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

homegrown_life

Lesley_Gaye wrote: »

Avocet, is there any chance of having a look at your spreadsheets? I am having a go at setting up a minimal expenditure menu for me and OH in the way that we like to eat. I am pretty handy with a spreadsheet and I would like to see if we are getting all the nutrients, colour of f+v etc.

There are so many things to track, I thought it would be useful to see how you have done it, if you don't mind

I'm trying to do the same - not sure if I'll get there completely for this new month (starting Thursday), but hopefully I'll have a healthier meal plan just by all the thinking and pondering going on in this thread.

Lesley_Gaye

Boodle wrote: »

Hi all


I make something we use for "sausage meat" balls, sausages and nutloaf, but it is essentially a glorified stuffing ball mixture. You could easily leave out the nuts, flavour with the bacon and replace the melted butter with oil. The quantities/method could be useful in recipe development

Makes about 10 balls
1 crust of bread
2 tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp dried sage
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
God pinch of white pepper
1 heaped tbsp peanut butter
1 tbsp dairy free spread
1 tsp yeast extract

Rub the bread between fingers to make crumbs. Mix in the almonds, sage, herbs and pepper. Melt the spread and peanut butter in microwave for 20 secs. Stir in the yeast extract, then mix this into the dry ingredients. Squidge into balls and bake at 200C for 15 minutes.

these sound intriquing Boodle. I may well give them a go next time I do sonething I think they'll go with. There are a lot of herbs in there, do they taste strongly of herbs?

Boodle

Lesley_Gaye wrote: »

these sound intriquing Boodle. I may well give them a go next time I do sonething I think they'll go with. There are a lot of herbs in there, do they taste strongly of herbs?

Hi Lesley I use a flat tbsp, rather than a heaped one. I think as it is mostly bread it needs that flavour. Bought stuffing is usually highly flavoured and that is what I was aiming for when I came up with the recipe. If you feel you would like to use less, you could always taste before you roll it into balls, and add more seasoning then if yu feel it needed some after all

Lesley_Gaye

Boodle wrote: »

Hi Lesley I use a flat tbsp, rather than a heaped one. I think as it is mostly bread it needs that flavour. Bought stuffing is usually highly flavoured and that is what I was aiming for when I came up with the recipe. If you feel you would like to use less, you could always taste before you roll it into balls, and add more seasoning then if yu feel it needed some after all

I think I will use less and taste as neither of us like the very herby stuffings, esp the sage. I have never actually tried to make stuffing balls, partly because OH would have yorkshires with everything given half a chance. I try and have herbs in the garden, and they taste different again, so will experiment with the herby part of your recipe, thanks

taka

homegrown_life wrote: »

I'm trying to do the same - not sure if I'll get there completely for this new month (starting Thursday), but hopefully I'll have a healthier meal plan just by all the thinking and pondering going on in this thread.

Me too... and I seem to be reading loads about nutrients / vitamins too as it has become abundantly clear that my diet is probably lacking in a few (I do take vitamin tablets but I'd rather get them from my diet if possible).
I'm definitely low on calcuim and Vit B12... Not sure about the rest.

My diet isn't great - and very lacking in variety. Too many years of an eating disorder means I don't really know how to cook very much and find it all a bit daunting (especially milk ). ED is completely under control at the mo but I need to expand my food horizons [STRIKE]a bit[/STRIKE] a lot.

Cooking the onion tart was the 1st time since childhood that I've been near whole milk (milk is a residual phobia of mine that I am trying to challenge regularly) and the 1st time I've ever blind baked anything. (Note to self... when it says !!!!! the pastry with a fork... don't actually !!!!! all the way through... unsurprisingly the pastry then tends to leak filling! :eek: *insert rolly eyes man here* :rotfl:

Sorry I've not been doing much testing or been much help recently. A tooth extraction followed by an evil cold means either a) I'm not up to eating much or b) I can't taste anything! :rotfl:

weezl74

ariarnia wrote: »

Unfortunately we're 3 adults at the moment but, when we used to have roast dinners they used to be small cheap chickens. When I and my brother were younger (under 12), mum used to do this by first removing the breast as a whole and making that breast extend down to the side of the bird (does that make sense, to where the leg meets the body but not under or into the leg).

She would then take out the 'fillets' under the breast and serve these to my brother any myself, and the 'top' of the breast she would serve for herself and my father. The roast the next night, my brother and I would get the drumstick, and her and my father would have the thigh.

