PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Hello Forumites! However well-intentioned, for the safety of other users we ask that you refrain from seeking or offering medical advice. This includes recommendations for medicines, procedures or over-the-counter remedies. Posts or threads found to be in breach of this rule will be removed.

Old Style vs the USDA head-to-head challenge...

1…94959799100…170

Comments

  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    Guapa1 wrote: »
    Wow, I've actually read the whole thread! It's great. You've done so well Weezl. What did you end up cooking for the in laws out of curiosity?

    :rotfl:tee hee guapa ( if you're Spanish, that's a lovely confident user name!- Good on ya! Mr Weezl's nickname is guappy, a derivative of Guapo!) actually we decided not to see them over a mealtime, as the weekend they were around was quite busy, and we'd fed the multitudes the previous week, so we managed a posh coffee and an iced bun!:T

    Germish_se, thanks for your encouragements! I'm Liking hearing what everyone wouldn't want to scrimp on, quite an eye-opener :D Next time I do a food challenge, I think I would have more varied carbs, Mr W's been having a mix of potatoes, pasta and rice with meals, but 6 meals out of 7 evenings, I've been on rice! :eek:

    redsquirrel ah! extreme organisation, attention to detail and slightly geeky maths, yes I think I get it even more now! Yes, those parts of my way of doing things is definately extreme!;) For some daft reason, I thought the 'extreme' comments meant: 'only one small meal a day, consisting of maggots and weeds' type regime, which it has not been. But with food price inflation still rising, mayhap we'll all have to go there!!?

    Mrs. M and Ceridwen, interesting thoughts on portion sizes. We have 125g rice (raw weight) per meal, or 300g potatoes, or Mr W has 250g dry weight pasta. How large/small does that sound?

    Love as ever,

    Weezl x

    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • cheerfulness4
    cheerfulness4 Posts: 2,874 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    Was intrigued to hear of the comments made by Shirley Goode. Which day were her observations made as I can't find them?

    So have you decided on your next challenge Weezl or are you just concentrating on finishing this one first? I'm thoroughly enthralled by it all now. :D
  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    cheerfulness4 wrote: »
    Was intrigued to hear of the comments made by Shirley Goode. Which day were her observations made as I can't find them?

    So have you decided on your next challenge Weezl or are you just concentrating on finishing this one first? I'm thoroughly enthralled by it all now. :D

    Hiya cheerfulness4:hello: on 29th May, Shirley writes:

    "A welcome to Angela and Ceridwen, new names to us, and hope they are regular readers to this site, also thanks to Janet and Jo, for the link to the Old Style V USDA challenge. Despite following the link, it came up with 'couldn't find it' but I persevered via other routes and eventually managed to pick up a recent entry. What interested me was with over a month left to go, there was not much more than £10 left in the kitty. Know the feeling.
    Also there was mention of nettles (although I found no recipes), and cow-parsley (so similar to another herbage - one poisonous one not - so best steer clear of both), and gathered that some of the nourishment was (as expected) being obtained from wild herbage and hedgerows. And nothing wrong with that. We should all take advantage of Nature's bounty when we can.

    If we have the dedication, live in the country and are knowledgeable about what free food can and cannot be eaten, plus a few home-growns, then - as in centuries past - we could sustain life without stepping through a shop door again. Certainly easiest in the growing months, but some foods can be dried and stored to last through the winter when root crops take the place of the 'saladings'. It is an admirable challenge that is being undertaken (even though not to that extreme) and much will be learnt from it and hopefully all passed on.
    Although I may not be able to pick up the final details, those who can please let us know how it all worked out." (italics mine!!!!)

