March 2026 Grocery Challenge

LotsOfTea

I was near the supermarket today so I popped in and bought more fruit (DS seems to be inhaling it at the moment), tomatoes, celery, a few tins of different types of pulses, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and a box of fancy chocolates for taking to visit friends over the Easter break. £18.01 spent.

£199.45/£300 so far

Soontobeoap

Hi @cookiemonsie There are loads of amazing people on here always coming up with new tips. My first tip would be to check out the supermarket price s for meat and veg. Most supermarkets have half price meat joints and cheap veg in the run up to Easter and Christmas. I tend to buy a full size joint ( there are only 2 of us) and then make as many meals for the freezer out of the left overs. I make pies, pasta, coujons, hotpots, stews rice dishes and stir fries with left overs. I filled 2 shelves of my upright freezer with these joints and they are keeping my prices down now. I find that it still surprises me how much we spend on lunches. I am on a crusade at the moment to plan my lunches ahead so that DH does not dash out to the shops for sandwich filling when we run out of stuff. That's one of our big downfalls.

Good luck. I hope you enjoy the challenge and the savings that can be made.

goldfinches

@Nelliegrace - portioning out ice creams or sorbets into individual lidded containers and then freezing those really limits me to eating one helping rather than getting out a large tub and eating a much bigger amount. I thought that having lots of little pots sitting ready would mean I'd eat more so I was surprised to find that it actually reduces the quantity I eat but it does. However, if anyone knows of a good value source of small squared off lidded containers I'd be glad to hear about it because using round ones wastes a lot of space in the freezer.

Meanwhile, I have just about finished my decaffeinated coffee but have decided to use up the herbal teas I've got on the shelf rather than buy more this month so I've been able to add another day to my no-spend total. If I can manage not to buy anything tomorrow then I'll be in double figures no-spend territory which is almost certainly a record for me.

I'm really beginning to feel as though I might make it this month and I can't tell you how excited I am by that thought, it'll be the first time since last July that I'll have come in under budget so from now on it's frugality all the way with a touch of miserliness just to be certain.

Nelliegrace

eB or Amzon for square plastic mini food pots, @goldfinches, mine were from Sains years ago. I used them to freeze eggs from our hens for winter. I am trying to ingest less plastic. I found small square glass jam jars, and larger square stainless steel pots with silicon lids, small round stainless steel food containers were labelled as sauce or condiment pots. It seems that a “snack” portion for one is what a family would have shared.

Our large pot of mint gets divided and some replanted year after year for mint tea. We did manage to eradicate the lemon balm which tried to take over the garden.

JingsMyBucket

Hi folks, just a quick check in. I’ve been away from the forum with work the past week. I’ll post the April thread tomorrow morning so please hang on a wee bit longer. 🙂 We’re also going to change some of the recipe formatting at the beginning of the thread so it’s easier to read.

JingsMyBucket

@TravelCrystal I can change your amount for you tomorrow too.

Soontobeoap

We have done a few grocery shops over the last week. A couple of bits from iceland in the range, Aldi and Sainsburys. Total updated in signature.

PipneyJane

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81934989#Comment_81934989

Welcome @cookiemonsie. Probably the best piece of advice I can give you is to read all the threads linked in the first couple of posts of the Grocery Challenge. It’ll take time, but there are multiple money saving tips there.

I don’t know Slimming World, but I do know Weight Watchers. The most important thing I learned from there was to focus on food quality to ensure I am getting enough fibre, eating my 5-a-day, and getting the most for my mouthful, because when calories are limited, I want to enjoy every bite and feel full for longer. (Please save me from iceberg lettuce!) For example, I use bulgar wheat instead of rice as my main meal padding because a) it contains 4 times the fibre and 8 times the protein of brown rice, b) it takes 15 minutes to prepare via the absorption method, and c) one cupful makes 6 portions, unlike rice, where you’ll need 1.5 cups to get the same volume. (I always give my DH a double portion. He’s a big eater.)

You asked about buying meat in bulk. I’d suggest making friends with your local butcher. Mine isn’t cheap, but the quality of his meat is fabulous and it’s much tastier than supermarket meat. Yes, I can spend £10 on a 2kg chicken, but I’ll get at least two four-portion meals out of it, plus stock.

HTH

• Piip

weenancyinAmerica

@Nelliegrace - maybe you can try some lemon balm later in a container. It is a member of the mint family and does like to spread, doesn't it.

Finstickle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81928870#Comment_81928870

Ooh - mushroom pate!!! I didn't think of that!

I have actually had egg mayo this week as it did eventually come to me, mixed with lots of tomato, was lovely :-)

Thank you for the suggestions.