Annual supermarket budget

 

I've set myself an annual budget of £100 a month or £1,200 a year to spend in the supermarket/shops 😱  This will cover all food for myself, toiletries and cleaning products.  I'm not including the dogs in this as they have a separate budget but they will eat some of the veggies.

£1,200 a year doesn't seem like a lot but I'm taking inspiration from Toni over at Simple Frugal Life where she has a yearly budget of £750 for 2 people.  Read her post HERE that's full of good sensible advice.  I was so pleased to see that I already do many of the things she does but there's always room for improvement!

I got a Sainsbury's delivery this morning.  The photo shows the tiny amount of stuff I got for £76.95.  Some of it was stocking up as they had ridiculously good Nectar prices on things like Ecover laundry liquid and double cream (to make butter!)  Apparently I 'saved' £7.78 on this shop.  I saved myself even more money by going through my online basket last night and removing about £20 worth of 'stuff' I can do without!!  Although I kept in my diet Coke! 😳

It's a good start to the year but we're only on day 3 of 2024!!! 😂

Money, budgets and other boring stuff!

 

I hate doing it but more than ever I need to keep on top of my money and stick to a strict budget.  So, yesterday I sat down and went through all my fixed monthly expenses.  Then I added up my fixed monthly income and did a subtraction sum.

After I've paid for all the boring things I can't avoid every month (like council tax, internet, mobile phone etc)  I have the grand sum of £59.54 a month left over.  This has to cover food for me, household items like cleaning stuff/toiletries etc,  clothes,  entertainment,  energy bills and of course food for the dogs and their medications.

Obviously £59.54 isn't enough to cover these expenses and so I'll need to use my savings.  When I was working I saved half my salary each month for several years.  These savings were always intended to supplement my teeny teaching pension until I got my state pension too.  I've also used them to pay my car, house and pet insurance in annual payments as it's cheaper.  Unfortunately a certain puppy used up a large amount of this money in vet bills plus I had to get the building repair work done on the extension.  This means I haven't got a lot of these savings left.  I might just be able to eek them out if I can sell this house quickly.

Luckily, I have another savings fund that I don't touch.  This is what's left of the inheritance I got from my uncle and has always been earmarked for estate agent and legal fees incurred in selling and buying houses.  Plus hopefully a wee bit leftover for new carpets or washing machine etc if needed.  I really really hope I don't need to dip into this fund 🤞

I knew when I made the decision to retire early I might find myself in this position so I'm mentally prepared.  But it's still flipping scary when you see it written down in black and white!! 😱

A beautiful Sunday

 

We've had a run of beautiful sunny days here in Central Scotland just as schools have gone back  although we've also had some below freezing nights too!  I spent yesterday re potting my tomato and chilli plants and weeding my back garden in glorious afternoon sunshine.  I was delighted to find that my 5th asparagus crown has survived and is shooting up a tiny spear already.  The other spears were frost damaged so I had to cut them off.  I hope there's enough growth to keep them going until next year's harvest 😋

I'm running out of space to keep my seedlings before they can go outside into my mini greenhouse to harden off.  So this is the current batch in my living room 😂 It's only for a few weeks but I think I'm getting quite obsessed with my plants! 🌿🍅

I was up sharpish and at the plot bright and early.  Stunning views as always towards the Wallace Monument, Dumyat and The Ochils.

And here's Stirling Castle up on the other side.  Not the best view of it (better from the other side, more castley!) but it still makes me smile.

I'm sore tonight from moving slabs and fence posts, digging trenches for potatoes and filling wheelbarrow loads of woodchips.  Better than a gym workout and free!!  I'm also developing a lovely tan!

I realised I didn't have a pen with me to write in my notepad so I've started noting the planting dates on the notepad function on my phone.  Get me!  I'm finding myself using technology more and more especially at work.  It's now officially known that I'm one of the P1 teachers next session so I now have control of the Transition from Nursery to School online "stuff."  Apparently I'm the admin but as yet I haven't been able to access any of it!! 😂 Better brains than mine are 'working on it!'

As it's the summer term I've treated myself to some new clothes, mainly long floaty dresses to keep me cool in my furnace of a classroom 👗 So many people this week commented on how lovely I looked which made me think I must have looked pretty scruffy before!! 😂  I haven't set a clothes budget for this year yet.  Last year I hardly spent anything as I lived in jammie trousers with a smart top for those online lessons!!  But I've already bought myself new walking boots 👢 2 pairs of jeans 👖 and some nice underwear 👙 All sensible and much needed but I'm scared to add it all up!! 

