Sunday 22 January 2012

Is It Money-Saving If....

...you decide against buying biscuits and cake at Lidl in favour of baking a homemade cake, which you all then eat 7/8ths of in one sitting?

Looking nothing like the picture but still very scrummy, with a bit of going-mouldy fromage frais!

I had £47 left of my £250 food budget when I went shopping this morning, and my list had food needs for the next 11 days meals. I didn't need much because I have the makings of most things in the freezer or cupboards already. The total came to £52 but that included 6lbs of minced steak at £1.49 a lb - not on my list and limited to six per customer but such a bargain that I couldn't turn it down. But then, when I got home and checked my emails later I had one from Approved Foods. Carb Addict is a popcorn freak and they are selling popcorn kernels at 99p per kilo so I ordered four. Plus another £36 of stuff on top that we didn't really need. I'm not sure why I am the world's worst self-sabotager but I am. I suppose the good thing is I got an extra £200 in my wages for the overtime on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, and even being £50 over my food budget is good for me.
We bought a reduced turkey crown just after Christmas. I cooked it this evening and I hope to get three meals out of it - roast dinner, turkey and leek pie and turkey stew and dumplings. I also got three meals out of the pork loin I bought after New Year's, that was reduced by 50% to £10. I'm just not used to ekeing things out like this, and we still have meat or sausages for nearly every meal; even just a bit of bacon in Egg, Bacon and Potato Bake counts as a meaty meal to me. Thank God I can cook is all I can say - it must be very hard for those who can't or won't home cook. My Red cooked a couple days this week and she's pretty good too....at least she won't starve.

I'm working tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday at my regular job. Wednesday I am doing extra hours as a carer, Thursday and Friday my regular job then Saturday and Sunday I am the chef. Never cooked in a works kitchen before and I'm soooooo nervous about it! Keep your fingers crossed I don't poison any of the residents!!!


Me on Saturday. Except I will be screaming.



6 comments:

  1. It is if you don't go out and buy a replacement! I slaags find it hard to pass on deals, so I try to remove somehing else from the list so I can get the deal. That way, I save money and I am still within budget.

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  2. Well done you re extra work...kerching!

    SP

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  3. I need to really focus on buying things on offer. I used to just make a list and hit the shops. I'm learning...love the bargains you got. And I love how you spread meats over three meals. This is a new thing for me. Taking notes....thanks for sharing.

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  4. I tend to delete the Approved Food emails without reading them, as I can end up spending money I don't need to just to make it worth the delivery charge. More than once I've done an order then not bought it, but just logged off, because when I looked it was stuff I didn't need. We eat far less meat than we used to- I think that helps to keep costs down, and it definitely helps with stretching meals.

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  5. Wow you have so much happening, good luck with the cheffy role.

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  6. I tend to stock up when things go on sale. Some of the bargains just can't be overlooked. And yes it does throw my food budget off balance:-). You are one busy woman! This is my first visit to your blog, so I took some time to browse through your earlier posts. I'm so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I'll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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