I decided to go shopping yesterday to buy some more fresh stuff to compliment the food in our freezers, cupboards and the fridge. The fridge was looking very sparse and nothing like the photo I put on the blog at the start of the week, so shopping really was a necessity.
I kept it to all healthy things and the only items I bought that weren't on my Capsule Kitchen shopping list were the milk for Lovely Hubby, the Butternut Squash and the Quorn Cottage Pie . I don't normally buy these but at the checkout after paying for everything else I got a 47p coupon off my next shop and a 50p coupon off any Quorn product, which I had noticed on my way round the store were on special offer. I had thought I would be able to use both coupons off it but it turned out that the 47p coupon was only valid from 17th January ... one day later ... sneaky, sneaky T*sco. Still it did mean that I got the Cottage Pie for just one pound, which made for something quick and tasty for lunch when we got home with the shopping.
So I still have a 47p coupon to spend on some more shopping .... and next time I will read the small print more carefully.
The shopping above cost me £11.16, which means I still have £37.81 to spend.
It's going quicker than I thought it would, but then I've not really been making an effort to use up the vegetables in the freezer, I think I should be brave, put some gloves on and have a good sort through the chest freezer to see exactly what I have in stock before I do any more shopping. At least there's a bit of room in there now for me to be able to see what I've got and have a sort out.
Did you set yourself any challenges for the New Year, and if you did ... how are they going?
Sue xx
Hi Sue - I love reading your blog! I notice how easy it is to read where your produce comes from. Sometimes it is not so easy to do this in Australia and it takes quite a bit of time to do find this information. Is it always like that in Britain?
ReplyDeleteYes, most of our food is labelled with it's country of origin. I was surprised to notice that in the pack of 3 peppers two were from Israel and the other was from Spain!!
DeleteIf it's not on the packaging then it's on the shelf edge label, but you have to look hard to find it.
No challenges set here - just to keep going and stay well - fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteTescos and Sainsb' and the others want you to go back another day and spend more money, which is fine if you are close but no help if you are 25 miles away
Luckily our T*sco although far from home is almost en route to most of our destinations as we usually have to head for the A55 to go places. I think I'll use the coupon off a bottle of milk next week when I call there to get some petrol as I also have a few pence off a litre of petrol from T"sco.. I would never go out of my way just to save 47p if it cost me more than that in petrol to use a coupon.
DeleteI use freezer check lists, redone each month which shows what I forgot to cross off.
ReplyDeleteThis was why I got out of the habit of having a 'freezer list', I nearly always forgot to cross things off, so it was virtually useless after the first week!!
DeleteI will do an inventory and keep it with a pen somewhere handy and see if I can get in the habit of crossing things off as I use them.
Thankyou for buying British carrots!
ReplyDeleteThe supermarkets WILL want them washed and packed in plastic though, which makes them sweat and go soft very quickly. Eeeeh, ya just can't tell 'em!
I do always try to buy British when I can and keep my 'foreign' imports to the absolute minimum, especially if they are merely filling in for out of season British veggies or fruits, our stuff in season is always the best isn't it :-)
DeleteCarrots actually keep better if you buy the ones in plastic bags, it's once the bags are opened and the air is let in that the deterioration sets in. The best way to avoid this is to open the bags when you get them home and slide in a couple of sheets of paper kitchen roll to absorb and then redistribute the moisture to the carrots as they need it. Lakeland do brilliant 'Stayfresh' bags that I use, also with a piece of kitchen paper in. Of course if you can tell the supermarket or shop has only just opened the large bag the carrots have been packaged in (ie: it's still pretty full) it's fine to buy them loose and bag them up yourself at home. The way they are picked, stored, washed and then packaged is to trap in the freshness for as long as possible.
Of course 'soily' carrots straight from the farm gate or Farmers Market are the exception to this, they are naturally protected having not been washed too early before sale.
Excellent answer ! Would you like to come and negotiate next seasons contracts with Tesco, Marks&Spencers and Sainsburys for me. We do our best!
DeleteThe voucher is usually valid for couple of weeks Sue it just runs from the next day. if you decide to do an online shop you can use the voucher there as well, its often worth checking your account to see if you have any current vouchers you can print them off and use them.
ReplyDeleteYes, it runs from today until 13th February. I'll not be so quick to use it next time ;-)
DeleteHi Sue my challenge is to just do it , instead of writing lists, thinking about doing things and not doing them. I am the worlds worse procrastinator, not doing too badly so far, but it's a lifelong habit so will take time :)
ReplyDeleteTwiggy
Just when you think you have looked at the expiration dates on those coupons, one will be rejected at the checkout. And often those bar codes won't come up on the register and it holds up the line. Frustrating, but I often save 10 per cent of my bill with coupons.