A spendy day

As you know I rarely go clothes shopping but yesterday I was in town for a haircut and then had an appointment with eldest DS at the Council on Disability to sort out his benefits (still no money from 3rd September!!) I had a few hours to kill between appointments so went shopping for some work clothes.

I picked up 2 Fatface tunics (they look better on me than on the hangers!!), black jeggings and a pair of skinny jeans from M&S and 2 pairs of gym leggings in TK Maxx.  I don't need any more clothes for a while now.

Edited to add:  The tunics are actually the Simone dress and come in loads of different colours.  It's a really flattering shape.  They're on the website www.fatface.com I got a 15% off code for myself and any friends cos I've just ordered another one!  It's in the comments. 

I got about 4 inches chopped off the length and generally tidied up.  I've also decided to go back to being blonde and made a further appointment to get my colour sorted out in a few weeks.  I'm not ready yet to embrace my grey mainly because I've still got very dark hair underneath and it just looks drab.

I had a voucher for M&S so picked this fancy rice mix (thanks for the suggestion Joy!) and a few other bits n bobs.

I was actually looking for Caramel Snack a Jacks and found these in Tesco.  At £1 they're 60p cheaper AND guaranteed GF.  Same 41 calories per cake and taste the same.

I also found these own brand G&Ts.  They work out at £1 each which is 75p cheaper than the Gordons brand.  And they're just as nice!  I like to keep some in the fridge for a low calorie treat at the weekend.

The dining room/hall is making slow but steady progress.  I'm encouraged by the changes already. Dark wood really is a bugger to cover!!  I was back at B&Q to get all my light switches and sockets and spent another £100. Gulp!

Luckily I have a clear budget for my clothes and a 'sort of' budget for the dining room.  But it did turn out to be a spendy day in the end.

Frugal tips

2024 edited to say this popular post was written in 2018.  I've now been living a frugal life for almost 14 years and some of the things no longer apply as I'm now retired.  But these are still good tips!

When I first started this frugal lifestyle 8 years ago there were loads of blogs that inspired and helped me on my journey.  For various reasons many of these blogs no longer exist.  3 of the best were Mortgage Free in Three (Elaine inspired my 40k in 4 years), Frugal Queen and Our New Life in the Country. I know Elaine and Jane had technical issues so maybe that's why their blogs are gone.  Sue over at Our New Life in The Country also had fab ideas but she kindly left her blogs up for people to read. 

So when Mrs Frugal left a comment on yesterday's post it got me thinking.  What advice could I give to someone starting their frugal journey?

1.  Live beneath your means.

I live on less than half my salary.  The other half is saved.  In the last few years we've bought (and sold) a campervan.  We've been on 2 major family trips to Singapore for a wedding and to Australia to visit my middle son.  Plus I was able to buy a flat for my oldest son.

2.  Cut your food budget.  

Cook from scratch.  If you can't cook, learn!
Look for yellow stickers.
Eat more veggie meals.
Look at budget ranges in supermarkets.  Work out what can be substituted eg Basics ketchup v Heinz ketchup and what can't eg my Percol coffee is non negotiable! (2024 edit - I now drink Tesco's own brand coffee!)
Use up every single bit of food you buy.

3.  Research every single major purchase

Shop around for the best price.  Consider second hand options.

4.  Cut your clothing budget

If you don't have a budget make one.  Mine is £500 a year for everything.  Buy from Ebay and charity shops.  I get a lot of new stuff with the tags still on

5.  Just stop buying stuff

Only buy stuff you 'need' not what you 'want'

6.  Teach yourself new skills

Why pay someone else to do something if you can DIY?  OH and I will have a go at most things before considering getting someone else in to do it.  Yep you'll make mistakes but you get better every time.  OH is a pro at tiling now 👍

These are my main ones but maybe you could add to the list.  I did write an article with my tips for a US blog a few years ago.  You can still read it HERE

I had 3 wrinkly peppers left over from last week's shop.  So I mixed some onion, rice, black beans, salsa and fajita seasoning together, stuffed the peppers and topped them with goats cheese.  They were very tasty and cheap!

It always takes longer...

