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January 2011 Grocery Challenge

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  • katholicos
    katholicos Posts: 2,658 Forumite
    Ate 3 slices of toast with butter and vegemite for brunch and then just ate a baked potato with grated cheese and garlic butter, for my tea. Another NSD today too, so that is good.

    Just wanted to say echo what others have written about there being no 'particular' way of participating in the GC challenge. Just as there is no one way of participating in the NSD challenge. It's only right that each individual should decide what they will record as 'spends'. Also, i find it is important to maintain a healthy attitude towards both challenges ...in other words, if i have spend days i had hoped would have been NSD's or if i go over my GC monthly budget, that is not a bad thing. It is an experience i will try to learn from, but it really isn't worth beating myself up over. Any attempts at 'cutting one's cloth according to one's means' are attempts well made, at least in my book. Not that there has to be a financial motivation for all of us, some of us may want to participate in the GC so that we feed ourselves and our families healthier, home cooked food, eat better quality food but less of it, shop for food that is locally produced, 'live better on less' as the saying goes.

    There are no right ways and no wrong ways of approaching the GC.

    Speaking from my own experience participating in the GC has had a significant impact on reducing my spending, and as my financial situation is currently rather dire, i couldn't be more pleased that I joined in the challenge. This thread has been enormously helpful in influencing my personal approach to getting the most out of every penny spent on groceries, without compromising on the taste or quality, and even quantity of them (for the most part).

    Well done to EVERYONE who is/has participated in this months GC.

    I'm so glad to be back on board :)
    Grocery Challenge for October: £135/£200


    NSD Challenge: October 0/14
  • Jolaaled
    Jolaaled Posts: 1,061
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Jolaaled wrote: »
    Rosie...how to you make the cheese and onion filling...do you fry the onion first...grate the cheese????

    THANKS
    rosieben wrote: »
    yes I grate the cheese, chop the onions and mix them up, you could fry the onions to soften them a little if you wanted to ;)

    D&DD's original posting of Apple braid is here in post #42; the thread is well worth a read and there are loads of good recipes ;)

    Made the cheese and onion braid recipe today and it was lovely. I made my dough up into small dough balls, rolled out and sprinkled with grated cheese and slightly-cooked chopped onion. Re-rolled the dough, prooved for another 20 mins, then cooked in Remoska for 15 mins. Have gone down a treat!

    THANK YOU
  • lotti379
    lotti379 Posts: 787 Forumite
    So... took Mr Lotti to the supermarket yesterday, usually a dreadful mistake but he was very sensible actually! He only snuck in two things not on the list, one extra tin of refried beans and a packet of stuffing for tomorrow's roast (I wasn't of the opinion that beef requires sage and onion stuffing, but apparently he really can't live without it... he does love it so! :rotfl:) I am very pleased with his progress to the MS ways (:p), normally he feels the need to "stock up" on brand-name chocolate and lots of biscuits, but not only did he not do that but a) he didn't get irn bru as it wasn't on offer, went for a supermarket own sugar-filled fizzy thing instead (over £1 cheaper each bottle), b) he accepted supermarket own crisps instead of walkers (first time ever!), supermarket own ketchup (ditto), and picked up a few things only to put them back saying "actually we don't need that this week". I'm not sure what transformation has happened to the man! :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

    Anyway, we still managed to spend £66.92, taking the total up to £197.92. We will almost definitely go over as still need to pick up a small beef joint tomorrow, and meals are only planned till Thursday. But, hopefully the damage shouldn't be too bad! Also, we'll probably both be away with TA Friday night-Sunday afternoon, ration packs woooo :cool:. But that just leaves Sunday night and Monday to cater for, before a new month starts!
    “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.”

    NSD Challenge: August 2017 2/15
  • also, has anyone got a carrot cake recipe i could have? its my DH birthday on Monday and would like to make him one.


    cannot stop thinking about cheese and potato pie. HAHA.


    thankyou
    DFW - Debt Free Date July 2013, LBM Oct 2011

    Total Debt Sept 2011 £23,708.39
    Paid so far £2,383.91 :money:
    Current Debt £21,560.56

  • maganan
    maganan Posts: 254
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Can I join please, to start on friday 28th payday at last - £400 I know its a lot compared to most of you and I dont want to fail first month:p
    Final no going back LBM 20/12/10
    Debt Jan 2011 [STRIKE]£28217.65[/STRIKE][STRIKE][/STRIKE] DMP start 01/02/11 -[STRIKE][/STRIKE]
    Debt free[STRIKE][/STRIKE][STRIKE][/STRIKE]26 September 2014 :):beer:
    £2 Savers Club - 2012 no 105 2012 Sealed pot challenge no 1282 DMP mutual support thread No 405
    Proud to HAVE dealt with my debts:j
  • 1 pack of 2 salmon fillets, (fry in a little butter skin side down turn over and remove skin).

