Do I really spend to much on food?

jinky67

I also bulk my mince out with loads of veg, and still serve veg on the side:D

falady

Hi Chris,

Thank you for your thank you! Your'e right, the supermarkets try to thwart us with pricing in grams / kilos etc!

If you have the space for a second freezer, you could ask for one on your local freecycle / freegle group. I'm in the Calderdale group and there are always lots on offer there, and we got rid of our (spare, very old, third hand, dirty, down in the cellar but still working ) freezer that way.

Its also worth mentioning to people that you're on the look out for one. We got a chest freezer from a friend's mum who had moved into a new house and the chest freezer had been left there by the previous owners.

I think there are some threads on here about the merits of having more freezer space and the balance of whether it can save you money in the long run. Obviously its up to you and your decision as to whether its worth it, but something to think about anyway.

I was a bit envious of OH having his butchery lesson too! Next time we order a lamb, I'm going to go instead of him!

Ali x

falady

PS We have a specific shelf in the fridge for 'things that need using up'. Its easy for us becuase we have a huge american style fridge freezer, and there's only 2 of us (plus a bun in the oven ). This helps us to avoid waste as we always look to this shelf first for what to have for lunch / tea etc. I have had to train OH to do this, but we now do it automatically. It helps that he's happy to eat what he's given, as long as there's a lot of it

I know waste isn't really much of an issue for you, but it could be worth a try if you find you're throwing a lot away as things change.

Ali

Hippeechiq

Fire_Fox wrote: »

how about lentil, vegetable and coconut curry served with brown basmati rice?

If it's not too off topic, would you have a recipe for that Fire Fox please I'm trying to cut down my meat intake and that sounds delicious :drool:

crux

Anyone know how to mince meat if you don't have a butchers mincing machine?

zippychick

Hmmmm, I found a thread but am sure there is a more appropriate one..... will think

Does a food processor mince meat?

I would try a small amount , pulsing it in a normal food processor or chopper - and see what happens (that's what the thread suggest in between specific product suggestions)

jinky67

crux wrote: »

Anyone know how to mince meat if you don't have a butchers mincing machine?

http://www.nextag.co.uk/meat-mincer/compare-html


or failing that a lot of time and sharp knives, or you could ask your local butcher if they would do it for you?

they can only say no:cool:

crux

Thanks! will have a read of the thread.

Emm-in-a-pickle

My dilemma is trying to please all, without doing separate meals. The menfolk are - one, a meat-junkie who doesn`t eat puddings, and doesn`t enjoy pasta or pastry, not keen on much spud or rice content, but Dear Heart, he WILL try anything once, and likes most veg and salad stuff. The other, my DS, not keen on meat, veg has to be `smuggled`into meals, but loves pasta/rice and potato content of any meal! DGD is vegetarian and reluctant with veg! (Yes, I despair!) but loves fruit, she`s with us with us 3 nights a week for teatimes. I find I`m juggling, plate-spinning a lot! I do a lot of one-pot veggie meals pasta bakes and veggie stews, and use a fair bit of lentil and oatmeal in some of them, just have to be careful dishing up so the veg goes on one plate and spuds or pasta goes on the other... and one has a chop or some meat from the roast, and the veg gets blitzed till it`s just a sauce with no bits to pick out. The lentil or oatmeal to thicken stuff seems a better option than cornflour, etc., I feel I`m feeding them as best I can!

Kimitatsu

crux wrote: »

Thanks Ali!

I have started checking the KG prices your so right about offers not always being the cheapest. What really bugged me today at Tesco's was that not all the meat was in £/kg, half of it was £/100gm....

I know it's a simple conversion, but talk about them actually trying to make things less clear!!


Chris

Do you know this makes me SO cross! I was shopping yesterday and there was this lovely old man who was puzzling over the price of broccolli and which was cheaper - the prepacked or the loose because the prices were in different formats! The prepacked was almost TWICE that of the loose, and as he said he only wanted a small bit because he was a pensioner. So I got the shop to cut the big bit in half so that he could weigh it, it was 88p rather than £1.89 :eek: Its really not fair to the more vulnerable groups tbh.

It demonstrates though that all supermarkets make it confusing for people to really compare prices - perhaps we should start an MSE campaign for plain pricing somewhat like the plain english campaign :rotfl: