Festive Freezer Makeover

princess_lou

I won a makeover on MSE for a freezer makeover courtousy of LoveFoodHateWaste & Caroline Marson (Thanku to MSE Wendy for picking me x) I agreed to keep a diary of what happened on the day & afterwards (ie how much money I saved etc) so here it it!

Caroline & a member of LFHW went through all my food cupboards/ freezers/ fridge. They spoke to me about food wastage, best ways of using my freezer, food storage & how to organise it all. Caroline wrote a list of ALL the foods I have in the freezer is sending me a plan with meal suggestions etc. She thinks I will be able to eat for 2weeks out of what I have left in the freezer with minimum food shopping.

They had alot of info of how I could get the bestout of the freezer personilised to the family. for example I forget to take things out alot so am always stuck when it comes to dinner, she suggested that I thinly slice any meat eg chicken steak etc before freezing then at dinner time just grab it out the freezer & chuck it in pan & will cook in matter of minutes (never knew that).

Also I make up alot of packed lunches (DS school, OH has breakfast & lunch at wrk) So was told I can freeze sandwiches/ rolls/ wraps on a Sunday & just grab them out the freezer on the morning there needed. Have heard this before on here somewhere but always a bit dubious they'll turn out soggy so tried it when they had left for myself the next day - they were just as tasty.

They supplied me with loads of free stuff to help me with my freezer challenge - food storage boxes, freezer bags & ties, labels, a fridge shop list magnet/pen, recipes, ice lolly moulds for boys & an apron.

Here is a copy of what I have.

FREEZER LIST

[STRIKE]2 Pork Chops[/STRIKE]
1 Chicken/ Bacon Wrap
1lb Stewing Steak
2 Sirloin Steaks
Lamb Shank
[STRIKE]Chicken Nuggets[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE] Duck[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]King Prawns[/STRIKE]
Chicken Thighs x 2
Pork Pies x 3
Chicken & Mushroom Pie x 3
HM Chicken Soup
HM Prawn Jalfrezi & Rice
Chopped Onions
Peas
Sweetcorn
Broccolli
Courgettes
French Beans
White Beans
Spinach
Mixed Veg
[STRIKE] Casserole Mix x 2 1[/STRIKE]
Carrots
Exotic Mushrooms
Bananas
Blackberries
Summer Fruits
Mini Sausage Rolls
2 Toad in the Holes
Roast Potatoes
Bread
8 Muffins
Part Baked Bread Rolls
Choc Chip Cookies
Apple & Mincemeat Pie with Custard
Plums
Sliced Lemons
Mini BlackForest Gateau
Pancakes

Lou x

princess_lou

I will use this Post for shopping lists/ Meal plans so everything stays together.



Shop List:

12.5Kilos Potatoes £3.00
Pickled Onions £1.00
Mayo 87p
Baked Beans x 2 88p
Sharwoods Plum Sauce £1.59
Chopped Tomatoes x 2 70p
Salad Cream 79p
Milk £1.53
Cloudy Lemonade/ Lemon & Lime Fizz 2 for 80p
Butter 60p
Fruit & Barley x 2 £1.28
Eggs £1.79
Wholemeal bread £1.34
Part Baked Baguettes PK 2 79p
Prawn Crackers 99p
Bacon BOGOF £2.99
Cheddar £2
Lettuce 78p
Peppers £1.59
Cucumber 80p
Spring Onions 50p
Clementines 90p
Porridge Oats 99p
Red Onions pack x 2 Free!

Also Spent a bit in reduced Aisle

36 Crumpets £1.17
10 Bagels £1.30
6 Mini Tortillas 35p
6 Garlic/Coriander Pitta Breads 29p
6 Soft White Rolls 18p
4 Sandwich Finger Rolls 35p
4 Giant Whole meal Rolls 35p
Large Apple & Mincemeat Lattice Pie 79p
Tuna Pasta Bowl 89p

Kabanos- £1.03
Fresh Olive Mix - £1.09
Chicken/ Prawn /Chorizo Paella £2.55
Penne Pasta 99p
Tomato Pasta Shapes 68p

