March Grocery Challenge Please Help!!!

r.mac_2

fazer6 wrote:

I have frozen sweetcorn for the same reason mac.

My local market does swedes for 20p so I add a bit to each casserole I'm doing. Things like lentils and dried peas also add a bit of nutritional value and bulk out meals to make them last longer.

Cabbage is cheap too, 30p from the market I think, so I'm thinking of getting one if I can think of something imaginative to do with it. Someone suggested stirfrying it with cinamon I think.

not particularly cost effective, but nice as a treat. Jamie O does a great recipe. Cook some chopped bacon until crisp, add a chopped onion, some toasted pinenuts and cook gently for 5 mins. Add a shredded savoy cabbage and a dash of white wine. cover and cook for 5 mins until cabbage wilted. Add a chopped mozzarella ball and a handful of grated parmezan (must be fresh to work), a good glug of EV olive oil and some chopped thyme. Mix with cooked/drained pasta of your choice.

It's my weekend treat to myself!

Galtizz

AWT does a nice cabbage recipe too.

Sausages, bacon, cabbage, potatoes. chop everything up but in a casserole dish, pur on a bit of stock (don't cover) and some chopped herbs, cover dish in foil and bake in the oven for about 45mins - 1 hour take off foil and brown everything under the grill for 10mins. This works in the slow cooker too.

LearningToSave.

thanks tiff!! i shall go take a look next time hubby is home on a weds......being 35weeks pg and having spd and a hyper 2 year old means buses are out!!
ticklemouse.....copied your tomato soup recipie for lunch.....it was lovely-thanks.will also be looking at that thread of soup recipies,makes a lovely and healthier change from sarnies for lunch and after the birth of bump i'll be doing weigh****chers so it'll be easier to do soups cheaply and stick to it.

sarah1

Hi Thanks for all your help.
Just arrived home from work 7 till 5 all week plus a Saturday morning i am (for my sins) a mig welder. Yes Woman , Yes welder. And i do not always have the time or inclination to cook from scratch after a hard days work. Don't get me wrong i love to cook but there isn't enough hours in the day.
Hubby won't eat liver, chicken legs (he's a breast man) hot tuna fish, minced beef (once found some brightly coloured string inside but that's another story), beef burgers (only maccies), cheap baked beans, cheap tea and coffee,limited pasta,cheap bread, cheap pies and pasties tinned meat and moans when i try to cut down saying 'what's life all about if we can't eat good food' If i do buy these things they tend to go in the bin i don't want to cook separate things and i think if he won't eat them why should i? ( is that the wrong attitude).

Someone asked me what i spend my shopping money on well here goes :-
Pork and lamb chops
Steak
bacon and sausage
eggs
Cheese
fresh fish (cod and Plaice)
plenty of fresh fruit and veg
Branded soup, baked beans,custard etc
Chocolate and biscuits
loads of cleaning products around £20 per week

Believe me it soon goes!!!
Any advice other than change hubby?????

Janeryan

Sarah1

Have you tried subterfuge???

I work on the basis of what they don't know won't hurt them!!

I agree some things you can tell the difference in the taste but lots you can't!!

I have already substituted(without any comment from them) the following

Own brand for Weetabix & Honey Nut Cornflakes Chocolate digestives & choc bars for pack ups & cheaper cheese-basically they don't even see the packet they come in.

Still am buying branded baked beans & soup though but might sneak the odd tin in soon to see what happens.

Also have conned them into thinking that anyhting homemade has to be much scrummier than shop bought-especially if you don't do it too often-it makes them really appreciate it-you should hear the oohs & aahs when they find out I'm making Tea Loaf or Date Slice!!-recipes are available if you want them-they are dead easy-must be if I can make them!!

Sneaky aren't I???

jane

fazer6

How on earth do you spend £20 a week on cleaning products? I don't even spend that a month.

