January 2009 Grocery Challenge

elizabunny · 7 January 2009 at 11:22AM

Good Morning All! I'm still here in the land of the living after being stricken with the 'bug' last night. I would love just to curl up here and pretend to be worse than I am because its soooo cold, but I have to admit after dosing myself with lemon and honey from Lidl I feel not to bad at all (maybe I shouldn't mention the Brandy I chucked in for good measure:rotfl: -think it should be Whisky but I can't stand the stuff!) The lemons were an excellent price from Lidl around 58p for 4 if I remember correctly and their forest/wild blossom runny honey is lovely for about £1.80ish. Sorry I'm terrible at remembering prices:o have to get that one sorted out. Anyway I just may attack the cooking today, as freezer is rapidly emptying, so I think it will be minced beef with lots of lovely vegetables to bulk it out and red kidney beans finished off with a cobbler topping. Nice, warming comfort food and I should get a good few portions from my 400gm minced beef. DH will be pleased because I think he's rather enjoying all the home cooking I have tried on him since our sudden drop in income. SO here goes. Speak soon.

Boodle · 7 January 2009 at 11:25AM

mummysaver wrote: »

And when mine were getting ready to be potty trained, as I guess your lo will be soon (unless he's like my dd1 and very stubborn!) then I put them in value nappies from Tesco, they were good enough to stop leaks, but held the wee against the skin for long enough that my kids knew they were wet and they weren't keen on the feeling, so became keener to use the potty!

Fab advice! My daughter is sitting on her potty as we type :j but not even nearly there with it all yet (she is only 2.) I will be having a go with those through the day when we are at home and see if it helps her want to use her potty.

Thanks for that Mummysaver! x

Allegra · 7 January 2009 at 11:26AM

Having kinda lost the plot in December (but hey, we still spent less than we used to spend in an ordinary month, so we must have spent much less than we used to on Christmas food), I will be attempting to find it again at the level which, looking at past spends, seems easily achievable - so can you put me down for £225 for January, please, Mrs M ?

It looks like it should be a cheap month - all the main meals are planned out and in the freezer/storecupboard already, and I stocked up on southern fried quorn burgers (one of the very few things, all ridiculously expensive, that vegetarian DD will happily eat) in Asda as they are down to £1 for a pack of four (normally £1.58) - but then again, I think the same at the start of each month, and still end up coming in barely under budget at best...

mummy2mygirls · 7 January 2009 at 11:30AM

im still getting my head around all the added lentils, oats and pearl barley etc, i have added red lentils and oats to my mince dishes but today im going to do a curry that i want to bulk out and add some to freezer just wanted to ask if any body added any lentils to theres??

SAVVYMUMMY_2 · 7 January 2009 at 11:31AM

A nsd for me today apart from newspaper and yesterday only needed eggs and again newspaper. Watering the milk down a bit more now, so no need to buy that for a few days, I hope:rolleyes: . The HM quiche and rolls I made yesterday, went down a treat, nothing left.

Today I will be making more rolls for packed lunches etc and have chicken left over from mondays roast to use up for tonights dinner. Not sure what I`ll make yet, so will have a look through some recipes and see what I come up with.

jessbrown100 · 7 January 2009 at 11:40AM

Hi Clareybabble :hello:
I'm in exactly the same situation, DS was born in September and I'm now on SMP, plus hubby has just had his hours shortened as they're at risk of redundacy :eek:.

Can't offer any constructive advice but if it all gets a bit stressful feel free to PM me for a moan.

Jess x

angelatgraceland · 7 January 2009 at 11:40AM

mummy2mygirls wrote: »

im still getting my head around all the added lentils, oats and pearl barley etc, i have added red lentils and oats to my mince dishes but today im going to do a curry that i want to bulk out and add some to freezer just wanted to ask if any body added any lentils to theres??

I always add lentils to mine-its a must! It thickens up the curry a bit too in a nice way.I don't plan on buying anything today but I might-as Ive got to go back to work yo pick up my keys-I left my fleece there last night with keys in pocket! So to justify trip I will look in Somefields and see if there are any whoopsies.

mummysaver · 7 January 2009 at 11:47AM

Boodle wrote: »

Look out for free or cheap activities for the little ones. Toddler groups and such can be expensive. Why not check out the library for free storytime sessions (most have these for under5s) or just go along and bound to bump into other children with their parents - they tend to always have toys and will def have a children's book section. Instead of expensive soft play, etc, go along to your nearest park for a run-and-climb-about session for free!

I found the toy library was great when mine were little, if you have one locally then it's worth a visit, they often do a weekly play session, it used to be free! And borrowing the toys is a great way to find out whether that much longed for item is really going to get used! Also good for simple small toys like sorting things and jigsaws - once you've done them then it's nice to be able to give them back and try something else!

I found toddler groups weren't expensive - you can always offer to help make the coffee or wash up, they're usually free then! Even if they had costed a few pounds I'd have paid, they were worth their weight in gold to me. I didn't know anyone locally, and none of my friends had children when my older ones were little, so they were a great way of getting out of the house, letting the children play and meeting other parents, and often grannies (who gave me all sorts of reassurance and great tips and advice!)

mummysaver · 7 January 2009 at 11:50AM

Boodle wrote: »

Fab advice! My daughter is sitting on her potty as we type :j but not even nearly there with it all yet (she is only 2.) I will be having a go with those through the day when we are at home and see if it helps her want to use her potty.

Thanks for that Mummysaver! x

Anytime!

They are great when your child is only doing a few wees a day, but would probably result in sore bottoms if left on much younger children. They work well at night when children are almost dry but not quite there - and of course the price difference is staggering!

Good luck with the potty training! I found with all of mine that when they were ready it only took a couple of weeks, the trick is in finding out when they are ready!

sashanut · 7 January 2009 at 12:06PM

Hi all
Been missing from this thread - & computer generally since a meltdown before Christmas:mad: . Want to wish everyone a lovely debt-free 2009! Am now back up & running thankfully; not sure of GC budget TBH since I am still working at that 'not just any' expensive supermarket.....been kept on till end of JAN but given the redundancies today don't expect to go on any longer than that. Trouble is the staff shop seems to be permanently closed - which means no cheap food, TBH the main reason for working there!! Just in case they re-open it please put me down for £250 Mrs Mc thank you!

Freezers are groaning with food as I have been stockpiling against my eventual end of contract, just need to buy extras that we don't sell. Bought 'organic cat food topped with carrot puree' as going cheap in staff shop, cats are obviously not that posh as they won't touch it :rotfl:

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January 2009 Grocery Challenge

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