Feeding on a budget without a freezer!!

becky_rtw

Hi Guys,

I'm currently on a debt free mission and the DFW board recommend a quick trip over here...I try to meal plan, but I have one huge issue:

no freezer!

Hence I can only keep cooked food for two days and I've had to stop buying bread as it goes off before I can eat it. I'm on my own as well (no OH or Kiddies) so not sure how to batch cook etc to save money!

I currently spend about £200 a month on food which I know is way too much, so I'm starting by looking to halve the amount.

All ideas/suggestions welcome - I'm a pretty good cook, but its just getting ingredients without having to go the supermarket every day.

Pink.

Hi Becky,

Without a freezer you can't bulk cook but you can still meal plan and then make a shopping list and stick to it....difficult I know.

The threads listed here may help you:

The Complete Menu Plans Collection

And it's also worth having a look at Martin's article on Supermarket Shopping: Halve your weekly bill by beating the system to see if you can pick up some tips.

Good luck with cutting back.

Pink

Fi27

Hiya :hello:

I dont have a freezer either so not able to bulk cook or buy whoopsies to freeze but still manage ok. I budget around £300 a month for me, OH and teenage DS which seems like alot compared to some of the others but it's a good bit less than i used to spend :T

I often cook meals that will do two nights, for example mince to make a shepherds pie one night and a bolognais the next. We dont mind eating the same thing two nights in a row either like a big pan of curry might do two evening meals. Try bulking out smaller portions of mince with carrots, oats or lentils to make it strech further, making the mince less expensive to buy in the first place as you wont need so much.

I tend to shop weekly sometimes fortnightly and meal plan so that i know exactly what i need to buy, i would then only nip to the supermarket mid week for just milk or bread and maybe a few mushrooms if needed. Make sure the food you are buying have a long 'use by' date and use the soonest dates first IYKWIM. I tend to have pasta/store cupboard dishes towards the end of the week once the fresh stuff is eaten. I also find that if i have a list of what i'm cooking/eating each night i am more organised and dont come home from work shattered and want take away. I dont have to think too much i just cook what the meal plan says! I am [strike]a bit sad [/strike]organised and do a print out on the computer of my meal plan and pop it in a poly pocket on the inside of one of my kitchen cupboards!

HTH

Fi x

becky_rtw

Thanks guys,

I root around in those links (wow there are loads)! I tend not to buy meat as its so expensive for one, but I never thought of buying a bigger pack and using it more than once (I'm an idiot I know).

So tonight I'm having sausages, bulgar wheat, salad and coleslaw and I'm going to use the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

I have loads of tinned fish in for later in the week so I might make some grilled sardines with potatoes and carrot salad, which I can also eat for lunch one day. I spent £20.83 at the supermarket yesterday so I'm hoping for that to last until Saturday/Sun.

I think the other problem I have is I don't eat at home every day (I often do swapsies with mates) so food often goes off before I get to chance to eat it - must learned to factor that into shopping!

Fi27

Hi Becky

Does your supermarket have a butchers counter? If so you can buy small one person sized portions although i tend to find as it's not vacume packed it wont keep nearly as long. Have a rummage at the back of the shelves in the supermarket for the items with the longest 'use by' dates on them as they put them to the back.

If you think you wont be home to eat a couple of nights meal plan in a store cupboard standby meal just in case your plans change. Good 'ol beans on toast, tinned curry with rice or a pasta dish rather than buying fresh stuff and it going to waste. I know tins of things arent exactly old style but a tin will keep for another time if you dont use it thus being money saving in the long run.

When i had a freezer all i had in it was loaf of bread, some ice pops and a bag of ice cubes! That was before i started all this meal planning and OS! I am tempted to get a cheap, wee, second hand freezer but it's where to put it. I'll need to have a think!

Take care

Fi

Uniscots97

I better explain before someone points me in the direction of Freecycle. My freezer packed in last weekend, rather than replace it (as OH is bringing his with him in a few weeks) I've decided to do without since it should only be a few weeks (Freecycle is a godsend but I really wouldn't want to take a freezer short term that someone else could really do with long term).

Now my lot are meat eaters, add to that the youngest (14) will not eat veg or fish (except hidden stuff but don't get me started lol). I want to try and keep my food bills low but don't want to keep feeding them the same thing (they'd definitely all rebel!!!).

