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

artybear

Hey Weezl, Sorry the indexing took a back seat today I feel uber uber guilty about it. Basically my research had a break through and #gulp# may now be considered a new find to my field (however I haven't verified this yet and its not a very important thing at all) and when I came home I helped OH finish preparing for his job interview tomorrow.

So BIG APOLOGIES but it is the first thing on my to do list tomorrow but can I query a few things Weezl

1) Do you want recipes just from you Weezl or from everyone who has posted a recipe?

2) Am I allowed to link to your blog?

By this time tomorrow I promise it will all be done!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry again

artybearXXXXXXXXXX

shanks77

artybear wrote: »

Hey Weezl, Sorry the indexing took a back seat today I feel uber uber guilty about it. Basically my research had a break through and #gulp# may now be considered a new find to my field (however I haven't verified this yet and its not a very important thing at all) and when I came home I helped OH finish preparing for his job interview tomorrow.

Hey congrats with your break through hope it all works out and it sounds very important and a job interview is a good thing always i am sure Weezl will hold no grudges or she will have no testers or people to index things except Fergus (though on a computer he may be better than me so i had better watch what i say):rotfl:

Buttonmoons

I love reading this thread, I'm utterly useless at organising our food though and the amount we spend would probably send poor Weezl into labour...(me too, as I don't even keep track!)

I have picked up some tips and use them. Our shopping budget has went down, by how much I have no idea. I'm one of those people that see BOGOF, and think BARGAIN, even though it's not really (usually junk food :whistle:)

I chuck out loads of food (though, not so much lately) It tends to be things like cream, natural yoghurt and cheese that OH hasn't sealed back up properly.

In an attempt to use up fushty apples I made an apple crumble -

Couple of apples
Some sugar
Bit of mixed spice
Smart price butter
Flour

It tasted delicious. We had no ice cream to go with it. I remembered there was dried custard in the cupboard somewhere. Best before date was 2006!!! :rotfl: I still used it though, but it said to use a pint of milk and I only had a pint left and needed to keep some for DD's cereal. Sooooo I used some water.

Turned out like glue, I think I added too much powder. Still not chucked it out though

Has Bob and Shirley thought of CousCous patties? I keep meaning to make those but OH gripes when I suggest making them - He's like Bob. He wants meat. Ugga Ugg.

ceridwen

artybear wrote: »

Hey Weezl, Sorry the indexing took a back seat today I feel uber uber guilty about it. Basically my research had a break through and #gulp# may now be considered a new find to my field (however I haven't verified this yet and its not a very important thing at all) and when I came home I helped OH finish preparing for his job interview tomorrow.

So BIG APOLOGIES but it is the first thing on my to do list tomorrow but can I query a few things Weezl

1) Do you want recipes just from you Weezl or from everyone who has posted a recipe?

2) Am I allowed to link to your blog?

By this time tomorrow I promise it will all be done!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry again

artybearXXXXXXXXXX

Congratulations on that "breakthrough" with your research:D:T

Re the blog question - as I understand current state of play on MSE rules: it is the case that people are only allowed to mention that its worth clicking on someones "name" - ie the icon on the left side of the page.

Hint - click on Weezls name.

weezl74

vandanfc wrote: »

shopping list

38 items. £105.23


Fruit & Vegetables Guide price in £

2.3Kg ASDA Bramley Cooking Apples by Weight (100g) 3.45
1 x ASDA Smartprice Oranges (6) 0.68
2 x ASDA Smartprice British Carrots (2Kg) 2.16
6 x ASDA Smartprice British Small Potatoes (1Kg) 3.00
8 x ASDA Smartprice Brown Onions (2Kg) 6.24
1 x ASDA Pumpkin Seeds (150g) 1.00
1 x ASDA Smartprice Salted Peanuts (200g) 0.27
1 x ASDA Walnut Halves (150g) 1.48
8 x ASDA Smartprice Raisins (500g) 5.20
Dairy

8 x Arla One% Fat Fresh Milk (2L) 8.00
1 x ASDA Cooks Value Medium Eggs (30) 2.98
2 x ASDA Smartprice Salted Butter (250g) 1.70
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
Meat, Fish & Poultry

500g ASDA Pig Liver by Weight (100g) 0.70
3 x ASDA Smartprice British Beef Mince (400g) 2.91
1 x ASDA Smartprice Whole Medium Chicken (Approx 1Kg) 1.98
1 x ASDA Smartprice Smoked Cooking Bacon Pieces (500g) 1.13
Frozen

9 x ASDA Freshly Frozen Chopped Spinach (1Kg) 7.00 any 4 FOR £3.00 - valid until: 15/03/10
2 x ASDA Smartprice Cauliflower Florets (907g) 1.52
2 x ASDA Smartprice Sweetcorn (907g) 1.74
Tins, Jars & Cooking
1 x ASDA Vegetable Oil (3L) 2.52
1 x Gia Garlic Puree in Vegetable Oil (90g) 0.59
10 x ASDA Smartprice Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce (420g) 2.90
1 x Chick Peas (500g) 0.93
17 x ASDA Smartprice Peeled Plum Tomatoes in Tomato Juice (400g) 5.27
Packets & Cereals

5 x ASDA Smartprice Porridge Oats (1Kg) 2.90 we can lose 3 of these because of the ready brek therefore £1.16 saving £1.74
4 x Ready Brek Original (750g) 11.04 - only one I could find found it on asda's own site fortunately £8.32, so that saves us £2.72
3 x ASDA Smartprice Plain White Flour (1.5Kg) 1.29
2 x ASDA Smartprice Self Raising Flour (1.5Kg) 0.86
10 x ASDA Strong White Bread Flour (1.5Kg) 6.10
2 x Silver Spoon Granulated Sugar (1Kg) 1.50 2 FOR £1.50 - valid until: 23/03/10
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
2 x Great Scot Marrow Fat Peas (500g) 1.36
Drinks

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

thanks vanda! I put in blue a couple of savings your list has shown me we can make so now we're only 77p over and I think we can safely lose some things subject to stock checks

People will doubtless be very confused about the sudden loss of the milk powder and the inclusion of a huge amount of ready brek!

