Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

rubytuesday

Thinking of you Minnie! x

rubytuesday

midwinter wrote: »

Found this site with food saving tips....

so sharing

http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

Ooh I'm so glad to see that site is up and running again! It wasn't a little while ago. I need it for the tuna pasta bake recipe. It's a great site. Thanks!

grandma247

Thinking of you minnie.

if you are really worried about the casserole a meat thermometer is an option and you can buy them from £3 upwards. I personally am not worried since I cook it for quite a while and usually stir a couple of times as it defrosts in the oven or slow cooker. Also you could whack the meat in a frying pan first before you freeze it to part cook.

Erme

SandraScarlett wrote: »

Don't know about you RT, but I get such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment when I have cleared a drawer. :T

Donkey's years ago, I sold Mum's house to fund her Nursing Home fees, and she had about 12 huge chests-of-drawers, each with 4 big drawers and 2 little ones. Each time I visited her, I took the contents of one of the drawers with me, filling several carrier bags, so that she could say what she wanted me to do.

I had a devil's own problem getting her to part with receipts for items such as, a sewing machine - that she had got rid of decades before! I vowed I would not leave my children with such a problem, so every so often, I clear a drawer I feel I'm helping future generations!

Mind you, what I keep and consider important, my kids would probably think of as junk, but at least I can find my own junk!

xx

So like this it's unreal.Was thinking of moving to somewhere with 'veggies' the other day and the council said I'd be entitled to a 2 bed place and I'm just like 'noooooo' extra room/extra junk...am cluttered enough as is

Barros wrote: »

had no NSD this weekend however ... i have spent about £15 all in, and just made a massive batch of 10 meals for this week + so have all my food in. Also i get paid on Friday yay!

Itsvery satisfying making all your meals on ahead for the week; nothing to spend and you know that you are going to be eating well too.

You all know (or at least I hope you do by now though it's not the 'whole' of me) I have MH probs and an old CPN taught me the importance of menu planning. Seriously such a basic yet important lesson. No menu plan and Erme doesn't eat or else she eats junk:(...so important. Currently as part of my recovery plan I'm trying to stick to as much non processed food as possible cos I have the time to cook it and like it's better for my mind. No I am not dieting. I am allowed cheese and eggs for starters but this is just about what I need to do to try and stay out of the psych unit (which has got to be a good thing)

enjoyfinancialchallenges wrote: »

It seems like at times we on this forum are suffering from collective paranoia, I don't think anybody ever intends hurting anyone else nor do we intend getting at each and perhaps we should all try not be so thin skinned and shrug things off abit more. Its well known that texting is the best way to loose friends and it seems like this is whats going on right now here so lets remember we all choose to use this forum, nobody forced us, to offer help and alternative ways of achieving a frugal lifestyle in order to live within our separate bugets and not to build up debts and we all do it our own different ways and all are valid useful ways. Also some people ask for and need more advise/ support/help than others and thats OK also. So lets get on with it now! I'm not getting at or pointing my finger at anyone in particular its just an undercurrent I can detect today which feels uncomfortable and it seems like I'm not alone in this.

Thanks so much for this financial..I know I was guilty of the above end of last week and I had a break not cos of you guys but cos I was too nutty with stuff outside of MSE so couldn't get on. then wanted to get on yesterday but had hair followed by GP and crashed @ 7pm or so....

It's interesting that my illness showed up here though before I was aware of it elsewhere and it bloomed into 2 days solitary. That for me is very interesting.....I'm not justifying how I behaved but it's just good for me to have early warning signs that I'm getting unwell and it's interesting to note that when I'm getting more sensitive and paranoid online I'm actually not as well as I think I am even though I may appear fine in my life offline...

Anyhow am feeling contrite so won't say anymore......

E

Erme

rubytuesday wrote: »

Erme have you got a care coordinator you could contact or what about 'out of hours"? I know it's difficult when you're feeling like this. Hope you are soon back on a more even keel! x

I am the helpline queen :j....I got help out of hours...twas actually a Dear relative I'm supposed to visit end of next month stressing me and insulting me to the absolute nines at 7.30am by text then not acknowledging what she'd done never mind apologising for 2 whole days....lovely

enjoyfinancialchallenges wrote: »

Erme it seems as if you are really having a tough time of it at the moment, so sorry to hear this but do try and keep your appointments to get the correct medication and the help you require. I'm sure you know your medication better than anybody but perhaps its not wise to down too many haloperidol, it might be better to stay to the prescribed amount. At the moment just give yourself some TLC, forget this thread and don't worry about anything else. When you feel fit and ready then its time to return here but all in your own time. Look forward to knowing when you start to feel well again. XX

Thanks financial but I'm allowed a little extra meds when unwelll...On Monday I took the max dose and slept eventually then reduced again on Tuesday when felt better and made pizza from Gill Holcombe's book no. 2 (which I reckon is mostly currys and pizzas - quite expensive too @ £2.99 from the discount store but I had to go there for a book for the veg garden and the bike ride made me realise how unfit I am right now :eek: but the endorphins were good:D)

Right....0556 - off to 'finally' book bus tickets for glasgow and ed before it's too late then do knitting...

