Anyone want to join me on my $100 per week food challenge

[jo_nz]

How much for butter, Gert?! It's $4 on special here for 500g! Our dairy products are a big chunk of my budget (6-8 litres of milk a week at $3.59 for budget 2L, $10+ for a kg of Edam or tasty cheese...)

At least it seems like it's not just me getting slack with my budget and not noticing...feeling a bit reassured.

[obbie]

prices are crazy here, an no competition. only WW and IGA.

I buy all our meat, fish, chicken in bulk.

[Halex]

Jo, I pay about the same as you for dairy, we get through up to 10 litres of milk per week and sometimes more.

[judydawn]

$60.10 here this week.

[astarra]

Jo, when I talk grocery bills with my mum, we find prices are so different it is crazy. Nz seems to have cheaper produce, coke, bread and alcohol than Aussie,  but most of the others are cheaper here. Can't comment on the meat prices as I buy mine in bulk..
oh and nz flour is cheaper too, like half what I can get it for here.

[Halex]

Back to it.

This week is going to be hard as we have no fresh food at all. Spent $22 (aus far) and havent even been to the shops yet. After washing etc will start my menu plan for this week & next. Check pantry etc.

[judydawn]

Welcome home Hally, bet you can't wait to start cooking again 

[judydawn]

$83.88 here.

[achookwoman]

Was looking for a non spend week but needed fruit .  10 k spuds for $5 and $20 on mostly citrus.  Need to make more preserved mixed peel.
Birthday lunch for Bruce this week but don't have to buy any special food. 
Jo,  I think things might be a bit more expensive in NZ as well as prices have been creeping   up.  As you buy your potatoes in bulk,  could you work in a couple of potato based recipes?  Perhaps fish cakes and pasties.  Do you make your own bread.?

[jo_nz]

$200 again.
Hmm, good ideas. I haven't made fish cakes for a while, but they were very well received - makes a very small amount of fish go a long way! I have been making things like shepherds pie, but of course that still has a meat base, albeit a fairly cheap portion of meat.   

Yes I make most of our bread. I buy one loaf a week of sliced bread just to have on hand for toast/snacks/convenience.  Kids usually have cheesymite scrolls or pizza buns in their lunches instead of sandwiches. DH prefers filled rolls, but only really likes them the day the bread is made, and the kids aren't big fans, so he just gets what they like most of the time!

We all have porridge for breakfast every day.

[Itsnotartitsdinner]

This is something I try not to stress over. I would much rather budget in other areas other than food lol. We are normally around the $200 mark. Meat takes up a good portion, as does all our dairy. We have good cheese, organic yoghurt dairy farmers milk (9l/week), free range eggs and try and buy our veg from farmers markets. Although I am loving cultivating our own! We also tend to buy marinated mussels as our treat

For those with mortgages are you paying them weekly?

[achookwoman]

Jo,  you sound like you are doing all the right things.  I agree that it is important to have good quality food. 

[astarra]

$150 this week.
Which included 2kg of mince @$5/kg, which I have today made into 4 meals for the 6 of us! 2 of Judy's shepherd's pie potatoes(with added veg in the mince) , and 2 of trtlmt's potato topped meatloaves.  Worked the total cost for those 4 meals - was an average of $4/meal- not too bad for 6 people I think. (and veg included so 1 dish meals!!)

[judydawn]

Excellent cost astarra, mince is great for budget meals.

[cookie1]

I will be shopping tomorrow. I picked up some skirt steak earlier in the week as my shops don't have it. I guess it will be cheaper this week as DD is on holidays.