Grocery brag (week 11)... the work in progress in 2012

[wildfirejessi]

I just found this thread and I am SO enjoying reading it! Thanks for taking the time to explain different techniques and how you spend.

[kasha100]

[QUOTE=2010ontest;4441687]I never said I buy lemon curd or that lemon curd is hard to make




some people might not realise this- no offence meant



Do you can the jars in a water canner or just keep them in the fridge?

[2010ontest]

[QUOTE=kasha100;4447637]

I never said I buy lemon curd or that lemon curd is hard to make




some people might not realise this- no offence meant



Do you can the jars in a water canner or just keep them in the fridge?

in water canner so I could keep them on the shelf after

[Abby5]

I don't think I have ever had lemon curd???

[Patty Smyth]

You are doing great ontest, I am finding it very hard to stick to under $100 a week this year. Fresh produce has gone up and since we have gone on a semi raw diet I am buying tons of veggies and fruits.

[mamasavesmoola]

2010onest - you are the hardest working women on SC! It's wonderful that you can provide for your family with your hard work. I love following you on this journey, thanks so much for the posts!

[2010ontest]

I don't think I have ever had lemon curd???

I used that recipe: http://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/nchfp/factsheets/lemon_curd.pdf

but I use the juice of fresh lemon or fresh lime without problem in regard of acidity to be canned in water bath... I'm a little freak about that and have some instrument at home to verified and test my stuff... But gourmet lemon strain "meyer" is not recommand for canning purpose of this lemon curd recipe if you can't test the acidity of the product. If you have the instrument to test it and to be sure the product is safe to stay on the shelf, you could go for it

I buy 9 organics lemon for 1.79$ at Sami this week, egg are at 1.79$ per dz at IGA (minus 1$wub2) and I was having butter and sugar at home from my last SDM redemption. So this week is the perfect timing to do lemon curd for me

[2010ontest]

You are doing great ontest, I am finding it very hard to stick to under $100 a week this year. Fresh produce has gone up and since we have gone on a semi raw diet I am buying tons of veggies and fruits.

I know this is not really easy to stay under 100$ a week for 6 (you have that situation also) and having alot of fresh produce. My compromise is to freeze and can alot in season when I could buy veggies at bushel level, when I could go to pick wildberry for free (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and blueberry)... They way I have some fruits and veggies in my freezer and pantry to lower my cost in winter. This is also why I go to sami Fruit or other place like that every 2-3 weeks in winter. This is not the price and variety of Provigo, superC, Métro or IGA that will help to lower substancially the cost of my fruits and veggies in winter.

My other way to save and have more "green" in winter is to do my sprouting. This help alot the week I don't go to Sami fruit.

Now I'm dreaming of spring! In the wood in spring, there is alot of leaf comestible. I use that instead of lettuce in spring!

To have fresh veggies in winter I also buy alot of winter squash in fall. I keep them in my kitchen on a shelf and take a look at them every week to be sure I lose nothing. I've got close to 3 bushel of squash to year and still have 4 squash to eat. We are thinking of doing some renovation in the house to have a cold room for onion, cabbage, carrot, beet, apple. We always have tons of projects!

You influence me also... I was buying soy milk before but I started to switch to more since I know you don't buy milk... Anyway, with coupon and Pharmaprix the price of soy milk is cheaper than the price of regular milk. OK this is not almond milk like you, but I switch to more soy milk because of your almond milk habit!!!

[2010ontest]

2010onest - you are the hardest working women on SC! It's wonderful that you can provide for your family with your hard work. I love following you on this journey, thanks so much for the posts!

You never know who do what under a board! I know I could let alot of post in one day, have an active status, but this not mean I'm in front of my computer! I just come here and look when I have 5 minutes here and there when I do my other stuff and I have a 5 minutes to wait.

[2010ontest]

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[$avvy$hopper]

Ontest, you truly are resourceful and savvy with the savings! I loved reading your update and wtg on all the "in the bank" items! Those Silk FPCs will treat your budget well. And I admire all you do with the canning/preserves and such...lemon curd is new to me as well and I was pleasantly surprised when you mentioned making your own yogurt...how awesome is that?!!!! Great job on another week of shopping. Keep it up...your thread is amazing!

[$avvy$hopper]

ha ha, would love to rep you but i have to spread some SC love first and come back!

