September 2025 Grocery Challenge

weenancyinAmerica

@JingsMyBucket - I've turned into a squirrel nutkin preparing for hibernating (and it almost never gets below 5C here. It has to be something in the air. Time for stocking hot chocolate, soups, and warm meals (I was today! - and the temperature here is still 27C).

Suffolk_lass

weenancyinAmerica said:

@JingsMyBucket - I've turned into a squirrel nutkin preparing for hibernating (and it almost never gets below 5C here. It has to be something in the air. Time for stocking hot chocolate, soups, and warm meals (I was today! - and the temperature here is still 27C).

Except that my squirreling is produce from the garden (which is coming to a stop) and my chest freezer is already stuffed and now has the regular meat boxes (for unwrapped) and packages (for vacuum packed) after buying from the man in the van who comes every few months. They used to sell exclusively to restaurants but many have gone, so a man in a van goes round our area. It's great quality and not too big. I also have another half lamb. We already had half of last year's but took it in part payment. 

So like @JingsMyBucket, we are going away; briefly for three nights next week, then two days later to Scotland until the end of September. I am hoping for £100 this month

Soontobeoap

For the first time ever I am simmering my chicken carcass with a few veg to make stock. Not sure that it will be very cost effective as I don't have a slow cooker but interested to see how it turns out. Cooked a few sausages today to add to our chicken, baked potatoes and bubble and squeak. It has left enough chicken for noodles tomorrow. Also cooke 4 baking potatoes as I have been getting a lot of badly bruised potato's lately. They all seem ok so I will probably make the left over 2 into wedges and have them with fried egg on Sunday. Absolutely determined to make the food go as far as I can this month! We are still trying to get our heads around what we have left after GC have gone home. Lots of crisps and bits to work our way through.

2 shops today. Sugar free ribena on offer at the range. 2 bottles bought = £6.00

Aldi shop for bread, milk, juice, eggs, bin bags, freezer bags and a few other bits = £16.84

PipneyJane

Soontobeoap said:

For the first time ever I am simmering my chicken carcass with a few veg to make stock. Not sure that it will be very cost effective as I don't have a slow cooker but interested to see how it turns out. Cooked a few sausages today to add to our chicken, baked potatoes and bubble and squeak. It has left enough chicken for noodles tomorrow. Also cooke 4 baking potatoes as I have been getting a lot of badly bruised potato's lately. They all seem ok so I will probably make the left over 2 into wedges and have them with fried egg on Sunday. Absolutely determined to make the food go as far as I can this month! We are still trying to get our heads around what we have left after GC have gone home. Lots of crisps and bits to work our way through.

2 shops today. Sugar free ribena on offer at the range. 2 bottles bought = £6.00

Aldi shop for bread, milk, juice, eggs, bin bags, freezer bags and a few other bits = £16.84

I hope your stock turned out well, @Soontobeoap.  It’s only in the last year that I started using the slow cooker for making stock, prior to then I used my huge stockpot on the stove.  The only reason I switched was because the latter needs me to be present, while the slow cooker can be left unsupervised while I go out and about.

Our butcher sells bags of chicken carcasses for <£3 a bag.  The last bag I purchased had 3 carcasses, with plenty of meat left on them, so I cooked them for a little, stripped off the meat and then continued with the stock making.  I think I harvested 1lb of (virtually free) meat BUT I need to work on my methodology because boiled lumps of chicken is rather tasteless.

- Pip

Soontobeoap

Stock turned out well I think @JingsMyBucket. Along with the rasher of bacon that I found in the freezer I managed to get enough meat off to make 4 individual pies. Have kept some stock to make the sauce which I hope will add flavour and another pot has been frozen. So 2 meals made that I wouldn't normally have had.

This week I have used

8 Richmond sausages ( £2.99 for 20)
4 x Baking potatoes ( Aldi 79p for 4)
 Half bag Red potatoes  ( £1.95 a bag)
2 x bunch spring onion ( 70p half price)
Medium chicken ( £4.25 nectar price)
Purple sprouting broccoli ( £1.49)
6 eggs ( £2.89 a dozen)

From stores and freezer 
Carrot
Swede
Onions
Flour
Marg
Seasoning
Noodles
Cornflour 

Our main meals have come in under £1.00 each per meal with 2 individual pies to carry over to another week.

Meal plan

1.Roast chicken,  sausage.Yorkshires, veg
2.Chicken and chips with left over salad bits
3.chicken cold sausage, baked potatoes and bubble and squeak
4.chicken noodles
5.egg and fried wedges ( left over baked pots)
6. Chicken pies with roasties and any veg left.