Then scraps from under the bird and the wings would be stirred through pasta or in a pie with potato and maybe cheese, and the carcass and skin made into stock with milk for cream chicken soup and bread.

Wow! Thanks for that, what a frugal mummy with a good method to feed you all
I've been wondering about a pie with the leftover chicken...

Has your mum passed on her pie recipe to you?

xxx

Sian_the_Green wrote: »

Oh goodness, it has all gotten a little bit technical for me!
I am happy to help where I can but now am a bit lost in all the calcium and vitamin c debate. I have a psychology degree and work with young people so not much use at all that technical stuff. Am more than happy to do some cooking of recipes and feeding though!

Ideas for half a pack of cooking bacon anyone? My 'leftovers soup' for lunch was rather yummy, which is good as I have about another 2 litres of it to eat!

Hi to all! x

Yep! Bit technical But we don't want to lose any recipe testers so lets concentrate on mucking about with food for a bit

taka wrote: »

Me too... and I seem to be reading loads about nutrients / vitamins too as it has become abundantly clear that my diet is probably lacking in a few (I do take vitamin tablets but I'd rather get them from my diet if possible).
I'm definitely low on calcuim and Vit B12... Not sure about the rest.


Sorry I've not been doing much testing or been much help recently. A tooth extraction followed by an evil cold means either a) I'm not up to eating much or b) I can't taste anything! :rotfl:

It's really enlightening isn't it all this! I'm glad I take a pregnancy vitamin plus iron and calcium each day or I'd be pretty worried after all this research! I do like the way that this experiment is actually benefitting some of US too rather than just Bob and shirl. Sorta makes it worthwhile even now IYSWIM?

maltesers_2

weezl74 wrote: »

Oh! That's not good

is anyone else not seeing all my calcs when they click the linkies?

That day can easily be adjusted, the one I posted with the risi e bisi, I'll just swap the days round to plonk more vit C on that day in the brekkie and lunch, does that make sense, Like they can have the sweetcorn soup for lunch the day of the risi e bisi dinner. Or they can have a glass of the lemon squash with the meal IYSWIM?

Does that make any more sense?

xxx

Sorry had to go and meet oncologist :eek:

I think it makes more sense but I would love to be able to see the plans and calc pages - are they listed somewhere. I'm trying to get as many nutrients in my diet at the moment too.

weezl74

Lesley_Gaye wrote: »

I thought that maltesers was trying to link to the menu plan, just ignore me!

Just searched for the spark people link I left and can't find it

It's on http://www.sparkrecipes.com/ and I signon on using lesleygaye and pwd sparkrecip

brill

I hope you don't mind but I changed the bean curry to 4 portions rather than one so I could check the vit C :D

Thank you so much :A:A:A:A

IOIWE does your offer of help include any more entering of recipes? Feel very free to say no, I know it's a faffy tool!

And Lesley how do you feel about doing a bit more of that or are you wanting something different to do?! :D

So we don't double up, I have done Bread, Onion Tart, boodles biscuits (trying to do Kaz's too but hit a techno-hitch) the porridge with raisin breakfast, and the HM wedges

lesley has done apple curd, baked bean curry and cereal bars

IOIWE has done, carrot cake, chana mutter masala, green bean and beetroot...Goes off to find out what else back in a min... adds apple & carrot chutney cauliflower cheese a la weezl chickpea crumble

weezl74

maltesers wrote: »

Sorry had to go and meet oncologist :eek:

Hugs

Will try to find a way to make the spreadsheets visible on here...

Googledocs is the only spreadsheet host I know of online though .... Willl continue to ponder.....

Sian_the_Green

taka wrote: »

Me too... and I seem to be reading loads about nutrients / vitamins too as it has become abundantly clear that my diet is probably lacking in a few (I do take vitamin tablets but I'd rather get them from my diet if possible).
I'm definitely low on calcuim and Vit B12... Not sure about the rest.

Weirdly apparently I am allergic to vitamin B12. I used to take a B vitamin supplement and more recently a multi-vitamin (ironically for my skin!) but have now stopped. A friend of mine who has a PhD in Nutrition says that tablets aren't as good anyway so not sure I am losing out on much

I love your story about the pastry, also love that the filter doesn't let you put the work 'pr1ck', lol