April 2008 Grocery Challenge

weezl74

getting-sorted-sarah wrote: »

Weezl - don't know if you've discussed this before - but how big is your freezer?!!
Basically, I need a bigger one. I'm wondering about the feasibility of turning DD's bedroom into a freezer, she can sleep on the sofa - it just seems so much better use of space......

Hello! I'm sheepishly gonna admit to having two freezers, got my second one for christmas. (comet clearance, v cheap!) Also the top half of our house contains 3 lodgers who have their own kitchen, but none of em batch cook or keep much in the freezer 'cept peas. ....So I've nabbed a drawer up there too! DH is despairing of me...

Weezl x

newlifeahead

I managed to spend £36.66 for the first week. Had no spend days over the weekend.
I will have to go out and get a few things for this week. I can only manage to plan for a few days at a time:o I am not yet at the stage where I can cook from scratch. So I am just doing very simple things all the time. I hope to do some of the suggestions on here. I think I will just take one step at a time.

I am starting to find it very difficult going into any kind of shop thinking I may have to spend some money is this normal? :eek:

weezl74

Hi Tara66, I found that making houmous got loads easier and cheaper when I realised you don't need Tahini! Click here if you want a look at my very cheap recipe, it makes DH's whole lunch work out at 3p, I kid you not!:j

Also, sashanut, I posted my meatloaf recipe here, in the Jamie challenge. If you've no liver in, you could just leave it out, but add more mince, onions, oats (!) whatever....

hope that's useful.

Weezl x

SmellyOldSock

Morning All

Am currently waiting for my Asda Home Delivery to come, part of me is hoping it'll be late so i can complain and get free delivery (or even better $10 off as I did the first time!). The order came in at $61 (no delivery charge as a freebie) and that includes hubbies beer. So have $14 to last until next Monday, should be able to do it.

I'm really enjoying this challenge, its my first and its quite an eye opener!

Loving all the receipes, have saved them and will be trying them out. One of our favourites is Creamy Cheesey Chicken Pasta.

8oz pasta
1oz butter
8oz chicken/turkey
garlic
tin of sweetcorn
4oz cheese
double cream

cook pasta as usual, cut chicken/turkey into bitesize pieces, heat the butter and cook in large frying pan with the garlic. Add sweetcorn and stir thru. Stir in the cooked pasta, cream and cheese and cook until cheese has melted. Serve at once, with fresh bread.

We usually add peas or anything else thats about in this, also adapt quanities to suit, ie we love cheese so use loads.

Hope you enjoy

best wishes
Charlotte

Bargain_Rzl

Hmmm, end of week 1 and I'm slightly over - and what's more it was ALL on luxury goods I didn't need to buy any "groceries" at all

I was at Borough Market on Saturday and for lunch (for me, Mum and bro) I spent £7.32 on nice cheeses from Neal's Yard Dairy and £3 for a big loaf of potato, rosemary and nigella bread. We only got through just over a quarter of the loaf for our lunch; I gave my brother a chunk to eat later, and the remains will do me as an accompaniment to HM soup for four meals!

Am out of fresh F&V so need to get to Aldi either this evening or tomorrow evening to stock up - I love their 49p prepacked Braeburns. I may also take the opportunity to go to Asda which is nearby as I also need milk (2pts organic semi skimmed) and fizzy water (as much as I can fit into the wally trolley at 17p a bottle!) and I may also get some "cooking bacon" to do the oven-baked risotto somebody posted earlier in the thread. In any case, I am still very firmly in Storecupboard Challenge mode (the freezer still seems really full even though I haven't cooked anything new for a week!) and don't see myself going much over a fiver this week.

Purple_Sparkles

I had a good week last week I spent £61.66 on groceries for the month, I have tons of food in the freezer. £2 to the pop man, it is more expensive than buying it from the supermarket but it's delivered in glass bottles which he collects the following week, the pop does stay fizzy much much longer too. I think it's been the first week when I've had 5 NSD's! Avoiding the shops has become a good habit for me, it's a bit like a game, what can I make from what's in rather than go and buy something easy for tea.

Good luck to everyone this week.

victory

Can I join please? Can someone tell me what is realistic cost for 2 adults and 2 kids per month or per week? Where should I start? What should I work towards? Buying a house (always rented so not really noticed/bothered too much about food costs and do not really know what they are)

Shall I keep receipts? Shall I start now before the house sale goes through? Shall I stop buying the WW ready meals and Baxters soups?

It is just some things like the korma sauce I bought yesterday BOGOF was £1,29 and for that I could not buy all the ingredients needed, make it for that price.