ReplyDeleteWe were so busy over the festive period didn't really have time to make any resolutions. In between work etc we got married and I had my birthday on NY day. We did a lot of travelling around the UK too, literally from one end to the other! Back in reality I have a lot of deadlines but have a terrible tendency to leave things until the last minute (a legacy of many years in a very pressurised job and a combination of my personality methinks). I am trying to get over my inability to work when not under tremendous pressure (not doing that well at the moment though). As ever after many years in a relatively well-paid career which I gave up to do something far more rewarding (though much less rewarding financially) and return to education too our income this year is an unknown quantity. All we do know is that it will be miniscule but we are getting used to that. We do need to become far more frugal and to make some more money however we can so that is another resolution. I also must lose weight (that is going shockingly I'm afraid). Summing up I must plan more, stop leaving things until the last minute, be more frugal, make more money and lose weight. Daunting eh, but all necessary, wish me luck! Happy new year to everyone!
ReplyDeleteWow ... I do wish you luck, lots of it. And congratulations on getting married at New Year. xx
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteI like your bargains, and to me a photo of fresh fruit and vegetables can be almost as pretty as a bouquet of flowers.
ReplyDeleteI don't get it. We all need food to live. All of a sudden its become fashionable to blog about what you buy and how much you pay....and all the lists and coupons. Too much like hard work for me. I just buy what I fancy, day to day. No wastage then. If I don't feel like cooking then I'll treat myself and hubby to a takeaway. Ease up on yourself a bit.....
ReplyDeleteI've been doing it for years with one challenge or another, it keeps me on my toes and thinking of new things to cook and eat. I think there are lots of us Bloggers that like to blog about food because as you say 'we all need food to live' we might as well turn it into something to write and read about. There are a number of blogs on my sidebar with very like minded folk who photograph what they buy and use this as a way of sticking to a budget and keeping themselves aware of spending, and in my opinion it can only be a good thing.
DeleteAnd I like to look at food photos ..... whether they be mine or someone elses .... you can't beat good 'food porn'. :-)
I would love to be able to buy what I fancy each day and just eat that but with the nearest shops being a three mile drive in either direction, that's just not practical.
Much better to plan out what I have, make good use of it and do a top up shop of fresh things when I need them. If we went and got a takeaway it would be cold by the time we got home and the shops don not deliver this far out, and anyway I would much rather cook good food at home than have someone else cook substandard food in a kitchen I have not seen, and charge me an exorbitant price for it.
We are trying to pay off a mortgage within three years, buying takeaways will not enable us to do that!!
Three miles to the shops.....understand now. I'm lucky I don't need (or have) a car. I live just off a main road and have all the variety of shops,doctors, post office buses, etc. Just around the corner. My takeaway does not have substandard kitchen either. I have known the owner and his wife for the last 15 years. and watched their children grow up and help in the business. I agree about takeaway prices but its a treat, once in a while.Good luck with the mortgage. I paid mine years ago.I'm retired.I never tried to pay mine off early. You still can only live one day at a time. I suppose I shop the same way as my Mum did. I have a fridge but no freezer as my husband doesn't like frozen foods, so don't need one. Guess it all depends on where you choose to live.Buying takeaways is a small amount compared to all the petrol that you have to buy with no choice if you want to go shopping. Its just about choices really and it wouldn't do for us all to be the same.
DeleteI have three freezers (a tall one, one under counter freezer and one which is half of the fridge freezer type) and I could not manage without my freezer lists. Before Christmas I went through all the freezers and listed what every drawer had in it. Then before we go shopping I can make sure I don't have it in the freezer. So I don't waste money buying something we don't need. It works for us. (I cook everything from fresh and we never have takeaways or ready meals) I also have a list in my cans cupboard because it is a big cupboard under the worktop and difficult to see what is in the back. In a previous life I was an office manager so had to be organised. I have carried it into the kitchen I think. (My sister calls it my OCD problem). Now if I could only stop buying cookery books!!!!! Love your blog.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, I've just come across your blog. Love it so far. Your collection of quorn and veg on the counter is similar to mine today. I will be roasting quorn sausages with an assortment of vegetables.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of DC freezer checklists. Ive aimed to do that for many years but never quite got around to it. Our freezer is less occupied now offspring have partly flown coop. It makes it easier to rummage.
My freezer bugbear has been labels that fall off the containers. The supermarkets do not sell appropriate freezer labels. I managed to get some fantastic ones from Amazon though.
I don't live near the shops and can't afford a car either so have to plan what to buy when I shop! I did have a car when I moved here but circumstances change. I love reading about menu planning and budgeting and since my income decreased have found blogs such as Sue's really helpful!
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