Tips and Quick Questions on “How To Start Being Old Style”

rising_from_the_ashes

Come and join us on the Grocery Challenge thread - happy, friendly bunch ...

It does really focus your mind on what you're spending which is great for cutting down/keeping things under control as well as loads of support from others.

Also, loads of fantastic recipes at the start of the thread!

CH27

Meal planning, batch cooking & a slow cooker will help you get organised.
Do you have plenty of freezer space?

Lippycow

I came across this site last night and its great hope it helps http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

daisiegg

dancing_in_the_rain wrote: »

I do try and meal plan but as both OH and I wok long hours it can be by the time we get in we end up doing chicken ding or a take away so that the kids have time for it to digest before bed and so if this happens a couple of time a week it makes a right mess of my meal planning.

I have dusted down my slowcooker in the hope that this helps but the kids are too keen on anything produced by this.

I do shop online but always find that stuffs missing and then I have tio go to the shop and I do end up impluse buying alot .

I know exactly what you mean - even though we meal plan and have the best intentions we don't always stick to them when we're tired and hungry and that planned soup just isn't going to cut it!

If time when you get in from work is a problem for you I would so recommend batch cooking and filling your freezer with something easy like bolognaise, chilli, etc. Then you can grab a tub of sauce out of the freezer in the morning, leave it on the side, come home, bung it in the microwave and cook some pasta or rice in the time it will take a takeaway to arrive! I even keep those Uncle Ben's packets of microwave express rice in the cupboard (I know...the shame ) for real emergencies...they are NOT money saving at all but I reason that they are still more money saving than ordering a pizza! If your sauce was already defrosted (so just needed nuking in the microwave) and you used the microwave rice (which takes 2 mins) you could have dinner on the table in about 7 mins. I defy you to find a takeaway that delivers that fast! Even if you cook pasta or rice (which I promise I do most of the time!) it's still not going to be more than 15/20 mins to get on the table.

I am also a huge fan of frozen peas. Somehow a meal can seem much less daunting and time consuming when I know that the vegetable component can come out of the freezer and take 2 mins in the microwave. Of course when there is more time I cook a variety of fresh veg but on a late weekday evening peas will suffice! One of our favourite meals is fish cakes (Sainsburys do lovely ones and we buy them when they are on offer, 2 packs of 2 for £3) with peas or salad. It's a low cal meal though for the times when we feel a bit fat so I suppose for children you might want to bulk it up more...but it's yummy and takes 15 mins if you're cooking the fish cakes from frozen, less if they are fresh in your fridge.

As for the impulse buys when you run out of something and dash to the shops, I know exactly what you mean. A couple of weeks ago I went into Tesco for mince and soya milk...I was tired, hungry, had a cold and was a bit dazed, and ended up spending an amount that started with a 7 and exceeded our usual weekly budget! About £25 of it was on various cough medicines/cold remedies (so bloomin expensive!) and the rest was on stuff that was on such a good offer I just couldn't resist it, or stuff you can't get in Sainsburys, where I normally shop. I haven't yet done this (it scares me a bit) but I have seen people on here advising that if you have to go and do one of those top-up shops, don't take your card, and only take the amount of cash you will need for what you're intending to buy, then you CAN'T pick up all the extra. Sounds like great advice to me and I'll use it next time I have to do that!

daisiegg

PS I know loads of people on here love their slow cookers and I love the idea of it, but I can't get over childhood memories..I used to DREAD the meals my mum made in the slow cooker. She is a fantastic cook and her food is always so, so flavoursome - except from the slow cooker. It seemed to suck all taste out of the food and it was so bland and tasteless, yuk yuk yuk.

Not trying to discourage you from using it though! I know there are lots of threads of slowcooker recipes and I'm sure they can be yummy and full of flavour.

hot.chick

could you put things on the plan that were quick to cook if time is a problem?

omelettes, stir fry, soup and toasties, something on toast, even pasta only takes 15 mins add a sauce and some protein. etc.. etc..

or as others have suggested batch cook and make ur own microwave meals

dancing_in_the_rain

Thank you all for you responses definately food for thought.

Im going to have a go at Batch cooking some Ragu and curry sauces next weekend (I was reading Curry Queens Recipes ideas earlier).