I really did think that I'd be finished by tonight but painting always takes longer than I think it will.  I won't know until the morning (depends how it dries) but I'm pretty sure I'll need to do another coat of satinwood on all the woodwork.  Painting Brilliant White emulsion on top of Brilliant White was really hard on my eyesight!  As much as I loved the matt emulsion I used 2 (yes, TWO!!!) years ago it wasn't doing well on the heavy traffic areas around the doors. I'm hoping the bathroom paint I had stashed in the garage is easier to wipe clean!!

Talking of paint I already had... 

This tin of primer came with me from my previous house so it's at least 5 years old and has been well used!!

There's still about 1 cm left right at the bottom!!

For another almost but not quite finished room (the living room 😳) I splurged on some bee fabric to make cushions to match my bee canvas.  So that's another wee job on my to do list before the October break in 3 weeks. (ETA it's actually 4 weeks!  I was getting a bit excited!)   I want the utility room and living room completely done so I can start on  my bedroom during half term.

I might also have splurged £15 on some sparkly trainers for work!!

That leaves me with £61.34 in my clothes budget to last until the end of the year.  I might need some new opaque tights for work but I don't think I need anything else. 

So that was my very quick (again!) weekend.  Hope yours was productive too!

On/off

I wish the flipping weather would make it's mind up!!  As soon I switch the heating completely off the temperature drops and the house is cold.  So I switch it back on again.  And repeat several times through April and May! I really can't stand being cold.  OH laughs at me as I sit on the sofa at night wearing loads of layers and a blanket wrapped round me.  To be fair I did grow up in a house where my dad also doesn't like being cold (my Lovely Mum is snorting with laughter reading this!!) although he refuses to even put a jumper on!!

Thanks for all the supportive comments on my last post.  It seems like a lot of people are recognising that their life is unbalanced.  I'm pretty sure it was Oprah (I'm a big Oprah fan!) who said that women can have it all, just not at the same time.  Even though I live on my own it feels sometimes that I don't have time to myself to do what I want instead of what I have to do.  But I'll keep working on it.

I noticed today that I have 100 followers now!  Thank you 💗 I don't publicise or promote my blog anywhere so it means a lot to me that you're all reading my stuff and commenting. I'm not writing as much as I want to but I am still living as frugally as I can while doing my Body Coach Plan (must update my spending details on the sidebar!)  So far I've lost half a stone and 14 inches but most importantly I feel healthier and fitter.  The challenge will be what happens once the 90 days are over.  Can I stick to the principles on a budget?   My bank balance is VERY low so I'll need to make it work somehow.

2017 Budgets

Last year I overspent my clothing budget by £34.  I wasn't too upset as I did replace some really old clothes and shoes which should last me a few good years.  And I'd committed to buying/making clothes that were environmentally friendly so that made a few purchases more expensive.

I'm sticking to the same £500 budget as that worked out to be a pretty accurate number for my needs.  So I've kicked off my year by buying 3 balls of sock yarn.  Handmade socks last for years.  I have a pair that get worn once a week in winter that are now 13 years old!  They were my first ever hand knitted socks.  In the photo above the purpley yarn (Passion fruit cooler) and green yarn (Mojito) are made in Yorkshire using 35% Bluefaced Leicester fleece 😎 Have a look here at West Yorkshire Spinners for all their yarns. So far they're knitting up beautifully.  I'm trying to knit every day to help me relax and de stress at the end of the day!

For the first time I'm going to keep a track of how much I spend on my garden this year.  I grow stuff not just to save money but to eat produce that hasn't travelled hundreds of miles or been sprayed with chemicals.  And it's good for my well being spending time outside! I'm not planning on spending on anything big (although I might buy another raised bed, I'm undecided atm) so hopefully it shouldn't be a big number.  I have a wee polytunnel, 3 raised beds, lots of ceramic pots, potato bags and loads of small plant pots.  I've been watching a few YouTube channels including this one on growing veggies and am keen to try growing carrots, leeks and potatoes in 10 litre pots.  So I've ordered 20 recycled black pots from eBay to add to my container gardening.

Now I just need to narrow down my seed choices and hopefully get started soon.

New kitchen on a tight budget Part 1

 

My kitchen is almost finished! HOORAY!!  I am so tired but all the painting and sanding and waxing is finally over.  I've created a unique kitchen for a fraction of the cost of having a new one installed.  The colours are claret and soft sage and brilliant white.  There should be a decal in the space above the cooker but I had a slight mishap(!) with it so a new one has been ordered.

