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

weezl74

aless02 wrote: »

Lasagne sheets - wayyyyyyy too much faff. Also, you can get value ones so darn cheap that embarrassingly, I'd say it's worth it jsut to buy them.

Weezl, I'm happy to help out with Recipecal as well - I'm afraid my Excel skills are shamefully inadequate though I am quite good at maths/logics/analytical skills . Also happy to test since I'm roughly basing this month's shop off you latest menu planner and almost all of those recipes will feature for us! Assuming you will be posting recipes for the above i nthe coming days or am happy to make it up from the ingredients given.

I had thought of the battery eggs thing sooner...in 2012, they will be outlawed completely so supermarkets ARE starting to phase them out slowly.

If I were eating vegetarian, I think I'd like more cheese/dairy introduced back into the diet. Maybe a spot of yoghurt?

thanks aless, loads of great thoughts there, amazed you have time for us and frugal living when Finn is so ickle

so more cheese and yoghurt but still not fresh milk in tea (sorry to bang on about this but I know it can be a real deal-breaker for some of our bobs and shirleys!)

AFAIK, I can bring back in (in the veggie planner) for £9 in the month 110ml each daily of whole milk. This will make 6-7cups of pretty ok looking tea.

It will mean quite a bit of vegan eating (the bean curry, chana mutter masala, pasta with tomato olives and garlic) slightly less variety than the meat planner (choice of 2-3 breakfasts, 2-3 lunches and 6-7 evening meals)

How does that seem?

Is fresh milk worth it to Bob and Shirl I wonder?

Thanks for recipecal help! Have you registered with them and have a play around? As an american you will be so much better at it cos it links to the USDA food database, and you'll know what a garbanzo bean is, and a navy bean and a fava bean (wiki was my only saviour :rotfl:)

xxx

edit PS shame about the lasagne, it seems such a hearty meal nevermind, other possibilities will come

aless02

weezl74 wrote: »

so more cheese and yoghurt but still not fresh milk in tea (sorry to bang on about this but I know it can be a real deal-breaker for some of our bobs and shirleys!)

AFAIK, I can bring back in (in the veggie planner) for £9 in the month 110ml each daily of whole milk. This will make 6-7cups of pretty ok looking tea.

It will mean quite a bit of vegan eating (the bean curry, chana mutter masala, pasta with tomato olives and garlic) slightly less variety than the meat planner (choice of 2-3 breakfasts, 2-3 lunches and 6-7 evening meals)

How does that seem?

...

edit PS shame about the lasagne, it seems such a hearty meal nevermind, other possibilities will come

ooo maybe you shouldn't listen to me, because I don't take milk in my tea! :eek: (nor do I reliably have a cup everyday). I'd personally rather have more dairy to cook with (or even just a cheese sandwich sometimes ) than milk in a glass, but like I said I'm an oddball.

the lasagne was just my opinion - others may feel differently! I read a low carb recipe that subbed squash (courgette or some sort) for the pasta to be extra-healthy, but that's prolly more expensive than the sheets!

FrankieM

weezl I'm happy to some of the 'meat eater' meals. Is there a post with the recipes?

sarymclary

Hello,
I was gently pointed in the direction of this thread by another member, as I have been doing my own attempt at frugalising, and food budget planning/recipe testing.

I have been desperately trying to read it all, but with such a lively amount of discussion, I have to admit I have all but given up any hope of ever reading it all through. However, I did the first 40 pages straight, and am trying to get the general gist of where discussions are at about now.

First off, I think it's a fabulous idea, I love the heart and passion involved in it. Like many contributors here, I am a busy mum of 4 boys, and a DP, who became unemployed shortly before last Christmas. Frugalising has become a necessity. I've already been doing my own versions of some of the recipes here, which I've found reassuring that I was making good nutritional choices for them.

I'd be happy to do some recipe tests, however I have the similar issue of not being able to please everyone at the same mealtime. A typical example is only 4 out of 6 eat pasta, vegetables are always an issue, etc.