Any help for a newbie would be gratefully appreciated. I eat a huge amount of fresh fruit and veg to keep the weight loss I have achieved, none of the family like red meat, mince etc we only eat chicken as a meat or I eat quorn,tofu. I am diabetic so don't waste money on choc, sweets, have banned crisps, pies, white bread, biscuits, much to the kids dismay but saves the weight and the cost:D

natzini

Hello everyone!
It's the Spring hols here so I'm catching up with everything, including updating my siggy. Got a food delivery a week ago and am chuffed that they basically gave me £20 back (and some free food) as they mucked up, so I've split that into £10 off each food shop for the month
Gonna have a good nose at the thread and collect as many recipes as I can, then it's baking and cooking city here, as well as doing my catch up jobs here.

EmptyPurse

chardonnay wrote: »

a good idea would be to perhaps post what you bought for a month and i'm sure you would get loads of cheaper suggestions/ alternatives- might be worth a try to reduce your bill

OK, here goes:

Butcher: £15
1lb beef mince, 1lb lamb mince, 6 kidneys, 4 chicken thighs, 6 rashers bacon
(enough to make 14 meals for one)

Hardware store: £30
Method kitchen spray, Method bathroom spray, Brita water filters x 4, j-cloths, kitchen roll
(enough to keep me going for 2-3 months)

Ocado: £50
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Cupboard[/SIZE][/FONT]

• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Allinson Dried Active Baking Yeast £0.99[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Butter Beans Waitrose £0.53[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Californian Raisins Waitrose £0.75[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Carrots Waitrose £0.69[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Columbian Blacktail Free Range Large Eggs Waitrose £1.59[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Conference Pears Waitrose £1.69[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Dishwasher Tablets Regular Waitrose £1.99[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Garlic Waitrose £0.99[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Granular Dishwasher Salt Waitrose £1.19[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Green Chillies Waitrose £0.59[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Hellmann's Extra Light Mayonnaise £1.36[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Honey & Almond Family Body Wash Waitrose £0.99[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Johnson's 24hr Intense Moisture Extra Lotion £2.99[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Kitchen Towel White Waitrose £3.85[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Leeks Waitrose £1.45[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Lightmeat Tuna in Springwater Waitrose £1.65[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Maris Piper Potatoes Waitrose £2.15[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Mixed Peppers Waitrose £1.49[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Peeled Plum Tomatoes Waitrose £1.95[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Scottish Rolled Porridge Oats Waitrose £0.79[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Fridge[/SIZE][/FONT]

• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Butternut Squash Waitrose £1.69[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Cherry Tomatoes Waitrose £1.39[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Cucumber Waitrose £0.69[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Half Fat Creme Fraiche Waitrose £0.75[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Lemons Waitrose £1.39[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Little Gem Lettuce Waitrose £0.79[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Lurpak Lighter Spreadable £1.24[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Onions Waitrose £0.99[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Organic Fennel Waitrose £1.19[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Revilla Chorizo Puchero Extra £2.09[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Select Farm Salmon Fillets Waitrose £4.49[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 Swede Waitrose £0.99[/SIZE][/FONT]
• [FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]1 West Country Extra Mature Cheddar Waitrose £1.77[/SIZE][/FONT]

I've already got casserole meat, 2 tuna steaks, 2 chicken breasts and 2 portions of sausages in the freezer. So overall I've got enough food to make the following meals:

Dinner
Beef casserole (4 meals)
Chicken & chorizo casserole (4 meals)
Shepherd's pie (4 meals)
Spaghetti bolagnese (4 meals)
Kidneys in red wine (2 meals)
Marinated tuna (2 meals)
Creamy salmon & fennel pasta (at least 2 meals)
Sausages with onion gravy

Lunch
French onion soup with HM bread (4 portions)
Pea soup with HM bread (2 portions - from stuff already in freezer)
Tuna mayo sandwiches (2 meals)
Chicken & sweetcorn sandwiches (2 meals)
Hummus with fresh veg (2-3 meals)
Root veg soup with HM bread (2-3 portions, depending on what's left after I've made the beef casserole)
Tuna nicoise salad
Egg mayo sandwich (2 meals)
Cheese & ??? sandwich (2 meals)

Does that sound reasonable? I've pretty much spent my £100 budget already but shouldn't need to buy very much for the rest of the month (maybe a bit of fresh fruit). I guess I'll spend a lot less on cleaning stuff next month but I'll need to buy more meat to replace everything I'm using from the freezer this month.

Any ideas about how I could cut down, bearing in mind that a)I'm not OS-enough to give up my Method cleaning stuff and b)I have to shop online because I don't have a car and the supermarket is very difficult to get to on public transport.

Cruiksl

EmptyPurse wrote: »

Dinner
Beef casserole (4 meals)
Chicken & chorizo casserole (4 meals)
Shepherd's pie (4 meals)
Spaghetti bolagnese (4 meals)

What about padding out your mince dishes with oats or lentils or adding extra vegetables - you could probably make your meat go longer ?