May 2008 Grocery Challenge

meanmarie

Spent €20 over last couple of days ...that's €144.72 I think so far, pleased enough as there is loads in both freezers and cupboards..have vouchers which will cover what I need to get over next couple of days, so may be declaring off on that amount for May...DD4 will be responsible for rest of spend from Thursday.

Good luck to all who are struggling with challenge, as I have done over past few months.

Marie

TheBees

Evening everyone

DD had a friend sleeping over Friday night and my first ever batch of home made beef burgers went down really well. I will definitately be making them again. (recipe on Tesco website at the moment).:D

Did a load of batch cooking Friday evening as DD and her friend commandeered the lounge. Made a lemon cake for the scouts cake stall, a batch of fairy cakes for us, a batch of garlic dough balls and some more hobnobs! Finally sat down around 10pm but I do enjoy pottering in the kitchen these days.

Thanks to whoever replied about my bread sinking. I WAS using too much yeast. The recipe said 1.5 teaspoons and I presumed that the sachet would contain that amount. :mad: It actually contained 2 teaspoons so hopefully when I make some more it should turn out better.

Welcome to all the newbies. We were spending over £600 month for a family of four last summer:eek: but are almost down to £350 now. My favourite hobby is finding reduced items in supermarkets but I never have as much luck as some people on here!

Hoping it will be sunny tomorrow!

weemissy

Hi everyone
Haven't been on for a while - eyes playing up- and it's taken me ages to read thru' all the posts.

Really sorry searching_me for the loss of your baby. Hugs to everyone else who needs them - we've all been there.
Hiya to newbies :hello:

Anyway continues to be a close thing this month, only have £20 left until the end of the month and I could quite easily spend this on fruit alone for the 4 of us. This has made me think that I will give myself one more month (June) to meet my £200, if I fail again I will need to rethink my budget - maybe raise it a wee bitty. The MrS basic rice and pasta have gone down a treat. Was in asda last week - usual fruit and veg shop and was shocked that an iceberg lettuce was almost £1:eek:, then remembered I had lettuce and spinach and chives I could use in the garden:j.
My house is looking like del boy's living room - big boxes of cornflakes stacked behind the couch, not to mention my boxes of hankies (not bought a minute too soon as I've now got the cold), and my big bottles of creme bath.

Anyway will go now as I've got myself loads of really good library books and am working in the am. Have a nice night everyone,
night night
X

ifonlyitwaseasier

update on the hm burgers, OH loved them and didn't notice the oats or celery

Phoolgrrrl

Well I think thats my revision done for the night. Off to make some hobnobs, gonna do 3 trays, cin and raisin, choc chip and original!:)

(hope I don't injure myself again!)

Flylady_Flower

Ess-six wrote: »

Hi All

Just updated my signature and still seem to be on track.

Welcome YoungBean – you definitely come to the right place for help and advice. I wish I’d had the sense to do this challenge when I was 21 – I must have wasted thousands of pounds over the years.

To keep track of my spending I use Spendingdiary.com – recommended by someone from this site, but sorry, can’t remember who. It’s great for keeping track of your spending – you set up your own categories (I have food, home, toiletries, plus a separate category for each family member for things like clothes and other personal items. At the end of each month I print out the summary of the month’s spending to compare with previous months and find it really useful.

I've just checked this out - really good idea and a great way to keep track of my spending - another little toy for me to play with... hehehe (god, I need a life!)

I thought I was going to have a nsd today, but ended up going out with hubby to fill up his car for work in the morning (he leaves at 1am as has to go to Dagenham to pick up a truck then take it to Derby for 6am:eek: - I think I will be going back to bed once he's had a cuppa and left...)

anyway, long story short, we ended up buying some sweets to pig out with - £3.12 later I had brought a bag of marshmallows, jelly babies and supermix - NOOO good for the waistline or the purse;)

Better go update the siggy...

Flylady_Flower

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

update on the hm burgers, OH loved them and didn't notice the oats or celery

Where is the recipe for this please? they sound really scrummy and ideal for this time of year...

scotsaver

Welcome YoungBean - you'll get loads of help and support on here.

Got friends coming over tomorrow for Lunch and Dinner and want to take them to Greenwich for the afternoon so decided to get ahead in the kitchen. DD2 was at a party, OH for engrossed in the football and as it has been raining all day DD1 joined me to help. She was making an apple crumble for one of the desserts for tomorrow night. I finished making the Bounty Bites that I started off yesterday, thanks to mandy_moo_1 for posting the recipe, they are gorgeous, DD1 and DD2 didn't like them as they don't like coconut so all the more for OH and me:rotfl: Made rolls, quiche and sausage rolls for the Lunch tomorrow, then made Shepherds Pie and Lasagne for dinner, had to sneak the Oats from under DD1's nose as she doesn't know I bulk out and she was using Oats in the crumble, was like something out of a comedy sketch. The family don't know I bulk out and they've never said anything, just hope my friends don't notice either!! Also made a Tiramisu, some Carrot & Coriander bread and then Lamb Kebabs and HM Beefburgers for tonights dinner followed by a whoopsied Pineapple and the remainder of the Lemon Curd Icecream from the Jamie Oliver challenge thread.
Made some more Hobnobs too, thanks MRSMC and victory for the suggestions, I've been making these for months but always ended up with really big ones that are quite flat, used a rounded TBSP and a 12 hole bun tray and managed to get 39 this time so result:T :T Felt quite good that I'd made so much and means less work tomorrow so can all go out and have a nice day knowing that I will just need to reheat Lasagne and Shepherds Pie and steam some salad potatoes, carrots and green beans and throw together a salad bowl. Shall now get some sleep, hopefully not have nightmares about my friends picking out bits of oats from their meals:o and shall let you all know their verdict.;)

lil_me

I think it's going to be a case of not going over but by how much for me this week. I've worked out a meal plan based on what we have in, in theory I might just get through, but not too bothered if I don't as it was a stupidly low amount to set knowing we needed so much

Hope everyone else is doing well x

angelatgraceland

Just popped in to update my spend for the week which ended Friday for me.
Only spent £56.15 on food this week and that included buying my storecupboard items. Went to Asda today to buy some clothes(a different budget)so to save time and fuel I did my shop for the w/c 17 May. Spent £44.43 on food(and £51 on clothes-other budget) so Im more than happy. I know I won't need much next week now as the cupboards and the freezer are packed solid. I MUST now cancel the delivery booked for Monday! Got some of the 4p jars of curry. We had one on our stirfry tonight-only told my DH the price when he had eaten half of it. Myself and DD14 were nearly wetting ourselves telling him that we hoped he like it as we spent rather a lot on it-getting one he would like with sultanas in etc etc. Had to tell though-we were laughing so much. Stocked up on flour also-bread flour 49p. Got 8 bottles of Cravendale so I wont run out of milk this week! Even DH was impressed at how much food we had for £44. He thought it was about £60 worth.
Littlebean-what a great start you have made with this challenge! I only ever plan a couple of days at a time so you are doing great! When you cook-pretend there are 4 of you and freeze the other two portions where appropriate. This will save it being a chore. Never let yourself run out of bread and milk-this is when you end up spending loads of money you didnt plan to.Have a couple of "no spend" days each week-it really really helps! Im now going to join spendingdiary.com its just what I need to make my budget for all the other stuff rather than guessing.