December 2025 Grocery Challenge

ancientmum

The annual spend is up to £1428. This includes my contribution to the Christmas food, as my eldest has invited me for the day, and he tends to push the boat out. He is cook, and I have a lovely relaxing celebration.

Suffolk_lass

I've still got more than one cabbage in store and so yesterday, bought local just for cauliflower, reduced leeks and carrots. I could not bring myself to pay 55p for a very average looking orange, so will stick with the clementines in the fruit bowl until next week.

I did buy a 12.5K sack of locally grown potatoes (too big/misshapen/damaged /green for the supermarkets. I bought local eggs and a piece of Jacob's ladder which I slow cooked for supper last night. The potatoes are fine for roasting or mash but not for jacket potatoes.

Anyway, with a milk top-up and small pot of cream, we are at £40.20 for the month, so far, and will only go (to the big retail complex) on Monday to avoid the crowds, as next weekend will be gridlocked, if previous years are anything to go by.

oceandreamer

Have spent £112.17/£300 so far this month.  As usual, quite a bit of this is on reduced meat and also some of the on offer meat joints from Tesco - using up money vouchers and clubcard ones. The freezer is groaning again but it does save me money in the long run.  Apart from that, it has just been little top ups, mainly veg and milk.  

Nelliegrace

DH bought milk at Asda,
£3.30 spent.

We collected 5kg of local venison on Wednesday. I asked for it as mince and stewing portions and have divided the packs it into useful portions for the two of us and have frozen it. The freezer is full. 
£40 spent. 

11/12
I shopped at Aldi on the way home from the WI Christmas lunch. (We had tasty coq au vin, cooked in a row of slow cookers by the committee members.) 
£17.51 spent.
The vintage cider is to have with Christmas dinner. 



£3.67 spent on milk, courgettes and dried sage from Asda on the way home from our members’ free hot drinks at the garden centre yesterday. (There I bought half price indoor hyacinth bulbs to plant, and got 10% off.)

6 eggs from the old hens this week. Good for December. 

Total £64.48.

PipneyJane

Good morning Everyone

Hope your Christmas planning and grocery spends are going well.  I am gobsmacked to realised that I have 4 shops to declare, because I haven’t posted about the shopping I did last weekend, so those first…

You may remember that we had a 10% off voucher to spend in L!dl.  We’d also received a spend £40-get-£5-off voucher from them.  Problem was that you couldn’t combine the two.  So we collected two baskets and wandered around with a calculator.  Once we’d definitely hit the £40 needed for the £5-off voucher, we swapped to the second basket and everything that went in there was used for the 10%-off shop. 

1. L!dl £39.90 - £5-off-£40 spend voucher.  Pastel de Nata 69p plus 1 free, 500g Gold ground coffee £5.39, 800g extra mature cheddar £5.25, smoked salmon £4.49, 1kg frozen Four Berry Medley £2.80, Gold instant coffee £2.65, 1L Lactose-free milk 3x82p, puff pastry 2x£1.25, 500g penne pasta 5x41p, 500ml custard £1.99, sliced Maasdam cheese £1.99, 1kg cooking bacon £1.99, dried Spanish ham £1.89, 300ml crème fraiche 2x85p, 300g mushrooms £1.29, minced pies £1.49, easy garlic £1.19, tortillas 99p, 500g fat free natural yoghurt 55p
2. L!dl £28.95 - 10% off everything.  Prices listed are full price.  Frozen salmon en croute £4.99, Options drinking chocolate 3x£2.25, Dental floss tape 80m 2x£1.59, VitC 2x£1.19, hash browns £1.69, 450ml cans coconut milk  2x75p, soy sauce 2x590, toothpaste 69p
3. Sainsbugs £7.60 - for the things we couldn’t buy in L!dl.  450ml Yeo Valley yoghurts 2x£2.25, onion bagels £1.90, and YS pak choi £1.20.

