Quick Questions on ANYTHING part 2. Please read first post for links to other threads

zippychick

Good work Jackie

angelicmary85

Evening!!

I've got a really quick question...

I've read countless times that cooking from scratch is cheaper but I've recently started doing it and it's costing me more.

Just as an example...A few days ago I bought a 500g pack of beef to make a 'thing' out of it using my slow cooker but by the time I'd bought the beef, some carrots, an onion, some potatoes and a little turnip I'd spent nearly £8.00 and I'd only get 2 meals (for 2 people) out of it as my OH has a big appetite...Does that seem about right or am I just so used to being tight-fisted that £2.00 a meal per person seems expensive?

bubbles0169

yeah thanks missy i had thought of that but im trying to be as cheap but thoughtful as i can and i thought making biscuits would be one way, the charitys would pull at my heart and make me bankrupt lol
zippy i could read that but it was the costing that'd get me confuddled ha
i was wondering if i should put them in the freezer too for a bit then cut them?

bubbles0169

angelicmary85 wrote: »

Evening!!

I've got a really quick question...

I've read countless times that cooking from scratch is cheaper but I've recently started doing it and it's costing me more.

Just as an example...A few days ago I bought a 500g pack of beef to make a 'thing' out of it using my slow cooker but by the time I'd bought the beef, some carrots, an onion, some potatoes and a little turnip I'd spent nearly £8.00 and I'd only get 2 meals (for 2 people) out of it as my OH has a big appetite...Does that seem about right or am I just so used to being tight-fisted that £2.00 a meal per person seems expensive?

did you use all of the ingredients you bought for £8 as that is very expensive
normally the veg is a few pence to go with the couple £s worth of meat for a meal for two
but if you still have some left over obviously you can use them in another meal
if you havnt got any left then you should shop around for the best prices and go to the local markets and tell your OH to cut his portions down:rotfl:

zippychick

bubbles0169 wrote: »

yeah thanks missy i had thought of that but im trying to be as cheap but thoughtful as i can and i thought making biscuits would be one way, the charitys would pull at my heart and make me bankrupt lol
zippy i could read that but it was the costing that'd get me confuddled ha
i was wondering if i should put them in the freezer too for a bit then cut them?

Don't worry - what I/m saying is when you make them, let us know what size each of your ingredients and their cost is. Example - Butter 250g pack, £1.50 - i can look at how much you used and work out the cost. Add them up for each ingredient, and divide by the number of biscuits

Don't worry - just try making them as normal - when you are using the cutter, you will know more or less straight away if you are going to have problems. You probably won't and it was just my experience

zippychick

angelicmary85 wrote: »

Evening!!

I've got a really quick question...

I've read countless times that cooking from scratch is cheaper but I've recently started doing it and it's costing me more.

Just as an example...A few days ago I bought a 500g pack of beef to make a 'thing' out of it using my slow cooker but by the time I'd bought the beef, some carrots, an onion, some potatoes and a little turnip I'd spent nearly £8.00 and I'd only get 2 meals (for 2 people) out of it as my OH has a big appetite...Does that seem about right or am I just so used to being tight-fisted that £2.00 a meal per person seems expensive?

Hi Angelic Mary

Ok, when you say it is costing you "more", what it is costing more than? What would you have bought previously or eat previously that would be cheaper?

Regards the cost of ingredients - there really is no right or wrong cost to be honest with you. There are folks on here, who could make that 500g of mince stretch an awful lot further, and would bulk out their dinner with exra veg, and some add pulses or oats - Bulking out meals. It depends on your overall budget, how much you have allowed for that portion of mince - as in how many meals. What type of "thing" did you cook? Did you add tinned toms?

What you can do is note this down, and try and lower the cost per portion next time - so try and get another two portions out of it. If you think in advance, come on here, and ask for help in stretching your meal and making it go further. Grated veg is a very popular healthy choice.

Mince quantity question - portion sizes

Meal portions

Does any of this help? it's not really a one word answer.

Also , OS is about knowing what goes into your food - I choose not to eat ready meals laden with chemicals and preservatives. So it's not just simply a cost issue.:)

Can you tell us how much each ingredient cost?

