10 things you should never buy again

rachbc

debtdesperado wrote: »

Hello all...

Ah, bagged salad! I use bagged salad all the time - I keep trying to grow my own but I'm a bit squeamish about eating bugs...which is something they NEVER mention in these articles.

I was put off when I grew broccoli from seed..it grew beautifully, so I gave it the same quick swish under the tap that I would have done if I'd got it from the supermarket, and started to cut it up.

Spotted a caterpillar, which I put back out in the garden. Kept cutting. Spotted another. And also a tiny greenfly. Decided to submerge the whole thing in water to drown any other insects, so put in bowl of water with a plate on it to weight it down. Looked at it 15 minutes later...EURGGGGHHH! The whole underside of the plate was covered in bugs of various sizes. I would have eaten them as I hadn't spotted them!!

Did the same with spinach, herbs and salad leaves that I've grown with the same result. Have given up growing stuff outside. Am now trying to grow salad leaves indoors, but even that has acquired tiny greenfly....yuck.

I give up - much better to eat bagged salad, grown in nice hygienic bug free polytunnels!

But covered in lovely 'hygenic' chemicals to kill all the bugs! We call it 'free protein' here

MaggieBaking

JackieO wrote: »

5. Bagged salad - Buying salad leaves certainly adds interest to your five a day. However, you’ll pay a significant premium for that pleasure. Plus the bags are pumped full of a chemical to keep them fresh. As soon as you open the bag, the chemical is released and the leaves wilt fast. Salad leaves are notoriously easy to grow, so save your cash and spice up your salads by growing your own.

I buy an Iceberg lettuce around every two weeks and it lasts me for that I have a lettuce keeper that I bought from bettawars around 5 years ago and its paid for itself over and over again

I sent JackieO a PM to find out more about this contraption and she replied so I thought I would share it here, as others wanted to know what it was too!

I bought my lettuce keeper from Bettaware and its a round plastic bowl that separates into two,top bit from the bottom. Inside there is a spike that you insert in the middle of the lettuce and then replace the top bit of bowl on it so your lettuce is held in place. It looks like a small globe and sits in my fridge.

As long as you use a plastic knife to cut off what bits you need a lettuce will last a good fortnight in there, or until you have used it up. It's probably the best gadget I have ever had as it saves me a fortune as I hate to throw lettuce away and as I live alone a one pound iceberg has to last me.I have had it for several years now and I don't know if they still sell them ,but failing that an ice berg wrapped in foil lasts quite well also But do cut the lettuce with a plastic knife or tear it off with your hands as if you use an ordinary knife the lettuce will go brown at the edges with oxyidation.

I have had a really good Google and can't find one in the UK unfortunately, but I had no idea about the knife! A great tip!

floss2

ProdigalScouser wrote: »

... The reason why I have said what I've said is because a few people have responded to the OP by basically saying "I don't have the time to do that", which I feel is often an excuse because people don't want to make the effort....

Personally I don't think that medical conditions such as ME, fibromyalgia, osteoathritis, rheumatoid arthritisor any other disabling condition can be classed as an "excuse" - they are a physical reason why people will buy ready-prepped foodstuffs, because they are cutting out the work that cannot be undertaken.

ProdigalScouser wrote: »

As long as you have a half-decent blender, it's a doddle. It's just olive oil, basil, pine nuts and parmesan. I found it didn't last anywhere near as long as the jarred stuff though. Which makes me wonder what they put in it to make it last...

Freeze it in an ice-cube tray, then bag it. No problem with keeping it then. BTW, try it made with parsley or oregano rather than basil.

[Deleted User]

MaggieBaking wrote: »

Ditto - I'd also love to know what it is!! Could you please enlighten us JackieO?

I have just googled it as Bettaware lettuce keeper and there is exactly the same one as I have on Ebay for at the moment 99p Its great and really works ,apparently Bettaware no longer sell them so well worth snapping up one if you can
JackieO xx

celyn90

I thought bagged salad was just packed under nitrogen and the lack of oxygen in the bag keeps fresher for longer? Given nearly 80% of every breath we take is nitrogen, I hardly think it warrants the "ooohh, scary evil chemicals in my salad" comment. And yes, it will have an e-number.

I just hate scaremongering about things like this; this sort of psuedo-science does nothing but upset people and it's a weak arguement from someone ill-informed.

