Jamie Oliver's Lamb Roast

Well, last week we did JO's Mothership Lamb Roast.  Leftovers became Lamb Pastilla and Lamb burritos.  Leftovers were not as much as the pork roast.

Funnily enough the weekly grocery spend was not very big last week due to using leftover roast chicken from Christmas and the carcass in a risotto from Jamie's book and some leftover pork becoming a stir fry.  I have one chicken carcass left in the freezer but all the other leftovers have been used up now.  Still, it did make a huge difference to the bill having 2 meals here already.

This coming week I am trying the beef roast but I have found out that beef brisket is not a common cut in Australia at the butchers.  Apparently it is meat just off the outside of the ribs and is usually made straight into sausages.  The old duckies would roll it, corn it and roast it but there aren't too many requesting it anymore.  I have found a local butcher who will cut it for me and will cost me $8.99/kg.  I think I will make friends with him and get all my roasts through him.  Jamie actually suggests this as a good way to know what is cheap to buy and how to best cook it.

I would normally cook my roast on Saturday night so that hubby can have a roast roll for lunch on Sunday but it has been stinking hot so I will do it tomorrow when, hopefully, it is cooler.  A little bit!

Best wishes
Jen

Cooking with Pork Roast leftovers

I am trying more of Jamie Oliver's ideas from "Save with Jamie". 

Last Sunday I cooked his Pork Mothership Roast.  I used a leg instead of a shoulder so it didn't take quite as long to cook, thank goodness I was checking it regularly.

There has been a huge amount of leftover meat.  So far we have had BBQ Pulled Pork with Waffles and Slaw.  Well, I changed the waffles to a slab of toasted sour dough bread, but otherwise the only other change I made to his recipe was to reduce the chilli factor.  There aren't too many chilli fans here.  The kids didn't like the slaw at all.  I wasn't surprised, after all cabbage, mint and chilli aren't common ingredients in our meals.  I loved it.  There was a good amount of leftover slaw so I have been adding it to any meal I can for myself.  It was great on a sandwich with onion relish and corned silverside.

Today we tried Banh Mi rolls.  Again on sourdough but that was too "chewy" for most of us.  The normal bread was much better.  The surprise here was the pate on the bread.  No one liked pate on its own but were okay with it in their sandwich.  When reheating the pork Jamie would have had us add chilli but I added a dash of sweet chilli sauce instead.  Even then there were runs for water and dollops of sour cream added.  lol  Definitely not a family used to lively food.

There is still a good amount of slaw left as well as almost 1kg of pork.  Dh and I have decided we will cut up the pork, add some egg noodles and the slaw and put it inside a pastry shell along the lines of pasties or peroshki.  We figure that they can then go in the freezer for reheating on those days we get stuck.  If there is still pork left after that I am thinking of trying this recipe for Jhal Farazi.

My goodness, these roasts go a long way.  Think about it though, I am paying less or the same price per kg as mince but not having as much fat and for my carnivores the meat stays more obvious.  :-)

Best wishes
Jen

First attempt at cooking on a budget with Jamie

I treated myself to a new recipe book just before Christmas.  Hmm, only the third or fourth for 2013.

This one is Save with Jamie by Jamie Oliver and was sitting on a display at my local Woolies.  For $24 and a large family I thought it was worth buying even if I do usually find his recipes sometimes a little bit too British for me.

For Christmas we had 2 roast chickens.  One plain and one seasoned.  In his book Jamie has a Mothership Roast for each meat and about 7 meals that use leftovers to create another meal.  Quite impressive I must say so I thought I would give the idea a try.

Out of our 2 roast chickens I have the makings of  6 meals.  Roast Chicken Dinner, Roast Chicken and Sweet Pea Risotto, Frenchie Salad, Chicken and Spinach Cannelloni, lunch meat for 2 days and a spare carcass in the freezer for making some yummy stock.

First off the line was of course the roast.  No surprises there.  My husband likes a roast almost weekly so it was our normal fare of roast potatoes, roast sweet potato, roast onions, steamed carrots, broccoli, peas and corn with gravy.