Today, for example, I am using up left over turkey from our christmas dinner (frozen & defrosted today), and 2 large slices of value cooking bacon to create a pie, but not all of us eat pies, so I am also using some left over mashed potato from Friday, and couple of pieces of value frozen fish to make some fishcakes.

I use a weightloss/fitness site to work out the nutritional content of my homemade meals, so that I have an idea of how they work out. Yesterday I made the pack-up snacks, and calculated that the chocolate muffins I made were about 360 calories each, which is higher than I had anticipated. They'll be a treat in future. I'm already using a similar carrot cake recipe, and I also make flapjack as an alternative to the supermarket cereal bars.

I have Delia Smith's 1976 book Frugal Food, which has been re-released, and it has so many great tips and recipes, many are variants of 1940's rationing meals.

I'm happy to help where I can, is basically what I'm saying!

p.s. I have my very own 'Bob' who needs meat sweats, and I have, for a while, been giving up my own allowances to benefit the rest of the family. Who else sits down last at the table, to less on the plate?

weezl74

sarymclary wrote: »

Hello,
I was gently pointed in the direction of this thread by another member, as I have been doing my own attempt at frugalising, and food budget planning/recipe testing.

hello! A very big warm welcome! I've seen you posting on other boards and always feel you have a thoughtful creative take on things, so I'm glad you're here!

Would very much appreciate any recipe tests you'd like to do and would love any insights from the delia book. I must get to our library and borrow it

Frankie, thanks loads, which ones would you like to do/like the sound of and I'll make sure I post those first

weezl74

sarymclary wrote: »

I use a weightloss/fitness site to work out the nutritional content of my homemade meals, so that I have an idea of how they work out.

can we have a linkie please?

weezl74

Gulp, tentatively launching eggless shopping list number 1 allows 5-6 normal looking cuppas a day (double dunking required tho!)

Fruit & Vegetables Guide price in £


1.6Kg ASDA Bramley Cooking Apples by Weight (100g) 2.40
1 x ASDA Smartprice Oranges (6) 0.68
3.4Kg ASDA Carrots by Weight (100g) 2.38
13 x ASDA Smartprice British Small Potatoes (1Kg) 6.50
5 x ASDA Smartprice Brown Onions (2Kg) 3.90
4 x ASDA Pumpkin Seeds (150g) 4.00
1 x ASDA Smartprice Salted Peanuts (200g) 0.27
1 x ASDA Walnuts (200g) 1.50
9 x ASDA Smartprice Raisins (500g) 5.85
2 x Whitworths Dried Marrowfat Peas (1Kg) 2.30

Dairy


4 x ASDA Whole Fresh Milk 6 Pints (3.41L) 8.00
9 x Pluspints Dried Skimmed Milk Powder (283g) 8.73
1 x ASDA Smartprice Mature White Cheddar (Approx 1Kg) 4.98
1 x ASDA Grana Padano (200g) 2.26
1 x ASDA Stilton (150g) 1.17

Frozen


3 x ASDA Fine Whole Green Beans (1Kg) 3.00
2 x ASDA Smartprice Cauliflower Florets (907g) 1.58
4 x ASDA Smartprice Peas (907g) 3.48
2 x ASDA Smartprice Sweetcorn (907g) 1.72

Tins, Jars & Cooking


1 x ASDA Vegetable Oil (3L) 2.52
1 x Rajah Garlic Powder (100g) 0.56
10 x ASDA Smartprice Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce (420g) 2.90
17 x ASDA Smartprice Peeled Plum Tomatoes in Tomato Juice (400g) 5.27
2 x ASDA Black Spanish Olives Pitted (400g) 1.34
1 x ASDA Smartprice South American Clear Honey (425g) 0.85

