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

weezl74

Avocet wrote: »

Hi Weezl,
I'm working on the stock levels, and have tracked down most of the recipes in the planner, but I still need recipes for:

• pasta carbonara
• pea and ham soup
• savoury oaty burgers
• spicy pea and apple soup

Could you please point me at the right posts for these recipes, or write them out if they haven't already appeared?

Will you all go away and not play this game anymore if I confess to having thought, 'Oh I'll just cobble them together with the leftovers?!'

Seriously though, I don't know that I'm clever enough to proceed with inventing more meals until I can 'see' somehow what there is to play with...

If kester wasn't due imminently, I'd be tempted to just buy the shopping list and go for it and see what was left (usually my learning style, learn by doing....) but I feel a bit limited at the mo.

But loosely, I'm hoping that pasta, evap milk, cheese/grana padano, bacon and a bit of onion will create a frugalish carbonara (subject to stock)

Bacon fat/stock plus peas for pea and ham soup

Peas, apple (bramley) garlic and garam for pea and apple.

Was also hoping there might be toms we can claw back from somewhere and evap milk for a creamy tomato soup....

Is any of this helping?

Do you feel brave enough to host your sheet on googledocs? I'm sure it can't be worse than mine! I even have CH blindness :rotfl:

Wondered if if I could see stock diminishing when I make certain decisions it might help me more....

Avocet wrote: »

After spending the evening trawling through this massive thread looking for the latest versions, I feel as though I might have gone mad. I am expecting Mr Rochester to lock me away in the attic at any moment! :-)

By the way, I have highlighted in red those entries in the GoogleDocs menu planner which are not possible at all, at least as written -- these, for some reason, all involve things beginning with "ch": no chickpeas, no chicken, and no chutney (because we're no longer buying cabbage and haven't got a replacement recipe, as far as I can tell).

Suggested tweak: Mr Darcy locks you in an attic with himself and then you BOTH go mad Now that's a much better fantasy

Avocet wrote: »

I also have some questions:

• How many servings do you get from one batch of bean pate? Batch weighed 450g at the end and DH felt a 20g serving was good for a lunch
• What weight of peanut butter do you need per person for "peanut butter and toast"? And for "peanut butter sandwiches"? Also assume 20g, but I'll test this at breakfast. I have eaten once already, but I call my 3 am meal 'munch'. I also have scrunch and bunch at other times of the day Kester is a very hungry fetus. Fergus was very frugal
• How many servings from a batch of apple curd? And of chutney (assuming that the cabbage reappears)? Apple curd weighed 490g I think you said you had a conservative 30g. Shall we run with that and see where it takes us?
• I have assumed that the potato for the hash browns weights 500g and the onion 125g. Is this OK? Sounds good to me! (AKA I haven't got a clue but let's try it! )
• Are we still using the original carrot cake recipe, or Ceridwen's sugarless one? Yep, was trying to ascertain that myself... lets assume we halve it, and that the natural sugars in the added evap (sorry I know I haven't updated ) will add the necessary mouthfeel
• I have reduced the fish in the risotto to 0.75 tin, leaving 0.25 tin for fish pate. With this, I have put 40g onion, 1 tsp lemon juice and 2 tsp oil. Would you like different figures? nope that sounds fab. I shall make it for lunch. Or perhaps because all of this is so guessy I shall call all my meals 'Hunch'....

Once we get ingredients and quantities for the remaining recipes, and resolve these outstanding queries, it should be quite quick to get the stock figures out.

weezl74

Avocet, I've just re read the amounts of fish I'm expecting to make a pate with :rotfl:How embarassing! You must've spotted this and are raising it very gently, how funny!

A quarter of a can and I was expecting it to do about 20 meals! :rotfl:Good grief! I appear to have been expecting a latter day miracle of epic proportions .

(wonders if I could just buy 5 bags of bread flour and 2 cans pilchards and pray really hard )

weezl74

:rotfl:comes back from kitchen still laughing :rotfl:

have just made 2 sandwiches out of said batch :rotfl:

OK. Here's what I'm thinking. Our two biggest financial stumbling blocks to date have been, Calcium and omega 3. Our biggest 'nations favourite normal food flavours' stumbling block has been the omega 3 issue. (incorporate fish, lose a substantial amount of meat)

Some sites seem to suggest that as few as 5-10% of people in the UK consume enough oily fish or other omega 3 rich foods to contain the minimum healthy levels.