I weighed out the portions for my 3 chosen leftover meals and the leftover meat became lunch meat for Boxing Day and the day after.  Didn't take long to polish it off with 4 boys here.

Next was the Frenchie Salad.  I must admit this is the first time I have made a dressing from scratch and I am usually quite nervous about using white wine vinegar but I gave it a go. It was easy peasy, and very yummy.  I just had to go out and make sure I had enough mustard and vinegar to do it again soon.

This recipe also included lentils which are usually a no go here.  I decided I wasn't going to change a thing so in went the lentils.  They were great and really filled the salad out nicely.

I look forward to trying more of this book.  If all the meals are still filling despite using just leftovers I will be very impressed.  I still have 2 more meals in the freezer and the carcass too.  Not bad for $16 worth of chicken.

Best wishes
Jen

Spreading out Christmas

I have never particularly liked the stuffing our little faces on Christmas day so we all get to have our favourite Christmas treat so this year I changed it up a bit.  I asked everyone their particular favourite things that make Christmas special and then I divided them up over the 4 weeks of December.  Now that is a plan!  No gorging!  No wasted leftovers!  I quite like this idea.

Each week has a theme.  First week is spicy, second chocolate, third fruit and nuts, fourth plain.  There is a bit of overlap like chocolate coated fruit and nuts but hey, I don't mind.  Would you?

[ ] ~~ Sat 30 Nov ~~
[V] Sliced ham with sauce, roast vegetables
[ ] Choc fruit mince muffins
[ ] ~~ Sun 1 Dec - Fri 6 Dec ~~
[ ] Star cookies
[ ] Belgian biscuits
[ ] Gingerbread houses done at school
[ ] ~~ Sat 7 Dec ~~
[ ] Roast pork, apple sauce
[ ] Plum pudding and custard
[ ] ~~ Sun 8 Dec - Fri 13 Dec ~~
[ ] Yum yum balls
[ ] Choc covered nuts and fruit
[ ] Handmade chocolates
[ ] Candy canes
[ ] ~~ Sat 14 Dec ~~
[ ] Chicken mignons
[ ] Trifle
[ ] ~~ Sun 15 Dec - Fri 20 Dec ~~
[ ] Fruit cake with icing
[ ] Belgian biscuits
[ ] Mixed roast nuts
[ ] Stollen
[ ] Cherries
[ ] ~~ Sat 21 Dec ~~
[ ] ???
[ ] ?.?
[ ] ~~ Sun 22 Dec - Tues 24 Dec ~~
[ ] Coconut pyramids
[ ] Pretzels
[ ] Star cookies
[ ] ~~ Wed 25 Dec Christms Day ~~
[ ] Roast chickens, gravy, creamy potatoes, vegies
[ ] Pavlova/meringues, fruit salad and whipped cream can
[ ] ~~ New Years Eve ~~
[ ] Seafood, grilled fish and more

I hope your Christmas turns out well.  I think I only have wrapping left to do now.  Yay!  But I better do that before Christmas Eve!  lol  Why do I always do that?

Best wishes
Jen

After 10 days of Public School

Well, ten days have passed and my boys are still okay.  Tired, and sometimes overwhelmed but okay.

I am getting uniforms done although I must admit to a few days of them coming straight out of the dryer and onto bodies.  Ironing never was a strong suite and I am trying to do it so the boys learn good presentation but some days are just a bit too short on time.

Lunches are another thing.  I am so used to doing hot lunches, sometimes admittedly left overs and some just pasta with peas, corn and salmon thrown in but still hot.  Making sandwiches every day gets a bit boring.  I am trying to add variety in other ways. 

On Tuesdays we are doing a Trashy Treat Tuesday lunch box.  I wouldn't normally give my boys any of those wrapped bars, muesli or not, and definitely not lollies or flavoured drinks.  We drink lots of water at home.  Not juice, and only occasionally a glass of milk!  So far for last Tuesday they had LCM bars, cold pizza, chocolate custard tubs, and a little pack of lollies.  Their drink was a 100% juice drink.  I couldn't bring myself to giving them a 35% fruit drink.  Yuk!  This week it will be a muffin bar, lollies, vanilla custard tubs, pizza and strawberry milk poppers.

