May 2008 Grocery Challenge

Le_Foot

SuziQ wrote: »

I am keen to join this as have just ended up on IS following loss of job (liquidation) but don't know where to start? Coincidentally,have been much more careful the the last couple of weeks,have been looking in fridge to use up stuff rather than throw it away (revolutionary for me!) and have done an inventory on all my cleaning,bath,etc stuff-loads there,only need some cheap non bio washing powder for DD who washes her own clothes but refuses to use my wash balls! I have been amazed and gratified at how little I have 'wasted' in this time.
So my question is,how do I know how much budget to set? I have no idea how much I usually spend-scared to know!-There's me,3 children (one special needs still in napies at night,cost £5 per month) and 2 greedy cats who can't eat dried food. I am veggie,am lucky that my 3 kids will eat anything and everything! I don't consider myself a great cook but willing to have a go and not working so plenty of time. I don't have many gadgets-no breadmaker,slow cooker or pressure cooker.

Another question-I have quorn bits and chicken-breast style fillets in freezer I need to use up-what on earth do folks do with them? It seemed like a good idea to buy them at the time and they weren't cheap so first challenge is to use them up!

I also have got 'quorn' chicken pieces in the freezer and would be very grateful for tasty ideas to use them up.

angelatgraceland

I refilled my Kenco jar yesterday with Somerfiled cheapo coffee(80p for 200g) and DH hasnt noticed! Guess he thought it was the spare jar I bought!
Was tempted to go looking for whoopsies today but the rain put me off. Oh I don't "need" anything anyway.

Le_Foot

I've made 'Twinks Hobnobs' for the first time today. The mixture made 36 biscuits---or should I say 'cookies' cos although crisp on the outside, they were softish in the middle. I had to take them out of the oven before the 15mins. recommended cooking time was up (approx. 10 mins.) or they would have been too brown. This makes me think my oven is running hotter than 'Twinks', and perhaps 150 deg. insteasd of 180 would have made them crisper throughout. Nevertheless, they are absolutely yummy, and an unexpected visit by DD and her hubby polished off a dozen of them before they were hardly cold :eek: . It was still lovely to see them though, they could have had my last Hobnob if they really wanted it. haha!!

carolt2

Le_Foot wrote: »

I've made 'Twinks Hobnobs' for the first time today. The mixture made 36 biscuits---or should I say 'cookies' cos although crisp on the outside, they were softish in the middle. I had to take them out of the oven before the 15mins. recommended cooking time was up (approx. 10 mins.) or they would have been too brown. This makes me think my oven is running hotter than 'Twinks', and perhaps 150 deg. insteasd of 180 would have made them crisper throughout. Nevertheless, they are absolutely yummy, and an unexpected visit by DD and her hubby polished off a dozen of them before they were hardly cold :eek: . It was still lovely to see them though, they could have had my last Hobnob if they really wanted it. haha!!

Hi, i made some of twinks the other day and i cooked them on 160, they took about 10 mins or so. They had risen up but i flatened them wih a spatula and they are nice a crisp on outside and chewy/soft in the middle;)

SuziQ

Thanks for the quorm ideas-was going to do a casserole type thing,but agree that quorn is quite bland so thing I will try the curry idea instead! I've been on the quorn website as well for anyone interested there are loads of recipes for the various types.

Can I ask what the stars are for?

In_Search_Of_Me

I darent make em again carol - ate the lot!! Date & nut cake in the oven as I type! Smells yummy!
Suzi the stars are given for amount of posts made...and then your title changes the more stars you get...HTH

Pablosmummy

Well I've done my final shop for the month and I'm at £141.99, £1.99 over my budget, which for a first attempt isnt too bad!

Next months will be smaller (four week month) so I'll say £104 for June!:D

queen_of_string

N00b question, is there a "cut food waste" thread anywhere, or has there been one in the past? I'm sure you grocery challengers rarely bin food, but thought there might be others who would enjoy sharing tips on using up leftovers specifically and joining a challenge to reduce food waste.

OK ignore me. I am off to write 100 times, "I must use the search function before posting."

angelatgraceland

queen_of_string wrote: »

N00b question, is there a "cut food waste" thread anywhere, or has there been one in the past? I'm sure you grocery challengers rarely bin food, but thought there might be others who would enjoy sharing tips on using up leftovers specifically and joining a challenge to reduce food waste.

OK ignore me. I am off to write 100 times, "I must use the search function before posting."

Yes there is-just ive me a mo and I will find it! I will edit this post with the link.

Here you go: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=904371

Kaz2904

I went to Mr M today to use up 2 £5 off coupons (got £45 worth from work!:D ) so I split the 2 shops into £30 lots.
I really struggled to buy anything in there because everything was so expensive. People mentioned that they were getting whoopsies for 9p- no chance there! Anyway, calculated the first shop at £30.02 and it scanned at £29.81 so grabbed a packet of chewing gum to put it over. The second shop I calculated at £30.01 and it came up at £28.06 :eek: so I ran to the loo roll shelf and grabbed a packet of nouvelle for £3.39 so I could use the voucher.
Overall I got 10 jars of coffee, 2 bottles of surf small and mighty (it scanned at £1.96 reduction), got flour 48p per 1.5kg and other bits and bobs.
I'm going to ask my local tesco if they accept the coupons because I can't just keep going and buying coffee- it'll last the rest of the year otherwise!

Anyhoo- I've spent £51.53 and I'll see how much DH has spent since payday.
It's bad really, but I think we pay higher because we're in a popular tourist area and Mr M is the first supermarket off the motorway. TTFN, Kaz.