Ok...I admit defeat, I need help. Can I play too?

comping_cat

Make a list of everything in your cupboards, fridge and freezer, and see if you can make any meals from here, rather than shopping, and see what store cupboard essentials you need. I always have a 'one open, one spare' on these items, and as i open a new box/bag i know to add it to my shopping list to get a replacement.
I also, when i first started on this board, kept a months food shopping receipts, to see exactly what i was buying, and more importantly, what i was buying and then wasting. That way, the following month, i knew how much i had spent the previous month and my aim was to keep the following month below that figure, and also i knew what i had wasted, and knew not to buy it again!!!!

Dora_the_Explorer_5

Given the cholesterol probs meditteranean diet meals are high on veg, pasta (jacket spud for DS?), fish, rice, and very little meat, also loads of fruit.
Get your meals/ingredients planning on your pc, and your shopping list.
If you're not into cooking, have a look at student recipe books and student recipes on the net - students aren't famous for cooking either. You might also get some ideas for low cholesterol eating on the net.

pickle

I fry everything in olive oil. That way you can still have chips etc. but they'll reduce cholesterol. It is a bit pricier but that way you don't go for take aways so often so you save there. I also have a breadmaker and make pizza dough in it which I make with olive oil and then use the half-kol cheese sparingly on the top (no salami though!).

Use rice recipes if your OH won't eat pasta. Chilli beans, turkey/chicken paella, curry - chicken is best and cook with olive oil, avacado is very good for cholesterol so I make avacado salad with meals. Other things I make are chicken fajitas. You can also buy low-fat sausages. The only thing you can really do is read every packet for saturated/hydrogenated fat content. You'll soon get to know which foods are ok. Skinny cow icecreams or ice lollies and jelly for dessert and packets of jubes for sweets.

Boil mince before cooking and wash, then cook with it so as to get the excess fat out of it.

For gravy, use a packet mix rather than make your own as they have less fat.

Prudent

Aliasojo - welcome, I am glad you are joining os you will save masses and eat a better diet. However I would also encourage you not to beat yourself up. The Highlands of Scotland are probably the most expensive parts of Britain for groceries, especially if you like lots of fresh fruit and veg. I live in central Scotland and for a long time my parents lived in the north. I was always shocked by how much higher food prices were - plus of course the petrol is more expensive and you have to travel further.

I can buy a lot of my food at very cheap 'reduced to clear' prices in Morrisons. I buy all fruit reduced to 9 often from prices like 99p. Pre cooked chickens to 80p, milk to 10p, cheese to 20p etc, bread 9p. Of course I can live very cheaply. If I lived in the Highlands this would be very hard.

mirakl

There's still time to plant vegetables you can all agree you like. I know if you're in the north of scotland (my in-laws live there) you'll perhaps get slightly smaller crops and some plants are out however it's the cheapest way of having veg and even adults will eat stuff they've grown because of the novelty!

aliasojo

Just read all the tips...thank you for taking the time.

Can't plant anything....no ground in garden. We've just spent a fortune over the last year doing the garden up and it's mostly stone chips and plant pots now. There is 'soft' area but that has 6 year olds toys on it. I did buy strawberry plants early enough this year though and have one of those large tubs with ears everywhere.

Prudent, I am glad you posted as you did. I have often said things are more expensive up here and I have posted before about the price of fruit and veg in particular and how it was difficult to keep OH going with as much as he wants purely because of the cost. See everyone, it's true....I wasn't making excuses. :rotfl:

We oven bake, steam or grill usually. The only thing we fry are eggs and that's only now and then. The cholesterol thing hasn't been a problem before as we've been spending, I only mentioned it now so in case people suggested things that perhaps we weren't able to do. I've always found cheaper stuff has less of the good stuff and more of the not so good padding.

