be used by someone who might welcome them.

SausageDogSandwich

Evening all, can’t remember posting or not but my target is 

£400 please and thank you @elsiepac

Spent £49.13 so far, mostly on fruit, veg and milk. Doing a proper shop tomorrow as have run out of make things up dinners 

Have made a list and it comes to approx £130 so I’m budgeting 140. My kids always eat well but my middle son has now becomes a human dustbin like his older brother, plus it’s this holidays and I’ve also been running everything down until now. 

£49.13/400 spent but not for long

Soontobeoap

Well I have done well so far. A lot of the stuff that I bought for the boys meals is still in fridge freezer. I am going to use leftover spring onions and carrots on chicken noodles tomorrow as I have a few leftover bits from yesterday's salad.to use up. The secret is making more time to prep and use up so that I don't waste things. Usually when they are here I am so exhausted that I can't think beyond keeping them entertained. A combination of losing a stone in weight and them being a bit older is making it easier.

Pennypincin

I've finally done a little shop in Morrisons.
I don't know why I'm shocked at the prices, but I am.
£9.56 spent on 2 bags of frozen fruit, 1 pack of budget free range eggs, 1 pack of frozen vegetarian sausages, 1 tub of fat free yoghurt and 2 packs of discount Warburton protein pittas.
I'm starting back on the healthier eating today, fingers crossed it goes well, although I'm going to need to do so frugally to keep costs down.

JingsMyBucket

Hey y’all. I was on the high street yesterday and stopped into a few shops. 

£7.30 at M & S for bananas (1.00), 1kg of onions (1.00), strawberries (2.10), a lemon (45p), and YS battered cod (2.75)

£2.25 at Iceland for frozen blueberries. 

£177.89 / £400 spent. £222.11 remaining.  

Nelliegrace

August Grocery Challenge for Two, £5 a day, £155.

DH went to Morrisons for the milk some reason. He bought cream at 30p more than at Aldi price, and cherries, strawberries and grapes because they were 3 for £5, but paid £6.45 for them because he didn’t use his Morrisons card. He forgot that his was on his phone! £11.40 spent.

We had last seasons stored apples until the end of May, and I used the first of this year’s windfall cooking apples yesterday for stewed apple and blackberries.

Total £11.40

carboot_karaoke

Afternoon Everyone

I'm in disbelief that l haven't brought any food since last Friday !! Especially with the kids off school.

I have been staring into an empty fridge the last few days, but we've had "just enough" of everything to get by.

I did pick up a couple of things from Olio including some Sweet & Smoky BBQ Beef Kebabs that are currently in the freezer. 

A big list will be made tonight for tomorrow so l will enjoy this feeling while it lasts😊   

Mrs_Cheshire

Just tallied up my shopping since the start of the month, it's scary as we've already spent £261.81/£550. 
We do have very well stocked food cupboards and freezer so hopefully I can hold off shopping until at least Tuesday. We'll need fruit and veg then plus milk, bread etc then. 
The community grocery had some good items in it when I went on Tuesday including
Chicken & mushroom pies (got 3 packs of 2)
Sausage and bean bakes (2 packs of 2)
tinned ravioli (2)
Tinned sausages & spaghetti (2)
Malt loaf
rice krispie squares (3)
2 pints of milk
2 garlic baguettes
vanilla milkshake
carrots
new potatoes
peppers 
blueberries
bag of rosemary and sea salt fries
pink lady apples
nutrigrain bars (6)
cartons of juice for the kids (2)

and some other stuff which I can't remember of the top of my head. This bundle cost £12.50 

We've also been to !celand today for milk, bread, crumpets, pancakes and latte sachets. £11.50

wishus

Got to add £34.35 from A*di - forgot dishwasher tablets though so will have to go back at the weekend, boo.

August budget £150, spent so far £45.95, remaining £104.05.

Pennypincin

I've £8.61 left of the weeks food budget after buying toilet rolls, moist toilet rolls, curry powder, frozen vegetables, fruit and a few other bits.
Not much bought, but am again amazed at the cost of shopping, especially the healthy bits.