October 2026 Grocery Challenge

joedenise

I bought a fresh pineapple in Asda today for 89p, much better value especially if you're likely to use it quickly. I peeled and chopped it and put into a box in the fridge and DH and I will eat it over the next few days for dessert.

Finstickle

Morning all, Happy Friday.

One big shop and some extras to declare:

£82.83 on the big shop from Asda - this was after using discount cards and including delivery. I'm doing Asda every week at the moment so just paying for delivery when I need it and going for the cheapest slots. I'm sure that will change but for right now is working.

£10.95 at Sainsburys on some different veggie stuff, it was a big shop so a much range than I normally see - though currently obsessed by marinated TVP for taste, protein and value I am a sucker for pre-prepped bits for lazier days (like today).

£4.25 - a Sunday afternoon pop to Co-op for milk, crisps and lemonade on our way home from a nice afternoon out.

Current Total:

£257.11/£350

£92.89 to last for a week and a half - should be okay 1

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning GC'rs

A bit of shopping to own up to.

£3.23 in omebarginz - for apples, beetroot and YS'd seedless green grapes.

£3.78 in Sainsbugs for bananas, charlotte potatoes*, cherry toms and frozen mixed veg

£1.09 in our local (regional) c0op for - YS'd red tatties and YS'd 2 x organic carrots

Total spent on food = £8.10

*I bought the charlotte tatties in Sainsbugs as I was looking for red tatties (for a tray bake), but couldn't find any reduced/reasonably priced (lowest cost was £1.56 - I think - for 2kg), and although I was tempted by the anya potatoes, the charlotte were SEL NP'd to 95p, so I went for them. I popped into the c0op as I had been to the PO and thought I would just see if they had anything YS'd. Our c0op usually knocks tuppence ha'penny off fruit and veg that any self-respecting compost heap would reject, and that was almost true today, until I spotted bags of red tatties (2.5kg), YS'd to 89p 😁These looked OK. so I selected a bag, and then I spotted 2 bags of organic carrots YS'd to 10p each. Even if I only use them for soup (they are not blemish free, but OK for 10p!) I couldn't leave them on the shelf for that.

Away to update my siggie figgie and put the veg away.

Greying X

PipneyJane

@Greying_Pilgrim may I point out something obvious which explains part of the price differential between pineapple chunks and pineapple rings? In a can of rings, they are almost always the same size, so any pineapple that is too small will be chunked, while the large ones will be trimmed down and the excess fruit discarded, possibly to be turned into chunks or juice. Ring have to be cut from a perfectly proportioned pineapple. There’s a lot more wastage making pineapple rings.

On Wednesday, DH went to L!dl on his way home from work, in order to take advantage of some expiring money off vouchers. £8.54 spent on two whole Camembert 2x(£2.55-0.38) and two YS Deluxe Maple Bacon Quiche 2x(£3.09-0.46-0.53). We had one of the quiche for dinner last night, because I was too knackered to cook, while the other went into the freezer.

Like most people on here, we received a wpend-£40-get-£5-off voucher from L!dl. Since we’re going to Oz for a month, in a week’s time, I didn’t want to stock up on meat or other delicacies which would need to be in shoehorned into the freezer. After much discussion, we decided to stock up on the intradent brushes that DH likes which, fortunately, L!dl had back in stock.

So… This afternoon at L!dl, I spent the grand total of £41.12 including the £5-off-voucher on the following: Gold instant coffee £2.65, 12 FR Large Eggs £2.46 (15% off), 100g whole nut chocolate 2x£1 (20% off), cream cheese 2x89p, Tim Tams 2x£1.49, 1L lactose-free milk 69p (30% off), chicken stock cubes 69p, and the aforementioned Intra-dental brushes 15x£2.19 (or £32.85 in total).

As long as the fridge doesn’t break down, the milk will keep until the end of November. Ditto the cream cheese. We’ve agreed that the Bulk Fund will reimburse Housekeeping for the dental stuff, so I’ve asked DH transfer over £28. (He’s keeper of the Bulk Fund.) We wouldn’t have spent the £40 otherwise, so they might as well take most of the benefit of the £5-off voucher.

