50p a day til Christmas - healthily?! Weezl's next challenge...

redsquirrel80

kittie wrote: »

will this help the journey? There are tons of recipes and even more information

http://www.whfoods.com/new7day.php

Thanks for that link Kittie, there's some nice recipes on there and the info is really interesting. I like to think I have quite a healthy diet but must admit it could be much better at times, particularly fruit & veg-wise so am trying to make an effort with that at the same time as saving money!

Last few days.. have stocked up on lentils, made a batch of red lentil curry and one of green - worked out cost at approx 15p per portion, have eaten one and got 7 left in the freezer. Got loads of spinach (50p a bag at Tesco at the mo) so tomorrow's job is to make spinach pesto and spinach & ricotta pastry parcels for freezer. Also going to have a walk into local park/ woods to see what's growing! I've also got a Sainsburys voucher from ToLuna surveys so popping into town in a minute to use that... not sure what on yet!

Not working out pricing everyday but today is roughly...

Breakfast - Tesco Value branflakes (7p), banana (15p), skimmed milk (reduced - 4p) = 26p
Lunch - Tesco wholemeal spaghetti (8p), homegrown onions (free), spinach (12p), fresh parmesan (10p) = 30p
Tea - am thinking chorizo & butter bean stew - 1/3 tin butter beans (13p), 1/3 tin tomatoes (7p), homegrown onions (free), homegrown chillis (free), chorizo (might buy this with voucher so effectively free), pitta bread (4p) = 24p thanks to free stuff.. making total for day 80p.. plus tea bags and so on.. I dunno how you keep up all this calculating Weezl! :rotfl:

moanymoany

I see people are thinking about making gifts, so I will bang on again about Martha Stewart's website.

http://www.marthastewart.com/crafts?lnc=1a89cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=globalnavigation_home_home

There are loads of ideas and they do not cost a fortune. There are some very classy looking things to make and there are full instructions and printout patterns. I've found the things I've made very straightforward.

I use fabrics and braids + loads of other stuff I buy from charity shops and boot sales.

There are also loads of other ideas for the home. It is really worth a look.

jo1972

I'm so enjoying this thread (and the last one), haven't contributed before cos I've been in complete awe at all you lovely people living on basically nothing, so jealous! I really want my OH/co-workers/friends to see this thread but I don't want them to know what I'm up to :rotfl:

cw18

One drowned rat reporting in to see what ideas people come up with today.....

As my elder son came home on leave on Monday (has finished Army training, and goes out to his "base" on 20th) I will admit that I'm not being quite as frugal about my food shopping every day while he's home as I was last month -- we won't see him again until at least December, so I figure I can push the boat out once or twice a week, as long as I'm careful for the rest of the time

We're having roast beef today -- but in my defence I put the joint into my freezer about 8 weeks ago when I found it at 75% off in the local "Whoopsie" section (should have been just under £11 !!). I have potatoes in (raw as well as some 'roasties' in the freezer that want finishing up), but decided to go to Lidl for some fresh veg instead of doing frozen which is now my norm (less waste)

Almost at Lidl when the heavens opened, and by the time I got into the store the rain had soaked right through my coat :mad: So it looks like a case of having to invest in a good quality waterproof (not just showerproof) coat if I'm going to continue to walk to the shops instead of driving !! On the plus side I got a 1kg bag of carrots and enough brocolli for today for 61p -- in the past I'd have paid more than that just for the brocolli in one of the large supermarkets!!!

While out I checked the Co-Op for Whoopsies, and managed to sort tea for tomorrow (am out all day, but will be expected to cook when I get back in). They had 3 gorgeous pizzas for £1.20 each instead of £2.49, and whilst I know I can get the same size for 99p from MrT these are worth the extra in my opinion.

But they also had 2 tubs of tomato and marscapone pasta sauce, reduced from £2.09 to 30p each -- and on offer at 2 for £3 which (at ours anyway) still gets the saving knocked off reduced items as long as you still have to pay them something (if the final bill is a negative figure they cancel everything and manually enter it all so you don't get the discount). So 60p on sauces was set to get me £1.18 off my total bill -- not worth making the sauces at that price (ingredients and cost of fuel), so that effectively paid for one of the pizzas. Anyway, bill wasn't as high as I'd calculated -- and on checking the receipt after I got home it seems they put the sauces through at 3p each instead of 30p, so 6p for 2 tubs of sauce.......... what a bargain, and it means 3 'superior' pizzas cost me £2.48 instead of £2.97 for value ones from MrT !!

And the bigger dog now loves me again, as the brocolli stalks go his way -- as do any cauliflower stalks, the odd carrot and the stalks of mushrooms if I get a job lot of those in Whoopsie (if I pay full price then the stalks get cooked and he goes without). I know some of you will shout that I should use them in my cooking, but he's got major food allergies which means he can't have standard dog treats (no additives/preservatives allowed), so he gets fruit and veg with the blessing of the vet (no raw potato, and very limited citrus and onions though!)