Have you tried giving your OH bigger portions of carbs and less meat based?

angelicmary85

bubbles0169 wrote: »

did you use all of the ingredients you bought for £8 as that is very expensive
normally the veg is a few pence to go with the couple £s worth of meat for a meal for two
but if you still have some left over obviously you can use them in another meal
if you havnt got any left then you should shop around for the best prices and go to the local markets and tell your OH to cut his portions down:rotfl:

The market here is only on once a month and I work the day it's on so don't really get a chance to go.

We've got a Tesco Metro which is more expensive than Tesco Extra's and because it's just a small town, they put the cost of everything up as a majority of people here have no other choice but to shop there.

OH could have eaten the lot...I've been trying to cut him down for years but what makes it worse is that he's not even overweight :mad: :rotfl:

zippychick wrote: »

Hi Angelic Mary

Ok, when you say it is costing you "more", what it is costing more than? What would you have bought previously or eat previously that would be cheaper?

Well, to give you an example of how I'd mainy do my shopping - I would buy maybe some Bernard Matthews crispy chicken which is normally 2 for £3 (I'd buy 2 of these so I had 8 bits altogether) and 4 packets 28p smartprice rice and a couple of bags of veg at about £1.20 each so I'd get 4 meals, for 2 for the total cost of £9.52 and we'd eat one of these meals once a week over a 4 week period.

I tend to share it amongst 4 as my DD doesn't eat very much so she'll have a spoonful of rice, some bits of veg that she doesn't eat. DS has a healthy appetite so he gets alot of veg and some of my chicken (I'm on Weight Watchers so my portions are controlled )


Regards the cost of ingredients - there really is no right or wrong cost to be honest with you. There are folks on here, who could make that 500g of mince stretch an awful lot further, and would bulk out their dinner with exra veg, and some add pulses or oats - Bulking out meals. It depends on your overall budget, how much you have allowed for that portion of mince - as in how many meals. What type of "thing" did you cook? Did you add tinned toms?

It was casserole/stewing beef that I bought and I threw it in the slow cooker with the carrots, onion and some potatoes so I'm guessing some kind of stew?!

What you can do is note this down, and try and lower the cost per portion next time - so try and get another two portions out of it. If you think in advance, come on here, and ask for help in stretching your meal and making it go further. Grated veg is a very popular healthy choice.

Mince quantity question - portion sizes

Meal portions

Does any of this help? it's not really a one word answer.

Also , OS is about knowing what goes into your food - I choose not to eat ready meals laden with chemicals and preservatives. So it's not just simply a cost issue.:)

Can you tell us how much each ingredient cost?

Have you tried giving your OH bigger portions of carbs and less meat based?

OH can eat a cup and a half of uncooked rice (when it's cooked obviously!) to himself with a great big heap of chilli on the top :eek: so it doesn't seem to matter what I feed him, he's never full

The beef was £5.49, the carrots were 90p, the onion was about 20p (I think) and the potatoes were £1.39 for the bag.

I'm really bored of eating rubbishy foods and I'm concerned that the kids will pick up the habit of using processed c*ap so I really want to cook things myself. I make the basics like soup and cottage pie but that's as far as I've got

Obviously, I've come over here to completely change my shopping/eating habits to make my family alot healthier, I guess everyone needs a little guidence at first! (Please tell me everyone needs a little guidence )

Thank you both for your replies

Angelic x

zippychick

Gosh he does have a big appetite?!

Have you tried soup with bread as a starter?Addmittedly more work for you but if you m ake batches of soup, it only needs heated up . Good filler too.

Lentils added to bulk out meals are nutritious and filling too. YOu don't necessarily have to "hide" them, just maybe next time add a couple of handfuls and see if it makes any difference. I add them straight from the packet

Is that a dear price for mince ?

Can you let us know what your £2 a head is cheaper than?

Don't worry - of course everyone needs guidance - new and old here. I'm a board guide and regularly ask for help with things

Regards your bags of veg for £1.20 - can you buy these bags and use in stew instead of the separates which worked out more expensive?

