New to this!!!!

Littlemissgrumpy

Hello I thought i would pop over here to get some help and inspiration on how to get my shopping budget down but just seem to be going round in circles and getting more confused so I have a couple of questions

1 At the moment we eat a lot of prepared burgers meat etc and tend to stick to the same few meals when trying to change do you find the first few weeks you are spending the same or more while you get everything in(tins freezer stuff herbs spices) then you see a drop

2 I want to start freezing leftovers and extra meals for if someone doesnt eat a meal do you need to defrost 1st and if so how or can you cook from frozen

3 What do you do when the kids are fussy and wont eat a meal Im not talking about if they really dont like something (ds 1 wont eat fish or cheese DD2 spicy etc) do you just say tough

sorry for the ramble am fed up with cooking all seperate meals then they still dont eat it.

cheeswright

check your kitchen door if it dosnt have a sign on it saying restaurant then theres no optional menu

the kids wont starve if they choose not to eat a meal - or even several
and you can freeze it for your lunch one day when your in a rush

if they were HUNGRY they would eat whatever it was, but if theyre being picky its ...well because theyre not hungry enough not to be

dont make a rod for your own back - and frankly theirs - and good luck - with it - its a really hard thing to do

p-pincher

Try to change 1 thing at a time, if you try to change everything it might seem to much and try give up. I was in the same situation not so long ago but you can do it.

Stop buying the processed meat and try to start buying more mince and chicken and get stuck into a few simple recipes, i like to make in bulk, spag bol, chilli, homemade tomato sauce (to make pizza, pasta bake, spag bol, base for soup), curries etc. What about investing in a slow cooker so you cant use cheaper cuts of meat,we make a mean chicken stew with chicken legs which are really cheap from the butcher.

When i first started proper home cooking i didnt really spend much more, obviously i spent alot more on meat and basics but a hell of alot less on ready meals.
I always freeze left overs, i try to take them out before I go to work but if I forget i just nuke them in the microwave and make sure everything is piping hot. Regarding the kids, my kids always used to try this but to be honest I dont think theres much you can do except to persevere. My little one told me not long ago she no longer likes pie. I explained she likes pastry so she does like pie and that she might not like a particular flavour of pie. She was served pie the day after and she ate it!!

quintwins

i always think fussy eating is caused by parents letting kids away with it, theres nothing wrong with a genuine dislike, but even food my kids have shown a dislike for i then try them again in a few months now they eat everything because tastes do change, there is no way on earth i would stand and make a load of diferent meals either, my hubby doesn't like veg but is till put some on his plate every tea time so our kids can see it's normal to eat veg

i'd recommend making your own burgers and chicken nuggets as a start, it's not cheaper to make your own nuggets but it is healthier, also just because you ds doesn't like fish (however there are lots of diferent types of fish he can't like non, also i think overcooked fish is horrible so be careful of this) doesn't mean teh rest of you can't theres no reason he can't just have boiled taties and veg for 1 meal

Mini_Bear

I always find getting the kids involved in cooking the tea helps, and my DS will eat it if he knows hes chopped the veg and stirred the casserole! Oh and cut down on their snacks particularly when they get home from school and want to raid the biscuit tin! Like others have said make changes gradualy, tweaking foods the kids already eat and gradually adding more healthy stuff! Good luck with it all!

vennypenny

Regarding question 2 - I agree with p-pincher. Always freeze your 'spare food' (leftovers) in a container that can be microwaved. They don't always have to be expensive shop-bought ones either - plastic chinese takeaway containers (used by the place some of my work colleagues sometimes went to get their lunch and I asked if I could have the empty pots) are ideal for some things. They stack well in the freezer too.
If you are freezing an entire homemade 'readymeal', then a container that is a bit bigger (long & flat is better than tall & fat), where you can fit a whole meal in a single container is best. Let the food cool just a little before you seal the lid (prevents it getting frozen shut) and freeze it - we leave it until we've finished eating, then put the 'spare' in the freezer.

It's ok to defrost (in the fridge preferred, but we've been leaving frozen meal on kitchen counter all day when the weather isn't too hot and not had problems) then microwave, or microwave from frozen. Cost-wise, if you microwave from frozen, it will take longer to cook, and therefore cost more to run the microwave for longer. Just remember that the food has already been cooked, so things can get a bit overdone if you're not careful.
some things don't do well this way, though - potatoes change their taste, already cooked veg can turn to mush, some sauces don't reheat well and noodles can end up quite mushy too.

Depending on how many freezer meals you are going to use, and the size/shape of the containers, it's possible to stack the containers (with lids on but lifted a bit to vent the steam) - just remember to adjust the time you need to microwave them for.

Don't be scared to cook fresh meat from frozen, then freeze it this way, then heat it back up. There is no problem with doing this provided that the meat is fully cooked first time, and then heated to piping hot second time.

Persevere with the kids - try different things with different ingredients/types - my daughter says she doesn't like cheese, but actually, she does like some cheese sauces, mozzarella (pizza cheese - and not just on pizza) and occasionally mild cheddar. Personally, the only fish/seafood I will eat is prawns, and tinned tuna - no matter how hungry I am, I absolutely would not eat any other fish. All I'm saying is that there are options and alternatives - even if someone 'doesn't like' something - it may not exclude all variations.

Yes, when you start out buying the extra things like herbs/spices, it will cost a bit more, but that is really only an initial outlay and those costs go down/away.

hmm, ok sorry so long a reply - novel over now...

Sulevia

Long time ago now, but when my sons were little ones, the choice was either, eat what I have cooked, or have a Marmite sandwich (wholemeal bread).

They nearly always ate what I cooked, but did very occasionally opt for the sandwich.

I said Marmite, because it was something they both liked, but it could equally well have been cheese. Deliberately not jam or anything sweet, though.

Littlemissgrumpy

Thank you for the help I think I need to look at it as taking small steps to switch them over I am using up the rest of the stuff from the freezer then from Monday will change all the dinners hopefully will also help me get back on my diet:rotfl:

This was another reason for making leftovers as Ds1 doesnt like fish on the days he is home late from football training he could have them he would eat later than us anyway

Off to look for some recipes and some things for when they get in from school why do schools have lunches at different times ranging from 12-1 and 11 30 when the youngest goes and they are tiny

I am getting excited about cooking from scratch and trying new things