Because we’re busy all this weekend, yesterday I went to Sainsbugs to buy the few things that we desperately need for next week: yoghurt and bananas.  However, I went a bit mad at the condemned counter and snapped up a few YS items  £16.60 spent on 8 bananas £1.30, 1kg baby potatoes £1.10 YS 6 pigs in blankets 2x£1.87 (was £4), YS Ham, Cheese & Turkey escalopes £1.12 (was £2), YS 100g smoked salmon trimmings 2x97p (was £1.95), 450ml Yeo Valley Yoghurts 3x£1.80, Onion & Chive Bagels 2x£1.

One thing to note:  we had smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels for breakfast this morning, using one packet of the smoked salmon trimmings.  I probably won’t be buying Sainsbugs’ smoked salmon trimmings again and definitely not at full price.  At £1.95 for 100g (full price), it isn’t value for money.  (I can buy smoked salmon in L!dl for better value.)  It was minced up smoked salmon bits, not identifiable off cuts, was extremely salty, and included bits that obviously came from the base of the fins (similar to bones, almost fish-scales).  Not nice and not edible.

This brings our total GC spend to £122.39/£180 leaving £57.61 for the rest of the month.

- Pip

Nelliegrace

YS smoked salmon trimmings. What a treat!

I have been enjoying Marmite on toast, using the last of the wholemeal loaf from the breadmaker. A taste from the past. 
This was from the Ministry of Food in the 1940s. It was an offence to waste food, people were fined, named and shamed.

PipneyJane

Nelliegrace said:

YS smoked salmon trimmings. What a treat!

That’s what I thought, too, @Nelliegrace, when I saw the packages on sale at 97p.  I was bitterly disappointed, though.  No where near as good as the smoked salmon trimmings we used to buy from MrT (and haven’t seen in years).

I have been enjoying Marmite on toast, using the last of the wholemeal loaf from the breadmaker. A taste from the past. 
This was from the Ministry of Food in the 1940s. It was an offence to waste food, people were fined, named and shamed.

Very ingenious!  I wish I’d known this method before.  Might be a better way to eat the bread that forms around the breadmaker paddle.  I shall try this out, with the next loaf I bake.

- Pip

carboot_karaoke

Evening all, 

Thanks @joedenise

I have done another bigger shop than planned  £106.61 In total.  This included £40.59 on meat, picked up a large beef joint to go with the lamb and salmon already in the freezer.  

Lots of fruit and veg,  rather begrudgingly with some of it knowing the cheap veg will kick off soon.  Also brought 2 x flora 1kg @ £3.25 each while they were on offer . 

I also spent more on breakfast and lunch items then normal.  Turns out CK4 hasn't been eating there sandwiches at school we found a weeks worth wrapped in kitchen roll in the bin. Similar issue with CK3 who doesn't want to eat breakfast unless it 10 chocolate bars from the snacks cupboard 🤷‍♀️. It's no different to there older siblings at there age, but thought getting a variety,  wraps, bagels, brioche,  different cereals, pizza,  hummus, different sandwich fillings would help.  

New Totals 

Grocery Budget £281.13 / £450 

Bulk Fund £34.44 / £50

Grocery Challenge £ 315.57 / £500

I think the budget is going to be a struggle this month,  we still have over 2 weeks to go.  On the plus side we have the ingredients for this week's food plan. 

Thai green curry with broccoli,  sugar snap peas and basmati rice 
Tuscan Chicken with spinach,  cherry tomatoes and wholemeal spaghetti 
Chilli Con Carne and rice with guacamole and tortilla chips 
Brunch, bacon, sausage, egg,  mushrooms beans and hash browns 
Chorizo and cheese pasta bake and salad 
Burger and chips 
Roast chicken, potatoes, veg and yorkshire pudding 

Pennypincin

I finally got around to do a shop and did my usual picking up odds and sods.
I didn't get much, but it still came to £20.18

TravelCrystal

Love the way of slicing the loaf @Nelliegrace, although I always freeze mine after having had sandwiches for lunch on the first cut, usually the following day I’ve made it as easier to slice. Think I might get an extra slice as I usually end up with the crust toasted as DH’s teeth aren’t what they were 🤭

T.C