Friday:-

prawn spaghetti with garlic and breadcrumbs (decided to make this since youngest was being contrary and said she was just going to eat junk, fair enough her money .... result she didn't feel well from too much sugar.... yes sometimes adults know best). Fresh are a fortune but it was a once off for OH and I.


Saturday:-

Breakfast - cereal and toast

Lunch - hotdogs (canned ones from Lidl and they were really nice)

Dinner - Smoked sausage and onion tagliatelle (chilled smoked sausage on offer at 60p), home made garlic bread (hot dog bun sliced, toasted and smeared with home made garlic butter)

Sunday:-

Breakfast - scrambled egg and toast (youngest won't eat eggs so she had toast)

Lunch - MYO ( in other words make your own, so OH had cup-a-soup, youngest wanted toast again, I had some fruit)

Dinner - Macaroni cheese (youngest was out, she wouldn't eat this she only likes the Kraft cheesey pasta which I refuse to buy. I made her some noodles when she came in)


Eldest I should point out has been at friends over the weekend and will eat most things.

Monday:- Breakfast - cereal (OH walked upto shop and got bread and sausages after I left for work)


Lunch:- left over Macaroni cheese (me), OH and kids? don't know yet.


In my fridge I have:-

Milk
Cheese
Cheese slices
tomato (yep 1, i used the others on top of the macaroni cheese)
spring onions
jam
marmalade
margarine
butter
eggs
salad cream
mayo



Cupboards:-

flour (SF, Plain, Bread)
Cornflour
beans
peas
tinned soup (yep shock horror I know but we only love Heinz tomato soup and I use tinned chicken soup in pasta bakes, any other type of soup I make myself and would normally freeze. I lost a lot of homemade soup when the freezer packed in)
Porridge Oats
Cereals
Bulgar wheat
Rice (not a lot)
Wild rice (if anyone can tell me a foolproof way of cooking this stuff please tell me!)
lasagne sheets
macaroni pasta (dry)
spaghetti
rice noodles
egg noodles
crackers
herbs and spices
garlic oil
tomato puree
plum tomatoes (tinned)
tinned mandarins
tuna
water chesnuts
hoi-sin marinade
aduki beans (you can tell someone gave me a Gillian McKeith book at some point can't you?)
dried kidney beans
an onion
some salad potatoes
green tea
soy sauce
worcestershire sauce
brown sauce
tomato ketchup
gravy powder
stuffing mix
biscuits


Any ideas?

Penelope_Penguin

Hi there :beer: Have you seen this older thread - meal planning without a freezer I'll add this thread to it later.

I wouldn't dismiss Freecycle, either You may be doing someone a favour shifting their unwanted freezer, and you can always pass it on.

Penny. x

Uniscots97

Thanks Penelope. I did try the freezer thing from Freecycle a few years ago (again a temporary measure) and although it worked for me, it didn't work after its trip to its new owner. I wasn't too popular! Was told later by my friend's husband that fridge's and freezers don't travel well except totally upright (which you can't always manage depending on the size).

cuddlymarm

Hi everyone

We move to rented acomodation next week and it has a larder fridge (so not even a freezer at the top of the fridge) and buying a freezer just isn't anywhere near the top of my list of things I an afford. Also it will cut down on the leccie bill. Also we plan (now my babies have flown the nest) to cook more from sratch and shop locally (the village has a lovely old fashioned veg shop and butchers which is something we've not had for a long time)

So if anyone has useful tips on coping please let me know

Thanks
Cuddles:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

whatatwit

Hi, another local on OS.

No real tips other not being afraid to ask for a small amount of meat. We tend to get into the habit of asking for 1lb of mince, when really half would be plenty.
Write dates on things in the fridge, so you use the oldest first.

My big fridge gave up the ghost a few weeks ago so I've now only got a small one and to be honest I am managing. I now try and use stuff up rather than sticking a half used jar in the fridge and then opening a new jar of a different flavour to also go in the fridge.

Tinned veg are ok and a good standby to have in the cupboard.

Good luck with the move, are you staying by the sea side :rotfl:

cuddlymarm

Hi

Thanks for the reply. It's going to be a culture shock only buying for 2 after having 4 adults to oook for. We're also moving to a village in Gloucestershire ( its lovely cos the village seems to have 1 of everything and it was lack of local support for our small shop that has led to this but it seems to be working out really well) so we aim to shop as locally as much as possible.

Cuddles