    Potatoes (mash with butter salt & pepper and a little milk/ cream/ creme fresh).

    Broccoli (Microwave for a 3 minutes in a bowl covered with cling film)

    Good Knob of butter
    1 Tablespoon Flour (heaped)
    Heat butter, stir in flour for a few seconds, then add a half pint of milk bit by bit to make white sauce.

    Break up salmon in pan, then add white sauce to it, to capture all the cooking juices, cook for a few minutes, season to taste, then place in a greased oven or gratin dish.
    Top with broccoli & mashed potatoes.

    2 slice of bread breadcrumbed or grated
    1 oz grated cheese ( I used Welsh one M+S has on offer now for £3.75 its really strong so is ideal for cooking as you need very little).
    Mix both together and put on top of the potatoes, pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes @ 200 or until the top is nicely browned.

    Just had this for dinner, it was so simple but absolutely yummy and soo filling. Nomnomnom!
    1st Purse £114.19 Monthly GB
    2nd Purse ££100
    :rotfl::j:wave::j:rotfl:
    Fridge Freezer £300 3rd Purse /£290.94
  • really pleased with how it is going, amazing how just noting down what you spend makes you spend less.
    My hubby loves cooking and will easily blow £30-£40 cooking us a gouremet meal as he likes to at the weekend so this week I set him the challenge of cooking 3 courses for £10. He came in at £11.58 but pointed out he only used a bit of the parmesan and there is at least 3/4 left in the fridge. More importantly, he enjoyed the challenge. I am also doing slimming world and didn't want it to be too fattening, think he did ok for first week and it was very tasty.
    I've managed not to shop all week and just a top up today at aldi and butchers, have decidied to internet shop once a fortnight instead of weekly and top up at aldi the weeks between. See how it goes.
    x
    2 adults 3 children
    Debt mar 17 £43,277
  • TheBees
    TheBees Posts: 601 Forumite
    Hi everyone
    I'm finding it almost impossible to keep up with all the posts but I've just read the last few pages and am really inspired to carry on. Well done everyone.

    Surprisingly,we're on track to come in under budget this month after several months not even taking part in this challenge. We have £103 from our target of £380 still to spend (if necessary) but hopefully we won't need to spend all that. :j I'm planning a shop at MrT tomorrow so am about to go and check the freezers and cupboards to see what we've already got and what we actually need. MUST STICK TO THE SHOPPING LIST! This should be the final shop of the month apart from maybe some milk and fresh fruit later in the week. Got to keep the fruit stocked up as I'm doing Weight Watchers!:rotfl:
    Mortgage Free in 3 part 2 challenge - pay off £9000
    Sealed Pot Challenge 416 - target £500
  • Came on to update siggi. Spent £41 at M@S with 2 x vouchers, and £41 in Morri@ons, as they have good offers at the moment. Did not want to spend so much, but will not need to go shopping at all this week, so worth it.
    I was chuffed that I had done a shop week last friday, and did not enter another shop till today - over a week of NSD!!!! NEVER known that before, so pretty chuffed with myself. Now I know I can do it, hope for a repeat this week!
    Some good progress on the home improvements! Now getting the bathroom floor tiled first, and the plumber is coming to replace the bathroom taps and lift the toilet. The tiler cannot do the kitchen until a week on monday, at at least things are moving now.
    The plumber is also putting a quote together for fitting a new shower, so I MUST KEEP UP THE CHALLENGE!, to pay for that. I am so pleased that I started this, have not felt that I have skimped on food quantity or quality - just shopped smarter, and got out of the spending habit. Keep up the good work all, here's to Feb's GC!!!
  • freakyogre
    freakyogre Posts: 1,465 Forumite
    £5.10 spent today in Tesco today on milk, squash, mayonnaise, bagels, bread rolls and garlic bread!
    Grocery challenge - Nov: £52/£100
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