The $21 grocery challenge

 I was looking for bags to use for the Share the Dignity bags and discovered the above book in one of them.

I used to be in an online group called Simple Savings and basically it was hints and tips on how to save money. Thus was a book that the organisers put out. The concept came from a guy who jokingly only gave his wife $20 to buy the household groceries for a week. She decided to take up the challenge and found a dollar in the back of a chair hence $21.

She went through the fridge, freezer and pantry and started using things that had been hudden or forgotten. They had two kids ten and eight, she made it only spending $18.67 and no one went hunger.

The book is several years old but the idea is the same.

I decided to put a similar thing in place as stuff does get pushed to the back or overlooked.

I didnt shop last week as we didnt need anything. I know that I do tend to shop by habit more than to a list.

First meal was Spring rolls, my way. In the freezer were spring roll pastry sheets. Left over cabbage, a couple of carrots and a tin of bamboo shoots (what was I thinking)added to 500gms of mince. Enough for dinner last night and two more meals in the freezer.

Lunch today was a packet of two minutes, Warren thinks its a good idea to have in the pantry but he never uses them. One packet is 59 grams of carbs. So I used a packet, added a small block of spinach  and a small tin of salmon plus an egg. Two pancakes each were plenty for lunch with at least one if not two more meals. 

Dinner used up a cheese sauce, two potatoes, last of the beans, mushrooms and cauli. Half a tin of little hotdogs and a little grated cheese on top. 

I have taken out of the caravan and camper tinned food, some are a bit old so using up. We are on our last milk so will need to shop tomorrow. Now no more fresh vegies but still plenty of frozen.

I will continue on, trying to use random stuff to make meals.