OS Now & Then: 2005/6

[Deleted User]

Since I started reading this forum I find I have become more and more or a home cook - and actually enjoying doing it, and of course, the results.

I cannot remember the last time I had a shop-bought microwaved meal! That's the main change for me as I used to take them to work a lot. Since moving away from these - I also make a lot of other things myself - my only problem is getting it all in the freezer as I tend to cook larger amounts and then freeze them into smaller portions.

It is of course thanks to all the contributions on here that give me ideas to try.

All I need to do now is train the OH away from oven chips and fish fingers (on the rare occasions it's his turn to cook!)

overdrawn

hi i have also just started cooking from scratch instead of just chucking bread coated rubbish in the oven with chips!!
main difference is clean plates after dinner they are all loving it,even the fussy 2 !!
going to try and sneak in some veg for my 2 boys-the girls eat it anyway!!
love this site-especially this board,it's my favourite ,

louise

Pink.

Hi Deleted_User,

There is a recent thread on how Old Style has changed the way people do things, so I'll merge yours in with it. As always the posts are listed in date order, so you will need to read from the beginning to catch up.

Pink

Zziggi

Well it's about a year since i starting OSing and oh boy!, what changes have taken place in the Zziggi household!

We have:
*HM yogurt making - never buy the stuff now (apart from the odd starter)
*Breadmaker on daily (not one single bought loaf since we got the BM)
*Absolutely no frozen meals/frozen chips etc
*Proper meals made totally from scratch at least every other day (left over on the other day).
*HM buns, cakes, biscuits
*No more nasty chemicals used during cleaning.
*Washing done with my own blend of powder and white vinegar.
*cloth nappies

What's OSing done for us?
*Improved our diets!(apart from the HM cakes )
*Takeaways? what are those?
*Made me take more pride in cooking for the little Zziggettes
*changed the way the ziggettes play (now it's them playing at cooking pretending to add raw ingrediants to cook cakes/dinner etc etc) A priceless improvement.
*Got the pre-school Zziggettes talking about artichokes, asparragus, mangos and corriander while others at pre-school age don't get much past recognising bananas and apples.
*Got me on first name terms at our asian supermarket given the spices, raw ingrediant and gallons of white vinegar i now buy.
*got me nicking brambles and elderberries from wasteland nearby
*Meant i now have a weekly mini-order from a friend for my HM yogurt/soup/bread/buns/cakes/biccies which i swap for babysitting duties!!

With the money saved we've bought:
*chest freezer (essential!!)
*yogurt maker
*slow cooker
*breadmaker
*Kenwood mixer (i love it!)
*sewing machine
all paid for with savings from the grocery budget

Cutting costs of food has allowed us to
*afford a few weekends away
*bought a mobility scooter for OH so he has a bit more freedom
*had a few improvements made in the kitchen
*pay for my OU courses (my "hobby")

where do we go from here?
*Kefir making (watch this space)
*Making burgers, sausages soon (not that we eat them much...)
*possibly keeping chickens?
*more garden produce (fingers crossed)

Thanks oldstylers for your tips, comments and support!

Zziggi, MrZziggi and the Zziggettes

thriftlady_2

Inspirational Zziggi :T :j :T :j

taplady

Wow!:j you've achieved alot in a year! well done!

Here's what we've achieved since I found OS.

HM bread/cakes(apart from the freebies OH gets from work!)
Lots more recycling etc
Cooking from scratch and in bulk for the freezer
meal planning
lots saved on shopping bill:j
starting own veggie patch this year(never grown a thing before!)
bought lots of bargains from car boots
improved our diets no end!
made lots of new OS friends!:A
made a good inroads with our debts
Learned the art of budgeting!

I'm sure there's lots more as well and we're learning more ways to save money and live more healthily all the time!

ladygrey_2

thriftlady wrote:

Inspirational Zziggi :T :j :T :j

exactly the word I was going to use

well done, I'm inspired

louB_5

Well Done Zziggi! :T :T

squeaky

Hi Zziggi

We've got an older thread which talks about the changes that Old Stylers have made over the course of a year and so I've added your post onto it here.

You'll know, of course, that older posts are listed first so that you'll need to read from the beginning again to catch up so I won't tell you that, I'll just tell the newbies