I figure this way there are some limits on how much junk creeps into their lunch boxes due to peer pressure and herd mentality.  :-)

DS2 (10, almost 11 yo) is probably the one having the hardest time.  He has asked every night if he has to go to school tomorrow.  He doesn't want to keep going.  And this weekend he had a big sobbing cry on my lap.  I know it will be a big deal for him.  So many changes and he tears up easily anyway.  The male teacher tells him there is no need for tears (which is almost exactly the words  I use, so that isn't an issue) but I do wonder how DS2 is going to go long term.  And will his teacher lose patience with him if he doesn't settle?

In other activities his tears have gradually gone after a week or two and he has gotten on with enjoying the experience. I do hope he does cope with this big change in our lives with time.  I am very much looking out to make sure he is okay.  I know the little bird needs to leave the nest sometime and I have told him I am here for hugs anytime.  I just don't want to push him too hard and have him go splat! IYKWIM!

This kid is the one who still wants his teddy and has big long cuddles.  He also doesn't like change and gets upset at even the thought of it.  I want him to learn to flow with change a bit more and to not get overly stressed.  Time will only tell if public school is the way for him to learn these skills.

Best wishes
Jen

Fridges and Obesity

Okay, so you are wondering how those two are linked. 

Here's my theory.  Before we had good quality refridgeration people would grow their own fresh produce or swap with neighbours for fresh produce.  Going to the shops wasn't such a big distraction of packaged goods for our spending dollar.

So people would eat more fresh fruit and vegetables.  And work physically in the garden to grow those vegetables and fruit.  Everything was fresh.  You could pick some lettuce on Tuesday and pick some more fresh on Friday.  Very good and healthy for us!

Now we drive to a supermarket where the produce is not so fresh due to transport times.  Then we can choose to buy a week's worth of lettuce but we know it won't last in the fridge, and we won't likely have the space to store it either.  If we want to get "fresh" vegetables and fruit more often from the supermarket we also run the risk of the distractions of the aisles and all their easy to store foods.

If I tried to buy a proper week's worth of fruit and vegetables for my family of 6 they would not fit in my fridge, nor most other standard newer fridges.  I am stuck with going to the shops more often (more temptation for bad stuff) or with eating less vegetables.  

Take into account also the "less exercise" factor of going to the shops vs growing in our backyards and I really think the temptations of easy refridgeration is to blame for our obesity epidemic.

Hmm, I bet there are big holes in this theory but it does bear thinking about.

Best wishes
Jen

So, how do you eat vegetables?

I come from a family where vegetables were eaten either of 2 ways.  And a limited variety!  My dad wasn't so big on different things.

For dinner we would have peas, corn, carrots and potato, boiled and mashed where appropriate.  I think we had broccoli every so often and cauliflower.  Pumpkin too. I do remember a little zucchini on occasion.  The other way we had vegetables was to have a salad which consisted of iceberg lettuce, tomato, grated carrot, corn kernels and beetroot.  No dressing, not tossed, just in piles on a plate with your barbecue meat or whatever.

When I left high school I was studying at a Natural Therapies college and I got introduced to vegetarian food.  I loved it although lentils and chickpeas were a bit hard to handle at first.  I still like vegetables now. 

If I have been having a big junk food run I just love steaming up carrots, broccoli, zuchini, sweet potato/pumpkin, peas, corn and cauliflower and eating them plain, maybe white sauce if I have the energy.  Always fixes the dragging tiredness of not eating well.

My family now are not as big on vegetables.  I can serve them more variety than I had as a kid but I would love to know how you eat vegetables.

Best wishes
Jen

Fashion and Food Recipes

So I have been playing more with both fashion and food recipes.

On the food front I had to get creative the other day for breakfast.  My favourite breakfast is Dutch Apple Baby but I didn't have any apples that day.  I only had tinned peach slices.  I put the sugar and butter in the frying pan to bubble but left out the peaches until the last minute as I didn't want them to disintegrate.

