Down to Basics - Prepare to be Bombarded

Food is everywhere it would seem.

So to get it out there and for the record, my record ... prepare to be bombarded with photos.  I need something to compare things to at the end of this Challenge so I thought I would get it all over with in one fell swoop.

For those of you that don't like looking at food cupboards you might as well go and do something more interesting now, but for anyone that likes taking a look into other people cupboards ... as I do ... here goes.

Spice cupboard

Baking cupboard

Condiments and Jars cupboard

Main Food Cupboard

Top Part of Larder Cupboard

(the bottom part hold dog supplies ... food, medicines and towels)

The Fridge

Shelf One

Shelf Two and Three

Shelves Four and Five

Top Fridge Drawer

Bottom Fridge Drawer

The Freezer

Shelf One

Shelf Two

Shelf Three

Shelf Four

Drawer One

Drawer Two

Is there anyone still awake or have you glazed over completely  😀

I'm here for at least a full week, so we shall see what in-roads I can make into some of these areas.  Looking at my last Eat the Stores Challenge it made the most impact eating from one designated area, as for the final week of that Challenge we switched to eating down the contents of the freezer and it made a huge difference.  But it turned out that this meant no foods were eaten from the cupboards towards the end of the challenge and they then remained pretty static.

In fact looking at these photos it would seem that the freezer is the one space that still looks much better than it did before the last Challenge.  There's no need to be ready to catch things when you open the door now and pretty much everything is easily accessible ... so some progress then!!

 I'm pretty much here for a week and then at the Van for a week and then back here, so photos will alternate between the food areas as I switch locations.  But very little shopping will be done for the duration of the Challenge at either location.


🛒

Store Cupboard Shopping

I was in the vicinity of both Asda and Tesco yesterday so it made sense to call in and actually buy some of the things for my 28 Day £1 a Day Challenge.

I had written shopping lists based on my mysupermarket.co.uk research for both shops (and for B&M which was on my way into town) so I went in grabbed a basket and perused the shelves.  In the space of me choosing my items and making a list and actually going to the shops the next day to get them things had changed.

The small sized Garlic Granules that I was going to be purchasing for 59p have been discontinued, so I bought some Chopped Garlic instead at 70p ... the only thing that would fit into my small budget. 

 Even so I thought I had cash over, so after a quick read of the label I picked up the gravy granules for 20p I thought it would be a good idea to jazz up meals.  I should have read the label more carefully, it contains both beef fat and milk in the flavourings (both things I don't or can't eat).  

I need to concentrate more!!

So now this has been literally crossed off my shopping.

And a good job too, as the oil I was going to get from Tesco for £1 wasn't available at all and I had to compromise with a bottle of Vegetable Oil for £1.20.

20p off, 20p on ... it's all very confusing.

While I was at Tesco I also picked up two items that I intended to buy during my 'Big Shop'.  

The Flora Dairy Free Spread and the Violife Cheese.

I didn't want to be driving back there just for two items and I was starting to feel worried in case they went up in price, as the Flora was on special offer for £1.35, hence me splashing out, it's usually £1.80 ... almost two days money if you think of it as one pound a day available for food.

So this receipt has been altered to show the removed Gravy Granules  :-(

... and this one combines a Store Cupboard item and two  'Big Shop' items.

It's no wonder I'm getting confused already.  I seem to be over complicating things just to save pennies.  Hopefully it will get easier, but this is proving that eating very cheaply takes a lot of thought, planning and trusting that shops won't drop lines and increase prices overnight.

😎

The £10 Store Cupboard

300g Nescafe Coffee  £4.50 Asda

(on special offer)

I'm allowing myself a starter store cupboard, as even when those 'shit hits the fan' times come you usually have some food in your cupboards ... even if it's not that much.

So I gave myself £10 to spend and ended up spending £9.89 of it.

I did my research on mysupermarket.co.uk before venturing out and chose to visit Asda and Tesco.  Then I discovered Ground Black Pepper in B&M for 59p instead of the 70p I had budgeted for in either of the other shops.  I would have been under budget anyway, but somehow it was even more satisfying to save another few pennies.

All prices were correct on Wednesday 3rd October 2018 *

27p  Asda

70p  Asda

75p  Asda

79p  Asda

30p  Asda

41p  Asda

38p  Asda

£1.20  Tesco

59p  B&M

So I have a ten item under £10 store cupboard.

It could of course have been cheaper still if I'd gone for the basics brand coffee, but I drink Nescafe all the time and when I saw it was on offer I just had to go for it, although it meant I could not afford a bag of flour in my larder.  I just have to hope the 300g sized jar will last me for the full 28 days as I doubt I will be able to afford another!

😎

* Some readers might have noticed that this post has been edited slightly.  

Prices altered and stock was withdrawn in between me making my choices on mysupermarket.co.uk one day and going to Asda and Tesco to get my shopping the next.  The original choices of Olive Oil and Garlic Granules were no longer available, and prices went up.  Luckily with a bit of tweaking, including removing something I had added thinking I had more money over, I have still managed to come under my £10 allowed budget ... just!!