Store cupboard challenge

Trinny

Hello Nuala

What a fantastic thread. I do the grocery challenge and are slowly getting the monthly targets to drop down.

I also did a freezer inventory a few months ago - so the freezer situation is under control - although it was a bit of a challenge when we were stashing foraged apples, pears, blackberries and elderberries.

I am joining in as if i dont - someone in our house is going to get a concussion from falling tins/ packets etc in our overstocked groaning larder. I still suffer from the " it will keep for ages and its cheap/reduced/on special/ on BOGOF/3 for 2" syndrome. At the moment we cant take anything out of the larder without having to hold on to half a dozen items so they dont fall out at the same times - shelves are bowed like bananas. :rotfl:

So my version is going to be - as many meals using storecupboard/larder ingredients as possible. Should still help with the ££ and be safer for all concerned.

Best of luck everyone

Trin

LizzieB

Wow, what a brilliant thread!

It's so wierd, but last night I was working out that my plan for the next 18 weeks (until OH and I go on holiday) was £2 a day for both of us (including petrol, toiletries and food) as my storecupboards and freezer are utterly jampacked (in fact, one of the freezer drawers is broken as OH tried to pull it open and it was too frozen!). Like Nuala I too am a self confessed bargain hunter - last week in Mr S I got 12 tins of Branston spaghetti for 9p each!!! Nothing wrong with them, just on offer.

My OH has just started working again after over 18 months, so although we are going to be better off, we still need to keep our belts tightly pulled. If I can shadow you good people here that would be great. Tea tonight will be bubble and squeak from yesterday's roast with sausages. I have managed to only spend 22p today and that's how I'd like it to stay.

Good luck everyone and hope it's okay to join in. I'm so glad I found this thread.

NualaBuala

Hi OSers - thank you all so much - it's so encouraging to see so many people joining in! I feel that I'm not the only one with addiction to stocking up on tins!:beer:
I wanted to reply to everyone individually but I've had a headache all day and looking at the screen hurts! Do keep me company though - I bet I'd have given up already and succumbed to "bargains" if it weren't for you guys!:rotfl:

Well I'm off to a reasonably ok start!
Today I had my porridge with raisins for brekkie - made with water so still have plenty of milk. Wasn't that hungry so just had some of my fruit scone for lunch and of course more mushroom risotto for dinner.

I have 2 extra portions of the risotto and I think I'll just eat them this week rather than freezing them. I wonder will I be sick of it? BTW - I hope this doesn't gross anyone out but I had an old mouldy lump of cheddar that I didn't want to waste. So I cut the mould off and washed the cheese - I know it sounds a bit weird but it seemed to work fine. I patted it dry and it seemed perfect and certainly tasted ok.

I have a full box of ordinary teabags and one of rooibos teabags which I like to drink in the evening as it doesn't have caffeine. Also it doesn't need milk so that will be a saving. I'm wondering how long I can make my ordinary ones last. I used make a mug of tea, and forget about it till it went cold - what a waste! I don't do that anymore and I've found that one teabag makes a full pot and it stays warm with the teacosy I knitted. So that should help stretch out my tea supplies. :T

One aspect of this that occurred to me after my first post is that I'm trying to be greener - mainly by wasting less. So I even saved the used teabags to put over my eyes and they really did feel lovely. I don't have a compost heap any more but normally that's where they'd end up.

It's great to see what other people are doing cos it inspires me - I'm a regular lurker on the Grocery Challenge and I love Weezl's 50p a day challenge. So I'm working away on my meal plan - I don't think I'll be too rigid - I'll swap stuff from day to day if I don't fancy what I've pencilled in.

Oh, and I've found a recipe to use up quinoa, tuna and some of my frozen spinach - it sounds lovely! And another to make a lemon pudding with my tapioca and condensed milk - yummy!

NualaBuala

JackieO wrote: »

Any one for a pilchard sandwich ? I have six tins of the blooming things 'just in case' of WW.3 or a world shortage of pilchards

JackieO wrote: »

Tonight I am having something with potato's and broccolli.I say something as I have just dug out what I think maybe meat, but its so wrapped up I have forgotten what it is , I'll let you know tomorrow what it is.So 'Suprise' dinner for me tonight.
Just off to list the rest of my freezer stuff and renew my list on the front of the freezer.I type it up on a word document then print it off and stick on the freezer at least once a month.

JackieO, you always make me giggle!:rotfl: Dying to know what the 'surprise' was for dinner!

That's a brilliant idea to print off your list of what's in the freezer. On the other hand - not so many surprises!

NualaBuala

Rummer, best of luck going through what you've got - it took me ages! But at least when you spent it'll be on stuff you need!

I'm hoping to do the same as you Pitlanepiglet. We usually get good deals before and after Christmas so at least I'll have room for them once I've used this lot up!

Good luck with your inventory purplepardalis, I have the same problem - never knew what I had so ended up buying everything needed for each dinner and more tinned tomatoes!:D

Thanks Ninno, I'm not familiar with SW but have done WW - be sure and let me know if you find any super-healthy store cupboard recipes cos I could definitely do with dropping a few (ok more than a few) pounds.:D

Glad you liked the recipe site Lil, and good luck with using up what you've got. Did you get the cranberries? Just hope there wasn't a multibuy offer on if you did!:D


Ooh, thanks taplady - so nice of you to say that!:o Let us know how you get on using up your bits and pieces.