After L!dl, I went to Sainsbugs, to get one of their nice olive bloomers. £12.67 spent on 8-pack bananas £1.05, 582g loose potatoes 52p, 338g sweet potato 40p, Olive Bread £2.10, bagels £1.60, unscented Mitcham stick antiperspirant 2x£3.50 (Nect4r price). DH uses the latter when he travels and needed a new one for his travel kit, but didn’t want to pay the full price, so that’s one-for-now and one-for-stock.

This brings our total GC Spend to £144.50/£220.10 leaving £75.60 to last until the end of November.

Meal Plans for the next few days:

Tonight Baked Camembert served with chunks of the olive bread
Saturday Stir-fried fish, using leftover rice from the tray-bake from earlier this week
Sunday I have a small haggis to roast. To be accompanied by roast potatoes and roast sweet potato.
Monday I may make dhal. (We haven’t had it for ages.)
Tuesday Grilled salmon

• Pip

thriftwizard

Eeek, @PipneyJane, the end of November's a long way off! I'd struggle to get to the end of next week on £75…

Flying by to record a ballpark weekly spend of £70 (supermarket receipt lost but it was about £42, plus £28 at the market, didn't have time to visit the butcher or fishmonger this week) so now I'm resigned to going over budget, as I honestly thought I was being fairly frugal, but obviously not. It doesn't help that I'm working this weekend & needed to get stuff in that DD2's happy to cook - and I know I'm very lucky to have someone keeping the home fires burning! - and I've been too busy preparing to do proper meal planning. Hey ho, I'll just keep track of how far I go over…

Greying_Pilgrim

@PipneyJane - yes, I agree, has been ever thus. I was actually commenting on the "leap" (my perception), in price of the pineapple rings. The Leedle tins have doubled in price in a …. year? I will certainly look at the price of whole pineapples tho - it's just the tins that have priced themselves out of my budget for the time being.

Greying X

PipneyJane

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82170957#Comment_82170957

@thriftwizard Things aren’t that tight, really. We’ll be in Australia for four weeks, leaving next Friday. When we get back, there’ll be one week of November left so decided that we’d make this month’s GC budget last both months.

I’m currently attempting to eat down the contents of the fridge and freezer, so that nothing will be thrown out, and if the power fails or the freezer breaks, then we won’t lose too much stuff. (Hence the haggis meal planned for Sunday.)

• Pip

PipneyJane

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82170958#Comment_82170958

Apologies @Greying_Pilgrim I misunderstood. Yes, I agree, that a lot of things have gone up in price recently in L!dl. You know the intradental brushes that I bought? A week ago, when DH was testing the L!dl ones out to determine which ones he liked best, they were £1.99. Today, they were £2.19!

Like a lot of basics that L!dl don’t always have in stock, the intradental brushes are imported from Europe. I suspect that the first batch DH tried were from an earlier shipment to this week’s stock. (DH had been looking for them for months.).

In the case of tinned pineapple, I’m assuming it’s imported from Africa or the Caribbean. Either way, the recent spike in oil prices has pushed up shipping costs considerably, hence the knock-on increase in prices in L!dl.

• Pip

mandco

anyone have any experience with cooking duck? Ds has recently tried it for the first time when we went out for a meal and has asked if he can have duck for Xmas. I’ve not cooked it or even tried it before so have no idea where to start. I was thinking go with either Breast or leg as it will probably just for him and as such I’ll need to try and fit in with the cooking other meats but not sure which would be the best option?
I saw Aldi are meant to have breast on offer at £5.49 this week but not sure if that’s a good price?

joedenise

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82171067#Comment_82171067

Yes the price for duck breast is a good price in Aldi. I often cook duck breast. It's really easy - you need to score the fat/skin but don't go through into the meat and then put into a cold pan and let the fat render down crisp up, drain off the fat (use to cook your roasties if you like!). Once browned turn over onto the meat side and put into a pre heated oven (180 fan, 200 non fan) for about 10 minutes. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving. I like to thickly slice it to serve but can also serve whole.

Really must try and get to Aldi this week and pick up a couple of packs of the duck breast, thanks for the reminder!