June 2008 Grocery Challenge

mrssnowy_2

Well heck,we have only been home from hols 1 week,so started GC last Sunday,flipping £97 spent and on top of that have bought a kettle AND new TV !
But paid for out of monies saved from GCing

DS and DSfiancee came for flying visit(making wedding arrangements for Nov)(clean sheets and towels for 1 night!)1lb mince out of freezer,oated,and made lasagne enough for 8 plus 1 portion bolog sauce for freezer.
Roast veg as side dish (and as 1 layer in lasagne)with salad,followed by fresh fruit salad and ice cream-have to recoup losses somewhere.
HM bread ,granola and Welshcakes made yesterday,yet more jam last Thurs ready for next fund raisers,soon be short of jars:rotfl:
J

annelouise_2

Have just made onion relish from a thread on here.

Ingredients -


2 onions
Olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
bay leaf
1/4 cup white wine
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp brown sugar

Slice onions thinly ,add salt
Saute in olive oil on low until transparent with lid on
Once see through remove lid stir in wine,mustard and sugar
Let liquid evaporate stirring every few minutes
Cook on low for 1- 1 1/2 hrs until brown and sticky
Serve warm or chill in jar then keep 2 months or freeze in ziploc for up to 4 months.

Lovely with cheese on toast or pate,burgers or sausages.

Just watered veg,still really pleased with myself and my versatility in the garden.Will be planting out the tomatoes in a few days as still very small.

Have been given a honeydew melon from my neighbours which we will have for breakfast,and rest for packed lunches Monday a wedge each.

Following Christening today have volunteered to recycle the unused magdalenas by icing and sprinkling them for her daughters (8) birthday party tomorrow,she was going to bin the lot along with a plate of party biscuits and snacky savoury biscuits.All clingfilmed and put in her pantry for tomorrow instead of filed in the bin!!!!!!! No sense = no money!!!!!!!

annelouise

tq16

JennyBee, totally understand the guilt feeling-with my first I didn't rest at all, even after she was born, dh plus others kept saying to sleep when she did but I just couldn't, used to feel so guilty like I should be doing more- I was so stupid burnt out at about 6 weeks and then forced to rest. With 2nd wish I had been able to sleep but eldest not having that :-) Really do rest, listen to your body it knows what is best. First trimester is the hardest, 2nd much easy, should get your energy back.

angelatgraceland

Barneysmom wrote: »

I just had a eureka moment here
Are we all doing it? I know I am..........................
'A sucker for a voucher'
Walking round the supermarket filling the trolley with stuff we don't really need to get our fiver off :think:

Ok so if I fall short of my total and need to cram something in, I'll get cleaning products - at least they won't go off?
Or soap or toothpaste - something storable that will get used?

Here's my shopping secret No.1

Only buys beans when they are on special offer. Morrys had HP beans, 2 packs of 4 for £2 not long ago. I bought 16 cans and put them in the spare room. That's a years supply safely tucked away

I know that feeling and Im now living with too much clutter as regards toiletries etc. Gave away a bag of it a while ago-loads and loads so my stocking up didnt save me any money.
So Ive ignored the vouchers and everything lately and I think that is how /im coming in under budget the last couple of months. As someone else said-its only a bargain if you need it.
There will always be offers and bogofs. Some things really are great deals-I had one a couple of years ago on coffee(red mountain at £1 a jar)but honestly, since that one Ive not found anything worth fretting over.
Ive one exception-and only one now-toilet rolls! Virtually anything else can be substituded with something or other bar using newspaper squares and theres no way Id do that unless there was none in the shops!

Jennybee-don't feel guilty-I don't and my youngest is 14 now. Kids are tiring-acceptance is sweet. I often have a nap for an hour when I get in from work-its almost the norm. I tend to stay up late at night though bu thatsjust me. I blame it on broken nights when DD was small-I never got my act together afterwards. However, I "don't lose sleep over it" literally!
Your body is telling you something-listen to it.

jak

Well...we've got £5.90 left on the grocery shopping budget. Bu**er. The house is FULL of food tho! Enough for ages! Problem is dh wants to buy food all the time and he got really funny when I told him we only had what was in the baggy left! He was flipping there every time we bought food this month! So what did he think? It magically replaced itself? Honestly, he's the reason we've spent so much already!