Total: £40.91


Shopping List 2:

King Prawns £3.00
Broccoli Florets £1.00
Summer Fruits £2.00
SweetCorn £1.00
Garden Peas £1.00

Total: £8.00


Meal Plan Week 1

Monday:

Breakfast- Smoothies
Lunch- Cheese/Tomato Rolls with Chutney. Yogurt
Dinner- Pork Chops with Garlic Mash & Broccolli (Us) Chicken Nuggets/ Chips/ Beans ( Kids) Plum Crumble

Tuesday:

Breakfast- Pancakes
Lunch- Tuna Mayo/ Salad Sandwich. Yogurt. Fruit. Viennese Whirl.
Dinner- Bacon & Pesto Pasta with HM Garlic Bread and Salad. Yogurts

Wednesday

Breakfast- Boiled Egg/ Soldiers
Lunch- Ham & Salad Wrap. Fruit. Veg Sticks & Dip. Mini Christmas Flake Cake.
Dinner- Jacket Potato & Tuna with Salad. Choc Chip Cookies

Thursday

Breakfast- Toast.
Lunch- HM Tuna/ Bacon Quiche. Fruit. Yogurt. Pitta Bread & Dips
Dinner- Cheese/ Ham/ Tomato Toasties. Apple & Mincemeat Pie/ Custard

Friday

Breakfast- Egg on Toast
Lunch- CousCous Salad. Yogurt. Fruit. Popcorn.
Dinner- Chicken/ Bacon Wrap with Chilli Rice & Salad ( Us) Toad in the Hole with Mash & Veg (Kids) Mini Blackforest Gateau.

Former_MSE_Wendy

Thanks for your post Lou

Some good tips to help us all save food by using our freezer in different ways (plus there's more info on the LoveFoodHateWaste site too).

Let us know when you get your plan and if the freezer tips help save money on your weekly food shop in the next few weeks.

Wendy

scotrae

I hadn't got around to looking at the LoveFoodHateWaste Website until seeing the link on here. There were some very helpful tips and recipes, along with a video or two. It has inspired me to make much more effective use of my freezer in the new year.

If you haven't already spotted it and less food waste (or lower shopping bills) is an aim for the new year, grab a cuppa and check it out today to inspire you.

Thanks for the link.

princess_lou

Hi, hope everyone had a lovely New Year.
Im updating the list as I have prepped and frozen a few things that were about to go out date, ie lemons, cakes etc. Also made up some stock with chicken bones and turned into a soup with storecupboard ingredients.. was yummy and had leftover too so froze them. On top of that I gained some items from my mum at Xmas.:D
Today I popped to Iceland to top up on veg so will list them too.
Havnt had the plan through the post yet, but have spoke to Caroline Marson via email and know it will be with me soon.:beer:
Lou x x

princess_lou

Have updated my menu plan.. May Change depending on if I get my plan through this week. Hope that this might help someone and second Scotrae Posts- check out LoveFoodHateWaste site.. well worth a peek.

Lou x

chalkysoil

that's a useful site, reading my way through it - liked this tip
Frozen grapes

Submitted by Martha, London
If you buy a big bunch of grapes and find you can't eat them all, wash and freeze the leftovers. You can use the frozen grapes to decorate ice cream, blend them into smoothies or just eat them as they are. They taste like mini ice lollies!

and this one
Freezing liquids

Remember that liquid expands by 10% when frozen, so do not over fill containers – leave a 2.5 cm space in a 500ml container or a 1.5cm gap in a 300ml container. If you don’t do this, soups, sauces and fruits in liquids will push off their lids, once frozen.

princess_lou

I have my plan through:j I did try to copy and paste it but it wont have it :mad: so I will post some tips frm it.. would copy it all except its 8 pages long:eek: Maybe will edit the post with it all when I have the time..

Anyway, it had tips on all sorts of things, from storing food, shopping techniques, packed lunches, storecupboard essentials, handy fridge foods, using up leftovers etc etc.. Am really pleased with it Caroline even took the time to organise some of it in the way I do my cupboards- Baking section/ sauces/ seasonings etc:T

Will be bk later with some info..
Lou x x