Meal 7 still to be decided. Hopefully there will be a few left over bits for that. 🙂

Breakfasts are cereal and lunches we are using up bits. Just buying bread at the moment.

I have tried really hard to use up what we have in and feel pretty pleased with that. Going to try to do the same thing next week. Watch this space

TheCheerleader

Soontobeoap you are so inspiring! 🤩

I bought a chicken from Co, Herr Al price matched, searched for the heaviest weight so 1.9kg for £4.43
I’ll make a roast tomorrow ( during the octopods free elec 12-2) with homegrown rainbow carrots, potatoes and runner beans.
I’ll use most for a chicken and spinach vindaloo but now will definitely be making stock 👍 have some celery and carrots knocking around.
Additional spends this week;
chicken £4.43
2x milk £3.30
cabbage and potatoes £3.00
£61.66/ £200 😬
need a tight week next week,
Have everything in for a lamb mince courgette bake, a courgette and ‘feta’(salad cheese) frittata, chicken curry, chicken stew & dumplings and a shepherds pie if I bulk out with lentils for evening meals, courgette plant still bountiful! 

mandco

Since my last post
Aldi £15.14
tesco £2.70
m&s £7.15 on the loaf of gf bread I went in for and the rest on clearance items including Nielsen-Massey pure almond extract for £1 & m&s Korean bbq sauce kits 50p each. 

Asda £25.76
petshop £33.84 after £3 voucher 
Sainsbury’s £56.88.  Total £141.77   I did spend more but ds birthday cake ect come out of a different budget = £324.15/£800

Are we still using this thread or moving over to the September sticky thread?

PipneyJane

mandco said:

Since my last post
Aldi £15.14
tesco £2.70
m&s £7.15 on the loaf of gf bread I went in for and the rest on clearance items including Nielsen-Massey pure almond extract for £1 & m&s Korean bbq sauce kits 50p each. 

Asda £25.76
petshop £33.84 after £3 voucher 
Sainsbury’s £56.88.  Total £141.77   I did spend more but ds birthday cake ect come out of a different budget = £324.15/£800

Are we still using this thread or moving over to the September sticky thread?

I’m still using this thread @mandco.  

I have two spends to declare from this morning:

• £26.89 in L!dl on YS haddock cakes 79p, 1L lactose free milk 2x99p, 1L bath foam 89p, shaving gel 95p, 200g gold instant coffee £2.69, Worcestershire sauce £1.09, Feta £1.69, Maasdam sliced cheese £2.19, cream cheese £1.09, 800g extra mature cheddar £5.25, 12 large FR eggs £2.89, 4 garlic 89p, 500g penne pasta 2x41p, paracetamol 2x35p, chewing gum 2x£1.49.
• £14.6 in Sainsbugs on 8 bananas £1, 60g wild rocket £1, YS mint pot £1.19, houmous 77p, 1L skimmed milk 93p (for DH to take to work), 450g Yeo Valley Greek Yoghurt with Honey 2x£1.62, 9-pack recycled toilet paper 2x£2.70, 1kg “baby” potatoes £1.10.

The above brings our total September GC spend to £111.69/£184, leaving £72.31 for the rest of the month.

I really need to do some meal planning.  (That and repacking the freezer, which is dangerous to open because things leap for freedom and land on your feet.). We have the basics for so many meals in stock now.  I just don’t want to waste anything.  Hmmm….
 

- Pip

Soontobeoap

The noodles I made with left over chicken tasted just as good as when I cook up a chicken breast to put in so very pleased with that discovery.

I only managed to make 2 very full pies out of the chicken stock and meat from bones. The alternative was 4 half full ones. I did add a slice of chicken and a rasher of bacon along with onions and a stock cube but there did seem to be a lack of flavour. We will be eating those tomorrow I think so will see how they go.

Any tips on making the stock taste more flavoursome would be gratefully received.

I used up the apple we have been given and made 7 apple turnovers today as well. Determined that nothing hanging around in the fridge will be wasted.

We can't use the car this week because we have no MOT. ( Car was being repaired in body shop and we didn't know when we would get it back hence late MOT) Anyway I am hoping this stops DH nipping to the shop for something he thinks we need! 🤣

I am beginning to wonder how much of the grocery challenge budget goes on food and how much on toiletries, cleaning etc. I might start checking receipts to see where cut backs can be made on non food items.

Sponge_pudding

Aldi and Lidl spends on basics that I haven't managed to get from Olio. Incredibly grateful as our shopping spend is so much lower. Today DH is having seafood sandwich filler with lettuce (as a prawn cocktail) and coronation chicken sandwich filler stirred through pasta with salad and homemade garlic bread.

£238.35/£32.30