Grocery Specials Wednesday 9th December 2015

Here are this week's best grocery specials -

COLES -

*  1/2 PRICE all Bonds

*  Cadbury Scorched Chocolate Jar 320g-400g 1/2 PRICE Perfect for Christmas While stocks last. No rainchecks.Was $10.00, Save $5.00  Now $5.00 each

*  Don Short Cut Bacon 1kg From the Dairy department.Was $16.45, Save $6.45  Now $10.00 each

*   Tip Top English Muffins 6 Pack 1/2 PRICE Was $4.90, Save $2.45  Now $2.45 each

*   Coles Croissants 3 Pack or 4 Pack, Pain Au Choc 4 Pack or Mini Croissants 8 Pack Australian Made.Was $4.00, Save $1.50  Now $2.50 each.  Great for a Christmas morning treat.

*  Tip Top Raisin Toast 520g 1/2 PRICE Was $5.40, Save $2.70  Now $2.70 each

*  Australian Gold Camembert or Brie 115g Save $2.40  2 for $6.00.  A wonderful treat.

*  Ocean Spray Fruit Drink 1.5 Litre 1/2 PRICE Was $5.69, Save $2.85  Now $2.84 each

*  Mars Maltesers 360g, M&Ms Peanut 440g or Celebrations 300g 1/2 PRICE Was $10.00, Save $5.00  Now $5.00 each

*  La Española Rice Bran Oil 3 Litre 1/2 PRICE 2nd week on sale.Was $18.00, Save $9.00  Now $9.00 each

*  SunRice Medium Grain Brown or White Rice 5kg 1/2 PRICE Was $13.60, Save $6.80  Now $6.80 each

*  Moccona Freeze Dried Coffee 200g 1/2 PRICE Was $18.36, Save $9.36  Now $9.00 each.  Keep the empty jars and refill with baked goodies for presents.

*  Birds Eye Oven Bake 425g 1/2 PRICE Was $8.79, Save $4.40  Now $4.39 each

*  Schwarzkopf Extra Care Shampoo or Conditioner 400mL 1/2 PRICE Was $6.69, Save $3.39  Now $3.30 each

*  Schwarzkopf Live Brilliance Hair Colourants 1 Pack 1/2 PRICE Was $14.39, Save $7.40  Now $6.99 each

*  Lynx Deodorant Body Sprays 96g-100g or Shower Gels 400mL Save $3.98  Now 2 for $8.00.  Not the absolute best sale price but still a good price and great for last minute presents.  Cheaper than buying them in a gift pack.

*  Dettol Profresh Shower Gel 500mL 1/2 PRICE Was $6.49, Save $3.25  Now $3.24 each

*  Norsca Anti-Perspirant Deodorant 150g 1/2 PRICE Was $5.99, Save $3.00  Now $2.99 each

*  Duracell Coppertop AA Batteries 10 Pack 1/2 PRICE 2nd week on sale.Was $13.49, Save $6.75 Now $6.74 each

*  White King Power Clean Toilet Gel 700m 1/2 PRICE Was $4.39, Save $2.20  Now $2.19 each.  A great price but Miracle Spray is far cheaper.

*  Head & Shoulders Shampoo or Conditioner 400mL 1/2 PRICE Was $12.50, Save $6.25  Now $6.25 each

WOOLWORTHS -

*  Woolworths Half Leg Ham Australian Grown .Naturally smoked.Now $7.00 kg Save $2.00 kg

*  Ferrero Rocher 200g Pk 16 Now $6.00 each 1/2 Price, Save $6.50

*   Pringles 140-150g Now $1.99 each 1/2 Price, Save $2.11

*  Lavazza Coffee Beans or Ground 1 kg Now $14.99 each1/2 Price, Save $15.00

*  Mars Maltesers Box 360g Now $5.00 each 1/2 Price, Save $5.00

*  Gold’n Canola Oil 4 Litre Now $9.00 each 1/2 Price, Save $9.00

*  L'Oreal Excellence Hair Colour Now $8.74 each 1/2 Price, Save $8.75

*  Herbal Essences Shampoo or Conditioner 300ml Now $3.24 each 1/2 Price, Save $3.35

*  Rexona Roll On Deodorant 50ml Now $2.05 each 1/2 Price, Save $2.05

*  Pantene Shampoo or Conditioner 900ml Now $7.84 each 1/2 Price, Save $7.86

*  Oral B Pro Health Toothpaste Plus Whitening 145g Now $2.99 each 1/2 Price, Save $3.00

*  Morning Fresh Dishwashing Liquid 400ml – Excludes Eco Range Now $1.75 each 1/2 Price, Save $2.20.  Well worth stocking up on.

*    Energizer Max AA Pk 10 or Max AAA Pk 8 May not be available in all stores. While stocks last.
Now $6.58 each 1/2 Price, Save up to $7.00

*  20% off iTunes Gift Cards excludes $20 gift card

Please note  this is an older photo before the bottle size changed.