So this is my struggle. We're putting together a crisis plan. My first health benefit to Bob and Shirley that I want to give them is the feeling that they can be debt free.

I know some will disagree.

This is how I put it before and this is still my resolve: debts of £20,000 0r above, being unemployed or being made redundant is believed by health psychologists to cause the same detriment to health as to be smoking 75-100 cigarettes daily.

So I've got Bob in front of me, and I'm thinking about his health I truly am. And yep! He like 95% of the UK is not consuming enough oily fish. And ultimately I'd like to tackle that. But he's chain smoking! Surely I've got to work on that first?

I feel stuck. I've made friends on here and I like you all. I respect what people are telling me and I want to incorporate it all.

I guess what I fear is, that we will add in so many things to be healthy that we will lose bob and shirley, because they "never ate any blinkin fish before this financial mess and why should they start now, it's pricier than corned beef and the kids don't like it." and then they carry on as they were before, and Bob and Shirley are still chain smoking quietly away with no-one noticing.

I really hope this doesn't sound like changing the rules cos I don't like the way the game's going.

But here's what the pragmatist in me wants to say: Lets offer Bob and shirley a get out of debt meal planner solution that's at least as healthy (and in lots of areas of nutrition a darn sight more healthy) than they usually have.

And then, lets show people all our ideas for making it more healthy (recipes involving pichards, using brown rice, flour and pasta and how to do that frugally too?)

So are you just going to throw calcium out of the window too weezl and make that fit your tight budget, and just give Bob back his chickens?

Nope! Have also agonised over that. And part of me would really like to. 8 glasses of tap water in most non-super urban parts of the UK (London Birmingham Liverpool/manchester) would top up our calcium enough to save me a £5, which I'd love to buy bob a couple of roast dinners with, but still no, here's why...

I want bob and shirley to be well. I think their debt is inhibiting that. I want to reduce it.

With oily fish, I genuinely do not believe I am worsening their diet with this plan, I am improving it, just probably not maximally.

With calcium, most children in the UK DO hit their calcium needs each day. If shirley and her DD don't eat enough then their childbearing years will rob then of their bone density. DD and DS will not lay down good stores in their teeth and bones.

This is not ok with me, I do not want to be responsible for that.

I have used the pronoun 'I' here throughout, even though I know we are a team. This is because I am sticking my neck out and I don't want to assume anyone else is coming with me!

So the way forward as I see it:

1 roll out Bob and shirley planner number 1 with the health parameters as defined in the first posts PLUS CALCIUM! And at the same time as offering 'tips for shirley's big batch day' offer 'tips for making this plan even more healthy for your family (to include all our hard work and fish recipes)'
2 get our heads round the free range egg issue (by popular demand) with menu planner 2
3 get our heads round the people who want a fresh piece of fruit every day in planner 3

I hope this doesn't lose anyone.

Firefox i'm most worried about losing you and I fear what I've said goes against some very core values to you, and I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to wash your hands of the project.

I'd respect that. A plea though. If you did want to stay on board, and would be happy to, I would love it if you'd be responsible for shirley's section on how to make it even more healthy, including wholegrains, oily fish and so on...

But I absolutely would understand if you didn't want to.

Also, I realise that this sounds a bit like I'm saying 'you're the only one who thinks that' and I'm genuinely not. I imagine a lot of people have had a look at what we're doing, felt the same things and just clicked away from the page.

I admire people who are brave enough to say things they think are controversial. And I know you thought long and hard before posting in case it discouraged us. Thank you. You are very kind to a stranger!

Love Weezl xxx

ceridwen

shanks77 wrote: »

Welcome back potty nice to see you again there is a lot to catch up on. I logged off for about 3 hours and came back to 3 pages so i dont envy you but it is interesting (sometimes a bit complicated hats off to the clever ones) and always enjoyable. Hear from you soon

....and dont forget there are many colours in a rainbow - it wouldnt BE a rainbow without the full spectrum of them:) (ceridwen's visual way of saying - all are necessary on this thread).

