Eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge - part two

TravellingAbuela · 12 August 2014 at 7:15AM

Had 3 DGDs yesterday and it was eldest's birthday so we had lunch out as a treat. Still full at teatime so missed that and had early snack supper of cheese on toast (both bread and grated cheese from freezer)

Today's lunch will be Pasta Bolognese (Bolognese from freezer) and dinner will be something else from freezer - still to be decided! Maybe fish. Determined now to reduce stocks in both freezers and cupboards and stop buying so much food! (Unless it's a bargain too good to miss). The thing is I go into panic mode when I haven't a lot of supplies stored!

Elliesmum · 12 August 2014 at 10:05PM

Hi everyone

I so need to join this thread and hope that posting on here daily will stop me going shopping until my cupboards and freezer have reduced.

The kids are on holiday at the moment with their Dad so I have just me to find meals for and sometimes a friend that comes round for tea.

I have tomorrow off so I will do an inventory of my cupboards and freezer and I will then try and meal plan around that.

Thanks for reading...

EM x

Older_But_Not_Wiser · 13 August 2014 at 6:15AM

Hi all

Wow, lots of new people on this thread now, great to see you all as that's even more people to steal meal ideas from

Had a lovely long weekend visiting my family thanks MsNR, including a family wedding, so I've eaten enough party food to keep a small country going for a week and will be quite glad to get back to my normal meal plans! I've got plenty of salad in and will be out for lunch most days so no shopping needed for a little while. There is a distinct autumnal nip in the air here though, which always makes me want to make casseroles and roasts, so I need to be disciplined enough to eat the salad and not shop for autumn food!

TravellingAbuela · 13 August 2014 at 7:37AM

I am escaping looking after DGDs today (they are with other grandma) and having a trip into Skipton with a friend for a spot of shopping and lunch. However, DH is getting left at home so I am leaving him a pasta bake for his lunch and a large piece of quiche and bowl of soup for tea - all from the freezer.

I did succumb to buying some foodstuff yesterday to stash in the freezer but they were bargains, honest, all nearing their sell by date, from Fulton Foods!

Elliesmum · 13 August 2014 at 3:45PM

Well having done an inventory of what's in the cupboards, fridge and freezer, I'm either annoyed at myself for having soooo much food in the house OR pleased that I have managed to plan so many meals without having to buy much. I think I've worked out that all I need to buy is 2 extra onions and the usual half a cow of milk... So this is my planned menu:

Wednesday 13th - Chicken Fajitas and salad

Thursday 14th - Burgers and Salad

Friday 15th - Greek Pasta Salad

Saturday 16th - Chick Pea Curry with mango chutney and rice

Sunday 17th - Chinese Beef with noodles and veg

Monday 18th - Sausage, Egg and Wedges

Tuesday 19th - Ploughman's with sausage, wensleydale cheese and
apple

Wednesday 20th - Spaghetti with fresh tomato and basil

Thursday 21st - Tuna Fishcakes with mushy peas

Friday 22nd - Beef Bourguignon, new potatoes and mixed veg.

Saturday 23rd - Chilli and Rice

Sunday 24th - Potatoes with spicy vegetable ragu

Monday 25th - HM pizzia with Salad

Tuesday 26th - Chunky Sausage Wraps with baked beans

Wednesday 27th - Spaghetti Bol

Thursday 28th - Fish and Chips

Friday 29th - Mexican Beef with mixed beans and rice

Saturday 30th - Corned Beef hash with mixed veg

Sunday 31st - Dhal with rice and mango chutney

Monday 1st - Spanish Sausage Pasta with parmesan cheese

that's it folks!!! I'm going to make sure that I post regularly, so that I do not buckle and either hit the takeaway or go food shopping. It is strange that we have a compulsion to go shopping, even though we have enough food in the house.

EM x

TravellingAbuela · 14 August 2014 at 8:29PM

Good job Elliesmum! I am hoping that regular posting will keep me on the straight and narrow too! We can beat this compulsion to hoard food!

A day out with the DGDs today so took a picnic, made up of items from the freezer and store cupboards. DH and I were exhausted by the time they went home so quick and easy tea - scrambled egg on toast, topped with cooked sausage from freezer and grilled some tomatoes that were one step away from going soft.

dumpling · 16 August 2014 at 1:08PM

Hi there, I have been reading this thread for a while and would love to jump in. I have a small chest freezer, a large fridge freezer, two cupboards full of tins and my secret stash under the stairs in case of snow or zombie attack

.

I have been trying to run them all down for the past couple of months but I'm not really getting anywhere. I've made an inventory of the freezers and mealplanned for the next couple of weeks. I also have diabetes and am very overweight so need to be much more healthy than I have been. I love cooking and trying out new recipes which end up being frozen!

Today I have taken out hash browns, quorn sausages, pork sausages and bacon and my hubby is rustling up a healthy grill-up. I am having extra mushrooms and tomatoes as I can't have the hash browns. We always have a cooked breakfast on a Saturday as it's one of the few things my hubby can cook well :rotfl:.

TravellingAbuela · 16 August 2014 at 4:30PM

I am now at the end of my first week of the challenge and so far so good! I went shopping yesterday and only bought fruit, veg and dairy (and wine, but we won't mention that!!). Avoided looking in the freezers and at tinned goods in case I was tempted to "stock up"! No DGDs to look after for 2 weeks (gone on holiday) so with just DH and myself to feed it should be easier to stick to my plan of eating from freezers and store cupboard.

Lunch was bacon, from freezer, with eggs, grilled tomatoes and hash browns. I have some chicken pieces defrosting to make a chicken and bacon pasta bake for tea.

I also took stock of my foraged fruits and have used a sizeable batch to make individual servings of fruit compote for topping my porridge when the cooler weather arrives. Now back in the freezer in small tubs. Currently baking is a large tray of bilberry crumble and, when cooked and cool, will be cut into individual portions and put back in the freezer.

So all good so far and feeling quite proud of myself for not spending on "stocking up" when it's not needed!

[Deleted User] · 17 August 2014 at 11:46AM

Wow dumpling, you are my twin I think and why is it that when you take bits out of freezer to leave a space, you end up putting cooked portions in which take up 4 spaces. One of life's mysteries. Welcome

dumpling · 17 August 2014 at 1:39PM

Thank you for the warm welcome :wave:

Today we had roast pork with all the trimmings so out of the freezer came a large leg of pork, half bags of green beans, carrots and brussel sprouts. Hubby couldn't find any roasties so after huffing and puffing he just did some boiled potatoes which were very nice. The kids had cornetto type ice creams for afters but I was too full for any pudding.

So back in the freezer went the other half bags of veg and 2 ice creams that were left over from the box. I nearly put the leftover pork back in too but have decided to make a kind of pork schnitzel dish tomorrow for a change. We have enough veg left over for bubble and squeak too so that is what I will be doing tomorrow.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge - part two

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