Where to buy foil dishes / trays / containers cheaply?

Steve-o

I've just been looking on the Lakeland site, at the foil dishes. The cheapest ones they did (smallest size) worked out at 20p each. That seems a large chunk of money, which defeats the object of preparing in bulk.

Am I missing something? I can't imagine that they are too easy to wash up and reuse, going by how food tends to adhere to them during cooking.

ubamother

much cheaper in places like home bargains. I use the small ones occasionally, when I want to re-heat/cook without defrosting/decanting into something else. I don't have enough reusable dishes of that small size. I can't often make them reusable - except for children's craft stuff!

2cats1kid

At the pound shop I can get a pack of 8 for £1. For me bulk cooking is as much about time saving as money saving, so it's worth the money to me. It's nice to come in from work and know that dinner is nearly ready to go, rather than having to faff about making stuff.

ZoeGirl_3

I read on an american frugal site a year or so ago that to freeze meals for later, line the dish you intend to bake it in later with plastic wrap (with some surplus to wrap fully when frozen) and then layer dish as usual (with cold layers). That way when it is frozen you take it out of the dish and wrap the plastic wrap right around, now put it in a freezer bag and put back in freezer.

This means that when you want to heat up the food, you take it out of freezer bag (Which is still clean as hasn't touched food) and remove plastic wrap (meal is solid so that is okay) and place in the dish you were going to cook it in (and you will find it is the right shape as it was frozen like that).

Allow to defrost in fridge over night or during the day and cook as usual for dinner that night. That way all you pay for is the plastic wrap.

HTH

If it is unclear and you want to try it, let me know.

Steve-o

What a wonderful idea! :T

Well that's solved my problem of wasting money on foil dishes.

ZoeGirl_3

Great!! :j Certainly seems to save space in my freezer too, oh and by the way, just as a heads up, I wouldnt freeze in glass...but if all your dishes are glass you should be able to find a few cheap non glass ones at a second hand shop for heaps less than lots of disposable containers...

[Deleted User]

I never use foil dishes at all. I have a stock of small brown earthen-ware or pyrex type dishes that I have bought over the years at boot sales for about 20 p each and I use them to freeze stuff in ,and they go straight from the freezer to the oven then to the dinner table .All I do then is wash 'em up afterwards ,can't see the point in buying dishes to throw away.But then I am ,in my two daughters words the original 'Frau Frugal'

Stephen_Leak

Yes, I was going to suggest 'investing' in some good old-fashioned Pyrex ware. It's the original and best, for two very good reasons - it's the original and best.

I've got a 500ml measuring jug, a 1L bowl (I would argue that these are essential kitchen items) and a 0.75L flat rectangular dish, that have been in regular use ever since I got them. I even took all three of them on holiday (well, I thought they deserved it) last weekend. The flat one was perfect for an individual fish pie.

Woolies, Matalan and ASDA do the genuine Pyrex stuff cheap.

ShelBell

I got a bulk lot of foil dishes in costco, verrry cheap. They have lasted me 6 months already and I'm not even halfway through yet.

purpleivy

I love Lakeland, but it's all too easy to be seduced by what they have on offer. Their 'disposables' do seem particularly expensive.

At the end of the day, foil, clingfilm, plastic bags, bin bags etc etc just get thrown away, so why get such dear stuff. I can understand the cheapest of the cheap is too flimsy to be functional, but the Lakeland stuff is just daft in a lot of cases.

In January I got a roll of 750 flimsy sandwich bags (It was £1). I'm still using them. THey get used for ds's lunch, just to separate items in the lunch box. I put sauces etc in them etc using a plastic box so it has a shape. I Push these out into a big bag, keeping like with like. Less icky washing up to do,