June 2008 Grocery Challenge

TheBees

OMG - not been on here for a week only to discover over 40 pages to catch up on!

Well our grocery challenge is going pretty well. We have full freezers and cupboards and a menu plan sorted for the whole month. Even have a secret stash in the garage of things I don't want DD and DS to see until later in the month!:rotfl: Only need to buy milk, fruit and veg and sandwich fillings. Spends have been as follows -

£90 Lidl - Recommend the lidl baked beans and their own cornetto style ice creams.

£63 Tesco delivery

£7 Fruit and veg shop

£5 Butchers

£4 Boots

£6 Julian Graves (nuts and seeds mixes)

£2.50 36x FR eggs from farm

So we have spent over half the budget!

Not been feeling well lately with painful tum, bloating etc. Saw Doc today who tells me I have IBS:mad: . So I have to watch what I'm eating and up the amount of fibre (hence the spend in Julian Graves today). Got some tablets which hopefully will help but any advice from fellow sufferers would be appreciated!

Anyway promise to log on every day from now on to keep up.

Hi to all the newbies and good luck to everyone.

TheBees

angelnikki

mumzyof2 wrote: »

Hi i had put in a ecoupon for £6 off a £40 spend.. but now its saying my guide price is less than £40 so dont think i have qualified for the £6 off.
I dont know why i should be adding things on to my order myself that they have obv missed off...
I would not of known if i had not of gone and needed to add pepper to my list... if i hadnt of done that i would of had things missing when the delivery come. IYKWIM

Mumzy I think you should phone them to complain and find out why stuff have been taken off? and maybe they will put it back to your original order for you?

Nikki
x

mumzyof2

I already have rang they told me it was a tech problem and i have to go back and add it on myself.. he was pretty rude to me really.. this is why im thinking wait untill my food arrives then complain..saying some of my stuff is missing.

angelnikki

In that case I would cancel and take my custom else where! You're the customer - they shouldnt be rude to you cos you're paying their wages!

Nikki
x

angelatgraceland

mumzyof2 wrote: »

Hi i had put in a ecoupon for £6 off a £40 spend.. but now its saying my guide price is less than £40 so dont think i have qualified for the £6 off.
I dont know why i should be adding things on to my order myself that they have obv missed off...
I would not of known if i had not of gone and needed to add pepper to my list... if i hadnt of done that i would of had things missing when the delivery come. IYKWIM

Try topping up your order with rice at 49p per kilo?
Or some other basics which will keep or are heavy to carry? If you are close to the £40 you don't want to lose it.

someone else asked earlier how we get our freezers and storecupboards to bursting.
Well there is not one simple answer as its the result of a combination of things.
Double cooking and freezing the extra/leftover portions.
Buying items when reduced or bogof-especially reduced bread-that fills up any freexer fast.
Making sure you buy lots of longlasting basic items for the cupboard in the way of basic menu ingredients for baking/casserolles etc.
Buying cheaper basics rather than labels-getting more for your money.
It takes time but if you doublebake and double cook(saving gas/electric as well as time) you freeze the food . Lots of the storecupboard items such as pasta rice stock cubes cornflour,flour, lentils,dried beans,pulses,soya mince,oats etc etc are not terrible expensive(though rice can be)these are bulky and fill those cupboards. They are also essentials for a lot of the recipes on this site. Just add a couple of extra items each week-especially when you see a bargain. With the savings from the challenge you will soon find you have a couple of £ over each week to do this even if it is literally just £2 per week! A couple of months from now-the freezer and cupboards will indeed be full.

Yes mumzy-I agree with angelnikki-shop elsewhere if they are not thankful for your custom!

mumzyof2

Thankyou everyone for your help x

mhe

spent £35.69 in Asda today but now have enough milk frozen to last till the end of the month - 6 pint cartons were on offer at 2 for £3 but it didnt say how long for.

Also got a reuced pack of puff pastry. Whizzed some basil leaves and olive oil and garlic together and spreas on top, then added halves of cherry toms and little cubes of mozerella. when cooked added a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and served with baby pots and salad - they were yum - will be on our menu plan again i think! Even the kids scoffed them down!

All baking from Monday has now been eaten - thanks to school hols. Do you freeze the twinks after they are made or as the dough? Can you freeze sponge cake/ muffins / fairy cakes etc??

angelnikki

hamish222 wrote: »

The cheese biscutes, hobnobs, shortbread etc. How long do they last?

I think the Cheesy Biscuits are best eaten within a couple of days. The recipe doesnt make that much - only 150g, so it shouldnt be a problem eating them before then. ( Its not for me anyway )

mhe wrote: »

Do you freeze the twinks after they are made or as the dough? Can you freeze sponge cake/ muffins / fairy cakes etc??

You can do either with twinks but I think its best to freeze them after they're cooked as you only have to use the oven once then You can eat them pretty much straight from the freezer aswell

You can freeze cakes/muffins/etc I think it's best to freeze them if they're not iced though. I always freeze muffins as they dont keep very long other wise. I just nuke them in the microwave for 30 seconds from frozen and they are just like freshly made HTH

Nikki
x

dink1

Hi GUys,

Thanks for the continued support. I Did manage a nsd yesterday and planning a nsd if not, I only plan on getting satsumas! (seem to have a thing for them at the moment.) Please can someone (I think it was Mrs M who posted the recipe) let me have the recipe for iced fingers. please let me have any tips too like can I freeze them; as new to bread making but want to give it a go.

Feline Fantastic - Hows the tooth?

SEASHELL

Hiya everyone
Did'nt get a chance to post yesterday,I had 6 3yr olds over for a play date with my dd:eek: :eek: :eek: and think i'll be in therapy for the rest of my life:D
Lots of respect to anyone who works in a nursery:A
I spent £36 yesterday in MrT but that included £10 for a Diego dvd as a reward for my dd after her first week of potty training
The £26 included £15 for fruit.My daughter eats a huge amount of fruit so I bought 4 boxes of grapes which I thought were still on special at £1 but were £2.49(had given hubby a list which he deligently went off regardless of price:mad: even though I'd written the price beside it)so lesson learned:o
And wednesday I spent £4.43for milk and loo rolls.It adds up so quickly it's scarey to think what I would normally have spent before i lost my job.
On the plus side I'm turning into a domestic goddess.Yesterday I baked twinks hob nobs,cheesey biscuits ,herby bread, and shortbread:j
And everything was edible and approved by a bunch of 3yr olds:T
dink1 just hope you're doing ok and your oh finds work soon.I lost my job a couple of weeks ago (my dd has been ill alot so had to leave gracefully or be sacked)It's a scarey postiton to be in so the best of luck to you x