newbie... help needed

samarnesen

im a mum to 7 so with me and oh theres 9 of us in the house i really need to save some money
ive tried reading through a lot of the threads but with it being half term im not exactly getting much time to myself so some help and hints would be grateful
im looking to get back to basics mainly with my cooking at the moment i cook a lot of ready meals or kids stuff like burgers etc we also have too many takeaways im not a bad cook but have absolutely no ideas what to cook my biggest problem is a 5 yr old who wont eat any vegetables and when i say none i mean none they all love fruit but with 7 kids it works very expensive
i have a breadmaker but hardly ever use it its in the cupboard along with the steamer,juicer etc
i use things like freecycle so rarely throw anything away but i do waste food which is something i dont want to do
my oh tends to eat in work they have a fabulous staff canteen so i would like to make meals i can eat with the kids most of the time i make separate thing
any help would be appreciated:A

Winky,_The_House_Elf

Hey Samarnesen,

I am new to old stlye, and more of a lurker, but just reading some of the threads is really inspirational, It certainly has changed my approach completely.

One of the best tips is meal planning. I found that if I knew what we were meant to be having I was less likely to say sod it lets have a takeaway or a ready meal. I can also plan around what needs to be used rather than staring at the fridge desperate for inspiration to strike which is hard when your stomach is rumbling!

My slow cooker is a god send and makes really yummy meals with very little effort, and I freeze what ever is left over for when I can't be bothered to cook.

I don't have a big enough freezer to batch cook properly but usually if I'm making a recipe I will make double and freeze half.

One of the more experienced Oser's will probably be along shortly to give you a more of a stir in the right direction,

Hope that helps

Winky x

betterlife

hi, try disguising the veg in soups and stew, get the breadmaker working for some nice fresh bread to go with it, although with that many of you may be cheaper buying cheap bread. cottage pie is great for hiding veg and cheap and easy to make, same goes for spagetti bol, lasagna and chilli. try adding swede and carrots to mash. chick and veg homemade pies. meal plan. pizza is great my kids love making them and its surprising what veg they will eat when making something themselves. also give yourself a budget. i seem to have 3 wks out of the mths fine them 1 wk hardly any money and i really surprise myself how i make it stretch when i have to, we are a family of 6. i dont find batch cooking that easy as when you have a big family you cook loads for a meal anyway. oh my kids love bubble and squeak which ham and egg and thats full of veg, dont forget beans is classed as a veg.x

tattoed_bum

would the nearest market be cheaper for fruit for you , at splott market in cardiff i had ten apples a big bag of grapes ,12 bananas,ten oranges for £3

how about spaghetti and meatball ,you could always hide grated veg in the meatballs ,cheap and easy

corned beef pie and beans easy to make in dish big enough for 8

mild chicken curries and rice these are good for hiding mushroom

also home made macaroni cheese
homemade lasagne is another good one for hiding all kinds of grated or pureed veg

samarnesen

i did hide grated carrot in spaghetti bol and she will eat lasagne but she wont eat potato so cottage pie doesnt work i will definately try the pizza thanks for that
we only really use bread for toast as the kids love it so i suppose cheap bread would be fine

samarnesen

tattoed_bum wrote: »

would the nearest market be cheaper for fruit for you , at splott market in cardiff i had ten apples a big bag of grapes ,12 bananas,ten oranges for £3


thats fantastic i usually get fruit in tescos where its like 8 bananas for 99p over £1 for 6 apples etc
i will definately have to go to newport market and see what they have even with the bus fare it would still work out better value
thanks