You said you want to stay away from processed carp - have you looked at the ingredients on your Bernard matthews crispy chicken? (sourced from here)

Chicken Breast (61%), Batter, Marinade, Vegetable Oil.
Batter: Wheat Flour, Water, Modified Wheat Starch, Maize Starch, Vegetable Oil, Rice Protein, Modified Maize Starch, Egg Albumen, Raising Agents *e450, E500), Flavouring, Wheat Dextrose, Palm Oil, Skimmed Milk Powder, Stabiliser (Cellulose Gum), Yeast Extract, Salt.
Marinade: Water, Lemon Juice, Sugar, Natural Flavourings, Salt, Spirit Vinegar, Acidity Regulator (Bicarbonate of Soda), Herb Extract.

So yes, you can get "cheaper" meat but when you look at the ingredients in the crispy chicken, are you still happy with that choice or would you prefer to cook it from scratch so you know what's in it, what quality the chicken is, etc? You would pay more (at a guess) to make these from scratch , but they will not be 61% chicken ....

i think it's something you really need to work at over time - do you m eal plan? Start thinking ahead of what meals you are making - and come on here and ask for help and people can advise you how to make your meals go further?

Deserts for oH possible? Healthyish cheap deserts

Could you have thrown a tin of chickpeas in your stew for extra filling power?:)

where is your altetnative supermarket? Is it worth the extra trek for the savings?

bubbles0169

:eek: that meat was expensive lol
yes of course every one needs guidence!
in my case it was i had a baby at 19 and had never cooked for myself before never mind a family so i had to learn sharpish i did that by buying a basics cookery book and it was my bible for years, actually still is!
with regards to you i think the 'problem' is OH eating habit aswell
ive heard of a medical condition where you never feel full,has he been to the GP?

angelicmary85

zippychick wrote: »

Gosh he does have a big appetite?!

Have you tried soup with bread as a starter?Addmittedly more work for you but if you m ake batches of soup, it only needs heated up . Good filler too.

Lentils added to bulk out meals are nutritious and filling too. YOu don't necessarily have to "hide" them, just maybe next time add a couple of handfuls and see if it makes any difference. I add them straight from the packet

Is that a dear price for mince ?

Can you let us know what your £2 a head is cheaper than? I gave you an example of a meal I would normally buy, it worked out at less than £10 for 4 of us for 4 meals each.

Don't worry - of course everyone needs guidance - new and old here. I'm a board guide and regularly ask for help with things

Regards your bags of veg for £1.20 - can you buy these bags and use in stew instead of the separates which worked out more expensive? These are frozen veg (broccoli, carrots and cauliflower) and can be quite watery (even when steamed) so I'd be a bit unsure of putting them in with something else incase it went all watery

You said you want to stay away from processed carp - have you looked at the ingredients on your Bernard matthews crispy chicken? (sourced from here) I don't like to look at the ingerdients...I sometimes think ignorance is bliss

So yes, you can get "cheaper" meat but when you look at the ingredients in the crispy chicken, are you still happy with that choice or would you prefer to cook it from scratch so you know what's in it, what quality the chicken is, etc? You would pay more (at a guess) to make these from scratch , but they will not be 61% chicken .... I like cooking but I don't like heating things up (to me, you don't cook processed stuff, it's just geting heated up!) so I want to be able to cook properly and to know exactly what we're eating, I just don't understand how it works out cheaper.

i think it's something you really need to work at over time - do you m eal plan? Start thinking ahead of what meals you are making - and come on here and ask for help and people can advise you how to make your meals go further? I meal plan every month but I don't normally spend more than £150.00 on 'food' becasue we're on a tight budget so I tend to buy alot of frozen foods which seem to work out cheaper.

Deserts for oH possible? Healthyish cheap deserts I've sort of banned deserts as my DD is a terrible eater and I'd like her to maybe get involved in what I'm cooking to see if she'll eat it - I don't want her to see her daddy eating something she's not allowed, I'd rather everyone ate the same things.

Could you have thrown a tin of chickpeas in your stew for extra filling power?:) That's the kind of idea I'm looking for!

where is your altetnative supermarket? Is it worth the extra trek for the savings?

The alternative supermarket is an hour's drive away so we get our shopping delivered from there - The trouble is, when I do my 4-weekly meal plan and si down to do the ordering, I always end up spending a fortune so revert back to the cheap rubbish again.

Maybe this wasn't such a quick question after all!!