Please feel free to add any other super duper specials you find.

Planning A Christmas Menu On A Budget

With Christmas just around the corner, I'm sure you have all been very busy decorating your home and Christmas tree with special ornaments. Table runners, candles and Christmas lights can also bring the festive feeling to your home.   A couple of months ago I  started planning my Christmas Day menu too. Although I want this special day to be perfect, it is so easy to go overboard with the food.

Providing two meats, a couple of salads or roast veggies and two or three desserts is all that is needed to satisfy the hungry souls at your table. The more you have to choose from, the harder it is for the eaters to choose. How to fit it all on the plate ? There is only so much you can eat at one meal and many people travel from table to table ( family home to family home ) in one day.

Also, the more you provide, the more likely you are to be left with leftovers for a week. To avoid gastro,  food should be refridgerated between courses and consumed within 2 - 3 days of cooking. You are less likely to forget what is left in the fridge if it is consumed within a small time frame.

I've cooked traditional and casual Christmas lunches in the past. Here's what I've provided for my guests

TRADITIONAL

roast lamb served in gravy
roast chicken
roast potatoes, pumpkin and carrots
cauliflower and broccoli with white sauce and cheese on top
mint sauce
sticky date puddings in muffin size with caramel sauce, cream and icecream

CASUAL ( BBQ )

rissoles
bbq steaks ( cut into smaller pieces )
sausages
mushrooms and onions
bread stick
green tossed salad
potato salad
pasta salad
plum pudding ( no name ) with home made custard, cream and icecream
mini pavlovas ( home made ) with cream and berries


Both have been hugely successful and everyone is full and satisfied. The casual meal had a lot more leftovers. We just ate salads and sausages for the next two days. The best thing about these meals is that I have most of the ingredients on hand already so there are no grocery blowouts. The only extra expense is the meat and a few veggies / salad things.

Here are some handy hints for cutting costs

*  Grow your own lettuce and salad things.  Lettuce grows all year round in pots or the ground.

*  Buy your leg of lamb in Spring when it's about $6.99 a kilo.

*  Keep a look out for bbq meats on sale at the butcher.  Freeze ahead of time in smaller portions.  It's so easy to pull out the exact amount of meat needed from the freezer.  Less waste and quite often dinner guest numbers are not known until a couple of days before.

*  Spread the workload around and ask guests to bring a plate / dish.  Most people are happy to help.

*  Not everyone likes plum pudding.  Single serve puddings might be your answer to reducing costs and left overs.  I've found no name/ generic brands to be mild in flavour and well received by guests. Making your own could be another option.

*  Buy your bon bons on  Boxing Day at half price.  I always buy enough for a couple of years.  A cheaper option is to make your own from wrapping paper tubes,  wrapping paper,  ribbon,  your own printed jokes and a trinket / lolly.  Making your own costs next to nothing.

*  Snacks like nuts,  dried fruit,  chocolates,  chips,  soft drinks and lollies should be bought ahead of time.  Most of these items are on sale from week to week.  Just check out my grocery specials post every Wednesday.

With some forward planning you can have a fabulous Christmas Day full of delicious food without blowing your budget.

Have you started planning your Christmas Day menu ?

This Week's Frugal Tasks 5th December 2015

I've just about finished my Christmas shopping this week.  Most presents have been wrapped and are under the tree.  It's such a good feeling to be organised.  Here's what else we got up to this week -

*  Gratefully received a bag of shredded paper from a cleaning client.  It was building up in their shredder so I asked if I could take it home.  This will help line the laying boxes in the chicken coop.

*  Recycled some old Christmas cards into gift tags.  They look great.  I only wish I'd done this years ago.

*  Darren cooked up some tomatoes and onions that was given to us.  It was portioned into meal sizes and frozen for future spag bols.

*  Continued to pick raspberries and strawberries each day.

*  Wrapped lots of Christmas presents using paper bought on clearance last year.

*  Baked four loaves of wholemeal bread with extra goodness.

*  Gratefully received some uncooked sausages.  Darren cooked them on the bbq and portioned them into meal sizes and froze. Jessica has requested sausage casserole to be made ( her fav )

*  Saved a couple of gift boxes and bags to be reused for future presents.

*  Megan shopped from the present shelf for a last minute class Kris Kringle.  Men's toiletry packs bought on clearance in the New Year come in handy for unexpected occasions.

*  Cut open a very expensive hand lotion to scrape out the last of it's contents.  When this lotion was given to me I knew I'd be using every last drop.

*  Did the usual water saving tasks of saving lots of shower water for the veggie seedlings,  hand washing dishes,  used kitchen water on the pot plants and recycled washing machine water for each next load.

*  Both my girls have finished school for the year.  They have gone through their stationery and kept what they can reuse for Uni and school next year.  We are sorting through text books and novels and anything that can't be used will be advertised on facebook.

