Saturday 6 January 2018

Week One - no sugar programme

whistlergrocery.com

I've decided to start the year off on the right foot and do (yet another) no-sugar programme. I've been feeling the need for change and know I've been doing very poorly with my diet up to and through the holidays. Being sick doesn't help and my usually hearty appetite has been reduced considerably. After this cold/flu/pain-in-the-butt-whatever-it-is finally decides to pack it in and vacate my body, I would like to be eating good, wholesome food rather than the carb & sugar-heavy options I tend to lean towards.

Feeling much more human this morning (hurrah!) after a good night's sleep, I sat myself down at the computer and ordered some groceries. I had my shopping list open on one side of the screen and the grocery site on the other. Because I need my groceries earlier in the day, this added £6.50 to my final bill which is annoying. Some shops don't charge once you're over their minimum spend (generally £40), so I'll need to look around next week. Still, I suppose it's the cost of convenience (i.e. me being too lazy to go the grocery store). I do need to monitor this, however, as it's not helping my budget.

I spent almost £60 before tacking any meat onto it. I am reluctant to add grocery store meat to my shops these days because there is a family butcher in the village and they sell gorgeous cuts. They're more expensive but it's worth it, as the meat is much better quality.

Anyway, I went to the village to pick up some meat and a couple of other bits & pieces and came away with £20.26 worth of meat and veggies (all from the butcher)! This meant I could adjust my initial order and I managed to shave just over £10 off it, so I'm pleased. Part of the cost, too, is 'initial purchases' of things like baking soda, spices, flour, etc. which won't get used up immediately and will be carried over for the whole programme. So some shops will work out much cheaper. Plus now I've got chicken (8 breasts!) to last me three weeks or more.

Tomorrow, once the groceries have arrived, I'll have to reorganise my cupboards and shelf in the fridge to get everything sorted out - I have stuff that can be fed to the chickens - and then have some batch cooking to do for the week. I don't really like spending my time cooking but do appreciate that it's a huge time saver during the week.

One thing I'm considering this time around is buying produce on a daily basis, rather than weekly, as it means fresher items. I'm wondering if it would be easier to monitor costs and waste more easily. I'm literally two-minutes walk from two very big grocery stores near work, so taking myself out at lunch for a bit of a mooch wouldn't be a hardship. I'm a fussy(ish) eater and soft veggies really don't motivate me to eat them (which is where so much of the waste comes in because I'll just buy fresher ones to use instead). 

So this, combined with some light walking, should see some comfortable overall health results this time around.

5 comments:

T'Pol said...

I am glad you are feeling better after such a long sickness.

I need to do some shopping too. I have nothing here at my primary home and I shop on an as needed basis for the studio since the fridge over there is pretty tiny. Doing it online is a good idea. After I type this, I should go on to the grocery store web site.

Northern Living Allowance said...

Hi T'Pol! Thank you, me too. This cold/whatever is very persistent. I love online grocery shopping. I used to love going to the grocery store, but not anymore, although with two big ones only a few yards from work I don't really have an excuse... xx

MW said...

Also happy to hear things are looking up health wise!

Never tried online grocery shopping but it is a convenient idea, that's for sure. Also believe it is much harder to have to do all the cooking (and post cooking clean up) solo. I know if D did't like to cook so much, I'd be eating much different (read -- way worse!)

And in other news, your Christmas message re-appeared! Oh the magic and mysteries of the internet. I remember reading another reader saying they weren't getting their comments on their blog either. Maybe they have re-appeared for them as well.

Good luck with week 1!

Northern Living Allowance said...

Hi MW! Thank you. Yes, happy to be on the mend (again?). I'd never done online grocery shopping until I got here but all the major grocery shops offer it (apart from Lidle & Aldi), and it's quite addictive! As I say, though, the delivery charges can be a bit of annoyance, depending on how high they are. I'm okay with a couple of ££, but sometimes you just can't get the slot you want. Ah well.

Agreed - cooking/prepping/tidying up after one person is just a pain. Having this menu plan does help with respect to portion sizes, etc. but it's still a bit fussy.

Glad my message re-appeared! How odd! xx

Jane said...

Hi Annie: I just posted today about my weekly soup making which uses up all and any soft veggies you might have lurking around. I make it once a week before shopping again and it helps clear out the fridge as well. It makes enough to keep me in lunches for at least a week. If I have any left prior to making a new batch I freeze the old - comes in handy on a busy day.
Several of the ingredients don't need to be refrigerated which is helpful. I keep chicken stock, cans of diced tomatoes and tomato paste and dried beans/lentils in my pantry all the time. Then I just cut up and add the week old veggies. It's never exactly the same twice depending on which veggies need to be used up and whether I throw in barley, lentils, split peas or kidney beans etc. Also any leftover chicken can be thrown in too.
Do you like soup? (should have asked that first haha!) It's quick and easy for those who don't like to spend their time cooking...like me too!