Packets & Cereals


6 x ASDA Smartprice Porridge Oats (1Kg) 3.48
5 x ASDA Smartprice Self Raising Flour (1.5Kg) 2.15
9 x ASDA Strong White Bread Flour (1.5Kg) 5.49
2 x KTC Lemon Juice (250ml) 0.88
2 x Thomas Allinson Dried Active Yeast (125g) 0.92
2 x Silver Spoon Granulated Sugar (1Kg) 1.50
4 x ASDA Smartprice Pasta Shapes (500g) 1.28
5 x ASDA Smartprice Long Grain Rice (1Kg) 3.65
1 x Granose Green Lentil (500g) 0.93

Drinks


2 x ASDA Smartprice Tea Bags (80 per pack - 250g) 0.56

sarymclary

Lesley_Gaye wrote: »

shanks77 wrote: »

we had some cheap mince from Spar when it was on offer and it tasted strangeley fishy. I can't imagine what contributed that flavour, unless perhaps they were fortifying it with fish based omega 3, some of the spread I buy, which has added omega 3, can't be used for cooking as it makes the dish taste inappropriately of fish

Funnily enough, I read a Delia Smith article yesterday that mentioned how meat could taste fishy when intensively reared, due to the feeing of fish protein. Ideally the animal should not be fed it for the last month prior to slaughter so that traces of the fish protein aren't impregnated into the meat, however I imagine it helps bulk up the animal to ensure it reaches it's weight/slaughter potential on time.

I do find that the Sainsbuys Basics minced beef is surprisingly good. Having down-shifted from extra lean minced steak, this has been much lower in fat than I recall cheap mince years back. I don't even need to drain any fat off after browning. 97p for 400g is good value in my book.

maysmummy

sarymclary wrote: »

p.s. I have my very own 'Bob' who needs meat sweats, and I have, for a while, been giving up my own allowances to benefit the rest of the family. Who else sits down last at the table, to less on the plate?

I do, and I'd guess almost every other mum as well. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to have made me any thinner:(

artybear

weezl74 wrote: »

I'm glad of the self-sacrificing part C.

I'm a little troubled about the kids.

*unpopular view coming up*

If things were this tight for me and OH, I think I would prioritise other things over the battery issue.

Gulp, sticks neck out: (pictures 9 years in the future)

'ha ha fergus you never have cake in your lunch box, just your weird houmous sandwich, it's titchy! What's up with your bread!?'

'My mum makes it, and we don't have cake because we're kind to chickens!'

'well remind me never to come to your house for tea!'

I was bullied at school for eating 'different food' from my peers.

It was heartbreaking and it took me a long time to realise that I am a worthwhile, interesting creative person with a lot to offer.

If given a choice between knowing that some chickens get bullied and some children get bullied. I'm really sorry, but I'd make cake for fergus out of battery farmed eggs and I'd put them in his lunchbox. And no I wouldn't feel great about myself. But that's what I'd do.

I feel this is an important point that may get missed. I am all for free range eggs/good meat/fresh veg but if this is a long term plan (how long do you think people would be using this Weezl months or years??) a bit of practicality has to come into it.

This family are only human-surely they will not want to feel that 'alternative' to their friends and family. Children may rebel/get bullied/Bob may feel silly eating his hummus sandwich when his mates want to go to Nando's for lunch/Shirley is bloody sick of locking up food and feeling like the keeper of the family rather than a valued mother/wife.

I think if any of these scenarios occurred (only in my opinion I haste to add) the free range would go straight out the window and the non-negotiables would suddenly disappear.

I feel that maybe the people in the poll are finding it difficult to imagine this and so feel their current principles may well stand-however when you are struggling seriously to feed your family, I think a more primitive survival instinct kicks in and ethics may well take a backseat!

Just something OH and I were discussing this morning in bed;)-please feel free to ignore me as I eating cold pizza for breakfast lol so do not feel qualified at all to have an opinion on nutrition!!!!

ArtybearXXXXXXXXXX