April 2019 Grocery Challenge

[Deleted User] · 18 March 2019 at 11:24PM

Hi elsiepac

heres the link to the vegan storecupboard challenge...lots of recipes on there

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3571159

elsiepac · 19 March 2019 at 9:41AM

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

I saw your March thread post about being deficient in Vitamin D (quite common in Vegans as the most rich sources are from meat, oily fish, dairy and eggs - none of which help you).

Can I suggest you have a winter risotto with Portobello mushrooms or a stuffed mushroom with vitamin D fortified breadcrumbs, garlic, chopped (unsalted) cashew nuts and shallots - Raw Chanterelle mushrooms in your salad are good sources of D too, and both are easy for work lunches now that Spring is here!

Otherwise you need to look out for almond or soy milk or orange juice, fortified with Vitamin D.

You should also try and get out in the sun at lunchtime for between 5 and 30 minutes 2-3 days a week - a brisk walk, with bare arms and head will soon redress the winter deficiency of D3 and boost the weight loss.

Thanks for the ideas Suffolk lass! I get through about 2 punnets of the vit. D chestnut mushrooms a week on average and most days I have 500ml of fortified almond milk, which alone should give me 75% of the RDA - however I've only been doing this for a few months so was probably too late to sort the deficiency out. Love the ideas for mushroom use, I see a risotto coming my way!! I do walk at lunchtimes twice a week but currently I'm way too cold to show any skin!!
I've now had a 15 day "loading dose" and have to take a daily supplement, but interestingly the Dr didn't say anything about a retest, so I'm going to book one in myself to make sure I'm back in normal levels. I'm definitely feeling a lot better overall so that's good!
The sunlight part is interesting as apparently the sun in Britain is too weak to provide any of us with enough vit. D in winter even if we were to be outside, and as a whole the population would benefit from taking a supplement over winter!

squirrelgirl wrote: »

Hi elsiepac heres the link to the vegan storecupboard challenge...lots of recipes on there

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3571159

Thanks so much squirrelgirl, I'd forgotten about that one! Will check it out today

dollypeeps · 21 March 2019 at 2:43PM

I'm following from March .....

I may or may not post my targets as I'm still tracking and I've got Dd birthday and Easter in April ..... Is it a good time to start?!?! Who knows we shall see but what I do know is that these threads are helping me focus a lot more so that's got to be a good thing.... Right?!?!

Hopefully with Easter holidays coming up I can take time to really got through all the links a the start of these threads .....

Thank you elsiepac for taking the time to do this ......some times just remembering to post is time consuming..

elsiepac · 22 March 2019 at 9:39AM

dollypeeps wrote: »

I'm following from March .....

I may or may not post my targets as I'm still tracking and I've got Dd birthday and Easter in April ..... Is it a good time to start?!?! Who knows we shall see but what I do know is that these threads are helping me focus a lot more so that's got to be a good thing.... Right?!?!

Hopefully with Easter holidays coming up I can take time to really got through all the links a the start of these threads .....

Thank you elsiepac for taking the time to do this ......some times just remembering to post is time consuming..

Even if you don't set a budget this month, try and roughly track what you spend so that you have an idea of where your money went! It can only be a good thing

My pleasure, I enjoy doing the threads and keeping up with what everyone is up to!!

LauraWxx · 22 March 2019 at 9:37PM

I’d like to join if I can pls. £500 budget of which £50 is allocated to dog food.
March was the first month I really focused on how much we spend and have so far done £550 so want to start reducing bit by bit. We waste so much - deffo need to plan better and ensure we stick to it.

dollypeeps · 23 March 2019 at 11:25AM

Impetuous as it seem, I think I'll dive in .......

£280 for April .......
£60 for SM shop
£10 for local/top up shop

Running from 1st April until 30th April as there are 4 Friday's and that's usually the day I do the main weekly shop....