I made up the rest of the recipe as per my post, just putting the peach slices in just before I poured the egg mixture over.  It came out great.  I may have made a little toffee mixture as I had little crunchy bits of toffee around the edges.  All good!

On the fashion front I have been shopping again.  I now own some black leggings that fit inside my boots and a black blouse with a little white flower print tied with a satin ribbon.  I also got a red scarf and a red hat (see below).

All this black sounds boring so I decided to see just how much I could brighten it up.  This black skirt is one I picked up at Kmart the other day.

So, was that too many colours?  

Best wishes

Jen

who is deciding that I don't agree with being frumpy at 40.

Snack schedule

Things used to be very relaxed around here for snacks.  I figured they could access the fridge when they were hungry or just eat whatever they liked of whatever had been baked.  Now though as our budget gets tighter and some of the kids are not always making wise choices on the quality or quantity of their snacks I have decided to make a snack schedule. 

Monday          1    Fruit and nuts

                     2   Crackers and sour cream dip

Tuesday         1    Fruit and yoghurt

                     2   Pita crackers and mini salad

Wednesday     1    Fruit and nuts

                     2   Baked treat, yoghurt

Thursday        1    Fruit and yoghurt

                     2   Pita crackers and mini salad

Friday            1    Fruit and nuts

                     2   Crackers and sour cream dip

Saturday        1    Fruit and yoghurt

                     2   Pita crackers and mini salad

Sunday           1    Fruit

                     2   Baked treat, yoghurt

Ironically I think it is time to start packing a lunch box like I had as a kid for school.  I want to raise children who eat healthily in both variety and quantity of food.  I would also like them to learn that sometimes you don't get to eat only the foods you like.  I think learning to eat at least a small portion of a food you don't love is a good practice towards being courteous when others serve you food different to that you usually eat.  It is part of being a good guest.

On a side note a benefit could be that my baking doesn't all get eaten in one day and the electricity bill may go down because the fridge is not being opened and closed all day long by 4 little people and me.  I can hope, can't I?

I will be getting a lunch box too.  I find myself not eating enough fresh fruit so having a portion in my lunch box each day certainly won't harm me.

I am going to use 4.0 litre Decor containers.  They slide perfectly down inside the cooler bags I have bought from either Woolies or Coles over the year.  I can then slip an ice sheet down each side of the bag and lunch and snacks are done.  We will also be a lot more portable.  If I need to go out I won't need to juggle around meals but just take them with us.  

Hot lunches are a favourite around here so I think I will just add the cutlery to the box as a hint of what is to come.  I don't always like sandwiches myself so I won't make my kids eat them every day either.  I can still be more flexible about that as a homeschooler. :-)

Well, off to make up some fresh ice sheets.  Now, where did I put them?

Best wishes

Jen

Menu plan for this week

I am having one of those week where you dive into the freezer and the pantry to look for bits and pieces that can make a meal. Amazing how well you can eat some times even when you don't go shopping.

SUNDAY DINNER
Butter Chicken with Rice - uses 1 tin tomato, curry paste, lump of chicken, serve with rice

MONDAY BREAKFAST
Breakfast wraps/Apple Muffins

MONDAY LUNCH
Baked potatoes with spam and baked beans, salad

MONDAY DINNER
Spaghetti - uses tomato paste, mince, pasta

TUESDAY BREAKFAST
Porridge with apple

TUESDAY LUNCH
Carbonara - uses frozen diced bacon, pasta (may have to make pasta?)