We only need milk tho and maybe 1 loaf of bread, so we should be ok.

J
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Barneysmom

You're completely right angelatgraceland, it's a bigger waste if you don't use it.
So is it better to ignore the vouchers, keep your head down and save as much as poss?
The toilet roll thing is a dilemma.
I nearly got 24 packs of Asda's own for £8 (33p each) , but they had the Kleenex Velvet 12 for £4.50 (37.5p each) so I got them, as the couple of pence extra is worth it IMO
The cooked meat has gone up, I didn't get any, I'll price it at Morry's on Monday.
At least we are saving a bit on milk from Asda, 2 x 6 pinters for £3 can't be sneezed at.

TheBees

Evening all

Got a couple of half price whoopsies in Somerfield today (sausages and some turkey escolopes) which have gone straight in the freezer.:j

Went to a relatives BBQ this evening so a free meal and feeling absolutely stuffed now! Got talking to a couple who rescue battery hens and rehome them when they are about to get the chop! They never have any trouble finding homes for them and said that the state that some of them are in you would never buy another battery chicken again if you could see how much they have suffered. They also warned me to check that "free range" in certain supermarkets really are "free range". Allegedly some supermarkets are taking chickens that were previously battery hens but which have stopped laying, fattening them up in free range conditions and selling them as free range. :mad: He told me which supermarket but I won't say which one in case I get into trouble on here! I will be going to the butcher or farm shop in future to get a real free range (if we can afford it)!

Toad in the hole for tea tomorrow with some previously reduced sausages.

Have a good weekend (whats left of it).
TheBees

tq16

Thought people might be interested in this? you have to join netmums to enter, but free to register, great site anyhow so worth a go :-)

WIN your supermarket shopping for a week!

Take part in The Netmums Challenge to "Feed your family for a fiver" in association with Sainsbury’s.

We want your ideas and recipes for a family meal that can be produced for £5 or less. Your recipe needs to feed a family of four (2 adults and 2 children).

[EMAIL="food@netmums.com"][/EMAIL]

[EMAIL="food@netmums.com"]Tell us[/EMAIL] your feed your family for a fiver recipe to be in with a chance of winning. We need to know the ingredients, their costs and the cooking instructions and any clever hints and tips you may have up your sleeve for reducing the meal cost.

One winner will be chosen by the team at Sainsbury’s and will have their weekly shopping bill covered by Sainsbury’s*.

Alternatively you can chat about your budget ideas on the Coffee House feeding the family forum.

* Prize will be £100 of Sainsbury’s vouchers

tq16

TheBees wrote: »

Evening all
They also warned me to check that "free range" in certain supermarkets really are "free range". Allegedly some supermarkets are taking chickens that were previously battery hens but which have stopped laying, fattening them up in free range conditions and selling them as free range. :mad: He told me which supermarket but I won't say which one in case I get into trouble on here! I will be going to the butcher or farm shop in future to get a real free range (if we can afford it)!


TheBees

:mad: how do they get away with that? I only buy free range, but that makes it really tough to keep in budget, if its not free range when says it is :mad: local butchers far too expensive, will have to try and investigate some local farm shops.

angelnikki

TheBees wrote: »

Allegedly some supermarkets are taking chickens that were previously battery hens but which have stopped laying, fattening them up in free range conditions and selling them as free range. :mad:

Surely that's better than just slaughtering them when they stop laying enough eggs? Improving their conditions and extending their lives can only be a good thing IMO - it's better than the alternative.

And if they're "fattening them up in free range conditions" then they are free range aren't they?! On River Cottage Spring this week, HFW did the same thing by getting the small-holders to rescue old battery chickens and turn them into free range ones.

TQ16 don't stop buying free range. I don't see how they could sell them as that unless they were actually living in free range conditions for at least a minimum amount of time.

Nikki
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