A day out with my boys

Yesterday was shopping day.  We only go to a supermarket once a month now - sometimes only every 5 or 6 weeks.  I quite often challenge myself to use up all the things knocking around in the back of my larder, fridge and freezer before I can go shopping - half bag of pinto beans, tin of tuna, a few dried shitaki mushrooms, frozen soup.

We save a lot of money going once a month, I do get the odd treat while I'm there, it just doesn't put a huge dent in the budget like it would if I were to go every week.  I don't plan a months worth of meals, I just get versatile base ingredients - tinned tomatoes, flour, sunflower oil, olive oil, spices, cocoa, yeast, sugar, butter, cheese, rice, oats, beans and lentils.

For our fruit and vege we make a weekly trip to a green grocer, I'd say most things are at least 25% cheaper than going to the supermarket.  My biggest bit of advise to save money on your shopping bill is to go and find a good green grocer - you'll never look back.

I plan my weekly meals around what vegetables are in season because they are cheaper and better quality.  In the cooler months root vegetables make for hearty soups, stews and roasts.  This spring I found leeks super cheap so they featured often in my easy quiche, risottos or chicken pie.  Broccoli and cauliflower are well priced at the moment so we'll be having cauliflower cheese, broccoli or cauli florrets steamed and tossed in oil, garlic and pinch of salt (this is one of my favourites).  Both are also good cut into florrets, blached and tossed through a stirfry.  And don't forget the good old iceberg lettuce.  We just happen to have a quarter pig worth of bacon in the freezer - so maybe a Caesar Salad will be on the menu this week too.

I don't set myself any other tasks on shopping day - taking 2 little boys and transporting a months worth food takes quite a bit of effort.  So with our cupboards full, the boys and I spent our afternoon playing around in the garden.  We were happy to find the first bush rose of the season and the grape vines starting to bud.  Plus Mumma Bear got some time out when both boys had a nap.