You're off to a great start with change to spare from your fiver Little Vics - just hope the hubby doesn't mind getting fed from the store cupboard!:D

At least you have an excuse for your hoarding instincts TudorRose, I'm not sure what mine is! I have so much "emergency food" - and fair enough, it's no harm to have some but I have silly amounts with not much thought put in. My new store cupboard will be based on rational choices - not addiction to bargains!

I think tinned mackeral might be the only thing I don't have in my cupboard nopot2pin but it sounds like you have enough for all of us! My thing seems to be tuna and tinned tomatoes - and water chestnuts

Best of luck with WW slm6002. I did it before with great results but fell off the wagon.:o I'm hoping this challenge will help me eat better (less junk) so please pass on any good recipes you come across.

I love turkey irishwexford, did you make giblet gravy? I love it! You sound really well stocked up. It's funny - normally we all think it's great to get so many meal out of a roast but it's hard if you want to empty your freezer. Your shopping bill sounds great - you can't be beat fresh fruit and veg.

Thanks a million JoKay, I've been adding to my stores for so long - now it's finally time to start using the stuff!

Now Remmie you're not trying to tempt me into buying more tins, are you? Cos those Branston bake beans sound scrummy.:rotfl:Best of luck making room in your stores and keep us posted.

Hi DebsDD, don't be too impressed - I already spent €7.90 so am into week 2's budget already! But I think I can get by on €2.10 till week 3. I think I was like your fussy stepson when I was a kid - I was so picky and there were so many Sunday lunches that ended in family rows, door slamming and me in tears and my parents stressed out cos I wouldn't eat what was put in front of me. But now I've gone the other way - I seem to eat just almost anything. Hope some parents are reading with some tips for managing - sounds very tricky to me! Oh and yes - I have great cupboards from Ikea - you can fit loads in!

Your meal plan sounds lovely Nancy - I love Indian food but I've never tried anything more adventurous than a curry. And I adore falafel.... mmmmm.
And hey, £18 is still terrific - and you've got your meals sorted!

I hate when that happens keza, but not to worry, it sounds like it'll keep you going for a while AND you got treats!:D

Thanks a million Trin, and best of luck with your challenge. I can identify with the near misses from concussion.:D I'm very pleased that since I did my inventory and tidied a bit it's not so risky opening the cupboard door now!

Thanks a mill Lizzie - that's brilliant that your OH is back working again! All the more money to [STRIKE]spend on tins of Branston spaghetti[/STRIKE] use wisely.:D I love bubble and squeak, all leftovers dinners really. It's great to have you here - we can all cheer each other on.:T

I'm getting quite nerdy about this - I've now got a spreadsheet showing what food I've got in stock and I've started a meal plan in it too. And I've managed not to resist making hot choc with marshmallows (didn't know I had them till yesterday) - I feel quite virtuous as I'm saving them for a really cold day when I need cheering up.:A Good luck to everyone and please share all your tips and ideas.

remmie

Wel I have started today very positive, have made a list of the contents of the freezer and I think theres enough in there for 22ish days, (not bad for 2 drawers).

DH is working everyday until next Tuesday so is using the car and our nearest supermarket is 4 miles away so that will help keep me on track!

Magpie.

Great thread, I've been telling myself that I need to use up my cupboard and freezer contents too before the big xmas shop.

I'll list it all tonight and try some sort of plan for the next few weeks. I must be able to just buy meat, milk and a few fresh bits until xmas and save some €'s

LizzieB

Hi Magpie, that's my plan too. If we put our lists up we can compare and hopefully suggest some ideas. I put 200g red kidney beans to soak this morning. I've got two ears of sweetcorn hanging about (no pun intended!) so I thought a veggie chilli tonight and then bean and tuna salad for lunch tomorrow. Hubby and I (both teachers) have got an open evening tomorrow so we'll take the two 'emergency' pot noodles I've got with us as a snack (well, I have got to use everything up...!;))

Good luck everyone
LizzieB

misscousinitt

I'm trying to empty the freezer too - needs defrosting! Also I'm doing a buffet on 7th Nov (our 1st paying customer) and I need room for frozen stuff. So I think I am going to use what I can and not do my meat shopping till after the buffet has been and gone and the freezer has been defrosted.

415SanFran

I would love to join you guys with this.
Like everyone else I am straining with food.
But the reason that I am really doing it is because we have been down with the flu,
after only 3 days of using what is already here I realize that I do not need yet another box of dried onions
So in my slow cooker today is-:
Red lentil
dried onions :T only another 8 boxes to get through;)
Half a bag of spinach.
3 potatoes that I have done with the peeler so that they will hopefully break down.
A couple of veg stock cubes and other random herbs.

I have just about every bean and pulse that they sell in the UK I would love some help with this I am not a good cook and measuring is not a strong point of mine, I am more of a look and see cook, good/bad thing about this is that the same meal never tastes exactly the same twice.

I also have a really bad habit of buying in bulk when I can, and the local Asian shop sells beans/pulses and the like in 5kilo bags, so when I say I have every bean or pulse I am talks lots of them.