Wednesday 5 April 2017

April Challenge

 
Did anyone watch the new series last night on ITV Save Money: Good Food?  It was very similar to a previous series (on a different channel?) but concentrated on using fridge/freezer and store cupboard stocks more effectively to feed a family of 4.  They also explored the merits of supermarket 'Value' or 'Basics' items, this week being cornflakes, baked beans and smoked salmon  (really? I never buy the stuff)  anyway, the value items were deemed to be no less nutritious than the branded stuff.  I have long suspected that taste is what matters here.  There is often less sugar and salt in the value items (a good thing, yes?) so if the family will eat it without complaint why not buy the cheaper version, or even cheat a bit and decant it into a branded box so that they think it's their usual brand :)  I tried a basic brand of teabags costing 60p for 40 instead of the usual £1.20 for the same amount.  I popped them straight into the kitchen container so that no one knew they were different.  Not a soul has commented and the tea is drunk just as eagerly as before.  I can't tell the difference in taste so they will be bought again.  If you are a tea connoisseur you might beg to differ but we enjoy it so it stays. The baked beans we eat are always a supermarket brand too. 
I think that this will be the way to go to keep the food bills stable at the moment because prices are definitely creeping up but the food budget is fixed.....

I buy very little meat as I don't eat it and OH is coming around to more veg based meals on a regular basis.  He still has to have his weekly fix of bacon butties, ham sandwiches and the occasional meat and 2 veg but the non-meat purchases are keeping the spend down.  April is a 4 week month as far as the food shopping is concerned so I am going to log my spend as I go.  £200 has been earmarked in the account (ie £50 per week) and I tend to do a 'big' shop on a Monday and a 'top up' on Saturday.

Morrisons has an offer on of 3 packs of veg for £1 so I bought a swede, 1.5kg Maris Piper potatoes and a 1kg pack of onions, all of which are British.... BONUS! (there were also leeks or cabbage if you preferred ) Some of the spuds were roasted on Monday to go with a bit of chicken and some leftover sprouts from the fridge.  I need to use up some fridge bottom salad stuff before it's wasted so it will be cheese salad butties for lunches for the next couple of days.  Fish and HM chips tonight....yum :)

I will not be buying our usual weekly bottle of wine until Saturday or OH will open it and it will be gone! I might check out Aldi for that.  If he wants beer before then he can buy his own!

Two new followers seem to have appeared so 'hi' to Jules (I thought I had you before?)  and also to someone else new  I can't quite see who it is  :/  I do hope I won't bore you to tears straight away.....

Here we go.....

Week 1:  Monday £19.90

Thanks everso for popping in, have a brilliant evening ( or day, as appropriate) xx

15 comments:

  1. I will watch the programme on catch up, although these programmes do usually end up annoying me xx

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    1. I can understand why Marlene, but I did find last night's prog interesting x

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  2. I don't usually watch much TV but I did see this programme and quite enjoyed it for the recipes. I was quite shocked at how much food the family kept and wasted. Blogger has unfortunately messed me about in a few of my 'follows.' I think someone hasn't posted in a while only to find they are not on my follow list anymore and one blog it will not let me follow at all for some reason. X

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    1. That's why I lost you Jules! Blogger is a nightmare sometimes. I tend to lose favourite blogs too because they refuse to appear in my feed and it's a struggle to re-find them :( x

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  3. I watched it as I quite enjoy the recipes but I find it slightly irritating that somebody would think they spend £70 a week on food when it's actually £170.

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    1. I don't understand that either Jean. Surely they know how much cash they hand over or, possibly more likely, how much they are spending on a card each time they shop? Money was obviously not an issue for them or there wouldn't have been edible food in the bin!

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  4. Thanks for mentioning this, I hadn't heard it was on. It's an interesting show.

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  5. I have stopped eating ham, it looks plastic and has no taste, far to processed for me.

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    1. The best ham comes from our little village shop. It's locally produced and is cut from a boneless joint as you require it. I can buy just a few thin slices for hubby for under £1 and the taste is heavenly. It's by far the family's favourite.

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  6. I'll have to watch it on catch up when I have the time as I missed it-x-

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  7. I will look out for this on catch up. I have seen similar programmes and am amazed at the amount that people spend and the fact that they don't know is even worse! No wonder there is such a huge amount of food wasted. Good luck with your challenge x

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    1. Thanks Fran. The couple in question really seemed to have no idea what they had spent on a weekly basis. They certainly didn't seem strapped for cash! There were a few useful tips anyway.

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  8. It sounds like there were some good ideas and tips in this programme. I'll see if I can find it on 'catch up'. I've noticed the creeping prices at the moment. Jx

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It's OK.....

  Angie 💓 xx