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

grandma247

Yes the original planner first then maybe at a much later date when all the others are done and dusted a disscussion on how to make it better for the long term would be a good idea.
I don't think just big supermarkets and health shops ( I rarely go in them) should be considered but ethnic shops too which often have wholefoods cheaper and in larger packs anyway. I appreciate not everyone has one near them but a large number of people have and there are some online too.

Yategirl

Right... looked at the recipe posted on this thread and have also found a slightly different version:

Boil small potatoes till tender, cool then slice. Saute 1-2 onions with 1 tsp of minced garlic in olive oil (several tblsp) and season. Toss with potatoes and warm in oven.

Olive oil isn't on the list I don't think so that can be substituted easily. Garlic? Don't think so... would add a depth of flavour though - a bulb is approx 25p each from memory. Would vinegar add the same depth? Would be nice to have a warm side for cool days and a salady side on warm days (leftovers can all be served cold)... I might do the recipe in half - one with garlic and one with vinegar and see what the results are..........:think:

weezl74

Yategirl wrote: »

is that sweetcorn instead of peas? (Mr YG will have a fit... ponders a divide in the pan swc/peas one side.. plain the other :rotfl:)

yep will look up recipe for the salad...

it's immediately underneath the recipe for the rissoles, just after the photo of the whole dinner, HTH

Lesley_Gaye

weezl74 wrote: »

PS the egg thing is personal and amusing, because I was on 3 eggs a day up til fergie came. My new rule in life is that I must never again go into labour constipated.

Ahem, I hope no-one was eating their breakfast when they read that last bit

ha ha - I was wondering why too, now I know!!

Lesley_Gaye

I have been thinking about the woman in the unemployment program, and yes, I too wake up thinking about it and ponder about things as I'm dropping off to sleep.

Once we have the first plan done and dusted, I think it would be a good idea to then adjust it so that a single person could follow it

All the same kit advice, how to cook advice and ways to further save (free butcher bones for stock, ethnic shops for cheaper pulses etc) would all still apply. The only thing that would need to be tweaked would be the quantities of dishes and number of times they were cooked.

Please don't start anything now Weezl, you have more than enough to deal with, and it will be most efficient to do it once plan 1 has been signed off as it were. And one of us could do it. Pretty soon you will have a Fergus and a Kester and an AM and a business and a home and a garden wanting crops planted and and and .....

weezl74

right ho lesley

Am working on the spreadsheet.

I've confused myself by adding things that aren't a meal but which are a meal constituent IYSWIM?

ie 1 column for 4 slices of bread, another for tangy bean pate, so that wrecks the figures for lunches IYSWIM? should I enter the whole meal as tho it is a recipe, ie the bean pate and the bread all in one column?

xxx

Yategirl

weezl74 wrote: »

right ho lesley

Am working on the spreadsheet.

I've confused myself by adding things that aren't a meal but which are a meal constituent IYSWIM?

ie 1 column for 4 slices of bread, another for tangy bean pate, so that wrecks the figures for lunches IYSWIM? should I enter the whole meal as tho it is a recipe, ie the bean pate and the bread all in one column?

xxx

yeessss.... add them together I think as they form a meal rather than a slice of bread here or there...

agree with Lesley's comment re: single person menu - i always found myself spending more when I was single on food than when I was with dh and then as a family - kind of trying to get variety in what I ate rather than 2 meals in a row (which I would happily eat now as leftovers!!). But yes... a future aim not one for now!

taplady

morning!

dont think I'll ever get to the end of this thread:D its moves so quickly but I am enjoying it immensley:T I'm upto page 80 so far!

We have tried several recipes and they have all been big hits in our house:T

the onion tart is our all time favourite:T10 out of 10
chickpea crumble - I love it as I'm a non-meat eater(eat fish)and its delicious:T10 out of 10
cereal bars - use SR flour and they are yummy! added seeds too the second time and some chopped nuts. 10 out of 10
carrot cake -a tadge oily but still delicious 9 out of 10.

I'm looking forward to trying more recipes as I come across them.:T

Allegra

Fivenations wrote: »

Re the Marrowfat pea curry - I do recall it was made with tinned peas to which I added what I now know is a Tarka - fried onion, garlic, ginger and curry spices of your choice. I guess it was my first Dal before I new what a Dal was.

That sounds gorgeous I'm definitely gonna have a go at that - we love tarka dal (made with red, green or brown lentils) - I make it in huge batches and we have it about once a week.

poohbear59

weezl74 wrote: »

meat eaters: do you have 1-2 portions of oily fish weekly, or do you get omega 3 from another source and if so what is it?

As you know we are on a low budget. To get the omega 3 into my family I usually make one meal a week with tuna. Then we eat a massive amount of beans, including soya in our veggie meals which contain small amounts of omega 3.

We have been using an olive spread from Aldi for sandwiches and I always saute, not fry, my vegetables in olive oil (again from Aldi) making sure it doesn't get too hot before making soups, stews etc. Since being part of this group I have bought rapeseed oil and used it a few times.

Ocassionally I put a few sardines on top of pizzas or make a sardine bake with onions and sliced potatoes. Very cheap and tasty too.

I used to always have a bowl of mixed seds out for the family to eat in the evenings but they were one of the first things dropped from our shopping list when money became tight.

On Monday I made a batch of twinks. I got 40 out of the mixture and they have lasted all week. DH and DB and DSs all had them at each tea break.