[Cocottee00]

Wow, that's so impressive !! You have done a really good job, as always !!

If you can, maybe you should wait for the next Maxi sale (1-2-3$) before buying others Ziploc bags. The sale should come soon.. Really often they have the freezer bags for 2$ ! I know that you bought them at 2.29$ this week, but hey, if you save 29¢ per box, that's 29¢ that stay in your pocket !

[2010ontest]

Wow, that's so impressive !! You have done a really good job, as always !!

If you can, maybe you should wait for the next Maxi sale (1-2-3$) before buying others Ziploc bags. The sale should come soon.. Really often they have the freezer bags for 2$ ! I know that you bought them at 2.29$ this week, but hey, if you save 29¢ per box, that's 29¢ that stay in your pocket !

The only place having the ziploc bag with 4$ in my area was Walmart and the box were disapearing fast this week! This is why I buy that quantity now. Yesterday, when Maxi flyer start at 2.29$, the walmart display just become smaller and smaller. I pretty sure tonigh or tomorrow morning walmart will not have other box with that specific promo. An I'm not sure I want to totally pass this promo. At least I've got some bag for free (when coupon will be used, and those coupon will be used for sure!) and I made some extra money with my last 12 box!

Other note, on wednesdays I saw some box of special K with the pin share your breakfast at Maxi and walmart... but the price was too for me and the flyers to PM was only for the original special K 310g. When I come back on thursday, no more special K with pin at both Maxi and Walmart!
I think I started to have more couponner in my area just-enough-far-of-Montreal-but-not-too-far. For the first time since I use coupon (2yrs now), I saw a woman at one of my Maxi having a big basket, doing PM with at least 5-6 flyers and having probably 20+ coupons. I was smilling at myself and was happy someone else shopping like this. The customer between her and me was not happy when he saw that, me I was smilling and was very happy! I was my both son, it was in the morning of a day of middle of week, so not a rush time for nobody. My little 2 years old son was very happy and playing "hide and seek" with the lady behind and laughed all the time. Funny thing, I had paid and was already in my car before the grumpy customer in front of me!!!

[2010ontest]

Ontest, you truly are resourceful and savvy with the savings! I loved reading your update and wtg on all the "in the bank" items! Those Silk FPCs will treat your budget well. And I admire all you do with the canning/preserves and such...lemon curd is new to me as well and I was pleasantly surprised when you mentioned making your own yogurt...how awesome is that?!!!! Great job on another week of shopping. Keep it up...your thread is amazing!

Thanks $avvy$hopper!

Yep those silk FPC will be used to lower the grocery bill. I choose to not order banana coupon because this coupon is only valid for a max of 1.69$ of banana. In past year, when coupon was printed on the box and banana was the better choice in the store, I grabbed the box with banana (at least this is fresh fruit). I'm also happy with soy milk in that promo now. Because we were unable to redeem the milk FPC in QC and atlantic province (because of the law), at least now we have not this problem!!!

The other good coupon for this promo to order for me is yogurt, but this is not my favorite. With yogurt fpc I save the price of my milk to do yogurt. I have redone the calcul this week and weigh the yogurt I do with 4L of milk. My 4L homemade yogurt is the equivalent of 6.5 tub of yogurt. The milk have a lower price by law in QC (Mapaq website with milk price), So all store have the regular pasteurized milk at this price. Milk with value added (lactose free, fine filtered, ect) could be at higher price. I buy my milk mostly at Pharmaprix/SDM on 20X to rack optimum points with a product I can't have for cheaper in other store and Pharmaprix want to sell it they need to keep the minimum by law price. (Side note, I never saw manager coupon to reduce milk price if milk is close to expiry date). This said, my yogurt cost me something between 0.70$-1.10$ by tub equivalent all year long (0.70$ is when I buy milk at 20X at SDM, 1.10$ is when I buy milk at minimum price by law in QC at other place or not in 20X event). Back to the yogurt FPC coupon... Those FPCs only save me 0.70$ to 1.10$ in my reallity This is why I prefere to order the Silk FPC!

Oh and I don't want to pay more than 2.50$ per cereal box with coupon. This is why I buy alot in the past 2 weeks, cereal box with pin were at my buying price. Over that, this is not a good opportunity for me and we do toast with my homemade bread or homemade muffin or, or ect!