I'll use the next post for that as I'm low on space!

xxx

weezl74

calcium gate 2- no more pluspints

as you all knew we went down the route of having an enormous amount of powdered milk on the list because Bob and shirley were lacking enough calcium.

Both Aless and I were finding that it was out of stock in or postcode areas and now it looks as though it has been discontinued. To have replaced it with the next cheapest replacement milk powder added on too much cost. So I've been beavering away behind the scenes for about a week wondering what else we can do....

My solution so far: other green veg apart from the marrowfats have been replaced by spinach, which has the highest yield of calcium of any veg available in the UK.

Aless/queen of string, collard greens are higher, but I think they must be indigenous to N America because I've not seen them here....?

And the second major breakthrough happened when I discovered that ready brek is fortified with A LOT of calcium, containing approx 100 times the calcium of just oats. So that's why the milk powder has gone, and the oats are now ready brek.

However in even better news, ASDA'S OWN VERSION OF READY BREK CONTAINS THE SAME CALCIUM! :T:T:T:T:T
It took me ages to find the nutritional info, but it does match it, so I'll just work out that exciting saving now!

weezl74

A further saving of £3.04 :j:j:j:j:j:j

Murrell

Morning Weezl,
The only thing that would worry me is that calcium in spinach is poorly absorbed. This is the summary I did from plant based nutrition by Stephen Walsh, if its of any help:

BALANCING CALCIUM

CALCIUM BALANCE IS AFFFECTED BY POTASSIUM AND SODIUM INTAKES
AIM: HIGH POTASSIUM AND LOW SODIUM
POTASSIUM: FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND LEGUMES (ESPECIALLY BANANAS & POTATOES)
SODIUM INTAKE: 1-1.5 GRAMS DAILY IS IDEAL (MAXIMUM: 2 GRAMS DAILY)
SALT = SODIUM CHLORIDE (1 GRAM SODIUM = 2.5 GRAMS SALT)
SALT INTAKE: 2.5 – 3.75 GRAMS DAILY IS IDEAL (MAXIMUM: 5 GRAMS DAILY)
USE LOW SODIUM SALT (1/3 SODIUM OF STANDARD SALT)

CALCIUM INTAKE:
AIM: 700-1500 MILLIGRAMS DAILY
500-1000 MILLIGRAMS FROM CALCIUM RICH FOODS, FORTIFIED FOODS OR SUPPLEMENTS
200-500 MILLIGRAMS FROM OTHER FOODS
MORE THAN 1500 MILLIGRAMS DAILY REDUCES ABSORPTION OF OTHER MINERALS (ESPECIALLY ZINC)
GOOD SOURCES OF CALCIUM:
KALE & SPRING GREENS 150 MG PER 100 G (RAW)
BROCCOLI 50 MG PER 100 G (RAW)
ORANGES 40 MG PER 100 G
ALMONDS 250 MG PER 100G
FORTIFIED FOODS
E.G. SOYA MILK (40–140 MG PER 100 ML, TYPICALLY 120)
TOFU - VARIABLE

CALCIUM IN SPINACH & TAHINI IS POORLY ABSORBED


Thanks
Sandra
x

weezl74

morag1202 wrote: »

Weezl, thanks for sharing so much of your philosophy on why debt impinges on society. If you have the time and the inclination I (and many others I'm sure) would be very interested to hear what level of debt (secured and unsecured) you feel unacceptable to society?

Specifically, what debts do you envisage Bob and Shirley having at the point at which you would like them to grab this rope?

gosh Morag what an intriguing question

I think I never really intended to share so much of my philosophical/moral/political stance online or on this thread because afterall it's about recipe testing :rotfl:

But I felt that those who asked me things deserved an answer.

Since then a couple of folk whose opinions I really valued haven't been around and I miss them and wonder if my views were too much and put them off.

I'm specifically thinking of firefox and avocet, whom I very much hope I didn't offend.

Obviously I hope it's just that they're off having fun in real life, or that just the thread got a bit too swift paced or something else.

So, I get a bit reluctant to share my extreme views:o

I also think that often it's people with quite abnormal views who set up projects (Belbin a psychologist called them visionaries) but then more normal thinking people put them into practice in a more normal, acceptable practical way (implemetors and completer finishers and pragmatists).

Too much visionary in a team leads to a flight of ideas with little actual action back up and follow through.

No visionary and all pragmatist leaves everything as it always has been.

I think we have a good blend of both, and I also feel wary as the one who started the thread of my voice having too much clout.

Having said that I realise yours is a genuine and respectful question and I shall probably blog a bit about the answer to it, because I feel it deserves an answer

I hope all that makes sense!

weezl74

Murrell wrote: »

The only thing that would worry me is that calcium in spinach is poorly absorbed. This is the summary I did from plant based nutrition by Stephen Walsh, if its of any help:

that's a great help thank you!

I had no idea about the zinc for example and personally that helps me a lot. I currently take a very high calcum supplement in excess of 2500 daily along with my usual diet, this is because of some research I did about vitamin supplementation prior to labour. However if this leaves me with depleted zinc then I won't heal so well afterwards. So that's really good food for thought (no pun intended!).

Nowt to do with Bob and Shirley (although Jenny may need to know :rotfl:) but you've helped me a lot there! xxx