The simple truth is, I work over 60 hours a week. I simply don't have time to have lunch most days, let alone a be a lady wot does and if cereal bars and frozen veg makes my life easier, I will buy them. I can cook, I understand the process of food prep, I have lots of cook books - but there are just occassions where I simply make the conscious choice not to do it. It does not mean we eat badly at all and I resent the implication that I am incapable or doing so from a position of little knowledge.

oldtractor

1. liquid soap, I now make my own,much nicer and much cheaper
2. Scones, very easy to make,nicer than shop bought and very cheap to make at home
3. kitchen roll, use cloths instead
4. a lawn mower, i dont have a lawn,just lots of lovely flowers and fruit and veg
5. anything at full price unless its absolutely necessary. Its really easy to wait for most things until the sales are on
6. cut flowers,look nice but are environmentally unfriendly and the home grown ones are much nicer
7. jam,homemade is soooooooo much better
8. marmalade ditto
9. cake including birthday cake ditto
10. laundry liquid and fabric softener, I make my own.
As I am very fortunate in having a wonderful husband who supports my lifestyle I am able to not go out to work and be a housewife. I love it,its fantastic and I can highly recommend,so satisfying. I realise those who have to go out to work may not have the time to enjoy life homemaking as I do,but as they say,every little helps. Enjoy your lives folks.

ALIBOBSY

kazwookie wrote: »

10 things you should never buy again........................

Ice creammaker lives at back of cupboard
Coffee machine ditto
Meat slice ditto
A very large pan thing, ditto
George Formangill ~ ditto, now carbooted and sold

All a waste of money here in this house.

With gadhets I suppose the issue should be if you will use the gadget on a regular basis.

my coffee machine sits on the side and I have had a few over the years and it get used probably more than the kettle as we are big coffee drinkers-we are still using tea bags from that free packet offer in Lidl which was at least a year ago lol.

I do use the ice cream maker as well and we are onto our 4 GF grill which is used all the time-the GF doubles for a toasty maker as well .

My kenwood works hard for its living and is used nearly every day.
My slow cooker doesn't get as much use this time of year, but i love it and in winter its brilliant-with 4 kids one a baby and one pre schooler to be able to prepare when you get a spare minute early in the day and leave something in there all day without having to worry about it and knowing tea is sorted whilst i do all the running around is priceless.

Best thing about gadgets for me is all the people who buy them then don't use them and give them away to peeps like me who have the time to use them (I am a full time mum). My slow cooker was free, my ice cream maker was free, GF was free etc etc.

Thinking about it my kenwood was a treat out of a prize win (3k from golden balls) and my coffee maker and matching kettle and matching toaster were on offer in Makro with a voucher towards them rofl.

I know some people don't use toasters and to be honest BTK (before the kids lol) I always used the grill, but with 6 of us a 4 slice toaster gets used several times a day-brilliant for kids to make a quick snack which is cheaper and better for them than bags of sweets/processed stuff.

Thinking about it when my old microwave (free from my mum when she upgraded to one with a grill in it) went we didn't bother with one until about a year later when MIL decided to change hers (to match her new kitchen and have a bigger wattage) so again free. So I guess I wouldn't buy a microwave, eldest uses it to warm milk to make hot chocolate for him and his sisters (you don't get away with making one of anything in this house lol), and I warm stuff/defrost in it thats all.

Even my fridge freezer was free, cousin moved house and upgraded to one of those american style ones (I drool over them but can't afford it) so we got the bosch on she had only had 4 about a year.

So I love gadgets but use them, only one I didn't was the bread maker-I realised I was just using it for dough making which the kenwood now does for me was a christmas pressie I then passed on to a new home. Secret is if buying really decide if you will get use and therefore value for money for it then find the best price possible-obviously free from realtives or freegle is brill :j

Ali x

RazWaz

Willow92 wrote: »

I'm trying to sell a George Foreman grill on ebay, was given to me as a gift and I used it once...

I use mine as a panini press :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

RazWaz wrote: »

I use mine as a panini press :rotfl:

what a brilliant idea I will have to try that, I love panini's

zippychick

we have gadgets threads as well

must have kitchen gadgets

unused kitchen gadgets

kitchen gadgets - what is isn't essential

Zip