Lunch at Booths, and a Comparison

 

When Alan was feeling a bit better by Friday lunchtime last week and he said he fancied a bacon bun, so we drove round to Booths as they do an all day breakfast sandwich there.  

He really enjoyed it and I kept him company with a bowl of chips, and of course the obligatory cup of coffee.  There's not actually much that I can eat on the Booths menu, so chips with mayo is a good standby.

I sat looking at the receipt, and thought to myself I'll check out what I could buy for that amount once I'm home.  Well of course I didn't do it straight away, but yesterday spotting the café receipt on the worktop I pulled up the Sainsbury's website and filled my shopping trolley with everything I would need to make the exact things that we had eaten and drunk for lunch.

It was a bit of an eye opener. 😐

So if I made the lunches that we had both eaten, I would have left over - virtually all of the spread, most of the mayo, three quarters of a bottle of dandelion and burdock, three quarters of a bag of frozen chips, six slices of bacon, three bread rolls and virtually all of a jar of coffee.

I do love a good comparison.

But it's also nice to go out for a simple bowl of chips every now and then, and Booths is looking very festive with all their garlands across the main door and all around the store and café.  The front door is looking even better now with stands of wreaths and Christmas trees on the left hand side.  🎄🎄🎄

Sue xx

Cook Once, Eat Twice ... and Then Make Cake

 

I have a pack of salmon fillets in the freezer ... proper posh ones from M&S ... I must have picked them up when we went house-hunting to Cleveleys.  

We thought it might be a good town to live in with it's bustling high street and a good selection of well known shops, including an M&S Food Hall.  Also with it being by the sea but nowhere near as overrun and touristy as Blackpool which is just down the coast, it looked very promising.  Anyway after viewing the property and having a good look around town we decided it was too busy for us, which is ironic really as my son might be moving there from Blackpool as it seems so very quiet to them.  

But anyway, we shopped in M&S and Alan paid.  Now and then I seem to have a tendency not to always post photos of the purchases when Alan pays, and as these went straight into the freezer no doubt they were 'out of sight and out of mind', so they were a happy find.

I'm cutting right back on fish these days so I made one salmon portion last over two meals, with lots of fusilli pasta in a lovely homemade sauce. 

Cook once, eat twice ... and this is actually nice hot or cold, but with it being so chilly recently the second portion was also heated up in the microwave the next day.

Hobbit breakfasts continue, with fruit and a single weetabix followed an hour later by toast or something on toast.

While I had a dish of peaches in the fridge I decided to treat us to a Peach Cake.  It was just my usual recipe -

2 eggs

+

their weight in:

SR Flour

Spread or Butter

Sugar*

+

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Mix everything together in a bowl and then pour into a lined or well greased cake tin.  Top with sliced tinned peaches ... or any fruit of your choice.  Cook for around 20-25 minutes in a medium hot oven.

*I emptied out all the demerara sugar sachets from my stash for this cake and it made for a lovely crunchy texture.

Absolutely delicious with a coffee mid afternoon.  

We had two slices each, over two days ... well I have to repay Alan in some way for all the food he's been buying me in dribs and drabs on our outings.  😄

Sue xx

Remembrance Day

 

Today we will remember all those who gave their lives during the two World Wars.  All those who fought and returned, men, women and animals.

We will remember all who in any way were changed by any of the wars that man has brought on this world, and we will honour them.  Each of us in our own way.

We will give thanks for those that returned, whether they be family, friends or townspeople and show our respect for what they did.

My husband.

My son.

Our town remembers.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.  🌹

And we will pray that all this killing will stop ... will man ever learn. 💔

Sue xx

Saturday Shopping

 

Alan has not been very well this week, so I took myself off nice and early this morning before he had even surfaced to get myself the few things that I needed, and a few easy, treaty type things for him for the weekend.

My shopping came to £33.64, but almost ten pounds of that was for the toilet rolls.  They were on special offer again this week and as I have only five rolls left I thought it would be prudent to pick up a new pack, just in case they are not on offer again until well after Christmas.

I must have had Christmas somewhere on the back of my mind as I bought a pack of mince pies, happily the date is well into the New Year so I can try and save them until Christmas.  They were £3.50 for a box of twelve, so I doubt I will be buying too many boxes this year.

I was most likely being Christmassy due to watching television with Alan last night.  Unlike me he watches live television and lets the adverts run, and every bl**dy advert break had Aldi's Kevin the Carrot pushing their Christmas message, then up pops Dawn French and the M&S food adverts ... oh how they pull you in!!

The things that I got for Alan came to exactly £12, this was mostly due to a few of the things being on Sainsbury's offers and I bought him a meal deal which saved me £2.40.

I remembered to date the things that went into the cupboard.  😁

To make all this affordable in my current really tight budget I used all the Nectar points that I had available, and managed to get £27.50 off the total amount.

It all helps.

One thing that stopped me in my tracks was spotting this Nescafe offer.  I almost fell for it, and got myself another jar to stock up the cupboard.

Then I spied the larger jar directly next to the 200g one, which was actually 31p per 100g cheaper.  Always, always, always check the shelf edge label.  It did make me wonder how many times in the past have I just gone for the offer without a closer look, not too many I hope!!

Sue xx

Free Coffees ... and Comparison Shop

 

Enjoying our free coffees at Burnside Garden Centre last week.  

We tend to go about once a month so it made sense to join the loyalty scheme and, occasionally, qualify for two free coffees a month and money off our shopping.  We just managed to get there on the last day of the month to claim October's free drinks, lets hope we aren't so last minute this month.  😊

After yesterday's post you just knew I would have to check up on what the £3.50 challenge shop of 2023 would cost me right now didn't you.  I did, and while the grand total was £3.48 back in March of 2023 ...

Yesterday if I had been going to Sainsbury's to do the exact same shop it would have cost me £5.41.

Now that doesn't seem to be a huge amount of money, but, as Nelliegrace pointed out on yesterday's post, we should bear in mind that these are the most basic of foods and usually bought by people that can't afford to splash the cash on just anything that they fancy.  So a £1.93 rise can be the difference between riding out a full week of eating or scrimping even more than usual.

It was an eye-opener, but sadly one that I expected.

Looking at price rises and wanting to do everything that I can do for myself to keep eating well on a budget is one of the reasons that I now find myself rescuing every available freebie that I can.  Bringing leftovers from any snacks or meals that we eat out home with me to use in future meals and recipes.

I realise how very lucky I am that whenever we go out Alan pays for coffees, snacks and meals.  If it were left to me I would rarely eat out as I struggle to find things that are suitable, and while I realise that the prices include the premises, staff etc etc as well as the cost of the food, I still baulk at the prices of something as simple as a toasted teacake and in my head there is the thought that I could have bought a pack of four for that price and a jar of jam.  But Alan has always really enjoyed eating out so it is something that we do.

But claiming the free coffees, and rescuing the bits off mine ... and now occasionally other peoples trays ... help me to rationalise things for myself.  I'm doing whatever I can to keep myself sane at the moment.

What have you rescued recently or claimed for free, or is it something that you just don't do?

Sue xx