 

This is what it looked like before.  It was filthy and covered in grease.  It was dark, dingy and just not nice to be in.

 

 

Yep, I painted a purple door!!  It'll have hooks to hang up my aprons.  I'm waiting for the joiner to return and custom make a door for the dishwasher and I've still to choose some new flooring to replace the manky floor tiles.  I haven't decided yet what to do.

 

My upcycled whiteboard and console table

 

These cupboards were built for me about a year ago as the kitchen really lacked storage.  This was my biggest expense.

 

I've still to put up my blind (reduced in the John Lewis sale!!) and add a few finishing touches. But all the hard work is finally over.  But was it worth it?  I've gone through phases where I regretted even starting this project.  I've made loads of mistakes, some of which resulted in making more work for myself.  That's a blog post in itself!! 

 

A joiner fitted the cupboards and I got someone in to replaster and tile 2 of the walls. But apart from OH doing the electrical stuff and my lovely mum spending one day helping with the ceiling (it hurts my back rollering a ceiling and this ceiling needed 3 coats of paint!!) I've done everything else all by myself. 

 

I'm proud of that. 

A wee lightbulb moment

 

Along the way on my frugal journey I have often seen mention of keeping a price book.  I could see the benefits of keeping track of prices but never really GOT the concept. I thought it was useful to see which supermarket had the best price for products I would normally buy.  But it wasn't until I got thinking about how much I was willing to pay for clothes that I wondered the same for food.

 

After reading this blog post it all began to make sense.  By keeping track of prices and pinpointing when things were a good price or on offer, I could build up my store cupboard at the lowest cost.

 

And even better, this blogger has downloadable editable spread sheets too!  So guess what I've been doing over the last week? Maybe that's what you've been doing all along!! But sometimes it takes a wee while for things to click with me.  Lol!

 

And now here's some catch up meals.

 

My crockpot chicken casserole made with apple juice instead of cider (loosely based on this recipe)  OH reckons it's an even better recipe than the original!

 

Chicken risotto made with the last onion in the veg basket, a handful of sweetcorn and a piece of chicken breast saved in the freezer from a yellow stickered chicken. 

Lots of leftovers plus a yellow sticky avocado that was perfectly ripe.  Rice and beans, roast veggies, pork loin pieces and egg mayo.  And very tasty it was too!

Frozen

 

 

I've started my 2015 Clothing Challenge by purchasing 2 waterfall style cardigans on eBay. Total cost £20.94.  The only problem buying online is you can't assess the quality.  The purple one is a decent quality and so far has proven cosy and warm when I wore it to work this week as the school, like our weather, is rather frozen at the moment.  The red lacy one however has already unravelled, I fear it may not last as long. I need to find a create way to rescue it.

 

I managed to stay within my £120 budget for clothes last year.  I did however have to buy a new pair of boots for work as my old ones had split.  I didn't buy any running/exercise shoes as I had stocked up the previous year during a Sportsshoes sale.  It will be a big challenge to stay in budget needing to buy specialist shoes but I will hunt for a bargain pair!

 

 

 

Yesterday's supermarket shopping scored a gourmet yellow stickered treat.  A very tasty piece of premium rump steak.  I've popped it in the freezer for now.  If I don't find a similar bargain for OH and I to have a steak dinner, I'll slice this one thinly for a special stir fry for 2.

 

I had originally picked up 3 x 500g packs of beef mince at £3.35.  Total 1.5kg for £10.05.  However a quick browse in the meat section of the freezers revealed a good deal on frozen mince (and it was Scottish!!) at 2 x 500g for £5.  So I bought 4 packs.  Total 2kg for £10!

 

I cooked 2 packs with red wine, onions, carrots and chopped tomatoes and used half of it to make another lasagne.  A big one!!  So far it's done 3 generous portions with 2 leftover portions that will be 2 lunches this week.  And I've found NO DIFFERENCE in taste between the fresh or frozen mince lasagne! :-)

 

I've already switched to using frozen chicken fillets instead of fresh and now I'll be using the frozen mince.  And I'll definitely be investigating other frozen meats in the future to save money.

Being ill on a budget

 

 

I guess it was inevitable that I'd come down with something over the holidays. It will take a few months for my immune system to get used to kiddie bugs again so once this nasty sucker dies off I'll be taking preventative measures.  But for now it's hot honey and lemon, cold and flu capsules and a cough syrup.

