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

vandanfc

Very well put Taka.

Weezl can we use your plan as a destination to end up at maybe. Start on the road with something like idea c as outlined above and move down the road calling at idea b and ultimately ending up at idea a.

Allegra

phizzimum wrote: »

I know people will say that no-one in this country should be living on a subsitence diet. but the fact that we frequently see threads called "help! only have £x to feed family till end of month" shows that sadly it does happen.

I think I'm one of the people who have said that And I think I have expressed myself badly - I am fully aware that many people will have an occasional month where money will just not stretch any further than peanut butter and porridge, or whatever it was. And I really do not believe that an occasional month like that will kill anyone (unless they are allergic to peanut butter, that is). But anyone living on such a diet for long periods of time will feel the effects (and believe me, I know what I'm talking about - four years of war and consequent inadequate nutrients in my teens, and I'm afraid I'm feeling the effects almost twent years later, and will for the rest of my life).

Which is why I said what I said about what I think subsistence should mean in a developed, peace-time country. And what is driving my belief is the fact that this mythical family of ours is supposed to have two children, 12 and 14 years old. As such, this family will recieve, regardless of their paper or actual income, £132.80 every four weeks in child benefit. If this thread does not move another step, I think it's already managed to show that it is possible to provide all the necessary nutrients for growing children on no more - indeed, on less - than the child benefit paid to each and every parent of a British child.

This, and only this, is why I have said that "subsistence" and "healthy subsistence" should be synonymous in the here and now - at least for the parents of growing children.

System

Allegra wrote: »

this family will recieve, regardless of their paper or actual income, £132.80 every four weeks in child benefit.

That is a very interesting point.

But I can't help smiling at the thought of the conversations that might arise from this linking of food budget with child benefit: "Can we have another baby, please, darling? The price of butter has gone up again. And you'll be able to have a nice roast chicken on Sundays!" :-)

poohbear59

weezl74 I am sorry I wasn't here much during Feb to help out on this as I didn't have the cash to buy the ingredients but I have found it extremely useful. I don't want you to give up as I believe the idea you first had is extremely important.

For a lot of people having a plan to follow that is affordable will not only be useful but also necessary.
You and I are extremely lucky to already be able to cook. The tide of change is shifting once again towards people preping and cooking their own meals. Your plan would be an ideal starting point for a family which they can then choose to follow religiously or adapt when they find some whoopsies in their local store.

You are right about schools teaching young people to cook. You have encouraged me to see if our local youth club would like me to go in and show them how to bake bread.

We used to make a plait with year sevens in a 50 minute lesson. That included me demonstrating and all the kids cooking. It shows how easy it would be for an adult to make a few loaves a couple of evenings a week whilst making the evening meal. And I have never met a child who doesn't like making bread so Shirl could get the kids to help, make different shapes to make it more interesting.

On a different tack altogether I have made the onion bahjis today and all my family love them.

Please don't give up unless it is too much for you to do at so late a stage in your pregnancy:)

weezl74

taka wrote: »

Where do you want this to go Weezl? What do you want to do with this?

*Weezl wishes her brain wasn't hormone addled and she could see things very clearly*

Taka rather than come up with something swift and ill-thought through, can I take a couple of days to ponder this? I like the clarity of your post and I do feel this thread needs a clear line and I'm sorry I've not come up with it yet. Or rather I thought I had, but I've reconsidered.

And in the mean time I would still love us to keep testing recipes...

If anyone who likes researching-artybear, HGL... firefox if you're still with us and I haven't alienated you, could just rule out for me one vain hope which is that maybe not all types of cooking of rapeseed oil destroys the omega 3. At the moment I'm still clinging to the idea that this might occur at frying but not baking at gas mark 4 type levels :)

IOIWE are you still around, I'd love a recap on where we are with recipecal....:A:D

Can I also echo Potty's plea that people who've tried the recipes could complete a survey? Potty am I behindhand in posting linkies at the start to any of your surveys or have I got them all?

other tasks/missions if anyone fancies them...

