Weezl and friends Phase 2 -giving it a whirl for Shirl! Testing meal plan for a month

jmpereira

That seems really nice man!

queen_of_string

I have discovered something else about eating like this, not sure where it fits though.

In our house, so prob in others too, I've noticed it's important to keep the fridge full-looking. If the fridge looks empty, OH is much more likely to do a top up shop, and various family members are more likely to comment on there being "nothing to eat".

The interesting bit is, if the fridge looks fuller, even if it contains not one thing more that they actually eat/ is instantly edible, then there are fewer complaints/shops.

morag1202

kezlou wrote: »

- the bean pate freezes nicely, i've just put a load in the freezer.

Oh and defrosts fine, i think it tastes even yummier .

Allegra wrote: »

I have never done - or indeed eaten - a steamed pudding (other than a Christmas one) before, so I didn't have anything to compare it to Mind you, !!!!!! liked it too, but I think that must have been cos he's so used to my, um, creative interpretations of classic dishes that he has also left all preconceptions at the door :rotfl:

Regarding the dish measurements - I did the pudding in a 6" (15 cm) diameter pudding basin (the depth of it is 10cm/4") and that was slightly larger than it needed to be - I checked out my 1pt Pyrex measuring jug, and that would definitely be big enough if I didn't have a basin.

I found that a half portion onion tart (for 2 people) will fit perfectly into a 7" (17.5 cm) diameter sandwich tin, and traybakes such as carrot cake and ceral bars produce 32 perfect snack-sized rectangles in a 11"x10" tray with depth of 1.5" (28x25com, depth 4cm).

shanks77 wrote: »

Had the risi e bisi tonight but again with sweetcorn so I prob need to call it something different. (not a planner change Weezl) Again delicious, filling and enjoyed by both. Think ex has got the hang of this, realises its only for a month is liking the food and has stopped moaning as much about the lack of meat. Doing the cottage pie tomorrow with a bit of trepidation as he hates the sp mince so will see how it goes. Hope this is not like the chilli and goes all sweet on me but will report on that.
Took some of the nut butter and bean pate to a friend at work and if she could cook she would try it cause she thought it was nomnom and i can bring in more things for her to taste test

Shanks, no need to apologise that's why I put the in, I'm sorry I've not had much time recently, I'm the one apologising If anyone wants to join in then the more the merrier, I'm certainly not precious about the job :rotfl:

domesticgoddess789

Oh I'm glad the bean pate freezes well because I am going to make it next week

Does anyone know how much the recipe makes so I can judge whether a half batch would be more appropriate given our almost full to the brim freezer? Thanks.

weezl74

pinkhayley789 wrote: »

Oh I'm glad the bean pate freezes well because I am going to make it next week

Does anyone know how much the recipe makes so I can judge whether a half batch would be more appropriate given our almost full to the brim freezer? Thanks.

Kind of 1 and a quarter times the size of the original baked bean tin sized amount here hayley, HTH

shanks77

pinkhayley789 wrote: »

Oh I'm glad the bean pate freezes well because I am going to make it next week

Does anyone know how much the recipe makes so I can judge whether a half batch would be more appropriate given our almost full to the brim freezer? Thanks.

It will never need frozen as it is too nice and will get eaten long before it needs frozen. It is soo fine either on toast or it is great used as a dip. I alway add a bit more chilli than on recipe but i like spicy things but def worth a go if you have never had it before

Lesley_Gaye

we had the Tomato & Olive pudding last night, but as a pie. It was delicious, tasty and savoury. The mixture filled the dish up and made a nice substantial pie

Interesting discovery with the pastry. I had floury hands and didn't want to get the flour in the implement drawer, so used my scales to weigh the oil and water, rather than the usual cup measure I use. It must have been a little more than usual as the mixture was a little wetter, and a little more difficult to handle, but the resultant pastry was even more short than usual and even more delicious to eat, drawing a comment from DP about 'lovely pastry', and his compliments are like hens teeth!

the little jam tart was made with the trimmings

oh, and as far as timings go - it took about 5 minutes to chop and saute the onion, another 5 to destone the olives, but I was doing that while the onion cooked. The rest of the ingredients are just tipped in and stirred, so say 1 minute, then simmer for 20 minutes to cook the lentils. Then an elapsed time when you can't do anything to let the mixture cool down.

Then 1 minute to make the pastry, a couple to roll it out, fill the dish and pop it in the oven

I had some pots roasting in the oven while the mixture cooled down for 20 mins, then popped the pie in with the spuds for another 25 mins

so a work time of say 15 minutes, plus spud prep time, and an elapsed time of 66 minutes

weezl74

Allegra wrote: »

I think Kitty's planner should be planner 2, and I think the two planners cover all the non-negotiables that is reasonable for you/us to cover.

Furthermore, I think that two full month's planners is enough in terms of fish, and that the next step should be teaching them to fish - that is, come up with more frugal recipes (costings comparable to planner's costings), without necessarily tying them in with a plan - let Kitty and Shirl pick and choose themselves in order to come up with their own plan

Of course, if you are dying to spend the next few months glued to nutritional spreadsheets and mysupermarket shopping lists, I will not dream of attempting to stop you.... :rotfl:

Thanks Allegra Wise words as ever!

The bit I've put in bold, I agree and like. Can anyone help me feel a bit more ok about the health criticisms which will come our way since we can't demonstrate the healthiness eaten in the context of other things? Or a way of addressing this on the site?

I have another thought about this... But I'll think it through a bit more before posting

weezl74

ok I think I've got somewhere with my pondering... what do we think about this team:

we publish an article on putting together your month's shopping list based on the cheapest way to deliver health minimum standars, ie cheapest way to build in 5 a day, how much oil to try to use for omega 3, how much oaty cereal for calcium, b12, iron and folate...

And then say, 'and some of our frugal recipes will get you started?'

Howzat?

Allegra

weezl74 wrote: »

The bit I've put in bold, I agree and like. Can anyone help me feel a bit more ok about the health criticisms which will come our way since we can't demonstrate the healthiness eaten in the context of other things? Or a way of addressing this on the site?

A brief article explaining where to find the nutritional values of foods and the RDAs, so people can work out plans for themselves ?

"Healthy" - as I've no doubt said before - is very much a personal thing. I know (a lot of) people who will argue till the cows come home that the government guidelines and their doctor's nutritional advice does not touch healthy, and that the only way to stay healthy is to eat purple fruit only, picked at dawn, when the Moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligned with Mars.... Or something.

If you are teaching people how to fish, you have to trust their judgement when it comes to deciding what healthy means for them and how to achieve it - and while you are at it, kill a rhino and wear its hide, cos you're gonna get trolled and criticised no matter what.

As long as you are comfortable with the healthiness aspect of a recipe, then it warrants inclusion. Other folk can take it or leave it - internet is a big place, room for every whacko going.