Is there anything wrong with buying frozen meat and veg?

mags50_2

susiesaver wrote:

Apparently frozen veg can be as good for us if not better than fresh. Frozen veg that has been picked and frozen quickly retains its vitamins. This can be better than veg which may have been languishing in the fridge for several days.

I can vouch for this!

We grow peas for a well known brand and they have to be harvested on a certain day and then sent straight to the factory to be processed within a few hours.

When my DD's were small, they loved going into the fields after the harvester had been and looking for pods to eat the fresh peas! Happy days.... now its the grandchildren!

astonsmummy

researcher wrote:

If you have the money and the space in the freezer buying meat in bulk is very economical. Even very expensive organic meat can become affordable. For example a 10kg Pedigree Organic Beef box containing a selection of roasts, steaks, diced and mince is £75 - thats c£3.40 lb - which is brilliant value and the meat is superb.

Local butchers will have deals on whole/half/quarter lambs, and you always get the meat butchered and ready for freezing. The prices are usually very much cheaper and the quality it excellent.

Unfortunately my shopping budget is £20 to £25 per week as i'm a lone paent working part time, plus we dont eat meat that much.

astonsmummy

I only went to iceland so i cold get free delivery plus its 5 mins from my house

FRUGALPIE_2

black-saturn wrote:

Yuk I hate Farmfoods. It conjures up pictures of lovely fresh food and lean meat and creamy milk but when you get there it's all e numbers and ready meals.

I take your point but for frozen veg...it's excellent!

Queenie

astonsmummy wrote:

Unfortunately my shopping budget is £20 to £25 per week as i'm a lone paent working part time, plus we dont eat meat that much.

Yes, that does make it harder - and as far as Iceland is concerned, their deals often make it much better value to stock up on, when you're on a low income coupled with time constraints.

Iceland mince needs to be cooked from frozen to best results and to bulk it out and make it more economical, grab a bag of soya mince from the supermarket and do half and half. The soya mince will absorb the flavour of the mince and by the time you've added your other flavourings for what ever it is you're making, you won't notice.

I like to keep a store of frozen vegetables in the same way that I like to keep a store of rice and dried pasta! I prefer fresh (local farm shops) and even freeze fresh veggies if there is a good deal on/glut.

Frozen foods have their place and I wonder how we'd manage without freezers in our modern world - actually, I often wonder how they managed without freezers in the olden days too!

One tip you may find useful. On a limited food budget, whenever you save one week - ie if the mince is BOGOF - put the saving to one side. Over time, that will add up and then you can use it to 'invest' in one of the meat deals from a butchers. The flavour of even butcher's mince vs Iceland is far superior and not always more expensive.

Have fun with your freezer and enjoy stocking up :T

black-saturn

Unfortunately there arnt many Farm Foods shops round this ear but there are loads of Icelands.

researcher

I also add lentils to bulk out mince meat (the brown ones) and that makes mince very tasty.

I do understand what it's like living on a tight budget - I've had times in my life when I've had to live on very, very little. (Living in a foreign country, with no family, no support and literally having to collect wild food to survive). But you can stretch your budget, and make good, healthily tasty food from very little. I still cook this way because it tastes the best. (And is healthier too)

Buy fresh veg in season, and never throw any away, (even if you just saute them, add a stock cube and make it into a soup which can be frozen). Freeze your own as much as possible.

Get bones from a friendly butcher, roast beef or lamb ones before making stock (just cover with water and salt) and simmer away for hours. Your food will taste so much better if you cook with stock. (I never roast chicken without keeping the bones for a stock). If you use a steamer pan, and cook other veges on top at the same time you cut down on fuel to. (or the slow cooker).

I work full time, so I'm not spending hours in the kitchen each day, but I do organise myself. The secret is to make the best of everything, even when your plans change.

Elfin123

researcher wrote:

. For example a 10kg Pedigree Organic Beef box containing a selection of roasts, steaks, diced and mince is £75 - thats c£3.40 lb - which is brilliant value and the meat is superb.

This sounds like really good value for orgnic beef :j .. I know I pend alot more.

Where do you get it from please ???

researcher

It's from Holme Lacy College an agricultural college in Herefordshire, which is part of the Pershore Campus (Worcestershire). They have this website on their literature www.pershore.ac.uk

They have an organic farm breeding Hereford Cattle and LLeyn Sheep.

If you need more info pm me. (I've no connection by the way).

Elfin123

Thanks :T ... have found it on their website ... I see they do lamb as well which also looks good

I'll give them a call on Monday.


xx