Because of the holidays everywhere has been closed so my supply of basic medicines was very run down.  I  popped out to the supermarket earlier and stocked up, all own brands of course.  But just to compare I made a note of the prices compared to the big brand names sitting beside them on the same shelf!

Cold and flu capsules £1.60 v £3.50 (Lemsip)
Paracetamol 25p v £1 (Nurofen)
Chesty cough syrup £1.30 v £4.20 (Benylin)
Sinus relief capsules 55p v £3.50 (Sudafed)
Ibuprofen 25p v £2 (Nurofen)

Huge savings so worth shopping around for good prices and always look at the label for the active ingredient.  If in doubt ask the pharmacist, they're very good at suggesting cheaper alternatives.

We're very lucky to have free access to medical care here in the UK and in Scotland everyone gets free prescriptions (although technically we pay our taxes for it) so being ill isn't a financial strain like it can be in other countries.

And just to point out on a legal note, you can only buy 32 tablets at a time.  I had to make 4 separate transactions to buy the above

2014 Budget - bills

I've been brave and have dived into the paperwork to work out how much my monthly outgoings are to the penny.  I had a rough idea of what they were *insert embarrassed face here* but when I looked at each bill I got a wee shock from some of them.

I'm now paperless for most of them and confess that sometimes I don't look at them online.  But yesterday I looked at my December BT bill in detail.  I get free evening and weekend calls yet this month I only made 3 free calls.  I looked at my statement and discovered that apart from 2 official calls nearly all the other calls were to my MUM!!!! Total cost of calls £23.54!  On closer inspection of the fine print I've discovered that my free evening calls are from 7pm to 7am, not 6pm as I had assumed. DOH!!!

So, each month I automatically pay for

landline/broadband (BT)
mobile phone (Vodaphone)
pet insurance for Emma
bank charge
TV license
TKD fees (the Teenager)
NTS (National Trust for Scotland)
contact lenses (the Teenager)

I haven't set up a DD for electricity and gas yet but I will at the end of March after the next quarterly bill.  I'm going to send in my meter readings on the first of each month so I get an accurate bill and not an estimate.

I've paid my 2013/2014 council tax bill until April then the new financial year starts and I'll get my next bill.  I haven't decided yet whether to pay that monthly or in one lump sum.  Depends if I'm working full time and can save my earnings.

I've also just paid my car tax (6 months) and car insurance/breakdown cover.  I paid my house insurance in September when I moved in.  It's cheaper to pay insurance in one lump sum.

Next year the big bills look like this -

April - Council Tax
May - Car tax
August - gym membership
September - House Insurance
October - OU course (LAST ONE!!!!)
November - Car tax (unless I've paid for 12 months in May)
December - Car insurance/breakdown cover

I realise this isn't entertaining reading (LOL!!!) but writing it down reminds me what I need to pay.  And hopefully it might jog someone's memory.

Looking at the numbers closely clarifies a lot of things for me.  I've decided that while I'm earning from teaching I will save at least 50% of my salary each month.  This will ensure I have enough to pay the bills when they come round and can live on the other 50% each month.

I'm still aiming to save that £40k by the time I'm 50 :-)

Edited to add gym membership in August, perhaps a luxury but there are health issues in my family and I have a real fear of becoming overweight and inactive in old age

2014 Budget - food and essentials

I've finally worked out my food and essentials budget for next year.  It will be £50 per week. That's for the 2 of us plus 2 dogs and OH popping in and out for some meals.  Hopefully I'll be able to trim that down as the year goes on especially when I get my garden growing.

I've done an audit of my cupboards and worked out these are the essentials we use.  With a few fresh ingredients bought weekly I can rustle up a variety of meals.  I keep a decent supply of frozen veg and other essentials in my freezer and will keep stocking it up with my stickered bargains.

If there's any obvious gaps or suggestions you have please feel free to comment.

