January 2013 Grocery Challenge

Coxy11 · 18 January 2013 at 10:28AM

Hi everyone,

NSD yesterday and today. We are having spag bol for dinner. I was meant to be in London for dinner with friends, but we have cancelled due to the snow. Coming down in flurries here in Kent, but not settling - yet.

Waiting for the BG to come and service my boiler - what timing!

Welcome to:
Verityemilia and Miroslav - I will be adding you to the list in just a tick

Hope you all have a safe and warm day.
Coxy

lbnblbnb · 18 January 2013 at 10:29AM

We get a veg box, not from Riverford, I find it makes me plan round seasonal veg with a few additions.

Having said that, I need ideas to use up two swedes I have....!!!

katholicos · 18 January 2013 at 10:33AM

lbnblbnb wrote: »

We get a veg box, not from Riverford, I find it makes me plan round seasonal veg with a few additions.

Having said that, I need ideas to use up two swedes I have....!!!

It's lovely mashed with potato. If you have a lot of it, once mashed, it can be frozen and eaten as mash or added to thicken soups or casseroles.

skilly · 18 January 2013 at 11:20AM

lbnblbnb wrote: »

We get a veg box, not from Riverford, I find it makes me plan round seasonal veg with a few additions.

Having said that, I need ideas to use up two swedes I have....!!!

Hi,found this recipe this morning might try making some later myself.i have been getting a riverford box now for about nine year they great .
Spiced Swede Cakes

Ingredients

1 small or 1/2 large swede, peeled and diced
1 onion, finely chopped
A good splash of olive oil or a nugget of butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp turmeric
A pinch of chilli powder
A handful of finely chopped parsley or coriander
2-3 mugs of breadcrumbs
Olive or sunflower oil for cooking
It'll take

20 mins (prep) | 40 mins (cooking)
4 people
1. Cook the swede in simmering, salted water till mashable, about 20 mins. 2. Meanwhile, fry the onions in butter or olive oil till soft. Towards the end of cooking, add the spices and garlic and cook for a few mins more. 3. Drain the swede. Let it steam for a bit. Mix it with the onion and spice mix. 4. Mash. Season with salt, fold in the herbs. Taste a pinch of the mix and add rev up the spices, if needed. Form into golf ball-sized chunks. If too wet, add breadcrumbs and mix till it’s easy to shape. Spread remaining breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Roll the balls in the breadcrumbs to coat. Press them into flat cakes. 5. To cook, either shallow fry in oil till golden on each side, or coat them in oil and bake in an pre-heated oiled tray in a hot oven (about 180°C/Gas 4) till crisp. 6. Perfect with lime wedges, a herby yoghurt, raita or chutney.
Delicious as a light lunch with salad, as a starter or a party

itsmecathy · 18 January 2013 at 12:05PM

Hello all

Poppedinto homebargains yesterday for some vitamins for the kids, also got 3tins of chickpes for £1, so some chickpea curry and cous cous items will be on the menu for next week. Need milk, bread and fruit but otherwise well stocked up.

I feel that as we are doing pretty well to keep to budget, I'm going to use some of it for a trip to the carvery or chinese takeaway this weekend. Sig updated to now.

Sorry to hear about your job loss miroslav. Good luck in finding something else.

freyasmum · 18 January 2013 at 12:32PM

I've been in the shops twice this week, first shop cost £11.09 and the next £7.24, giving a total of £18.33 (£54.58/year to date). So far, we're averaging around £18 a week, but I've no doubt that will rise quite sharply once the freezer's gone down a bit.

Last night we had a pork shoulder joint that I got in Morrisons when it was £1.50. It'll do us five meals so a cost of 30p/portion, not bad at all. We had it with brocolliflower cheese. My lunches over the next three days will be the leftovers which have been portioned and frozen. I'll need a fresh loaf on Sunday for littlie's school sandwiches - she won't eat anything else at school! And some yogurt/cream. I would get some more nuts, but I'll only just scoff the lot in one sitting

Also last night, my daughter and I watched "What a waste: Tonight". They were showing the lady who was spending around £130 a week and throwing most of it away - e.g cooking FAR too much and them throwing the leftovers in the bin :eek: Well, at that my daughter jumped up and started pointin at the telly "Look! Look at that, that's terrible! Look at all that money that she's wasting and that food too, and she's not even using the half of it. She could be eating that food and spending the money on nice things... some people don't even have that money to waste" It really made me laugh/proud - she's six :rotfl:

