the grocery budget is the line item that seems to have the most variance in our lives. some weeks it's enormous, others, not so much. the grocery stores in the UK don't really have weekly fliers which i suppose is good for the environment, but really, is bad for meal planning on a budget. that being said, there are some items which are consistently good deals: whole fresh chickens (3 for £10), ground beef/mince (2.1 kg for £10), or fish that is 'reduced' read: needs to sell today...but can be most definitely frozen for later.
the freezer is filled with bits - soups to be eaten, ends of vegetables that never get served but can be added to casseroles and soups (broccoli stems for instance), homemade spaghetti sauce, meat that was on special, overripe bananas for muffins and stock.
this week i'm exploring the world of baking bread at home. i'm tweaking a recipe i've found online and had two (!) good successes with - will definitely post more as things are ironed out. this week alone we've saved over £8 on bread. turns out flour and yeast? pretty inexpensive!
this week's meal plan looked like so:
- saturday: homemade fishcakes & creamed spinach (recipe coming very soon)
- sunday: pumpkin parmesan pasta using pumpkins in place of butternut squash from this recipe - the thanksgiving centrepiece is slowly being demolished...yum!
- monday: soup made on saturday and homemade bread with a small cheese board
- tuesday: le boy is out this evening, i'm polishing off the soup (with bread freshly baked this morning)
- wednesday: we're doing an alpha course at our new church (dinner's included!) - if you're interested in exploring the christian faith, or brushing up on the basics, this is the course for you - click here for the international website.
- thursday: vegetarian lasagna - will report back
- friday: dinner at friends.
meal planner download.
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