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

weezl74

ceridwen wrote: »

Weezl....weezl...weezl....dont ever ever think that I dont care about you/women like you......

I've never thought that you don't care.

Your point and challenge are valid and I respect it. It taps into what I want to do. I mentioned it because it had motivated me, not deflated me.

Hugs for you too lovely lady :A

phizzimum

hi weezl, i'm worried that with all our efforts to help we're derailing your vision.

yes, good idea - cut the list of names. that way no-one will feel excluded and it will free up a post for the feedback form perhaps?

I'm very aware that it's not long before Kester's arrival and we can't really expect much from you then (although I'm sure you;ll amaze us, you already seem to be surviving on no sleep). so let's stick to what we promised to help you with - testing your recipes

gallygirl

ceridwen wrote: »

I think we could be in for an interesting few differences as to what constitutes "poor peoples food". My own perception of this is if I spot a shopping trolley laden with junk food - ready pizzas/coca cola/cheap bought cakes/sliced white "rubber" bread (MOthers Pride type stuff)/reconstituted meat type products/errr...those battery eggs <cough>/etc. So - to me - its unhealthy/junk food diets that constitute "poor peoples food" and NOT anything one might cook oneself.

I agree C. I call it 'autumn trolleys' as most of the food in there is the colours of autumn - yellow frozen chips & battered stuff, brown cola, orange curries, red pizza & baked beans etc. A bit like Gillian McKeith's 'before table' (which I must admit always looks strangely appealing ). And quite often the people actually have some form of malnutrition.

Weezl's list shows just how cheaply healthy eating can be done (although please bear in mind my 10th floor mum with a tiny freezer and long bus journey to the supermaket). Incidentally, near me there are poor estates with only a local shop, 2 mile walk to Morrisons, no free transport to supermarkets and the buses cost £1.50 a day (admittedly cheap, but if you have to go lets say 6 times a month that's the food budget down to £91).

Weezl, you run this however is easiest for you, I think you're amazing for doing this & I look forward to trying some of the recipes at the weekend :T

mumtoomany

Hi Weezle,

I applaud what you are trying to acheive here. I speak as one who has experienced subsistance living. When DD1 was a baby both DH and I were made redundant (worked for the same company, all your eggs in one basket!) DH didn't manage to find work for a year (recession 25 years ago) and I became pregnant with DD2 so did not return to work for 3 years. During this time my youngest sister was also living with us. We "subsisted" on, if I remember correctly, just over £100 per fortnight for everything. We weredeturmined to keep the car on the road and the phone connected. We also managed to save enough for a week at the seaside for DD. We ended up with pretty much the same meals each week. Very boring, but we survived. Now I would, I believe, manage to get the diet more healthy (nobody said we needed 5 a day then), although we did eat quite a lot of fruit and veg.

Since then we have, fortunately, not been quite so poor. I still however try to be frugal.

DH "needs" meat almost every day as does DS. DH will eat meat free if he does not know! or if I serve a plate full of cheesey spuds (sliced potatoes, sliced onions and grated cheese, layered in a casserole with a little milk and cooked). I think the trick for cheap meat meals is to make a little go a long way.

I will try to post latter how I stretch 1lb of mince to about 20 to 25 portions without them knowing, ha ha. Must go and get DD4 and DS out to school/college now.

Speak soon,

Mumtoomany.

weezl74

thanks all

From all the sympathy and concern (which is lovely) I wonder if my early post came across too strongly. I'm generally doing ok, I just had noticed an overwhelmedness about a few things and wanted to explain so you all knew

nopot2pin

Sian_the_Green wrote: »

For the challenge, I am really aware that this is getting more and more complicated for you, which doesn't seem fair. The challenge was for £100, it should really maintain your original aims to start with at least. If you get all the recipes tested in line with your principles then any optional extras, like doing a veggie set up, using free range eggs, having more meat... can be added later on as options. Until you have your original set of recipes tested I think we may all need to keep schtum on complications, for the sake of poor weezl's sanity!

weezl74 wrote: »

:)I was talking with DH last night about all that we talked through yesterday together on here.

He gave me some helpful thoughts:

Weezl a lot of people reading maybe haven't read much about subsistence so you may have confused folk about what you're trying to achieve! Make it clearer, it will help.

Also, no-one knows how much time you've spent thinking through what contribution you want to try to make to society at this time, and so no-one knows their suggestions to do something different might feel hard for you at the moment. You should say.

The list of volunteer testers in post 3 has become unmanageable for you and you need to axe it or find someone else to do it for you.

Please also say how maintaining friendliness and welcome feels to you, others will be able to share that too.

I thought I'd give each one a seperate answer post in case people only want to one relevant part...

I actually could not agree more with Sian's comment, nor to the answers to your own questions Weezl. :T
Both counts echo my own feelings, in a massive cave, with a loud speaker :rotfl::o

This thread is soooo energetic, and many persons wish to voice their own part in it, which is fantastic, and I find it very refreshing.
But it does make it rather problematic to figure out any definitive results of any tests conducted.

I am still uncertain of a way forward to collate the very different results for all the variations of the recipes, other than a specific survey for each recipe, which could ask any questions you wish it to.
I know this is a faff for testers, but at least everyone is answering the same questions for the same recipe, thus giving you a standard benchmark which to improve on.

Does anyone else know of a way this could be done to make it easier for Weezl's thread, thus destressing Weezl?

weezl74

thanks Potty, I hope we can come up with something to collect the feedback!

Beetroot question: Borscht. Not seeming very popular (in mass appeal terms) , so wondering about losing it.

However the beetroot and red cabbage were there to ensure that not all the purple fruit anti-oxidants came from dried fruit sources (ie the raisins!). I wonder if anyone can think of another way to include them? 2 packs shrink wrapped beetroot and half a jar of red cabbage is what we're looking to frugally reapportion.

Look forward to any thoughts!

xxx

sistercas

weezl74 wrote: »

sistercas:A, your family had salad with the tart too I noticed, same question to you: would any of the vegetables been acceptable instead or would there be mutiny?

xxx

yep we had salad as we had it in and it needed eating. I am very lucky with my kids as they will eat anything including any veg and they are very willing testers for these recipes.

Frankie I know what you mean , the fritters are very filling though I suspect DH would have enjoyed a couple of sausages with his
but the girls and I were happy enough with the fritters and salad

weezl74

sistercas wrote: »

yep we had salad as we had it in and it needed eating. I am very lucky with my kids as they will eat anything including any veg and they are very willing testers for these recipes.

Frankie I know what you mean , the fritters are very filling though I suspect DH would have enjoyed a couple of sausages with his
but the girls and I were happy enough with the fritters and salad

Hi sistercas, thanks

So would it have been ok for them with veg instead d'you think? xxxx

sistercas

wyrdsister wrote: »

Almost forgot, here is the Chickpea Curry recipe that I have. I've just taken this straight from my reference pile, it has a few different spices but I guess it can be easily frugalised with just the ingredients from the shopping list.

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
2 onions finely sliced
4 garlic cloves crushed
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon garam masala

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Sautee the onion and garlic over medium heat for 5 mins or until onion has softened.
Add the chilli powder, salt, cumin, coriander and cook stirring for 1 minute.
Stir in the chickpeas and tomato then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir in the garam masala. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Going to try this tomorrow night minus the spices not on our list, will up the garam masala and see how it turns out

how many does this serve please?