    Well I do think I've learnt enough from doing this that I think I could take our monthly amount down further, but wthout loss of variety or fresh milk! I'd plan it better, and spend less! In fact I've written my shopping list already! :D

    Love Weezl x

    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • cheerfulness4
    cheerfulness4 Posts: 2,874 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker I've been Money Tipped!
    Ah, now I see where the 'extreme' part was mentioned. Thank you Weezls. ;)

    Well I'm glad that the adventure continues and I bet most of us would love to see your next shopping list. :D

    This whole thread has really turned my views on shopping around and I'm learning so much. I hope you are able to continue with your online ponderings as they are so enjoyable. ;) Its inspiring me to have a dabble into a similar shopping/eating plan. :p
  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    Just experimenting with a little index extending method...!

    nutrients

    protein

    saturated fat

    calcium

    Iron

    magnesium

    phosphorus

    omega 3...

    Zinc

    selenium

    eating your colours

    carbs

    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • moanymoany
    moanymoany Posts: 2,877 Forumite
    weezl74 wrote: »
    Hillbilly housewife shows how to feed a family of 4 for $70 a week, on her blog listed earlier. She'd get nearly 3 times that amount of food stamps if she were on the lowest income.

    I'm not suggesting that anyone on state benefits here or in the US have it easy at all. :eek:I'm just trying to suggest that OS is a better method for eating healthily for little money. That's the point of my little challenge. Sorry for any confusion!;)

    Weezl x

    I know this is a response to a rather elderly post, but it raises an interesting point.

    I was in a shopping centre that caters for a large estate where many people live on benefits. I commented to Mr. Moany that I would hate to have to live on benefits - but - I think we would do better than many do as we have experience of living frugally.

    He told me something that his mum told him. She was in the WRENS in the war at a base with lots of other WRENS. Lots of the girls thought mil and her friends had private incomes because they always had some money in their purses. The truth was the other girls rushed off and spent their money and mil and her friends didn't, they budgeted their money.

    I'm inclined to think that it was ever thus. My mum was very poor at money management, my gran brilliant. The expression used to be 'she is a good manager'.

    We are off on our hols on Friday and when we get back I'm going to join this plan as it looks excellent. I'll give myself a bit of wriggle room, but I shall stick to a small spend.

    You know, I've been reading these threads for too long - I'm looking forward to doing this as much as I'm looking forward to my holiday - doh :rolleyes2

    I'll be going now to try to find a life to get!!!!
  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    recipes for foragers: elderflowers, knotweed, nettles and dandelions

    NETTLE GNOCCHI WITH BLUE CHEESE SAUCE c/o Bails (v)

    nettle bhajee(v)

     Gooseberry and Elderflower Preserve -DebbyM(v)

     Elderflower fritters -DebbyM(v)

     Elderflower Champagne(v)

    BBC food - elderflower cordial recipe(v)

     Dandy wine -shaz(v)

    nettle pesto (v)

    Recipes for Sloes

    sloe wine

    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    moanymoany wrote: »
    I'm inclined to think that it was ever thus. My mum was very poor at money management, my gran brilliant. The expression used to be 'she is a good manager'.

    ....

    You know, I've been reading these threads for too long - I'm looking forward to doing this as much as I'm looking forward to my holiday - doh :rolleyes2

    Hi Moanymoany:hello:, fascinating thoughts. I'm also intrigued by the generational difference, your gran, frugal, your mum, not so frugal;) and you, frugal again.

    It's like that in my family too, and my SIL is definately in reaction to the frugal ways of her mum! I've wondered for a while whether in some families, there can be a reaction to the money habits of the previous generation, leading to a feeling in us as children, of 'I won't do it like that!' which means that the pattern of: lavish, frugal, lavish, frugal, gets woven through the generations like a stripy fabric...

    Just my ramblings!

    What do you all think of the idea of categorising the index, I've tried it out now, with a link from the front page to a mini-index with all the foraging recipes. ;)Try it and see if you like it.:confused:

    The main reason is that the first post is at it's limit now, and we're all keeping adding recipes, which I really value, so don't stop! So I wondered if this was an elegant solution?