*  Both Darren and I filled up our cars with discount dockets when petrol was about $1.12 per litre then topped up again when it was $1.09.  A couple of hours later it went up to $1.30.  We are grateful for full tanks of petrol.

*  Collected half a bucket of water from the gas hot water system overflow pipe.  I used it to water 3 plants.

Hydrangeas,  such a lovely display

Recycled Christmas cards made into gift tags

Our strawberry patch

Climbing and dwarf bean plants

I think these are pumpkin plants.

Lots of little lettuce seedlings

New lemons growing

What did you do this week to save time,  money and energy ?

Grocery Specials Wednesday 2nd December 2015

Here are this week's best grocery specials -

COLES -

*  Birds Eye Ocean Selections Atlantic Salmon 700g 1/2 PRICE Was $31.00, Save $15.50  Now $15.50 each

*  Nescafé Café Menu 10 Pack 132g-185g 1/2 PRICE Was $6.59, Save $3.30  Now $3.29 each.  Great for the Christmas stocking

*  Wattle Valley Soft Wraps 6 Pack 260g 1/2 PRICE Was $3.99, Save $2.00  Now $1.99 each

*  Bertolli Spread 500g 1/2 PRICE Was $3.99, Save $2.00  Now $1.99 each

*  Appletiser Sparkling Apple Juice 750mL On sale for 2 weeks. Save $1.60 Now 2 for $6.00.  Get in early for Christmas Day drinks

*  GrainWaves Wholegrain Chips 175g 1/2 PRICE Was $3.68, Save $1.84  Now $1.84 each

*  Carr's Water Crackers 125g Was $1.82, Save $0.82  Now $1.00 each  Great for holiday snacking.

*  Cadbury Roses Boxed Chocolate 450g 1/2 PRICE Was $15.50, Save $7.75  Now $7.75 each

*  Moccona Specialty Blend Coffee 150g 1/2 PRICE Was $14.32, Save $7.17  Now $7.15 each

*  Aurora Coffee Beans or Ground 1kg 1/2 PRICE Was $18.40, Save $9.20  Now $9.20 each

*  Golden Circle Beetroot 450g 1/2 PRICE Was $1.80, Save $0.90  Now $0.90 each

*  La Española Rice Bran Oil 3 Litre 1/2 PRICE Was $18.00, Save $9.00  Now $9.00 each

*  Always Fresh Kalamata Pitted Olives 670g 1/2 PRICE Was $7.45, Save $3.73  Now $3.72 each

*  30% OFF BIC Razors.

*  Norsca Anti-Perspirant Deodorant 150g 1/2 PRICE Was $5.99, Save $3.00  Now $2.99 each

*  Brut Aerosol Deodorant For Men 150g 1/2 PRICE Was $6.29, Save $3.15  Now $3.14 each

*  Herbal Essences Shampoo or Conditioner 300mL 1/2 PRICE Was $6.49, Save $3.25  Now $3.24 each

*    Duracell Coppertop AA Batteries 10 Pack 1/2 PRICE Was $13.49, Save $6.75  Now $6.74 each

*  30% OFF Pyrex

WOOLWORTHS -

*  Ingham Frozen Whole Turkey 5 kg 8-15 Serves  Now $24.99 each 1/2 Price, Save $25.00

*  M&M's Peanut Box 440g Big 440g pack.Now $5.00 each 1/2 Price, Save $5.00

*  Ferrero Rocher Collection 172g Now $6.00 each 1/2 Price, Save $7.00

*  Golden Circle Juice 1 Litre Now $1.00 each 1/2 Price, Save up to $1.19

*  Sunrice Jasmine or Brown Rice 5 kg Now $6.75 each 1/2 Price, Save up to $6.99

*  Masterfoods Squeezy Sauce Varieties 500ml Now $1.42 each 1/2 Price, Save $1.43

*  20% off All Cadbury Stockings

*  Ocean Spray Craisins 170g Now $3.00 each Save $0.99.  Not the greatest price but some readers need them for cranberry hootycreek biscuits as Christmas presents.

*  Primo Chorizo – From the Deli Now $11.50 kg 1/2 Price, Save $11.50 kg

*  D’Orsogna Tasty Sticks – Hot or Mild – From the Deli Now $15.00 kg 1/2 Price, Save $15.00 kg

*  Garnier Fructis Shampoo or Conditioner 700ml Now $6.00 each 1/2 Price, Save $6.00

*  40% off All Schwarzkopf

*  Huggies Baby Wipes Pk 384 Now $15.00 each Save $4.50

*  Oates Heavy Duty Scour 'n' Sponge Pk 3 Now $1.62 each 1/2 Price, Save $1.63

*  30% off All Woolworths Christmas Trees, Decorations & Lights.

*  Energizer Advanced AA or AAA Pk 10
May not be available in all stores. Colour, styles and sizes may vary by store. While stocks last.
Now $8.24 each 1/2 Price, Save up to $8.56

*  1/2 Price All Bonds