July 2012 Grocery Challenge

Bonglecat · 3 July 2012 at 9:41AM

Hi wow I forgot to subscribe to July's thread I have a lot of catching up to do!!

Anyway another £14.51 to declare, that was for the whole weeks shopping so very pleased and most of that was YS stuff. :-))

fozziebeartoo · 3 July 2012 at 9:43AM

I was planning on today being a NSD, especially since I got so wet going out yesterday!

But DGS (aged 2) is asking for strawberries and Baby Bels but he has eaten them all, so I MAY have to go out, depending on his pester-power!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I had coconut greek yog and granola with exta cranberries for brekkie, it was nice but the Rachels yog (which used to be my fave) is SO much sweeter than the Lidl greek yog I have been buying.......could I FINALLY be losing my sweet tooth???

Lunch will be LO ham, LO curried rice and LO new potatoes made into potato salad......I may risk a dash into the back garden for fresh chives.

Tea will be a HM lasagne from the freezer.

Have a great day everyone!

jumblejack · 3 July 2012 at 9:59AM

Welsh_Poppy wrote: »

Morning

JJ
Thanks for info will have a look for Artisan bread and see about making it.
I do have packets of AF white bab mix stocked up whilst it was on offer.
I made Strawberry jam yesterday all Strawberries from garden and it tastes so scrummy it only cost the sugar so not too expensive I rather homemade jam infact anything Hm is delic and better than sm I also make a mean chilli jam ,marmalade and chutney's my cupboards are usually bulging under the weight of them.

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMxJgIpe38Q

Love the idea of your chilli jam! I might need to take some pointers from you

Aldahbra · 3 July 2012 at 10:00AM

PennyGrabber wrote: »

I'd love to get some sloes for gin, don't even know what they look like!!

You collect sloes in the autumn and then the gin is ready in time for Christmas.

Boodle wrote: »

For hampers, I try to get some shoe boxes to cover neatly in Xmas or birthday paper then cellophane it with ribbon and a gift tag to explain what is inside.

I find the nicer the hampers are presented the more appreciated they are, but it has taken a while to get the hang of it. At first, they were not usually met with great enthusiasm (not sure if they actually thought "cheapskate or what just my paranoia!) But I think now people expect the hampers, they sort of look forward to seeing what it will be this time

I like seeing what everyone plans to put in theirs, so thanks for sharing

Thanks that is really useful, I'm going to do that this year. I dread getting Christmas Presents normally, I live so far away from my family so don't see them that often to know what they want or need. And the expense this sounds ideal.

Barbeduk wrote: »

I used to spend a fortune on hair products, now I use !id!s cien provitamin shampoo and conditioner and can honestly say I can't see or feel any difference! And they're 75p each!;)

Thanks for the tip, I'll give that a go. I bought the A*D* 26p stuff which someone recommended but most of the family didn't get to try it as it was sabotaged by DS who didn't want to have to use smart price stuff. I'm going to get some more when I next shop at AS*A but I don't go that often.

fozziebeartoo · 3 July 2012 at 10:16AM

jumblejack wrote: »

Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMxJgIpe38Q

Love the idea of your chilli jam! I might need to take some pointers from you

I am loving the look and sound of that bread JJ, thank you!! :T

Have you tried it?

I thought I was up-to-date with this thread but maybe I missed something.....or the quantities somewhere please?

NB:- This clip has quantities!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q5O4g5XI8Q&feature=fvwrel

jumblejack · 3 July 2012 at 10:19AM

Do you jam makers use wax lids? I've been thinking about getting some from eBay. About £2 for 200.

I would love to get some small floral print cotton too to cut discs from for jar toppers when gifting.

The cellophane covered hamper selections sounds awesome! I love that idea.

Regarding the sloes, I know where there are an amazing supply. I saw them last year but didn't use them (I thought that the gin would be too expensive)
I have been reading more about it recently and apparently the used sloes from the gin make the most delicious fruit liqueurs if you dip them in chocolate! Now THAT really appeals to me

Re artisan bread, I am gonna try it as soon as I get back to the kitchen. I will definitely report on the success (or failure) from my endeavours. Watch this space.

I want to start off a Herman the German Friendship Cake too when I get home.

I love the idea of a sourdough cake that you feed and it grows them you gift the babies to your friends to start off the whole process again!!

I LOVE things like that!

DebtFree2012 · 3 July 2012 at 10:27AM

Morning all

Someone asked about stopping the milk from the milk man and how to do it with it being his job. I too need to at least reduce ours (which won't be an issue) but the reason for me is that the milk gets delivered at 930 pm and goes off really quickly, esp if I forget to get it in on night. I want to support local farmers but not to throw it down the sink.

JumbleJack - How would you feel about starting a foraging thread - I will follow you and I know others have asked and would too. Also you sounds like an avid Hugh supporter - me too

No spend today or yesterday on groceries and tea is taken care of tonight - pinaculty.

I bought some carrots on Sat from farm shop and this morning they are covered in mold!!! Any ideas why?

xx

ikkle87 · 3 July 2012 at 10:53AM

Aldahbra wrote: »

You collect sloes in the autumn and then the gin is ready in time for Christmas.

Thanks that is really useful, I'm going to do that this year. I dread getting Christmas Presents normally, I live so far away from my family so don't see them that often to know what they want or need. And the expense this sounds ideal.

Thanks for the tip, I'll give that a go. I bought the A*D* 26p stuff which someone recommended but most of the family didn't get to try it as it was sabotaged by DS who didn't want to have to use smart price stuff. I'm going to get some more when I next shop at AS*A but I don't go that often.

Keep an expensive brand bottle and decant the cheaper stuff into it hun, they won't pay enough attention to notice the difference it's normally just the bottle/brand that gets looked at. My grandad is a pest for stuff like this, he won't eat butter/margerine unless it's Clover so my nan buys the Aldi version and puts it in a Clover tub and he never knows.

jumblejack · 3 July 2012 at 10:57AM

Debtfree2012, I'd love to start a foraging thread but there is already one on the OS forum. I tried to resurrect it but to no avail

New threads end up getting merged with originals and lost.

I think someone mentioned the green fingered forum but I don't really think foraging belongs on there as foragers are harvesting without the sowing.

I also love to learn from others. I'm learning every day and I think it's brill!!! I get such a buzz off identifying a new plant, learning a new OS tip, trying a new cooking method, exploring new preserving methods etc, so am eager to learn at the feet of other experienced MSErs out there!!

I'm worried about hijacking threads though with my posts :eek:
A blog would be ideal but I can tend to get a bit obsessional over projects :rotfl:

It's all connected though: grocery challenge, free food, preserving, low budget balancing with high nutrition, growing your own where possible, etc.

mrs-moneypenny · 3 July 2012 at 11:21AM

morning all
managed an almost nsd yesterday but ghad to get sarni bags was good and only came out of the shop with those - i went at reduction time but nothing i wanted was RTC so i walked away

jumblejack i love reading your posts on here and seeing your photos, i think they compliment this thread perfectly

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July 2012 Grocery Challenge

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