As for now, I'm headed off out to lunch with my friend - I have no notion for that at all. I'd much rather cook a meal and have it here

I did suggest it, but she didn't want to! :undecided

Oh! And re the milk thing - it's not just that it's lasting, it's that the other milk just WASN'T lasting - it was going 'cheesy' within a few das of being opened :undecided

Mrs_T_M · 18 January 2013 at 1:53PM

freyasmum wrote: »

Oh! And re the milk thing - it's not just that it's lasting, it's that the other milk just WASN'T lasting - it was going 'cheesy' within a few das of being opened :undecided

By any chance have you checked the temperature in your fridge lately? If it's too warm, even by only a few degrees, it will cause milk to spoil extremely fast. Also, do not keep milk in the door! That's the warmest part of the fridge and the absolute worst place to keep milk, unless you go through a bottle every other day or so.

I've just seen the "What a waste" program and I've started watching the "SuperScrimpers" on the channel 4 website. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the lady throwing away leftovers! Even after the "challenge" they put out for her, I still saw things in her food bin that I would have used. Especially the tops of those leeks! Wash them well, chop them up and freeze them. Then use them in soups, stews, pies, etc!

In the States when I was living with mom after dad passed, we had two nearly no spend months. Only bought milk (we weren't eating bread then), and petrol to get me back and forth to uni (cheaper for me to drive it than live on campus). There is no public transport where I'm from, so that wasn't an option. We could have kept going like that for a good 3-4 more months with the amount of food we had in our freezers. Granted, the 3 big outdoor freezers that are there store food for not only my immediate family, but for my grandmother, aunts and uncles, and cousins. If you buy something specifically for you, put your name on it, otherwise it might get nabbed by another family member. :rotfl:

We need to eat everything that's in our freezer now so I can do a defrost of it. It isn't too bad, but I don't like ice on anything if I can help it. Eating through the freezer is going to be a bit difficult, with me keeping on putting hm "ready" meals in there with leftovers!

lbnblbnb · 18 January 2013 at 2:21PM

katholicos wrote: »

It's lovely mashed with potato. If you have a lot of it, once mashed, it can be frozen and eaten as mash or added to thicken soups or casseroles.

Thank you, I am going to do this with one of them

skilly wrote: »

Hi,found this recipe this morning might try making some later myself.i have been getting a riverford box now for about nine year they great .
Spiced Swede Cakes

Thank you, got this on the go at the moment, just the sort of food I like - spicy!

I have just inventoried my cupboards, need to do the baking cupboard and freezer next but I can honestly say that if we got snowed in we could survive for a considerable time. Why have I got five sachets of mashed potato mix? And a sack of potatoes??

I really need to set a grocery budget. We are going to have to order some heating oil due to the cold snap, I was hoping to get through to June by being extremely frugal with the heating. I think I will be going to the US at Easter to see my brother as he needs support, so that will blow a hole in the budget too. I have been setting a budget of £400 for the four of us plus cat, guinea pigs and chickens, including cleaning stuff and beer/wine. I am sure I can get it lower than that. This thread is an eye-opener. People at work seem to think it is ok to be spending £100 a week for two - :eek: Each to their own I guess.

So, will aim for £300 from 19th Jan to 19th Feb (payday to payday for me). Hope that is ok Coxy.

chirpycheap · 18 January 2013 at 2:34PM

Almost hit my monthly target with nearly a fortnight to go. However I am not looking upon it as a failure more an over ambitious target and on the plus side we are spending a lot less than we were.

I have gone from minimalist food cupboards that lead to take aways and I now have a decent store of household staples that will set me up for a more thrifty lifestyle.

Spent £60 on an Asda online shop. Unfortunately I decided not to buy all my fruit & Veg but to get it from my local greengrocer and I can't get out because of the snow.
Never mind necessity is the mother of invention and I have some frozen fruit and veg in the freezer.:T

Bluegreen143 · 18 January 2013 at 2:47PM

lbnblbnb wrote: »

Sounds really good and different, where did you find the recipe?

It was in a recipe book I've got called something like "India's Vegetarian Cooking", I'll post the recipe when I'm home tonight.

Oh and it wasn't me that has a vegan family member but thanks anyway, someone at work is vegan so I'll pass it on

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January 2013 Grocery Challenge

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