Got a hair cut yesterday...only cost£5.50 for a C and BD at the local college cos with the state of the OD I can't justify going to my usual lassie.....Only snag = took 2 hours...(and it's a basic straight cut - nothing fancy) but am pleased with the result and now won't need doing till June (had loads off. tried the self cut thingy for a year and just ended up with very fine - not healthy hair)

E

23rdspiral

lynzpower wrote: »

Still have thousands of parsnips adn think im going to make a parsnip gratin type affiara for sunday dinner with them! I have no room to freeze any more!

sounds like me! Mr A had them on 10p a bag... fine... untill i found meat reduced and then my uncle bought me a pound of sauasages... so suddenly no room in freezer! oh well.

grandma247 wrote: »

I personally am not worried since I cook it for quite a while and usually stir a couple of times as it defrosts in the oven or slow cooker. Also you could whack the meat in a frying pan first before you freeze it to part cook.

i've personally no problem with defrost in oven if i Know it will cook through in the time/heat i give it. But i would Never defrost anything in the slow cooker - the length of time it takes to get up to temp is plenty of time for bacteria to grow. obviously if you do it and are still alive it's fine for you, but as i've realised from a few years on the Old Style Board, plenty of S/Cs dont get hot enough for long enough to kill any grown bacteria (and personally even if it did, i wouldnt want to eat that much dead bacteria!) sorry i dont mean to lecture, i just would hate for someone to get ill.

~~~~~
Incedentally in my SC today i have: A Huge turkey leg (1.61 to 1.29 whoopsied) + bag of value chopped carrot & sweede (50p whoospied to 35p) + a little water + pinch mixed herbs. there'lll be enough for 4 portions of turkey stew, 2 of which i'll make into mexican with tom paste & chili powder. :j frugal cooking at it's best!

(oh Mr A's turkey legs are getting bigger! the last couple have only just fitted, but this one... i had to cut/saw/whack butchers knife with a hammer to get the end of the bone off so it would fit!)

seriouslyfrugal

Erme wrote: »

You all know (or at least I hope you do by now though it's not the 'whole' of me) I have MH probs and an old CPN taught me the importance of menu planning. Seriously such a basic yet important lesson. No menu plan and Erme doesn't eat or else she eats junk:(...so important. Currently as part of my recovery plan I'm trying to stick to as much non processed food as possible cos I have the time to cook it and like it's better for my mind. No I am not dieting. I am allowed cheese and eggs for starters but this is just about what I need to do to try and stay out of the psych unit (which has got to be a good thing)

I know exactly what you mean by this erme & if I feel rough I know that just getting out for a walk can help although I don't always feel like it & have to really work at it !

It's interesting that my illness showed up here though before I was aware of it elsewhere and it bloomed into 2 days solitary. That for me is very interesting.....I'm not justifying how I behaved but it's just good for me to have early warning signs that I'm getting unwell and it's interesting to note that when I'm getting more sensitive and paranoid online I'm actually not as well as I think I am even though I may appear fine in my life offline...

Anyhow am feeling contrite so won't say anymore......

E

I know that my family will often know before I do when i'm going through a rough patch

Take care of your self Esme and if you need us on the forum - just ask



Have a good frugal day everyone

23rdspiral

hi everyone, my work today got cancelled just as i was about to leave. harumph.:mad:
so i came on here and spent an hour looking over posts from the wknd. I'm REALLY glad i did... i found lots of lovely birthday messages!! thanks so much everyone for caring. it means a lot!

i know i probably should waste space quoting them, but they are so very cheery so will quote a few just for the happiness factor!

chika wrote: »

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y

to Cheryl and 23rd Spiral

:bdaycake:

NualaBuala wrote: »

Happy Birthday 23rdSpiral!

OMG!! where'd you find him?! he's soo cute!!

rubytuesday wrote: »

Yes :j:j Happy Birthday 23rdSpiral:j:j

I'm sorry I thought it was Sunday too

:bdaycake::bdaycake::bdaycake:

slowlyfading wrote: »

happy birthday 23rdspiral :j :j

apple_mint wrote: »

Happy Birthday to 23rd Spiral and Cheryl

grandma247

Erme you sound sooo much better I'm glad it didn't last too long. Keep well.

23rdspiral
I do understand about the slowcooker. My modern one gets very hot , way hotter than my older one from the 1970s and I always put defrosted stuff in that. If I am unsure about whether it will defrost I put the newer one on high for a couple of hours either at the beginning or near the end of the day.

salski

Hello all - Im posting for a little help please - - - I have some frozen pork chops in the freezer - any ideas what to do with them other than grilling as usual? There was 6 of them lol, we down to the last 2 and neither of us wants grilled chops again!
Thanks you in advance x