I'm eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge

kittendothroar

Despite last weeks slip with buying bread reduced and stashing in freezer have done pretty well clearing down stocks! Am due to go to market for fresh produce tomorrow and will resist lure of Waitrose in town! Have actually cleared half of my side of the freezer this past week, and done meal plan to get rest down further. Also used tinned peaches today from depths of cupboards! Breakfast was cereal, lunch a thawed deli pocket filled with mushroom yeast pate and an avocado and last of fresh beetroot. Tonights dinner is leftovers - a sort of groat pilaf I made last night, using cashew nuts and sultanas from cupboards!

abitofhelp

I have taken a tub of vegetable lasagna out for lunch tomorrow & put a tub of stew in to replace it. I'm going wrong somewhere.

Florenceem

Nothing to report on the freezer front - nil in or out.
We had lamb kebabs, rice with leek and side salad - cucumber, onion, radishes, spring onion and tomatoes for dinner.



Tomorrow's dinner - HM quiche.

recovering_spendaholic

Was going to make curry with leftover chicken today, but both kids were off school so I had to make a big enough meal for all three of us. I ended up making a chicken fried rice with rice, onions, carrots, celery, peppers, peas, rice, egg and the leftover bit of chicken. Threw in a bit of soy sauce and it was really nice - PLUS there is enough left over for me for lunch tomorrow!

Dinner was a bit of a mish mash. I was going to make corned beef hash as per the meal plan but they made such a fuss about it that I went to the little Tesco and got two chicken breasts and did them chicken with bacon and cheese, which they liked. I had the leftover cauliflower cheese from Sunday roast dinner with a piece of the bacon - was really nice!

Put two chicken breasts, four reduced naans and some reduced rolls in the freezer, but there is still plenty of space. I can't wait for the start of June so I can buy some stuff - I have a weird fear of bare cupboards and an empty freezer. I grew up with a Mother who never had much in as she just wasn't interested in food and I think it affected me!!!!!

[Deleted User]

recovering spendaholic- Im the same! as soon as the cupboards get low/bare I almost panic to fill them up again! silly really, its not as if we are going to run out of food!

Have added 2 pints milk and a pack of rolls to the freezer last night, taken out some onions and courgettes which I will add to mince tonight and re-freeze some for later (assume re-freezing veg wont kill me! :rotfl:)

Still have several bread mixes left so might make a loaf at the weekend plus use one to make pizza (assume I can roll into pizza bases if I just dont let it rise? we shall see anyway!)

At some point am also gonna attempt a veggie quiche - have never made this before so it could all go wrong! have all ingredients tho (including for pastry) and will use up some eggs and butter that need using in the next week or 2!

Other than that am going to try and attempt the next month from stores with minimal shopping , may need to stock up on milk, bread , fruit and veg and possibly a portion or 2 of meat /quorn but other than that all sorted (famous last words.... )

[Deleted User]

In fact to motivate myself I shall list the meals I have in to try and prevent those "I have nothing to eat for dinner" moments!!!:

Cheese and mushroom pizza (using breadmix for dough) x 2 nights

Tuna and veg pasta bake - x 2nights

Quorn burgers and salad x 3 nights
OR Chickpea and chorizo stew with cous cous/rice x 3 nights (I think only I like this so burgers can be for OH!)

Quorn/chicken curry and dhal with pitta bread x 3 nights (with some dhal leftover probably!)

Chilli and rice x 3nights (reckon I can get 6 portions out of a pack of mince bulked out with veg!)

Sausage casserole x 3 nights (again 6 portions out of 12 sausages bulked out with veg! plus maybe a portion leftover for lunch!)

Savoury quorn mince x 1 night

Beans/Spaghetti/Eggs on toast x 2 nights (needs must! :rotfl:)

Also have 2 tins of those hotdog sausages which could be utilised for 2 nights dinners or mixed with pasta and veg ! x 2nights

Soo..... thats 21 nights worth of meals :eek::eek: which would take me almost to Junes payday! Lets see if I can manage it without needing to compulsively fill my cupboards/freezer again!!!...

Lastly have 8 veggie burgers and 6 veggie sausages which OH doesnt like but I might have for odd lunches here and there , will need extra bread for sandwhiches but have fillings (ham, tuna, eggmayo, cheese)

Other lunches can be soup (1 portion in freezer) with crackers , beans on toast (as above if they wont cut it for dinner) , cous cous/pasta salads of some kind

Am almost down to the end of my free honey shreddies from last year but still have another 2 packs of other cereal and 2 packs of breakfast biscuits to get through! plus a pack of oat cereal but will leave that for baking or when its freezing!

Have apples, yogurts, crisps and biscuits so also wont starve on the snack front!

Am thinking on that note might challenge myself to a £15 top up fund so reduced bread, milk and fruit/veg from market as needed.... wondering if thatll be enough for a month being inventive with what we have in already! ....to those savvy bargain hunters out there (lynsey especially!:p) ...what do ya think?
Food is by far the biggest saving we can still make as all other bills cut down greatly so this is why I get so [STRIKE]obsessed[/STRIKE] keen to save money on it!

quintwins

Morning all, put 2 pots of chicken casarole in the freezer, we can have that next week.

Renewed my tax credits and given all the extra work hubbys been doing i think money might get abit tight it will be good for us in the long run tho. Just means it will he his self employed money so not constant sort of as and when kinda thing, i'm sure we won't do without but i'm going to build up a good buffer for our bank if i can so def no shopping unless we really really need it.

Nows when we see just how many meals we have in that freezer

Tonight we're having sausages, roasties, carrots and parsnips and cauliflower and gravy to use up some of the veg in the fridge.

Breakfast was toast and jam and the kids had apples, lunch will be noodles.

all i should need to see me threw this week is eggs, milk and bread (i might try making some bread as i have some bread flour but i got rid of my bread maker so it will have to be by hand)

[Deleted User]

Deleted_User sounds like a good plan. Its certainly doable, but its difficult sometimes to resist temptation. I set our budget at £40 this month and its been very hard, we don't need anything, but ive almost had withdrawal symptons from buying food. Good luck, don't think i could do £15, maybe £30, please let us know how you get on.

abitofhelp

Hi all, just popped on to say hello, i dont think i will be going near the freezers today. I have made a batch of mixed salad in a tub which used up a 1/4 of an iceberg lettuce i had left over from last week. Also made a jar of garlic dressing. So at least thats a couple of things used from the fridge. Then again i now have 3/4 tub of natural yogurt left to use. I might make some muffins & marinate some chicken fillets. enjoy your day all.

Florenceem

Deleted_User wrote: »

recovering spendaholic- Im the same! as soon as the cupboards get low/bare I almost panic to fill them up again! silly really, its not as if we are going to run out of food!

Have added 2 pints milk and a pack of rolls to the freezer last night, taken out some onions and courgettes which I will add to mince tonight and re-freeze some for later (assume re-freezing veg wont kill me! :rotfl:)

Still have several bread mixes left so might make a loaf at the weekend plus use one to make pizza (assume I can roll into pizza bases if I just dont let it rise? we shall see anyway!)

At some point am also gonna attempt a veggie quiche - have never made this before so it could all go wrong! have all ingredients tho (including for pastry) and will use up some eggs and butter that need using in the next week or 2!

Other than that am going to try and attempt the next month from stores with minimal shopping , may need to stock up on milk, bread , fruit and veg and possibly a portion or 2 of meat /quorn but other than that all sorted (famous last words.... )

My DS makes up the Jamie Oliver bread recipe before going to work. When he gets home - knocks it back and rolls out for pizza bases - turn out great.