...<goes wandering/wondering off thinking "how many of the clothes in my wardrobe are purple to date? - but I dont have a red hat..:)"

ceridwen

weezl74 wrote: »

Avocet, I've just re read the amounts of fish I'm expecting to make a pate with :rotfl:How embarassing! You must've spotted this and are raising it very gently, how funny!

A quarter of a can and I was expecting it to do about 20 meals! :rotfl:Good grief! I appear to have been expecting a latter day miracle of epic proportions .

(wonders if I could just buy 5 bags of bread flour and 2 cans pilchards and pray really hard )

The miracle of the Loaves and Fishes Mark 2 - re-enacted by Weezl et al. Do we get a cast of thousands eventually?:):rotfl:

There IS a lesson we can draw from this though - this historical event was about a few people who knew that it was time for lunch and there didnt appear to be enough food for everyone. They went forth in faith though - and it became apparent that there was more "food"/food there than they had thought. Some of the people who had come to join in had brought their own supplies and started sharing them around - and then there was "Enough and a Feast":) for all.

ceridwen

weezl74 wrote: »

So the way forward as I see it:

1 roll out Bob and shirley planner number 1 with the health parameters as defined in the first posts PLUS CALCIUM! And at the same time as offering 'tips for shirley's big batch day' offer 'tips for making this plan even more healthy for your family (to include all our hard work and fish recipes)'
2 get our heads round the free range egg issue (by popular demand) with menu planner 2
3 get our heads round the people who want a fresh piece of fruit every day in planner 3

I hope this doesn't lose anyone.

xxx

yep - the left-hand fork in the road it is then.

I think we should run with this - as per above.

Thats my two cents worth - thinks: "feels like executive holding breakfast meetings". Further thinks "they'd probably be having something more luxurious than my porridge with fruit/toast/coffee":)

....,goes off pondering further what I think about those plums I experimented with preserving in just fruit juice a few months back (as that was the fruit on my porridge this morning). Result - tasted very very slightly "fermented" - but okay - note to self: "must remember the next time I use kilner jars to put the rubber seal on BEFORE shutting them - not forget about it and have to re-open jars and put the seal on shortly AFTER that....". But - yep - 'twas September I was bottling them - so they've lasted 5 months okay....

...might change mind if I go into w**k hiccuping thinking "yep...bit more fermenty than I thought....:o".

In_Search_Of_Me

morning...oh weezl not a full nights sleep then
hugs for those feeling challenged by numbers and spreadsheets; as Weezl knows I dont "do" maths so my sympathies are with you...(excuse typo-toast in keys!).
My own feeling is that we all contribute in different ways - I love weezl's geeky brain and am in awe of it but also know that my brain just couldnt do that but its very good at practical doing things!! So I guess what I am saying is that I hope people wo arent the geeky type dont feel that their valuabe contribution is any less...
As for the plan I do wonder why bob and shirt cant take a vitamin supplement to top up? I know that the aim is to have a healthy plan but cant help feeling that bob and shirl will be far healthier anyway on this plan? Just a thought...

weezl74

Hi there!

Can I get some views on bob and shirley having reconstituted milk (ie from powder) in their tea rather than fresh milk? It will represent a saving that will make the rest of the meal planner much more palatable and normal seeming

Love weezl x

grandma247

Ceredwin You would have had better success if you had used the American way of boiling water bath preserving your plums. I use it for all acidic fruits and most of the time I only use water not juice or syrup. Sometimes a light syrup for sour stuff.

hornetgirl

nopot2pin wrote: »

I have just had a quick look at the survey, and there should not be any issues with answers...
I also have checked the answers, for the last 2 questions, and they look fine ... the only thing I can think of, is how long was your answers ?
The default maximum is 100 characters, so if it was longer than that, it may have done the "computer says no" malarky

I had another go with the weetabix cake one and it went through at the third attempt. But the sweetcorn fritter one is having none of it. It's question 9 that's causing the problem. The exact message I get is The comment you entered is in an invalid format.
It's not a long comment so it's not that. I also tried leaving it blank - no joy either.
Anyway, I used Shaz's recipe from post 670, half quantities but with a scant tablespoon of garam masala which gave a good flavour. My mark was 6/10 amd DH's was 7/10. We had the fritters with potato wedges and salad and found this to be a filling meal. Probably won't become a family favourite, but we'd eat it again if we found ourselves in dire straits.