TUESDAY DINNER
Country Sausage Hot Pot - uses sausages, tinned tomatoes, carrots, onion, serve with mashed spud

WEDNESDAY BREAKFAST
Toast, yoghurt, fruit

WEDNESDAY LUNCH
Frozen pasta

WEDNESDAY DINNER
Pasties - uses 1 lump mince, grated carrots and potato, corn or peas

THURSDAY BREAKFAST
Dutch Apple Baby - uses green apples, buy 2 if kids have eaten the ones in fridge

THURSDAY LUNCH
Tinned Sausage and Vegie meal
Pasta with vegetables and creamy sauce

THURSDAY DINNER
Kate’s Tomato Casserole Pg 138 $21 Challenge book - uses 1 tin tomatoes, 2 tins chickpeas, 1 stick celery, 500g diced beef, serve with mashed spud

SPARE - Nachos - uses 1 mince, 1 or 2 pkts cornchips, cheese, wraps possibly

SNACKS
Yoghurt - 2 tubs
Bananas 10
Corn chips 2 pkts (see spare meal)
Crackers and sourcream or hummus
Grapes
Apples (hopefully kids forget about them)

Best wishes
Jen

A treat for the kids

I am trying to work on getting everyone in my family to eat healthier. I figure it is no good me sitting eating salads if I am feeding my family brownies.

One little trick that I am doing is to introduce new meals and treats. With my kids (and myself) I find it is a battle to change our servings sizes on our favourite treats. Instead I am introducing new treats and making sure that I introduce them right from the start in healthier serving sizes.

Our latest new treat:

The Spider Sundae

3 small "slices" of ice cream
5 or 6 mini marshmallows
1 teaspoon of topping
1/2 cup of lemonade or less even

I use a small water glass and put in the ice cream gently so it almost appears to fill the glass. Then I had toppings and pour over only enough lemonade to cover the ice cream. I eat mine with a teaspoon so I can savour every bit. The big kid drinks his down fast.

I have seen these done with chocolate topping, coconut, glace cherries and choc chips but that is a bit overboard for me.

Best wishes
Jen

Country Breakfast Casserole Recipe

This post disappeared in the Big Blogger Botch Up of 2011.

In a large shallow casserole dish lay out 8 hash browns in a single layer.  Cover with 150 g of mince cooked with a diced onion and 150 g of browned diced bacon.  Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese.

Mix together 6 eggs and 2 cups  of milk and pour over cheese.  The dish can be put in the fridge overnight.  In the morning bring out to warm up as the oven heats to 180 deg C.  Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the mixture is set in the middle.  Serves 8


I have varied this by using cooked potato slices instead of the hash browns, and have another time flavoured the mince with Mexican seasoning.   It still disappeared.  Of course, that could be due to having 5 males in this house!  :)

Best wishes
Jen

Grocery breakdown 14 May

This week's grocery breakdown relates to Week 4 minus the roast.  Thankfully dh could see my stress levels rising as I got to the end of the supermarket for meat and produce.  He let his favourite meal go and we have substituted a soup or two.  Pumpkins were less than $1/kg so pumpkin soup will definitely be on the menu this week.

Fresh Produce $55.48
Dairy Products $28.79
Frozen Goods $7.98
Meat $24.55
Bread $5.00
Pantry Items $67.16
Bath and Baby $0
Dog $0
Treats $0

Spent at supermarket $188.96

I also did an early morning trip to my local Steggles outlet and bought 6 kg of thigh fillets for $36.80, 10 twin packs of Sweet Chilli Chicken wraps at $2 each (normal supermarket price approx. $8) and 2 1 kg bags of chicken bites similar to KFC chicken for $8.50 each.  Total $73.80

Total spend: $262.76

The chicken will last quite a while which is good, but the freezer is still very low.  It is not normally as empty as it is now but I would like to defrost it soon.

We have been planting out lots of seedlings and now that dh has shown a willingness to try more soups I can see our budget going down over the course of the year.  I also look forward to having chickens when spring comes around again.

Best wishes
Jen

Jen's tips for money crises

You may want to know why I think I have any authority to give out tips on handling your finances while in crisis.  Well, in a nutshell here is my resume.

In 18 years of marriage my dh has had only 7 years of full time employment, and 2 of those have been the last 2 years.  The other 11 years have been part time or casual employment, no employment and studying.

Over that time we have had a personal loan, usually for a vehicle, almost all the time.  We have tried to not have credit cards but at times we have had them too.  Some times we have had Centrelink loans and some times student loans.  And at one time we had a mortgage.  All this to say... I know how to live with limited funds and large commitments.

