Weezl's phase 1- recipe testing and frugalisation- come one, come all!

shanks77

List of CALCIUM rich non dairy foods - MSPI/ Dairy Allergy

Does this link help any?

shanks77

Might be up for a meet up too, although quite far. Shall think about it nearer the time [/QUOTE]

Aw you should try i am coming down from Scotland think it will be good fun:beer:

In_Search_Of_Me

All I can say is you lot are awesome!

weezl74

Hiya

calcium eh? who'd have thought it would be such a debate provoker

Thanks everyone for getting involved in that, what an amazing resource this recipe testing phase is looking to be.


Re pasta:

The best example of the compulsory restoration of the level of vitamins and minerals lost during manufacture in the UK is the addition of nutrients to all types of flour, other than wholemeal flour. The quality of flours is regulated by the Bread and Flour Regulations (1984) and low-extraction flours have to be enriched by the addition of thiamin (0.24 mg), niacin (1.60 mg), iron (1.65 mg) and calcium (235 mg minimum-390 mg maximum)/100 g.

with this minimum amount, we gain a further 5g of calcium from the pasta.

Has this already been said, sorry if it has

weezl74

My suggested way forward on the calcium challenge:

1 systematically go through our list and work out the calcium content of the entire list
(lots of work has already been done on this by you angels, but I think one post summarising it and broken down by item would be the most helpful tool at this stage)
Does anyone feel they have things to contribute to that list?
How would it be if all those people had access to a google docs spreadsheet which listed: item, quantity, calcium per unit and then cell 4 would calculate the total?

example googledocs environment for us to try this- NB the maths are a bit dodgy but I think it could work....

2 look at swaps which can be done to increase the calcium, but being conscious of what's being lost in so doing. (ie, I'm tempted to make all the cauliflower cheese meals into spinach gratin (ie same cheesiness, but different veg) because I've now read it's higher in calcium, but I think I need an easy tool which shows me what calcium we lose by dropping the cauliflower. Does that make sense?

weezl74

apple curd spread for breakfast toast
thick onion tart (like an oniony quiche, delia originally)
weetabix loaf
pasta puttanesca
cauliflower cheese with green bean and beetroot salad
sweetcorn soup
onion bhajias and chutney
allegra's risi e bisi
carrot cake
sweetcorn fritters (not the ketchup)
:staradminpork and apple burgers
spicy tomato meatballs and pasta
roast turkey leg and trimmings
roast belly pork and trimmings
HM pizza
corned beef hash
oaty raisin cereal bars
falafel
frugalised chutney
Lesley's chick pea crumble
chana mutter masala + rice
risotto pescatore
HM peanut butter
:staradminhash browns (with beans and toast)
lemon and raisin breakfast pancakes
firefox's frugal fishcakes
onion marmalade


okay most of these recipes have a linkie now.

Anymore willing testers?

Saves you having to do any horrid calcium maths!!!!

In_Search_Of_Me

I'll do the chutney later in the week...will withdraw from bics cos I have enough choc brownies to last!! Do pork and apple burgers need testing? Not quite sure from list what needs testing and what done IYKWIM!

weezl74

In_Search_Of_Me wrote: »

I'll do the chutney later in the week...will withdraw from bics cos I have enough choc brownies to last!! Do pork and apple burgers need testing? Not quite sure from list what needs testing and what done IYKWIM!

I think nearly everything has been tested once! Just needs a bit more opinion. Most tested have been delia tart, carrot cake erm.... potty, what have haven't you had feedback on?

xxx

System

weezl74 wrote: »

I was hoping that shirley et al would do what DH and I do which is to buy full fat milk and dilute it to the same fat content as semi and then freeze it in 1 pt cartons. We use 3 of these per week and do quite like our cups of tea and coffee. We yield 10 of these from a 6pt bottle.

(Preparing myself for howls of contradiction and outrage from hardened frugalistas...)

I have been thinking about this proposed watering down of milk, and I'm not sure it's feasible to expect people to do something so radical. We're not expecting them to give up cake because they're broke, but we are expecting them to go to extreme -- dare I say, unnatural -- lengths to save money on their milk bill? And we're assuming that they have a bigger-than-normal freezer to store all this milk (for four people) alongside all the frozen veg, half pizzas, half pork roasts etc?

Providing milk for growing children/teenagers is almost an iconic thing in feeding a family. Even when we complain that our children have drunk all the milk, we're kind of proud or pleased that they have. With young people, it's not about fat content, but about the other nutrients milk contains. Watering them down feels so wrong. Adults, of course, can do as they wish as they are responsible for their own health/nutritional decisions; children have little say in the matter, so we have to try to make good decisions on their behalf.

Aside from the watering down of nutrients, there are social barriers to doing this. I asked my husband and two teenagers whether they would be prepared to water down milk, and the look on their faces said everything -- no. And they think that it would also be a deal-breaker for people looking at the menu plan, partly because of the faff involved in all the milk preparation and collection of suitable bottles, but also because such an extreme measure is likely to be reflected in other aspects of the eating plan, so they would assume that the plan wasn't about "normal" eating and therefore wasn't for them. My husband, who cheerfully puts up with any of my madcap menu schemes, food experiments, budget trials etc, said "well, I wouldn't want to live like that".

I know this sounds rather negative but you asked for honest feedback about recipes; watering down milk counts as a recipe because we would have to give instructions so that people know how much water to add. After sleeping on it overnight, I still feel quite strongly that it is unreasonable to expect people to do this. I wouldn't be prepared to do it myself, even experimentally, for milk that was to be drunk by young people rather than just by adults. Everyone else here may disagree with me, but I think it is a step too far, especially in view of the calcium challenge. Sorry!

weezl74

feedback from sian much apreciated here:

You mentioned that other meats were cheaper than the pork mince, and I agree and will be looking to make cut backs to accomodate 'Calcium Gate'!

If we used beef mince for the burgers, then I'm guessing the apple sauce is a bit weird. Would beef mince burgers with the onion marmalade as a kind of sause plus veg accompaniments work do you think?

Seems a shame to chuck the recipe, I think we should write it up anyway since it is so frugal and obviously nice....:)