Economy Gastronomy- HELP!

Chuzzle

Hi Puddingpennies, I get my chicken from the butcher. It weighs around 2kg (usually a bit more) and costs around £6. I don't know if its organic or free range or any special kind of fed chicken, it doesn't say and I've never bothered asking. But anyway this size chicken will do 2 adults and 2 teenage boys with hollow legs 3 meals each! So I'd say that'd be plenty big enough for you.

CRANKY40

Don't forget to make a shopping list. It makes me feel like my nan going round Asda with my list, but it's the only way to remember all the things you need, and to come away without all the things that you don't want but Asda would like you to think that you do.

I start my list the same evening as the day as I do my weekly shop. Anything that I use up, or anything I need for the next weeks menu plan goes on the list. It also means that you can work out roughly how much money you need before you leave the house, and then you can cross outanything you can do without if needs be if funds are a bit short.

NickiM

KatP wrote: »

Definitely join your local library - very DFW and O/S

All those free books, cds, dvds, newspapers etc not to mention the notice board and the fact that the heating is on all day!!!

You can get books on anything, and if your local branch doesn't have what you want then you can have it sent from another!

At my library, you have to pay to take out DVDs/CDs etc, but still much cheaper than buying them yourself.

Did you decide to have the BBQ, PP?

ItchieFeet

Puddingpennies wrote: »

Hi All

I'm new to the boards and have just started on my debt free journey! I'm trying to cut back where I can and decided that food is one area that I'm completely stuck with. I watched Economy Gastronomy by chance last night, and I have to say, although they seemed like a nice family- I didn't really get the impression that they were the kind who needed to spend less on food, £410 a week :eek: thats more than I earn! :eek: Anyway, I thought the principle of the idea was good, but I found it really difficult to relate to or interpret the show, since the budget was still so incredibly high (compared to my measly £70 a month) this is what brings me here!


Am thinking that perhaps you should contact the show! You are by far not the Singleton on MSE and reckon EG could do a "special"....?! Like you, I have no room for a freezer - my fridge has an ice box which can hold portions of left over bolognaise sauce, but not much else. So thanks for all the suggestions on here!!

tinkerbellsmum_2

for your books there read it swap it. its a book swapping site all u pay is to post your book to the other person which is about 70-1.60 on adv depending on size but best bit is u get rare books so u read different types.
i love it its addictive though
www.readitswapit.co.uk

song_of_calliope

You say that you're willing to spend more time cooking - how about making your own bread from scratch? It's really easy once you get the hang of it and you can even freeze the dough in portions and then for every meal you cook in the oven you can have fresh, warm bread with it. Roll it out thin and you have a pizza base, and if you've got some leftover sauce from one of your pasta meals spread that on top, grate on a bit of cheese and add whatever veggies you like.

Grow some basil on your windowsill and make pesto (you can make it with walnuts as these are usually cheaper than pine nuts at Lidl) and use the pesto on pasta, as an alternative to tomato sauce on the pizza (skip the cheese though and just add veg, carmelised onions are really nice and cheap, too!), and use it on roast tomatoes and other veg.

When you shop with a list at Lidl (I love Lidl!), also keep an eye out for sale items, particularly in the fruit and veg section. If something's cheap and you think you'd like it, buy it and then look up simple ways to cook it when you get home or incorporate it into recipes you're already planning - this will get easier the more you cook.

My philosophy is that anyone can slap together a bunch of expensive ingredients to make something delicious and call themselves a gourmet cook (and this is what most tv chefs seem to do!), but it takes real talent and creativity to cook something tasty that's also cheap - and it's much more fun to cook that way, too. Just be really sure that you're not sacrificing you health to save money as it's not worth the price!

henbane

Puddingpennies
Like you I'm single and live in a v small flat but have still got 3 freezers (I have got allotments as an excuse). There's one in the kitchen, one in the living room - which looks a bit odd but never mind and one in the hall. If only I had room for one more... but no money....

Is there anywhere near you where you can pick blackberries for free? They are beautiful this year and I have picked pounds and pounds. I freeze them whole and pureed so I can use them for jam and different meals in the winter.

One thing I do so you get plenty of fruit every day is to cook up in my slow cooker - or use a saucepan - a big pot of blackberries and apples cut up really small with a dash of water if it needs it (you could also use a splash of sloe gin or the juice of an orange )and a knob of butter and a spoonful of sugar. Cook till a nice thick compote. Cool and keep in the fridge or freezer and eat a small pot every day with yoghurt. If you get some lidded pots, old cream tubs etc it's great for a packed lunch. You could also use it for pies and crumbles etc.

If you're really hard up then porridge as said before is great for breakfast and if you eat a good meal once a day for lunch or supper as well, quite good for dieting too if needs be!

best wishes
Henbane

Mags_cat

Puddingpennies wrote: »

Oh I forgot to say, whilst I've been over here I've been taken in by the flylady thread, so much so that I've printed the list and will be trying it at home on my own this week! At this rate I'll be a domestic godess in no time :rotfl:

Looks like you've got the bug big time:T

Just be a bit careful of changing *everything* at once. If you try to do that, and perhaps one thing starts to slip you might feel bad about it and that might make other things slip...you know "Oh, I couldn't be bothered to clean the oven tonight and I can't face cooking....I'll just get a takeaway, it's only one.....".

It takes a while for something new you're doing to become a habit...and now we've got our OS claws in you, we don't want you slipping away

Best of luck, you do sound really motivated! Remember, there's a whole heap of advice here whenever you want it.

Little_Miss_Road_Rage

What about looking on the Sainsbury's website and cooking their £5 for a family of 4 meals. If u divide these up into their 4 portions it will last u 4 days. I would make 2 different ones each week and alternate them for the week then do another 2 for the next week. This will cost u £37.50 a month for your evening meals and u could prepare them on the weekend so no cooking through the week.

Fire_Fox

French onion soup makes a lovely meal and is very cheap to make - it's supposed to be beef stock (could use a cube) but my dad always did it with turkey stock after Xmas and I tend to use chicken stock a la rubber chicken.

Cut two or more Value/ Smartprice onions into rings, slowly fry in a little butter until they go really sweet, add some crushed or chopped garlic and cook briefly, add a couple of pints or more of stock, a splash of leftover white wine/ sherry/ brandy (if you have it), some herbs (dried mixed or thyme work well), season with salt and pepper, simmer for 15 minutes plus. Soup is then done.

Then toast some bread (ideally circular shape loaf so it will fit in a bowl!) and grate some cheese (gruyere or any hard cheese). I was taught to put the toast in the bowl, grated cheese on top and massive ladles of soup over to melt the cheese. However the proper way is to put the soup in the bowl, flot the toast on top, cheese and grill until melted.

As you can see I don't know any quantities, and they seem to don't matter as I have never had anything but a yummy result! Substitutes of different alcohols, different breads, different stocks, different cheese all work fine which means it's great for using up leftovers.