Here are my tips:

1. Have a budget, know where your money needs to go and where your money is going.
2. While times are good pay ahead on all loans of any type.  This gives you a buffer when things hit the fan, and because of your good payment history can help if (or when) it comes time to negotiate with the lenders due to continuing tough times.
3. Pay your bills in this order:
1. Rent / Mortgage always; Car, Life and Contents Insurances; Utilities; Loans - minimum; Credit Cards - minimum
2. Vehicles Expenses - Rego and Insurance, Petrol; Medicines; Groceries
3. Savings for Car Maintenance; Clothing; School Expenses; Children's Activities; Extra on loans; Health Insurance
4. Do Not Tweak this order.  The items in 3 should not come ahead of 1 for any reason.  (The only exception is Health Insurance if you already have a policy and can keep making payments.  My family has gotten by on the Australian public health system which is not ideal but has kept us alive and mostly healthy and can't afford health insurance at this time.)
5. Set up automatic payments through your bank for all items in 1 so you don't have a chance to spend the money before these commitments are paid.

I have lived on such a tight budget that the items in 3 were not even a possibility unless I managed to save on groceries or on petrol.  It is not fun at first but after a while it just becomes one of those things you do.

I have added up my grocery trolley as I shop and I have ditched items at the checkout as I see the tally getting higher.  It is embarrassing but necessary.  One of the great things about life now is that I can do my shop online and tweak my list until it fits my budget before I even go near the shops.  I print the list to take to the store to make sure I am not paying more.  Thankfully my closest store is cheaper than the online shop so I have a buffer for mark downs or a treat.

Oh, and learn to bake.  It takes very little money to feed hungry boys with cocoa, flour, eggs and sugar in the house.

Best wishes
Jen

Groceries Breakdown 6 May

Well, after last week's shock of over spending I had to pay back Peter.  (As in Rob Peter to pay Paul!)

After 2 meals of fast food we had a minuscule budget.

Here is the grocery breakdown for this week.
Fresh Produce $31.40
Dairy Products $8.25
Frozen Goods $5.04
Meat $14.02
Bread $0
Pantry Items $19.61
Bath and Baby $3.98
Dog $0
Treats $6.00

Spent in total $88.30

We still have snacks for the next week, fresh fruit and plenty of vegetables and I will be cleaning out the freezer so I can defrost it.  It is very old and needs a good defrost anyway.

Do you want to know what we are going to be eating for that small shop?  Here is our menu for this next week.

Sunday
B - Country Breakfast Casserole
L - Chicken Enchiladas for Mum and Dad, and Fish for boys
D - Devilled Sausages (from scratch, hate packet mixes)

Monday
B - Apple muffins, Cornflakes
L - Chicken wraps
D - Spaghetti

Tuesday
B - Baked Oatmeal
L - Macaroni with spam and vegies
D - Roast chickens, picked and put in wraps with salad

Wednesday
B - Egg and Bacon Wraps
L - Vegetable soup (crisper soup)
D - Granny Own's Chicken Casserole (has potato, onion, mushrooms, allspice, fennel and bay leaves, sour cream too, yum)

Thursday (pay day)
B - Porridge
L - Homemade Sausage rolls

After a good few year's experience of living on very little I know what meals are frugal.  These meals are not as frugal as some but then my family won't eat beans.  And you have to know your limits.

Best wishes
Jen

Groceries breakdown 29 April

It was a shocker of a grocery shop due to needing a few big cost items like nappies, toilet paper, 2 lots of shampoo and conditioner, and toothbrushes bumping up the Baby and Bath section.  I also needed to refill a few pantry staples all at once making the pantry section explode.

This grocery shopping relates to Week 2 of my monthly menu plan and again the Frozen Goods category goes up due to having frozen fish.  I am going to have to change that somehow as we would prefer different varieties of fish anyway.

