My haul 3

 It wouldn't be a bargain if I didn't use it!  I always determine to use every usable scrap.  I've very occasionally has the odd item which was beyond being used but that is rare and certainly everything this time was great.

So. here's what happened to it all.  

The riskiest item was the mushrooms so although I was tired when I got in from Lidl I chopped and froze those immediately.  Frozen mushrooms are fine if you chop and open freeze them so you can get just a few from the bag.

The leeks I gave away.  I have leeks in my garden and a  nagging gardener called Jack.  'Nuff said.  

I also gave away the satsumas.  I have loads of satsumas at the moment.  

The Brussels sprouts have been prepped, blanched and frozen.  To be honest I like them better fresh but they are OK frozen and no way will I waste them.  

The peppers were superb and are in the fridge to use during the week.

The pak choi was stir fried with some of the mushrooms and peppers and a few other things for my lunch today.

The potatoes are now in my light-proof potato bag in the root veg box.  They will be used over the next few days.

The aubergine will keep a few days and will be used with tomatoes, onions and feta cheese as an aubergine bake on Saturday.

The apples went into the fruit bowl

And the grapes have disappeared.  Can't imagine where!

My haul (2)

 I was very interested in the comments on my last post (especially those from beyond these shores) and I felt I needed to say more.  

I costed the stuff I bought on the Sainsbury site as Lidl doesn't have vegetable prices on their site.  At Salisbury I would have paid about £12.80 for that lot.

In 2015 Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall  (an English celebrity chef,  television personality, journalist, and campaigner on food and environmental issues) did a TV series called "Hugh's War on Waste" which made a big impression on me and I think on many others.  It was one of many initiatives which publicised just how much food is being wasted at every point from farm to table.  Several supermarkets were called out and shamed into responding to his criticism.  Strong links were made between the fact that many people were struggling to feed themselves and yet supermarkets were over-concerned with the cosmetic appearance of the vegetables they sold.  Food was being dumped and polluted with bleach to make sure no-one could eat it.

Gradually supermarkets have realised that the bad publicity would lose them custom (and therefore profits!) and some now sell seconds marked "wonky".  They have made links with food banks and schemes to get unsold food to those who need it.  They are much better at reducing food for sale in their stores.

There are people who won't buy this stuff.  There were three boxes like this available at 8.15 yesterday and when I went back to the store at 10am the other two still hadn't been sold.  I'm very happy with it though and I enjoy the challenge of making sure nothing gets wasted.

My haul

 I went to Lidl today and I got a "waste not" box/

Here's what was in it.

That's 725g mushrooms

345g Brussels sprouts

485g leeks

10  satsumas

624g peppers

1 aubergine

3 pak choi

55g grapes

2 apples

1450g various potatoes

All for £1.50

Money Saving Expert

 

I love the Money Saving Expert!  Martin Lewis is great with all his many tips.  Each week I get an email from www.moneysavingexpert.com and often find tips there.  I use the website most weeks.  They've got really helpful tools and tips and I've saved so much money there.

This morning's e mail from MSE had a link to their new "90 ways to survive the cost of living crisis" and after just five minutes reading it I knew I had to post a link to it.  There's something for everyone there.  

No, I'm not affiliated but I admire Martin Lewis and think he does a great job.  

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/cost-of-living-survival-kit/

Squeezing those pennies!

 

I track all my expenditure very carefully which is sometimes encouraging and sometimes very definitely not!  The big thing is that I have real figures with which to work so I can see what I have been up to.  Here's my average weekly food spend for the last few years, including groceries and eating out. 

                                       2018                2019            2020            2021

Average weekly           £56.81            £52.92        £47.17          £44.17

In  many ways I am pleased with that.  Year on year I have reduced my food expenditure and I haven't felt deprived.  But I am also very aware that for a single person, it's not exactly brilliant.

I'm seventy now and there are still things I want to do and some of those things cost money.  (No, I'm not ready to be specific on this blog!)  I want to get things under even better control, especially in the face of rapidly rising prices.  I decided at the beginning of the year to aim for £5 per day.  Food is one of life's pleasures for me so I don't want to squeeze that very definite source of pleasure too much.  This year I am allowing myself £5 per day or £35 per week which is a very considerable reduction.  In the first thirteen weeks of this year I have averaged £30.16.  That sounds really good but as yet I am not eating out and the second half the year is always more expensive than the first.  

Let's see how it goes.