Meals for the week.

As per usual, Sunday's post is about the meals for the week and food shopping.

I was disappointed last week when we spent quite a lot at the supermarket, and was determined not to have a repeat of that! Due to using some of the things in the freezer and careful planning, our spends at the supermarket this week was £38.31 - that's more like it! This total even included some beer for DH, so I'm very pleased with that. 

Our meals for this week are:

today - out at the in-laws for Sunday dinner

Monday - coconut prawn curry

Tuesday -pizza 

Wednesday - chicken fajitas and salad

Thursday - pasta and sauce (DH) slim fast (me)

Friday - spaghetti bolognaise with garlic bread

Lots of stuff to be used from the fridge and freezer for this week's meals. 

A little confession next... I've given up chocolate, crisps, biscuits, cake and sweets for Lent, as I do every year. This year though, I'm finding chocolate especially hard, not sure why. So, I've been planning (as you do!) for when Lent is over. DH has a chocolate bar every day with his lunch, as he walk 7-8 miles a day in his job, so he can eat quite a bit. We buy chocolate bars on offer/whatever the best deal is. Over the past two weeks, I've been snaffling some of DH's chocolate bars and keeping them safe in a box.....:

Mmm.... the only thing I haven't bought in this box is the bag of peanut butter cup miniatures - they were a Christmas present - and all the rest were on good deals. I'm especially looking forward to the peanut butter kit kat chunky - yes, I'm cool! 

Have you given anything up for Lent? How are you finding it?

Happy Sunday everyone. 

Menu planning and the week ahead.

Whenever I mention how much we spend on food shopping, most people don't believe it. They also don't believe that we tend not to throw any food away. One of the biggest things that I think helps when it comes to budgeting is meal planning. 

First thing to do is look at what you already have in - is there anything that needs using up? That could be made into something? Then write a list of what you have that can be used and then think of meals you like to eat and are easy to cook during the week. 

Our meal plan for this week looks like this:

Saturday - out, date night :)

Sunday - Sunday lunch with the in-laws

Monday - Fish fingers, waffles and beans (to use stuff up from the freezer)

Tuesday - Spaghetti Puttanesca

Wednesday - Homemade sweet and sour chicken with rice

Thursday - Shepherds Pie with broccoli and gravy

Friday - Ham and Pineapple pizza with salad 

We have lots of spaghetti in the store cupboard, so I wanted to use a recipe involving that. We also have lots of broccoli in the freezer, so wanted to use some of that somewhere. It's all about thinking ahead, and reducing your food waste.

Our food shop this week came to £31.43, which includes some treats, and a couple of things that will last more than this week ( for example, I bought some more value porridge oats even though I think I've got enough for this week. These will last a month or more in our household!)

Do you meal plan? How do you do your food shopping? 

N xxx

Life's just peachy.

So, bought a few more bits and pieces today, so will update that in a second.

Firstly, I had a very yummy breakfast today. Well, it was around 11AM, so I'm not sure if that's not technically breakfast, but still. 

Porridge with the last of the blueberries, sliced peach and a glass of grapefruit juice. 

I love the fruit you can get in the summer; blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, melon - delicious! 

I popped to Sainsbugs this afternoon for a few things:

- one white loaf - £1

- 4 peaches - £1

- one blueberry muller corner - 61p

- salad bag - £1.50

Total: £4.11

So, the grocery total for this week now stands at £17.38. Not too shabby! 

I've spent the afternoon with a friend helping her clear her garden, and spending time with her gorgeous little boy in the sunshine.

Summer 2011 is turning out to be pretty good, so far. 

N xxx

Week Three.

Things have been so hectic lately, I've not had a moment to think! 

We're on the third week of trying to keep our food budget under £30. This week is slightly different. The haddock we had for tea this evening was given to us by my grandparents, with leftover veg. We're going to a friend's house for tea tomorrow, so haven't needed to buy anything for that. Wednesday and Thursday I'm doing a fruit juice detox, which includes only fruit juice, green tea and water for 48 hours, so I have only had to buy some fruit juice. This weekend we are going to a family wedding, so are away Saturday and Sunday, so it's left us with very little to actually buy!

So, our receipt for this week:

- bottle of water - 60p

- 2 quiches - £3

- Grapefruit juice - £1.60

- Tomato and mascapone sauce - £1.26

- Pizza - £2

- Blueberries (reduced) - 87p

- spaghetti - 78p

- 5 bananas - 76p

- Cucumber - 40p

- 1 x white loaf - £1

- Skips - £1

Total : £13.27

Amazing!

Our food menu for the week looks like:

Monday (today) - haddock with roast vegetables with an orange and honey sauce

Tuesday - out for tea :)

Wednesday - pizza (oh), juice (me)

Thursday - quiche with salad (oh), juice (me)

Friday - meatballs with spaghetti and tom sauce (oh), soup (me, from cupboard)

Our tea was very nice, especially as the fish was given to us for free!

 

The only problem is I love roast veg, and can never judge the portion - oops! Still, definitely got our 5-a-day today. 

N xxx

A ramble.

One of the main reasons why I started this blog was so that I could document how I was trying to make a better life for me and my OH, as well as keep track of finances and general everyday life.

A challenge in our household at the moment is trying to keep cost of food down, as it is for a lot of people. We both enjoy food and love trying new things, which can sometimes be an expensive habit. There are only two of us, so we should be able to keep costs fairly low, right?

Not at the moment, it seems. We spend, on average, around £40 a week on food shopping. This includes all meals, for both me and my OH, but even so, this is silly! It's not as if we buy lots, it's just because we include meat in most meals, as OH particularly likes his meat. Another problem, though I guess it shouldn't be a problem, is that I like fresh fruit, especially strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. OH also takes a banana with him to work everyday. These are expensive!  I'm going to aim to get this down to £30 a week, if not £25. 

Watch this space....