Anyway, I'm off to pull some frozen yoghurt out of the freezer to try -- thanks to Weezl for the recipe on the last thread

cw18

Oh - and I forgot to say that the joint is a 'rib' one with bone..... so for the first time ever I plan to make beef stock to use in a soup or something

trying-very-trying

moanymoany wrote: »

I see people are thinking about making gifts, so I will bang on again about Martha Stewart's website.
http://www.marthastewart.com/crafts?lnc=1a89cf380e1dd010VgnVCM1000005b09a00aRCRD&rsc=globalnavigation_home_home
There are loads of ideas and they do not cost a fortune. There are some very classy looking things to make and there are full instructions and printout patterns. I've found the things I've made very straightforward.
I use fabrics and braids + loads of other stuff I buy from charity shops and boot sales.
There are also loads of other ideas for the home. It is really worth a look.

OOOh, thanks, that site looks soooo good it'll take me ages to plough through all the ideas.

Penelope_Penguin

weezl74 wrote: »

Was a bit gutted having bought a packet of kalonji seed at the asian supermarket for my naan breads, to realise that this is the seed of the humble 'love-in-the-mist' that springs up everywhere in my garden!

Has anyone had any success with harvesting these? If so, when and how please, all tips very welcome! Ceridwen have you got any useful linkies for me about it?:D

I've collected this before :j To plant the following year in a different place, not to eat :rotfl: I waited until the seed was perfectly ripe, and harvested the seed heads on a dry day. I collected them into a paper bag, and shook the seeds out onto a sheet of newspaper. I then stored in an envelope.

When you cook with them, do they go in as they are - they don't need soaking first Do they add any minerals or other nutrients

Penny. x

[Deleted User]

I cooked the coconut cake in a 7" cake tin in my remoska. It took 45 minutes and I put a silicone ring (homemade) over, to cover the edges, after about 25 minutes. The cake looks wonderful and energy cost to bake was approx 4pence (and in s wales we have the dearest electricity!!!)

I haven`t used my oven for a month now and I am still baking everything

weezl74

Hello All, Just catching up with our lovely thread...

Penelope penguin, Hello! Nice to have you here. From my google research earlier this week, the seeds are a little different from the kalonji or black cumin seeds which are oniony or cuminy, and come from Nigella sativa.

Ours in our gardens is nigella damascena, and her seeds are also edible and have a taste a bit like black grapes.:D I'll have a bit more of a trawl to see if anyone has any recipes for using them, and for nutritional profile!;)

Hiya kittie, and thanks for the compliment,;) I was pretty impressed to find a use for those broad bean pods too! Tell me, did you find you got a fibrous bit where the two parts of the pod 'meet' or were you clever enough to whip that bit out, unlike me!:o Exciting to have another south Walian!

CW18 I dub you today's queen of the whoopsies (a highly esteemed title!) What a bargain on those sauces! I'm very jealous! Those bones will make a lovely stock. Do you ever eat marrow bone?

Hiya bigmumma:beer:, I do that with ramekins of ricepudding (coconut flavour) Mr Weezl feels posh when he has his pud in a ramekin, and eats slightly less I think!



redsquirrel, lovin the geeky maths! 80p in a day is fab, well done! I get a warm glow when I know stuff like that, I hope you do too .

softstuff, sandy2 and zoegirl hello! I have to shout cos you're a long way away! :rotfl: Softstuff, I did pesto with sunflower seeds this week, 100g for 22p here, rather than £1.89 for the same amount of pinenuts :eek:

Bob- fab news on yesterday's totals! You go girl!!!!! Yay:T:T:T

JeniD, fab idea on the '5 a day' scores. :DMy tomato dahl weighs in at 3 portions per serving, the sour apple bhajee has 2 portions. the saag aloo, I'll post it later has all 5 like your fab minestrone! 2 slices of the sun dried tom bread was a portion. But I'll keep posting the numbers....;)

Ceridwen, recipe for spring greens in spicy hummous sauce... Erm, well I just steamed the greens and stirred through some humous I'd made with half a teaspoon of both cumin and chilli, then I served it with rice. Simple, but effective

That's me a bit more caught up! No batch cooking today as I've got some projects for work on the go this weekend. So Mr Weezl will be baking the bread :eek: his first time! Wish us luck:D.

Love to you all,

Back soon

weezl x

In_Search_Of_Me

Mrs W did you get my idea on recipes?!! Thanks all for those lovely linkes by pm & posted re crafty stuff. My no 1 job is finish the CJ I should have done a month ago & then will get to it! I have all the stuff from shaz soap making but nervous as cant do it outside as live in a 1st floor flat...are there loads of fumes shaz? If so maybe I could do it at Weezls?!! Good luck with the bread AM! Being tall kneading will be good cos youre higher up unlike SA like me! Sorry re forgetting the Austalian contingency...may have been my green envy that blinded me!