Im already doing some baking this weekd for OH works cake sale, so I may double up my efforts and make some cake for desserts next week.

I love the idea of making something on toast, omelettes or toasted sandwhich and soup for tea (When its just me and the kids this great) but OH doesnt think he's had a meal unless there is meat, veg and a carbohydrate.

maman

I always found that when I worked full time and very long hours, meal planning and associated shopping list were even more important than they are now. Not only does it save money and cut out waste but it means you can whizz around the supermarket PDQ as you don't have to think!

I'd echo everything about batch cooking. My meal plan is usually 7 meals (assuming we aren't eating out) that we can eat in any order through the week. The HM ready meals (chilli/bolognese/curry etc) are always the stand by meals for when I'm short of time and if I don't need them they stay in the freezer for another week. Other evenings I cook from scratch and use fresh veg. Frozen veg is a great stand-by for later in the week and is very economical as definitely no waste.

For breakfasts and lunches I just make sure we have an ongoing supply of ingredients for the things we like: bread, eggs, cereal etc As I'm at home mostly these days I often have LOs for lunch but lots of people take them to work to heat up unless they make thior own sandwiches/salads.

ChasingButterflies

dancing_in_the_rain wrote: »

I have dusted down my slowcooker in the hope that this helps but the kids are too keen on anything produced by this.

Tonight for the first time in months we had stew for supper. Once he had cleared his plate DS said to me "Mum, do you remember when I didn't like stew?!" Now he has always been a good eater but thinking about it he was right, he would throw a flaky (sp) and moan etc...

The kids always remember the 1 (and only!) time I make a stirfry with chilled noodles - they hated them! and for months everytime they saw stirfry on the meal plan they moaned and groaned that they hated it (because of the noodles) everytime I reminded them that it wasn't the horrible noodles that I was using and once they tasted that it wasn't they wolfed it down.

The first few times I made HM pizza the kids moaned (just a little!) I had to wean them off the premade ones (and the sweetened tomato sauce and plastic cheese) a really good tool for doing this was to get them involved in making it - they tend to be more appreciative of what they are eating when they are responsible for producing it

Re your DH and meat/veg/carb issue

The quickest meal I can produce is veggie couscous with either strips of beef/chicken. The veggie sauce is a building block that I have in the freezer (I have onion, peppers, baby corn, courgette, and lots of chopped tomatoes - and I sometimes sneak some basil in...) you can add any veg - tinned sweetcorn instead of baby corn is fine etc) It can be used for (veggie) cannilloni/lasagne I make a huge pot of sauce and then freeze into portions. When needed it I defrost and then assemble a meal from it. So anyway cook/reheat veggie sauce, boli kettle for cous cous, fry strips of chicken/ or thin beef, chuck couscous in boiling water, etc. Dish up This meal has been a lifesaver for me there are 2 nights a week where I return with the kids from after school activites between 7.30 and 8pm ( mine are 10/9/6 &2):eek: I am still trying to build my quick supper meal ideas

What my rambling on is trying to convey is that it takes a while for kids to get used to the taste of HM stuff and after a hard day at school they need something to moan about... Don't take it personally... Baby steps though - new meals repaeated once every 10-14 days. There will always be meals they like more than others - I try and balance it out but you can't please everyone all of the time.

p.s. apologies for spelling and rambling I have an evil bug I can't shake off but didn't want to read and run - good night

Kaz2904

Dancing in the rain, thanks for starting this thread, you're where I'm at too.
I work nights and if the kids have clubs, it's tight. We can't have tea after their club because I'd be late for work. I always start making tea when I get in from school. Unfortunately, often I'm trying to get my breakfast and beat off hungry kids at the same time. All this whilst I'm trying to clean the kitchen so I have space to make breakfast/tea!
As I have to drag myself out of bed to go and fetch the kids from school, I'm always grateful that I have my menu pln. DH hates menu plans but got kaiboshed when his Mum told him to stop being ridiculous and how on earth did he expect me to be able to shop and provide a decent cooked meal every night without a menu plan? She went on to say how demoralising it is when day in day out, all you get is complaints about food.

Love her, thank god she's on my side!