We got a breadmaker and after the first novelty wore off, it's been in the cupboard ever since. I didn't know you could make pizza dough in it. How hard could that be? I can do that.:D I think my 6 year old might like to help with toppings etc. (I'm warming to the theme now )

We also have slow cooker, a steamer, a pressure cooker and a microwave. (What can I say...I like gadgets.)

One thing I do seem to differ from a lot of you is the fact that we never usually have any leftovers. A roast or a chicken is done in one meal....or if there are leftovers, it's usually only enough for a sandwich and not another meal.

I think the loudest message is about planning. *Groan* That means I'll have to put effort into it.;)

We can shop online, but I'm a bit worried about getting not so fresh stuff delivered. Although I suppose I could just do that for everything else and get meat and fruit and veg myself. Can you still take advantage of BOGOFS etc online? I only did it once ages ago and I can't remember.

We are guilty of wasting a lot...food goes off before it gets used. I suppose planning properly will take care of that issue.

Re the soapnuts thing..I did get a sample and was amazed at how soft the clothes were....but my daughter's clothes didn't come out clean. Still dirty knees on trousers etc. I might still buy a bag and use them for slightly dirty stuff and use soap powder for everything else. For those that bought them....did you get actual whole shells....or 'bits'. My sample was just broken bits and I wondered if that had anything to do with it.

Have yet to find 'Stardrops' up here.

Sorry if all the above seems a little dis-jointed (does that have a hyphen?)...I'm writing as I think, lol.


Oh and Jay-Jay........................:p :rotfl:

:beer:

aliasojo

Hey Hey! Just noticed the thanks button again!

mamaoba

try boosting stained stuff like grass stained trouser knees with a little washing soda. At 50p a packet a scoop of that still works out cheaper than washing powder. It's made such a differnce to my skin I'm keen to encourage you to persevere with the soap nuts. Surcare, the boots sensitive skin stuff et all just didn't get stuff clean for me.

Toiletries is another area you can cut back - I have a few recipes I'll dig out and post later - again they are ideal for sensitive skin and cheap.

Glad you liked the pizza and pocorn night idea. I do this now when mates pop round - kids love adding the toppings themselves. someone recently here suggested sprinkling cinnamon on the popcorn - YUM! Frozen veggies work fine on pizza and are usually cheaper than fresh up where you are. It means I don't feel "tight" and everyone enjoys themselves.

If you don't get enough leftovers from a chicken you can still use the carcass (bones!) to make stock in your slowcooker then just add lentils onions, garlic and whatever veggies you have (again frozen is fine) for a really filling soup. Together with crusty homemade bread that's another dirt cheap meal that tastes better than the shop version. Maybe you could have soup and bread on Mondays for supper.

Trow

aliasjo - I just want to say that planning *saves* time and effort, rather than increasing it - it takes me half an hour to plan my week - which saves loads of looking through the cupboards time trying to figure out what to cook through the week.... honest!I understand the expense bit - I live in Shetland, even more remote and expensive (probably) (we have been voted the most expensive place to live, or were we second to London, I can't remember) and I am usually under £60 for the four of us for shopping per week, often under £50, and occasionally under £40 - it can be done.Have you tried bulking out meals? EG you can use lentils, oats, tvp mince or grated veg to bulk out mince dishes. All are cheaper than the mince. You could try tvp (soya) mince on its own - we don't use meat mince at all now, and I'll usually add a grated carrot and courgette into the mix to get the kids to eat veg that they would usually say no to. It's ok if they don't realise its there! It sounds minor, but it all adds up, and as you should know 'many a mickle maks a muckle' :DGood luck

RacyRed

Welcome and good luck aliasojo

It's a shame we can't organise a skill swap sort of thing, I bet there are more than a few of us would trade a few HM freezer meals for some DIY expertise.

I find it helps to keep a list of all the food stuffs we have on the fridge door and cross them off, add them on as appropriate. Total bore to do the first time, but once it is done it isn't to bad to maintain, and it is amazing to see it all written down like that.

I should add the use by dates of things to it but hey, there have to be some sdventures in life