Fresh Produce $62.75
Dairy Products $28.88
Frozen Goods $21.13
Meat $26.69
Bread $30.02
Pantry Items $101.54
Bath and Baby $95.45
Dog $11.69
Treats $6.27

 Spent in total $384.42

Just a tip for those who go through lots of bread - consider making your own (trying that this week after a long break) or try wraps/tortillas.  The wraps keep very well in my bread box and hold up quite well for chicken and salad which is our usual way of eating them.

I asked dh if he wanted to know how much we spent this week.  H*ll no!  Hmmm, wonder who likes to bury his head in the sand about these budgetary matters.

Best wishes
Jen

How much snack for your dollar? - Potato chips vs Banana

Cavendish Bananas
 $12.98/kg
Serving size: 1 banana

Energy: one 100g banana has 250 kJ according to my Borushek's Calorie Counter.  That is one small banana by the way.  A larger banana would have 545 kJ.  Anyway on to the next bit.

Potato Chips
In this case Red Rock Deli Honey Soy Chicken Deli-style Potato Chips
$2.00 for 45g or $44.44/kg
Serving size: 45g

Energy: 926kJ

Banana $1.30 per 100g serve, 250 kJ per serve
Potato chips $2.00 per 45g serve, 926 kJ per serve

Gee, paying over $12 per kg for bananas due to the Queensland floods earlier this year doesn't look so bad now, does it?  On a $/kJ basis the potato chips are cheaper but if you are trying to eat healthily then the banana is quite good value.

Best wishes
Jen

Groceries breakdown 21 April

This week's shopping corresponds to Week 1 of my monthly plan.

Fresh Produce $12.64
Dairy Products $23.80
Frozen Goods $8.68
Meat $24.39
Bread $8.22
Pantry Items $56.08
Bath and Baby $0.00
Dog $0.00
Treats $7.47

Spent in total $141.28 at local supermarket.

Meat $61.80

Spent at the Steggles outlet for 6 kg of thigh fillets and 4 whole stuffed chickens which will last a fortnight.

Although this looks like I ended up well within my $250 budget I must admit to having fast food this last week.  We had Hungry Jacks one night when I was just too plain tired to think beyond Meatloaf in oven, d'oh, I need vegetables and the kitchen is a mess.

Having a monthly rotation has helped a lot to reduce our fast food but I am finding that making plans is not the only part.  Something I remember from my old Amway days... You need to work the plan for the plan to work.  Oh boy, does that bite me where it hurts!!

Best wishes
Jen

Grocery breakdown 14 April

This grocery shop is for Week 4 of my menu plan rotation.

Fresh Produce $19.29
Dairy Products $32.22
Frozen Goods $0.00
Meat $58.41
Bread $3.79
Pantry Items $40.55
Bath and Baby $33.82
Dog $2.35
Treats $9.99

Spent in total $200.42 at local supermarket.

Meat was up a bit due to dh wanting a roast every so often and this is the week.  I had to buy a box of nappies for the baby.  Considering the cost it may be about time to really get him toilet trained.  Haven't been too serious about it as of yet.

Fresh produce was down as my fridge was still quite well stocked and my supermarket has been having some great clearances.  They park a trolley near the check outs and you fill a bag from the trolley for $2.  Tonight's win was 2 bags of seedless grapes and some chunks of cauliflower.  I also managed to get 2 bags of slightly bruised bananas for $2 each and with the current price at over $12 per kg I was very happy.  My eldest uses bananas in shakes so he peeled them and removed the damaged portions before freezing them.

Best wishes
Jen

Groceries break down 1 April 2011

I try to break down my grocery docket into categories.  Over time it shows me which areas are large, and which areas are overspends eg treats.

Fresh Produce     $42.66
Dairy Products     $34.26
Frozen Goods     $19.65
Meat     $18.45
Bread     $8.37
Pantry Items     $60.60
Bath and Baby     $11.47
Dog     $2.55
Treats     $10.38

 Spent in total $208.39 at local supermarket.

Meat     $23.40

Spent at the butcher next to the supermarket.

This shopping list coincides with Week 2 of my menu plan with a little adjustment here and there for some expected visitors.

Best wishes
Jen