October 2012 Grocery Challenge

Productive day here - got 2 Xmas puds steaming (didn't mean to make two that's just what the recipe produced), made savoury muffins & banana bread & have dinner in the oven. Cooked lamb mince, onions, mixed veg & gravy and put in a casserole dish. THen cooked thick slices of potato, layered it over the top of the mince. I then sprinkled a little bit of grated cheese and some Franks over the top. It's in the oven now - I'll let you know later if it worked Dunno what to call it though!

It is a year since I started this challenge and I have learned so much from this thread. Our budget is £300 per month for two of us. I know that this is a lot but before I started it was much more and it was a struggle to stay within it. Now a year on it is comfortable as long as I don't take my eye off the ball. Thank you to everyone who has posted their ideas. Anyway, here is a bit about us. We cook from scratch every night. I have lunch at home, OH takes soup or sandwiches some days. OH doesn't like to eat carbs at night and I have to watch cholesterol. So, we eat a lot of organic fish and choose free range meat. We also entertain a fair bit. That is my excuse for the £300 anyway. The things that have made the most difference for me, all learned on this thread, are;
know what you have in/control stock I have a notebook now and at the beginning of each month I check stocks in the freezer and store cupboard and write down what we have. From that I make a list of stuff to use up this month either because it is approaching its use by dates or because it is lurking. It took a long time the first time I did this but it is now a quick job because I have a better knowledge of what is there. If we were running shops stock control would be an important task and I don't think it is different for us.
menu planning I usually do this weekly. I make a list of things we will eat this week and decide what we are having from that list on the day. I look at the list of stuff to use up first too. It has made a huge difference to the number of trips to the shops and therefore the money spent. Also, I ensure that if I am buying an ingredient for a dish I can use up any of it that is left. For example, I will usually do a salmon dish with lime scented broth in the same week as a chicken laska because they both use the same specialist ingredients.
check stocks before shopping Sometimes I am still caught out by this!. On my good days I do a list and then check what I already have in and cross if off before I go out. On other days I can end up buying something because I think I need it when I don't. Flour mountain anyone?
check prices I use moneysupermarket to check what I am about to buy. We are lucky that we have all the major supermarkets handy and I will go to the best one. I also have an app for my phone for my shopping list and I record prices on that so that I can recognise a bargain if I see it and stock up. I visit Aldi and Lidl too.
know what you have spent I set up a spreadsheet a year ago but switched to an app for the phone called EEBA a couple of months ago. I love it and I think it is easier to make sure that everything gets recorded.
waste nothing Shopping with a list and a menu plan does mean that I am not buying stuff I don't need but everything gets used up. Left over veg go into soup, chillies and ginger etc get made into curry paste for the freezer. Even left over gravy gets frozen to get used up on another day. Stale bread gets crumbed and frozen, cheese gets grated and frozen.
make it myself I make pastry and cakes now which previously I would have bought. It is pretty easy, much cheaper and the results are delicious.
portion control I buy what we need. If I am making extra portions for the freezer I put them to one side before serving the rest.
variation I do try to change things around and try something new at least a couple of times a month. I have a fair few cook books and am going to try a new experiment of "featuring" a different cook book each month and reading it and trying out some new recipes from it. Anyone care to join me? I thought I might start with either Delia'a collection or Nigella's how to eat. If there are a few of us interested I will start another thread.
cheap standbys Everyone needs them to balance out an otherwise expensive week. I have used the £7 a week thread for ideas. My favourite is a veg chilli, which is also great for lunch.
C*stc*? I am not sure. I do stock up there and when I buy stuff it is because I know it is cheaper or I am getting better value for my money. But, and it is a big but, I also know that the months I visit there I struggle more than the months in which I don't. I am still undecided.
I hope this isn't too long and helps someone. I have had so much help and support from this thread I would love to think I could return at least part of the favour.

Wow it takes some keeping up this thread lol

Still no spends here, will be Thursday when Mr T delivers though

Thanks Valerie57!
I'm still pretty new to the Grocery Challenge! Only in my 2nd month! I like to read about what works well for other people.

valerie57 wrote: »

variation I do try to change things around and try something new at least a couple of times a month. I have a fair few cook books and am going to try a new experiment of "featuring" a different cook book each month and reading it and trying out some new recipes from it. Anyone care to join me? I thought I might start with either Delia'a collection or Nigella's how to eat. If there are a few of us interested I will start another thread.

I too have lots of cook books but tend to cook the same recipes from them! If you start a new thread I'd definitely join It will force me to be more adventurous!

Budgets done to here

We had some friends for dinner last night. He was our bestman and despite living just 3 miles away, we rarely see each other - twice a year if we're lucky. I got a nice pork belly joint from Co$tco on Thursday and we had this with mash, roasted veg and sugar snap peas. I also made a rhubarb crumble (rhubarb from the garden) and a lemon syrup cake.

Upshot of this is that I spent £45 in MrT on beer, wine, veggies, ice cream/cream, and some pizzas and bits for the children to enjoy before us adults ate

Annoyingly the cashier did not add my clubcard points on despite me giving her my card :mad: Will mean I have to go back this week.

At DMums tomorrow and will make a special trip to A!di - so excited, and a much needed cheapy shop to right my budget.

Off to update my sig.
Coxy