I did try put it in bold red letter but all I had was a lot of brackets and the like .....don't know if it's because I'm using as IPad or because I'm clueless where IT is concerned .....probably the latter ....

elsiepac · 25 March 2019 at 12:03AM

dollypeeps wrote: »

Impetuous as it seem, I think I'll dive in .......

£280 for April .......
£60 for SM shop
£10 for local/top up shop

Running from 1st April until 30th April as there are 4 Friday's and that's usually the day I do the main weekly shop....

I did try put it in bold red letter but all I had was a lot of brackets and the like .....don't know if it's because I'm using as IPad or because I'm clueless where IT is concerned .....probably the latter ....

Don't worry, I've added you

The brackets are meant to be there, basically there is an opening tag and a closing tag - pretend where I'm putting the { it is a [

{color=red}This text would appear red if I used square brackets{/color}

{b}{color=red}this would also be bold{/color}{/b}

Maybe that helps for future?

elsiepac · 25 March 2019 at 12:28AM

I'm provisionally saying I'm in for £202.50 for April (26th Mar - 25th Apr).

Based on £200 for the month but I found £2.50 in my purse so adding that on!!

The reason I'm not 100% on that budget is because I have a very tight month ahead anyway, but also there's a lot of changes to my salary starting this month (That I've only just found out about) - some up and some down, and I am a bit worried I may end up worse off!

Anyway, assuming I have this budget, this is my planned breakdown:

26th-30th: £32.50
31st-6th: £40
7th-13th: £40
14th-20th: £40
21st-25th: £30
Toiletries etc £20 (biggest part of this this month is toothbrush heads but there's a few bits I've run out of)

My weeks are starting on Sundays because that's now when I do my food shops before I prep for the week. Each week I am actually planning to break it down further - £30 for the main shop on the Sunday, then £10 for any extras or fresh stuff or treats for the weekend - this is where I tend to fall down so I figured planning in an amount there and allowing for it will help.

I've actually already had my first spend of the month as I borrowed a tenner which I'll take back out of this weeks budget and had my £2.50 in my purse, and that has meant I have actually done my food up till Thursday... Which based on my budget leaves £20.38 for the rest of the week. I'll need a few things like almond milk anyway, but I'm expecting overall to have change from that which (if my pay allows it) I'll put into my sealed pot.

...............................£202.50 Budget
Date.......Shop......Amount....Remaining
24 Mar.....A5da......£12.12....£190.38(WEEK 1)

thriftwizard · 25 March 2019 at 11:32AM

Okay... I don't have a clue now when I'm going to have my "reversal" operation. I've just spoken to the surgeon's secretary; there's nothing in the diary yet & he's on leave for most of April. Which leaves me hanging... I daren't book to do my stall at any of the summer shows - mostly you need to book the good ones within 24 hours of booking opening or there won't be any spaces left - because I don't know whether I'll be fit to drive & haul stuff around. Plus I haven't been able to work all winter, so the coffers are a bit on the empty side now, and the freezer supplies are dwindling. All a bit anxiety-provoking...

So - I kind of need to have two budgets in mind; one for if I'm in the driving seat all month, which would be £380, and one for if I'm out of action for a week or two, which would be £420. That's for food, toiletries & cleaning supplies for 4 adults, 2 of whom are omnivores, one pescatarian and one vegetarian. Easter supplies will come out of the "entertainments" budget & I think I'm going to put the bulk-buy & pet/livestock supplies back into the main budget shortly, as I keep forgetting to update them & I need to think about cutting back quite hard if I'm not able to earn anything for a few more months.

elsiepac · 25 March 2019 at 11:50AM

thriftwizard wrote: »

Okay... I don't have a clue now when I'm going to have my "reversal" operation. I've just spoken to the surgeon's secretary; there's nothing in the diary yet & he's on leave for most of April. Which leaves me hanging...

Oh no, that's rubbish!! Assume there are no stalls this month coming you can get involved at to boost the coffers?

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April 2019 Grocery Challenge

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