 

Storecupboard essentials

Pasta

Rice – brown, risotto

Egg noodles

Couscous

Taco shells

Tea bags

Coffee – instant, ground

Peppermint tea

Lentils

Split peas

Oats

Cornflakes

Flour – plain, bread

Baking powder

Yeast

Nuts

Raisins/sultanas

Sugar – caster, granulated, brown

Honey

Golden syrup

Vanilla extract

Jelly

Custard powder

Marigold stock powder

Lea and Perrins sauce

Soy sauce

Vinegar – cider, balsamic

Oil – olive, sunflower, sesame

Salt – table, sea

Tuna

Beans

Chopped tomatoes

Pineapples

Evaporated milk

Mayonnaise

BBQ sauce

Tomato ketchup

Diluting juice – blackcurrant, apple

Water

UHT milk

Juice – apple, orange

 

Household essentials

Washing up liquid

Soap powder

Liquid soap

Bleach spray

Cream cleaner

Scouring sponges

Cloths

Tea towels

Toilet paper

Kitchen roll

Glass cleaner

Rubber gloves

Disposable gloves

Furniture polish

Dog food

Dog biscuits

Poop bags

Tin foil

Cling film

Food bags – small, medium

Black bags

Batteries – AA, AAA

Medicine box

Migraleve

Cold and flu tablets

Ibuprofen

Nux vom

Multi vitamins

Rosehip tablets

Vitamin D tablets

Glucotabs

 

Toiletries

Head and shoulders shampoo

Shower gel

Soap

Toothpaste

Toothbrushes

Face pads

Face wash

Oil of Olay

Eye make-up remover

Toner

Deodorant – me (Sure), Gordon (Lynx)

Shampoo

Conditioner

Styling wax

Razors

Shaving foam

2014 Budget - Clothes

I've decided to stick to my £120 per year clothing budget.  I made a few mistakes this year with impulsive buying of fabric but it means I do have lots of fabric to use in 2014.  Since I'm back working I'll be focussing more on work clothes.  So far I've remembered that teaching infants can be messy (paint, glitter etc on clothes!!) so perhaps dry clean only trousers are more suitable for working with the older kids! I think I have enough running/gym stuff to last the year although I may need new trainers at some point. 

A recent visit to my mum (remember she has 2 full wardrobes of clothes!!!) came up with a few goodies to refashion for work.  I especially love the blouse with the cats!!

I just love this green jacket although it's a bit big for me.  I may need to alter it slightly but look how lovely it looks over my bargain Laura Ashley dress :-)

 

Then there's this lovely silk blouse, again a bit loose but with a wee bit of tweaking will be perfect for a warmer day.

 

I still have a lot of clothing to sort out.  I MUST get that done before the end of the year so I'm starting fresh.

Tightening my belt

Round here there's a feeling that things are about to get worse before they get better.  When the house went back on the market last August all my plans to create revenue were based on building up several small streams of revenue using the house itself.  But with the prospect of moving at any point none of these came to fruition except The Tartan Tower and that doesn't generate much money.

Simply, my monthly outgoings exceed my income.  And until I move I can't increase that income for several reasons.  I have a monthly budget and can cope with the normal monthly expenditure but it's the unexpected things like car repairs and vet costs that have made me reach for the credit card.  This morning I was at the dentist and hygienist.  That cost £46. One filling needs replaced and I need root canal treatment on another (approx. £230) Tomorrow my car needs a service and an MOT to stay on the road. My one credit card is fast approaching its limit.

I keep telling myself once the house is sold and the money is released everything will be resolved but until then my already tightened belt will need to be squeezed even tighter.

I've already stopped giving myself pocket money and will probably need to stop the teenager's. I've cut back on food spending.  I don't buy clothes.  We don't eat out.  We don't go to the cinema. We're going wild camping for our summer holiday.

I'm sorting through my books and clothes to sell.  I've already sold my gold jewellery, CDs and DVDs.

I know there are many people out there in worse situations than us so I try not to complain.  I know there will be a light at the end of my tunnel eventually and that's what keeps me going.

Jelly on a plate, jelly on a plate.....

.....Wibble, wobble, jelly on a plate!  No idea where that song comes from but I always sing it when I make jelly!

 

I was getting bored of plain jelly with fruit in it so I played around and made some fruit fool type desserts.

 

 

I drained the juice from a tin of basics peaches and used it instead of cold water in making up the jelly (using a quarter less liquid).  I pureed the peaches and mixed it with the jelly.  I poured it into glasses to set.

This is peach and orange fool served with natural yogurt

 

What else could I make?  I defrosted half a bag of frozen strawberries and blueberries, pureed them and added them to the jelly mix.

Voila!!

 

 

More sneaky ways to get fruit into the kids without costing a fortune ;-)