Getting my food shopping bill down... (long post - sorry!)

Skint_Catt

I can't standa Asdas or Morrisons own Diet Coke - Tesco's is good though and you can get 12 cans for £1.99 which does me for work. The 44p 2l Diet Coke with Almond is fab. I don't have any trouble sleeping even if I drink it til bedtime

I love fruit teas too - especially the dark berries liek raspberry and echinacia or blackcurrant. Not overly fond of green tea but sometimes drink it with Lemon.

Olliebeak

Regarding caffeine:

I had a serious caffeine problem for many years - pounding headaches if I didn't have any coffee for around 3 hours. Resulting in very bad headaches EVERY morning.

I decided enough was enough and that I really had to make some kind of serious effort to get it sorted. I bought a jar of good quality decaff coffee and started to alternate 2 cups of caffeine followed by 1 of decaff for the first week.

Second week - alternate one caffeine/one decaff.

Third week - alternate one caffeine/2 decaff.

Fifth week - alternate one caffeine/3 decaff.

After three months, I was down to 1 caffeine first thing in the morning and all the rest decaff and I felt so much better for it - no more of those revolting headaches that felt almost like hangovers . But also remember that it has taken, probably, many years of drinking caffeine to get this way and it won't change overnight. If you try to do it too quickly, you will get the withdrawal headaches and then feel as though it isn't worth the hassle.

The real secret is though to get a really good quality decaff - it HAS to taste so good that you think it has caffeine in it for it to work.

The same will work with coke/pepsi. There's no point in trying this with a cheap 'no-caffeine version' that isn't convincing you that it's a good one.

Good Luck to anybody who is trying to beat the old caffeine - whether it's in coffee, tea, chocolate or coke/pepsi.

Mrs_Boo_Boo

I have started menu planning too and it has been such a help. I plan my menu weekly on a Thursday ready to shop on a Friday. I use mainly LIDL but pop into Tesco next door for things that LIDL don't do.But my biggest achievement and thrill is when I don't go!!! Had a bit of a cash flow problem recently and decided to only use stuff I already had (bin a bit of a hoarder in the past). What a great feeling using up stuff in the cupboard which had been there for ages. So now I don't always go every week.
Another good discipline is to only get what's on the list. I question myself now if I buy anything extra and usually end up not buying it unless its such a good bargain.LIDL always used to catch me on the other non food items but now I look but don't buy.
Good luck and enjoy the challenge

falady

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the tips on reducing my caffine / diet coke intake.

Mrs booboo, i'v started menu planning properly now. I've even got spreadsheet! :eek:

I know what you mean about feeling good when you use something up that's been lurking in the cupboard for a while. We had a tin of chilli with some rice last night - the chilli had been in there for ages. OH was a bit miffed that it wasn't much of a friday night treat, but he was ok. I gave him the rest of some HM crumble and (value) custard for pud, so he wasn't too bad.

We've got sausages tonight, and i realised we've run out of potatoes, BUT we do have a swede that has been lurking in the fridge for while, so i'm going to mash that up with some carrots instead. OH can also have some of those vile green beans and i'll have yummy sweetcorn. No need for a trip to tescos for potatoes.....

I'm really getting into reducing this bill! I'm enjoying the challenge. I registered on mysupermarket.com last night and thought that it was very good. It suggested some swaps which got the bill down by another £6 or £7 which I was pleased with.

speak soon everyone

Ali x

falady

hi everyone,

Well, we've been out all day at a family party down outh, so had a very nice lunch. Just sarnies and tinned fruit for tea, so we're using things up in the cupboard.

This is my menu plan for the coming week:

monday - tuna pasta bake (using up tin of tuna and sachet of cheese sauce mix and tinned veg and pasta)
tues - turkey creamy curry and rice (turkey best cheaper than chicken, creamy curry sachet)
weds - tuna pasta bake leftovers
thurs - stew and mixed veg (stew from freezer)
fri - meal out (mexican)
sat - bacon joint, potatoes, veg (bacon joint stock used to make soup for lunches)
sun - roast chicken thighs (give OH his 'roast dinner fix')

:money:

Our monthly shopping is being delivered by tesco tomorrow night, so we'll see how that goes. I think it'll be about £70- £75. i'm aiming for a total of less than £170 for the month. Wish me luck!

Ali xxx

floss2

falady wrote: »

....We've got sausages tonight, and i realised we've run out of potatoes, BUT we do have a swede that has been lurking in the fridge for while, so i'm going to mash that up with some carrots instead. OH can also have some of those vile green beans and i'll have yummy sweetcorn. No need for a trip to tescos for potatoes.....

We often do this...carrot & parsnip mash is good too. It gives the feeling of mash without the extra starchy carbs from potatoes, and counts as one of your 5-a-day too!

Mellika

Question for everyone: What about Weekend lunches? You won't be at work, so... why are they not in your menu plans?

Just wondeirng

falady

Hi Mellika,

Well, weekend lunches for us are normally something on toast eg baked beans, tinned spaghetti or eggs, or maybe a baked potato. Often i warm up leftovers from the previous night. OH usually has sandwiches.

falady

Hi all,

well the shopping bill was £87.82 and the cupboards are fit to bursting! I'd forgotten i'd added some more things last night, so my estimate of £75 was a bit out, but i'm still pretty pleased with how much we've got. I think some of it will last longer than the month too, so we'll see how we get on.

Thank you everyone for all your tips and help. :beer: :T

Speak soon,

Ali x

purpleivy

Mellika wrote: »

Question for everyone: What about Weekend lunches? You won't be at work, so... why are they not in your menu plans?

Just wondeirng

We traditionally have 'bread and...' for Saturday and Sunday lunch. SOmetimes scrambled egg and toast. Sometimes 'wraps and...'