Weezl's phase 1- recipe testing and frugalisation- come one, come all!

poohbear59 wrote: »

Regarding men and meat. My DH has always said he goes to bed hungry if he doesn't have meat in his belly. Our finances are at rock bottom and we are trying to feed 4 (3 men) adults, plus usually 3 extras at weekends on £200 per month. Most of the time I have been able to manage but this month we are really struggling financiallyso I have been feeding them all veggie meals at least three times a wekk and have not had a single complaint.

poohbear59, I'm ever so greatful you posted! It feels like yours is the exact kind of situation I was hoping we could all come up with some useful suggestions for, although you are already doing all the good stuff . Grand to have you here. Seems like yours and DH's perspective will be very useful going forward.

Can I ask a little more? Would DH ever give up meat if things were really tight, or do you feel that twice a week is the minimum? If it could only be either something with a meaty flavour but hardly any meat daily (example: a HM pizza with a slice of smokey bacon snipped onto the top of it along with veg) vs a more substantial amount of meat (100g belly pork + stuffing + vegetables) twice a week, which would he be best able to cope with for the long term? Many thanks if you are willing to give this feedback! xxx

phizzimum wrote: »

I haven't managed to read everyone's response but I wanted to make a comment about free range eggs. so forgive me if I'm repeating what others have said.

I've bought FR eggs for years and now we are blessed enough to have room for chickens in the back garden. I voted for FR eggs in Weezl's poll...

however...I am imagining the kind of family we're aiming at has been eating a lot of processed foods, ready meals, take aways. if these products contain eggs they most likely will be battery farmed . so even if the family thinks they only eat FR they've probably eaten more battery eggs than they realise so they're not really compromising their principles, just becoming more aware of what they eat.

as we keep reminding ourselves - this is a subsistence plan which will give families a framework that they can adapt and work within.

please don't give up weezl - although maybe get some more sleep now and again, I don't know how you fit it all in!

I did wonder whether our mythical family has never bought a ready made cake/ cake bar/ quiche/mayonnaise/ egg sarnie tuna mayo baguette whilst out and about etc etc as all of these things will have contained non-FR egg. It does seem a shame to let the challenge fall down simply because we're basically swapping a shop bought cake bar (containing hidden non-FR eggs) for home made carrot cake (also containing non FR egg. Seems to me to miss something I feel.

nopot2pin wrote: »

Hi misskool...
I am the process of setting up a spread sheet for the comments / feedback for specific recipes...
Although this is proving to be a little more problematic than I had first thought, as everyone has their own variation of a particualar recipe, therefore the findings/comments will always be different.
I am not sure what the correct way ahead is, to collate such variations *confused*

I think you might be right, in that the way ahead, would be a blog, for testers to add there own individual comments (*kicks self as didn't think of that )
At least that way, it is the individuals OWN comments on a specific recipe, and not the thoughts of the persons collating the inforamation....

Weezl, I will wait before doing any more work on the info provided so far, to see what you think

shaz_mum_of__2 wrote: »

Weezl - yes the postie bought me a lovely book , i was going to ask if it was you (after spotting the cardiff postmark).........thank you very much just my kind of thing too :kisses3:

Glad you like sorry for the delay, I lost it in a mammoth decluttering session

Shaz did you see me ask how much meat content your HM sausages have, ie are you allowing 25g raw weight meat per sausage (insert correct amount here)

xxx

...and going back to the suggestions earlier:

Some of these resources already exit, so that's fab and no need to reinvent the wheel

• The United States Department of Agriculture has prepared a downloadable PDF booklet offering a selection of thrifty recipes, sample meal plans, and tips for stretching your grocery budget.
• Menus 4 Moms publishes weekly meal plans featuring affordable, yet kid-friendly meals.
• Hillbilly Housewife has an informative article on menu planning, plus two weeks worth of sample thrifty meal ideas.
• All Things Frugal offers tips for menu planning, as well as a sample five-week menu and shopping list available via e-mail.
• Living on a Dime has a short list of 13 budget-friendly meals. Although the list references recipes available in the Not Just Beans cookbook, most recipes could easily be found in a standard cookbook.
• Chatelaine has a number of sample free frugal menu plans that provide meal ideas for one week, plus printable shopping lists.