    Weezl x

    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • weezl74
    weezl74 Posts: 8,701 Forumite
    puddings, especially good for fattening up skinny acetate monkeys:

    Banana ice cream(v)

    frozen yoghurt(v)

    purpleivy's mum's chocolate sauce(v)

    jeniD's chocolate chunk cupcakes(v)

    chocolate concrete(v)

    Busy Day Pudding by funkyfunkymonkey(v)

    Grandad's pud, c/o bigmummaF

    cinnamon bread(v)

     Queen of Puddings -maryb(v)

     shaz's lemon cake recipe(v)

     Marmalade Gingerbread by poodle horse's MIL(v)

     Bran flake cake c/o shaz, (v)

     ...and lucasmum's additions(v)

     LEMON PAVLOVA WITH KIWI FRUIT(v)

    Oatmeal gingerbread    (v)

     Simple Rice Pudding, and bread pudding from Shaz(v)

    Swedish Dried fruit "compote"

    rice porridge c/o Germish_se

    COCONUT BITES

    Old Fashioned Raspberry Bars

    Sticky Honey & Current Cakes by amalang

    Rich Jam Cake Recipe

    chruscik. Beautiful bow shaped biscuits

    mini fruit/xmas cake from applemella

    sian the green's carrot halwa

    germish's pudding with peaches and jelly

    steamed jam sponges

    coconut cake

    aril's special occasions cordial cake

    Bonfire Toffee Recipe

    crumble recipe

    :hello:Jonathan 'Fergie' Fergus William, born 05/03/09, 7lb 4.4oz:hello:
    :)Benjamin 'Kezzie' Kester Jacob, born 18/03/10, 7lb 5oz:)
    cash neutral gifts 2011, value of purchased gifts/actual paid/amount earnt to cover it £67/£3.60/£0
    january grocery challenge, feed 4 of us for £40
  • shaz_mum_of__2
    shaz_mum_of__2 Posts: 2,010 Forumite
    Hi everyone(including all the new faces i haven't said hello to individually)


    MRS MC - i will have to make some more baguettes now you've mentioned them ...........did you get a special tin in the end??

    Moany - Its true i think that you can live better on less we have been living on half the income we were living on last year we eat better spend wisely and enjoyed the journey i think enjoying it is the most important bit


    weezl cerwiden and ISOM - you were all with me in spirit on saturday iwent to the woods next to where my mum lives and collected elderflower yeserday i made cordial it is yummy and easy peasy

    Recipe

    25 elderflower heads (flowers open no brown bits)
    1.8kg sugar(i used granulated)
    1.2litres water
    2 lemons
    50g citric acid(homebrew shops or chemists)

    Method

    i shook all the flowers to remove bugs,then removed as much of the stalk as possible from the flowers and discarded them

    I then washed them(the recipe didnt call for this but i want to be sure i had got all the bugs!)

    Whilst doing this put water and sugar into a pan and heat until all the sugar is dissolved(keep stirring)

    Using a peeler remove all the zest from the lemons then slice the lemons thinly

    when the syrup is boiling pour it over the lemon slices,zest and flowers in a large bowl (i used a small bucket used for homebrew) then stir in the citric acid


    Cover with a cloth and leave for 24 hours, then strain into platic screw top bottles i used the 500ml fizzy drinks ones its says it keeps indefinitely but i have frozen it

    to serve add fizzy water and ice,very tasty a bit like old fashioned lemonade with a hint of something herbally ,very refreshing on a hot day too ,very nice added to fizzy wine too (hic hic....)

    The final yield was 2.5 litres and i think a dilution of 1:5 is about right

    so over to you weezl for geeky maths:T

    I must add no matter what the cost walking in the woods with your mum who thinks your barking and destitute(but still helps you anyway) is priceless


    ooh ooh also found masses of blackberry bushes in flower so will be back in the autumn!!


    Shaz
    *****
    Shaz
    *****
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 608K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 173.1K Life & Family
  • 247.9K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards