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

loumac

Hello all,

I have only discovered this thread today and am desperately trying to catch up on all the information. I'm on page 10 but couldn't wait any longer before adding a quick hi.

I am so impressed by the efforts you are all going to, it really is amazing how much money can be saved with a few changes! Although I haven't the time or knowledge to do what weezl is doing there are certainly a few comments that have struck a chord.

My OH is a keen cook and actively plans all our meals for the following week. However, this means going out and buying all that's needed for those particular recipes instead of looking at what's in the cupboards, on special offer and even in the garden (I have a wild blackberry bush growing over my fence!) and making meals that match what's around. We also tend to plan meals for 7 days and then miss a meal as we're out or go to friends/families for food and the fresh ingredients we brought go to waste!

Thank you so much for all your inspiration and ideas. We are off to New Zealand at Christmas and I think by re-looking at our shopping bills could make a hige difference to our spending money!

Thanks again. Back to page 11 and will try and check in more regularly.

Seakay

queen_of_string wrote: »

I have just made these and they are so economical they might even be suitable for weezls!!

Courgette flatbreads
225g (8oz) wholemeal flour
4 tsps cumin seedds
4tsp nigella seeds (black cumin I omitted these)
100g (3 1/2 oz) courgette coarsely grated
2tbsp oil (I used vegetable)

Seive the flour, add spices and a little salt ( i left salt out).
Press courgettes to remove liquid and add.
Slowly add 120-150ml (4fl oz) water and add oil.
Knead to make a smooth dough.
Cover and leave to rest for 30 mins
Divide into 8 balls
Roll each into a thin circle ( 6 inch)
Fry for 1 min on each side. keepwarm. I dry fried mine.

I made these last night and they were really good - I used both cumin and nigella as I had them and 81% SR flour and they worked really well and didn't rise in a ridiculous way or anything.

Plum_Pie

Loumac, is there anyway you can plan eating out further in advance, so you can work it into your meal plan?

Things I do (I love eating out and live near-ish quite a few relatives)

1. Plan to meet family in advance so there's no hurt feelings. This week's meal plan reads:
Monday egg + chips
Tusday chicken curry, dahl, rice
Weds - Dinner out with X and Y
etc

2. Check my work diary on Fridays (I meal plan at the weekend) so if I have a lot to do/big meeting on a certain day, I plan that's when I'll eat out /get a take away.

3. If a friend asks me out to dinner unplanned when I have food which will go off if not eaten that day, I often invite them round to mine. Usually they want to go out because they're too tired or stressed to cook and lolling on my sofa while I cook up some extra rice/spuds and veg to stretch the meal I had planned is an acceptable substitute to them.

If you OH is the organised type, could you tempt him by writing an inventory of your freezer and cupboards and saying you want to clear them out? Or make sure nothing goes off before you get a chance to eat it?

loumac

Thanks Plum Pie, all sensible ideas which seem obvious when you read them.... why I haven't been doing it that way already I've no idea!?!

As a teacher I'm currently home moping on my own all day so could actually do the inventory myself now you mention it. Just got to drag myself away from this thread first....page 21! Getting there.

Plum_Pie

why I haven't been doing it that way already I've no idea!?!

I have learnt so much from this board. I once thought slow cookers were a waste of money! (I'm a life-long stew addict btw!)

As a teacher I'm currently home moping on my own all day.

Shorely, “enjoying necessary down-time from one of the toughest, most important jobs there is”?

cw18

Plum_Pie wrote: »

Shorely, “enjoying necessary down-time from one of the toughest, most important jobs there is”?

:T couldn't agree more.

I'm considering my options for retraining / new job opportunities, and as soon as I say to people I'm considering child-care of some sort everyone suggests teaching assistant. My immediate response is "no chance", as I have some idea of just how much paperwork is done by staff in schools these days (my SIL is a primary school teacher).

frugalswan

Lesley_Gaye wrote: »

I'm still using bags that have a use by date that I am too embarrassed to tell you and it is fine. I bought loads of it from an online site, have been searching to try and find the name of the site, but I can't find it and I can't quite remember what it was called. It was something like the Spice Club.

I have successfully used gram flour as a pastry case, make in the usual way, but you need to just press it into the tin as it is almost impossible to roll out. I have used it as a quiche base and baked it blind and filled it with sauted veg mixed with tandoori spice and a little fontina cheese - it was yummy. I have also successfully used it as a pancake flour.

Or finely slice some onions and mix with seasoned gram flour batter, shallow fry the mixture and you will have onion bhaji's - yum.

I used a lot of it at one time, hence the bulk buy, but then went off it for a while, hence the old use by date!

Thank you for the ideas! I can serve onion bhajis with the curries I make every so often, and the quiche sounds fabulous. At least now I won't feel a failure. *makes a note of the recipes and plans to test them this weekend* I suppose you could do the same with sweetcorn and spring onion or chives.

Boodle

Welcome loumac! I def say you deserve to enjoy your break

weezl74

*pops in a bit dusty, weak, and bedraggled*

Hello everyone! I've been reading all about the impressively frugal goings on and I'm beaming a big smile at you all! :T:T:T

I made shaz's linkied coconut cake for AM yesterday, and there's only a quarter left, so I think it must be nice! This is great news after CW18's fab calorie count of it for me (Ta ) as if he finishes it today with custard for pud as planned, he will have had an extra well over 2000 calories in 2 days.

Question is, can our teenie weenie budget stretch to a coconut cake every 2 days?:eek::eek:

I'm wondering about trying powdered milk, as the predominant flavours are sweet coconut, not really a milky flavour I think...

Any thoughts anyone?

Thanks for missing me:D. My epic DIY ing is going well, but there's a fair bit left. We have removed woodchip wall paper from the ceilings and some of the walls of 2 rooms, sanded 2 floors and a landing (nearly) and stripped the paint of skirtings and dado rails.

Well having read the food challenge, you didn't really think I'd do me decorating by halves did ya?

Freezer is holding up well, and providing for us magnificently, although I need to remove another £1.12 cos AM is back on the muesli for breakfasts for a bit.

I'm loving the suggestion that I could add on a bit for food inflation - I may hold you to that!

We are certainly living in interesting times. The media have certainly got on the 'let's make food cheap' bandwagon. Athough I think they could still learn a bit from us frugalistas!:D

I caught a bit of 'Daily cooks challenge' in a tea break moment t'other day, and the worst price they have to make a 1 course meal for 1 for is 50p. (no brekkie, lunch snacks or pudding or drinks)

The chefs are then allowed to add 'store cupboard ingredients' like 50ml of olive oil, 'because everyone's got that in the cupboard' (quote Anthony Worrall-Thompson) and 'no one could do a meal for 50p without stuff from the store cupboard'.

I think I might email the beeb and invite him round for dinner!

Grrrrr :mad: celeb nonsense!

Love to you all, and sincerely hoping to be back bein' all geeky more often very soon!

Weezl x

cw18

Weeeeeeeezl !!! Fantastic to "see" you're still with us

(not that I thought for one moment you'd have abandoned the challenge!!!)