• Post a poll on DT about people's food non-negotiables in the worst financial hardship.
• optimistically search internet for anything containing huge amounts of calcium/omega 3 that costs teeny amounts :rotfl:
• continue to taste test recipes and frugalise them further
• lots of vegan weddingy menu ideas for twinkle's upcoming nuptuals

Avocet thank you loads for all your stock checking advice via PM it has really helped my fuddled brain, you are a legend

poohbear welcome back:) and well done on the milk. Mr weezl is the same. He 'hates powdered milk' but has frequently consumed it unknowingly :)

grandma247 and Allegra, did we get anywhere with how much bacon/granapadano might be needed to 'lift' the risi e bisi just a touch?

Oh do stay on board everyone, I know it probably feels like we're out at see without a map or anyone at the helm who's good at steering .

But there's a cosy atmosphere on board. And the snacks are rather tasty

weezl74

Avocet wrote: »

That is a very interesting point.

But I can't help smiling at the thought of the conversations that might arise from this linking of food budget with child benefit: "Can we have another baby, please, darling? The price of butter has gone up again. And you'll be able to have a nice roast chicken on Sundays!" :-)

how do you think I got a kester so soon after a fergus Avocet? :rotfl:

Lesley_Gaye

Goodness me, thread has got heavy today.

I'm going to put my project manager hat on now, so apologies in advance for any jargon, it's just shorthand

Great post Taka.

It seems to me that maybe now is the time to restate the objectives of the project. If we don't know where we are going, we won't know when we get there. This feels very much like a mid-project wobble where some spec-creep has come in. Most projects get them, where the originator wants to make it all things to all people and it’s very easy to end up with a product that doesn’t satisfy anyone.

As the OP Weezl, it's your call. What is your objective for this project. It seems from your earlier post that you would like it to be a first step towards something that could be taken further. If we can clarify what the target is, we can focus better on how to achieve it.

There have been many issues arising over the short time this fascinating thread has been alive and some may have had you/us focusing in on detail (Omega 3/calcium etc) at the expense of the bigger picture. That’s fine, detail is important, and some detail will change the course of a project. However, the eye needs to be firmly focused on the target so extraneous stuff can be mulled over and put to one side.

I think you need to decide what is the most important thing to you - is it the £100 limit; getting families to believe they can do it and reduce their grocery spend drastically; having something you can lobby government with; all of the above; something else entirely

Exceeding the £100 seems to be a deal breaker for you - can you say why?

For what it's worth, I see this phase of an ambitious project being to produce a meal plan(s) that we feel an average family could realistically use for months on end whilst staying/getting healthy, spending the minimum amount of money and not being so strange/different to an average British family (whoever they may be) that they don’t even attempt to attempt it.

I would hate to see this thread finish as I very much admire the ethos of helping those who need it to get out of their economic difficulties and have always believed in giving a man a fishing rod and teaching him to fish.

Hope I haven't put too much responsibilty in asking direct questions of you Weezl, personally I see this as very much a project dear to your heart that we are helping you with in our different ways. It's your vision that has brought us so far and I would love to help you continue it to it's fruition, whatever that may be

Right, hat is going back in the cupboard now

holliegarson

For me Taka has summed it up brilliantly - thank you. And for what it is worth I would favour option c of her post.

Ix

remmie

Hi Weezl

I have been following this thread from day one, although I haven't been participating.

If I can just tell you of my experiences. Too many years ago (about 25) when the children were young we bought our first house and soon found ourselves very short of money. I remember one Saturday with not money in my purse trying to find something for Sunday lunch. With no cooking experience I bought frozen pies for OH and myself and fishcakes for the little ones! With hindsight now I realise I could have bought a chicken and vegetables with what I spent.

The point I am trying to make is that Shirley may be the same, and be blinkered when shopping. The important thing to me was getting food in their bellies, not value for money or eating healthily.

I am still learning lots from this thread (although, hopefully a much better cook nowadays). What you are doing is showing that it is possible to live on a small budget, and even though Shirley may not follow it to the letter it may give her food for thought (ha)

Please, please keep up the good work, as long as Kester allows you to!

artybear

Sorry Weezlie, Seems that the omega-3 breaks down at any temp from what I can find.

» Although rapeseed oil is a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, it should not be heated and preferably only used as cold-pressed. Both essential fatty acids can easily generate free radicals once they are subjected to heat, light and oxygen. For cooking it is better to use oils high in mono-unsaturated fats such as olive or groundnut. For the same reasons flaxseed oil is best purchased in dark bottles and stored away from heat or light.

artybearX