Saving money by NOT meal planning !!

bellaquidsin

My weekly meals revolve around how many people are coming to Sunday lunch, how big the joint is and how much is left over. For instance this week I fed 6 people on Sunday and had enough lamb left over for a reheat on Monday and shepherd's pie on Tuesday. Had that not been the case I have stuff in the freezer to fall back on, but absolutely NO ready meals unless I have been the one to get them ready.

My other governing factor is what I need for DH's packed lunch, he will only take a sandwich (in a homemade roll) so when we've done cheese, tinned fish and eggs I will cook something with packed lunches in mind. Yesterday it was a turkey thigh for dinner which will give lunches for both of us for two days or it could have been the bacon joint I have in the fridge which does a hot meal for us and then is frozen in portions to provide four our five lunches. That will come into next weeks (very loose) plan.

The rest of the week contains one fish meal, usually a fish pie, sometimes a liver dish, sometimes stew or a pork meal (pork hock has recently reappeared on the menu @ £1.20 a throw in the market) or a choice of frittatta or tuna rissotto to fill the gaps.

I'm pleased to see this tread back because I do like more flexibility than meal planning provides.

Bella.

LameWolf

I can't really meal plan, as I never know from one day to the next if I'm going to feel well enough to cook anything elaborate. I do have a store cupboard though, and like others have said, when something is used up and the "spare one" started, it goes straight onto the shopping list.

Even shopping is done as and when I'm well enough, and often Mr LW takes the list with him and pops to the supermarket in his lunch break.

Rage_in_Eden

Just read this through. I have a store cupboard a lot like Thriftady's although Mr Rage doesn't understand why I need one This from the man who was addicted to "the corner shop" when I met him and thinks loads of bread is enough to get him a slice of toast in the morning :rolleyes: He says I have to much and a storage problem - no I am fine with storage but some people don't put things back properly and root by moving everything and then can't be bothered to put it away neatly hence they fall out when you open the door :rolleyes: I rest my case M'Lord....

buxtonrabbitgreen

I have just read all this thread, and I am with you thriflady. I have plenty of food in the freezer and in the cupboard and on top of the cupboards (small kitchen) but as I work in a supermarket I have a look everyday before I leave to see what is reduced. I mainly meal plan one day ahead, just to get somthing out of the freezer to defrost. No rabbit for dinner for us.

wigglebeena

I start this thread because I note that a lot of posters have the opposite approach to food budgets and cooking to my own: i.e. they have a set menu, then try to source it cheaply. Whereas I tend to buy what is cheap, then work out what to do with it: a more 'peasanty' approach to feeding myself and OH (and fam if relevant).

So I'd like this thread to be about taking note of anything currently available at a noticeably cheap price: then inviting suggestions on what can be done with it.

My own first offering: I have got some amazingly cheap dried tamarind blocks from ethnic supermarkets. As they have a rather tart flavour, I am thinking they would be good combined with yoghurt in sweet and savoury dishes. Any other suggestions?

ragz_2

Don't know if this is what you mean but I bought the 2 for £1 jars for ragu sauce from Asda, I never usually buy sauces but it was cheaper than a tin of tomatoes plus some ingredients!
So I have and will be using them for
Pizza topping sauce (already done that, was lovely with the red wine one!)
In chilli con carne
In Spag bol
In Sausage pasta bake
Lasagne

in the next few weeks. But actually incorporated into this weeks meal plans and then have planned next weeks meals around using the rest!

Also, cheese was £2 a block in tesco (I only ever buy cheese if it's cheap) so next week we're having quiche, omelette, jacket potatoes with cheese, lasagne with cheese sauce etc, meals with a lot of cheese in!

Frankfurters were cheap there too so we had them on pizzas, I have them to the kids with scrambled egg and next week if they are still on offer we'll have hot dogs for dinner one noght and pizza again another.

I tend to combine Meal Planning with whatever is cheap and on offer so for instance I find something cheap and either use it next week and plan a meal around it or replace one of my postponable meals with the cheap find IYSWIM?

Patchwork_Quilt

I was just thinking that if you got bored with cheese, you could freeze some of it. I'm sure I've done that.

Larumbelle

I freeze cheese and it's fine! I've got 2.5 kilo odd of stilton in the freezer at the moment, courtesy of Mr T, who only charged me £2 for the lot! It still smells a little bit, though, even when it's frozen. I've also got 4 of those Davidstow cheddar 'bombs' that are coated in black wax in there at the moment too. I'm a saddo, I look forwards to the Xmas whoopsies almost as much as Xmas itself and run my freezer down in preparation then merrily concoct all kinds of weird and wonderful meals to use it all up!

I do the same as you wigglebeena - find what's a good buy and work back from there, rather than deciding what I want and then trying to find it cheap. I grow a lot of my own, so I am used to working with gluts, I find it cheaper for me to work this way than creating a mealplan then shopping to it.

BUT I know it doesn't work for everyone, you have to be fairly disciplined when out shopping, and you have to be able to think on your feet a little bit recipe-wise.

Penelope_Penguin

ragz wrote: »

I tend to combine Meal Planning with whatever is cheap and on offer so for instance I find something cheap and either use it next week and plan a meal around it or replace one of my postponable meals with the cheap find IYSWIM?

That's what I do, too :T I have a comprehensive storecupboard - lists here which I keep well stocked. I meal plan for 14 days ahead atm as I'm running down the freezer, but will happily change things for family requests, or if I see a special offer

I'll add this to the existing thread on saving money by not meal planning.

Penny. x

Sarahsaver

wigglebeena wrote: »

I start this thread because I note that a lot of posters have the opposite approach to food budgets and cooking to my own: i.e. they have a set menu, then try to source it cheaply. Whereas I tend to buy what is cheap, then work out what to do with it: a more 'peasanty' approach to feeding myself and OH (and fam if relevant).

So I'd like this thread to be about taking note of anything currently available at a noticeably cheap price: then inviting suggestions on what can be done with it.

My own first offering: I have got some amazingly cheap dried tamarind blocks from ethnic supermarkets. As they have a rather tart flavour, I am thinking they would be good combined with yoghurt in sweet and savoury dishes. Any other suggestions?

you have to reconstitute it with hot water, make a paste and add it to the sauce of indian dishes. goes well with aubergine, tin of tomatoes and some garam masala. See Madhur jaffrey recipes or keith Floyd they are my fave Indian recipes.