So if you don't have time or the inclination after work to cook from scratch then look at https://www.organizedhome.com and start for the whole month in one weekend. When you cook from scratch double or triple the portion so that you freeze the rest and have your own ready meals in the freezer. So he's piccy about the quality of his meet but he eats maccie d burgers? Does he think that for 99p he's getting a rib eye steak burger? Pay peanuts and get monkeys - maccy d's don't use the best quality meat.

Do a blind taste test to see if they can taste the difference in own brand and brand name stuff. If they can't then ask them why you should waste money on the brand stuff. Would you light your fire with a £5 note or a match? There's no point wasting money if you don't have to.

I make my own biccies and cakes now instead of buying stuff. 2 trays of fairy cakes cost nothing, I put them in at the same time as a roast so the oven's not on especially. I control what goes in them so they're healthier as well as cheaper. Same goes for biccies. I feel better because home made stuff tastes nicer, once you're in the habit of doing it it doesn't take that long either.

If you had a child who refused to eat mince what would you do? Would you serve it up anyway and tell them to go hungry? I can't get over not liking mince if he eats maccy d's though, I hate to go on but the quality of meat is awful. I don't know where they get the meat from but it's so cheap I wouldn't be suprised if they get the carcass and use a pressure washer to get the last little scraps of meat off the bones. Don't you just love processed meat. Mmm tasty.

r.mac_2

have you tried cheaper cuts of beef, and lamb etc? These done in a slow cooker, while you are at work are really yummy. There is little effort involved and you still get a 'home cooked meal'.

I suggest not telling the family about some substitutes and go on trial and error - or even white lies 'well, there was no heinz left in the shop', 'they had run out' etc etc!!!

Sainsbury's and morisons often have lovely sausages (decent ranges like butcher's choice etc) on BOGOF, look out for these and stock up when you see them on offer.

homemade soup is easy to make - bung some veggies in a pan with water/stock and forget about it for an hour! I also think it tastes nicer. why not try it and not tell them it's homemade?

Alternatively, what did you husband eat as a child - ask family for recipes and present them as a 'treat'. Bribery always works in my family!!!

and remember - you might not have to change what you buy, perhaps just making sure ther eis no wastage might save you money? try and look at things from a few different angles. It might help.

best of luck.

maggie1976

Hi there LTS, I'm in Bristol too and I can recommend the fruit and veg stall at the Saturday morning market in the Southmead Hospital long stay car park (of all places!).

Go early-ish though (definitely before 10am) so you miss the rush. 10 apples for £1, 3 heads of brocolli for 50p, I once got a huge wooden box of tomatoes for £2, etc. All depends on what they've got so go along, buy what's cheap and then make Saturday your cooking day.

Soup is v. easy. I brown onions or leeks (or both) in a pan, then bung in the root veg like swede, potatoes, carrots etc as they take longest. Stir them all round for a few minutes then cover with stock (I use the cubes but if you're v. keen you can make your own!). Throw in the softer veg (cabbage, mushrooms, etc). Simmer until the veg is cooked and then blend or leave chunky if you like it that way.

HTH.

LearningToSave. wrote:

tiff,
where do you get cheap fruit and veg from?? are there any markets around in bristol and if so where?? at the moment i either use our local shop or asda at cribs causeway but it always seems dear compared to what other people,yourself included seem to get for their money!!
and does anyone know how to make soup?? i have swede,carrots,mushrooms in fridge that are looking like they wont be any good after today....would make soup if i knew how!!! jeez can you tell im new to this cooking lark

sarah1

Hi Fazer6,
I've tried swapping packaging and things like that but he notices and make me feel like a cheapskate and still take the mickie out of me from the last time i did it!!!
But tonight we have bogof sausages and 19p yorkshire pud mix from kwik save which i am making toad in the hole if anyone critisises they will be wearing it !!!!

LearningToSave.

wow thanks maggie will def pop over there when hubby is home on a saturday next!!! not that far either as we are in henbury.