PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Hello Forumites! However well-intentioned, for the safety of other users we ask that you refrain from seeking or offering medical advice. This includes recommendations for medicines, procedures or over-the-counter remedies. Posts or threads found to be in breach of this rule will be removed.
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Feeding on a budget without a freezer!!

Options
12346

Comments

  • Talent
    Talent Posts: 244 Forumite
    Hi ladies, I am really hoping that you could help a girl out of a dilemma.

    We've just moved into a new city, and into a new flat. The flat comes with only a fridge, and no seperate freezer. The fridge does come with one of those 'freezer shelf' thing, but I don't really trust it to be able to keep food cold enough to preserve for more than a few days.

    I've always had big freezers, and so got used to bulk buying things when they go on good deals, freezing them in portions and using them over a few months. I have no idea how I am going to make use of good deals and keep my food bill low without the trusty freezer.

    Since we are only going to be living here for 1 to 2 years, buying a freezer isn't really an option. Do you have any suggestion of how I can still be thrifty without a freezer?

    Thanks for you help in advance.

    Hey, that's sexist. Don't you like info from gentlemen? http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/images/forum_smilies/cool.gif
  • bluecowonthebus
    bluecowonthebus Posts: 39 Forumite
    edited 25 January 2012 at 11:16AM
    I am surprised that so many of the responses to this question are to go out and buy a freezer. I thought the OS boards were meant to offer imaginative suggestions on how to live frugally not to simply go straight to spending money on white goods.

    I don't have a freezer (or a microwave) and manage to survive. I tend to buy veg that can last several days in the fridge or just in the kitchen - carrots, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach etc. Also lots of potatoes. The only frozen stuff I buy is peas - I cook all of them at once, put them in the fridge and then use them within the next few days. Also the odd frozen pizza which we cook on the same day. Apart from that I find that not having a freezer means I use up what I have in the fridge because I have to. I cook from scratch and take leftovers for lunch at work.

    Yes, having a freezer might make life easier but I am sure if I had one I would end up putting stuff in there that I would forget about anyway. The only time I have really missed one is during the summer when it would have been nice to have ice and ice-cream at home.
  • I have never owned a freezer but do have a fridge with a small freezing compartment so do have some experience in being thrifty by having a good supply of quality wholemeal bread (2 Kingsmill for £1.70 Iceland) which I put at the top shelf having double wrapped them in old bread bags. They keep for ages that way. You can buy cooking bacon from Sainsbury for just over £1 and there's loads of use in stir fry and BLT. I always have some veg to pick out of the garden (leeks at the moment) and a supply of tinned food and dried food for a change. For special meals I buy a joint of beef or gammon and make sure there is some left over for a few days.
  • hummingbird
    hummingbird Posts: 1,522 Forumite
    edited 27 January 2012 at 5:03PM
    Hi everyone,
    My freezer broke a while ago and I haven't replaced it as I may be selling my house soon and will get a fridge-freezer later on - and tbh after missing it initially, I have adapted and no longer miss it (except for icecream?!!).

    I also use a lot of tinned/packet items or look for reduced items and use them straight away. I'm living by myself at the moment but I can imagine if you have a family it's more of a challenge.

    I was living without a fridge for a while last year and found that much harder - now I have refrigeration I'm happy!! :rotfl:
    £10 a day extra in May '18[B]£35/310[
    Virtual Sealed Pot 2018 £500/£2500 = 20%
    You can find my diary here:http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5189836:beer:
  • I hope this doesn't sound like a lecture on food preservation or food hygiene. It isn't meant to be.Possibly the biggest miss will be long term storage of protein food, meat, fish & poultry. To try and balance out the lost savings on these foods try to maximise savings on other foods which will add value ( and taste) to cheaper cuts or dishes.

    If you aren't able to grow your own, "bargain" fruits and veg can be made into jams, jelly and chutney. A good book is " quick and easy one pot of jam from your microwave", by Sonia Allison. I borrowed a copy from our library. All the recipes can be made with small quantities of fruit and veg. Another good book is the River Cottage Handbook on Preserves by Pam Corbin. Her instructions on bottling fruit are foolproof. I bottled Plums and Cherry Plums for two years by the water bath method. I'm hopefully going to try Brambles and Rhubarb this year. The advantage is if you fancy some fruit with your yogurt you don't have to defrost it first. I have even used clip top storage jars which I was given as a gift with bath salts in. Just wash well and replace the rubber sealant ring. There is also Rumtopf for those who like their fruit boozy. Remember if you don't want to eat the preserve yourself it will make a great gift and the money can be taken from your gift budget and transferred to your food budget.

    Any left over bread I have I dry in a low oven and are either used as croutons or made into breadcrumbs. They can be stored in an airtight jar for months. You can adapt loads of recipes which state fresh breadcrumbs by adding a bit more liquid. If you don't have a food processor to make the crumbs put them in a sturdy plastic bag and bash them up with a rolling pin or empty wine bottle. I'd be lost without a jar of dried breadcrumbs in the cupboard which I use to coat chicken/fish, make stuffings, Glamorgan sausages and savoury cheese pudding etc.

    Free up fridge space by using oil rather than soild fat for baking and frying.
    Cooking is short term food preservation. A bargain pack of mince can be cooked off and one lot eaten and the rest can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days and with a bit of imagination can be turned into something different for future meals.

    As long as air can circulate in the fridge it should keep everything fresh for a few days. A quick stock take can highlight things that need to be used up. We quite often have a "once round the fridge soup" for lunch. Just remember not to overcook cabbage leaves or cauli greens for too long, they can make the soup bitter. As the others have said a good store cupboard of dried and tinned basics will will be a Godsend as well. if you can't manage to grow your own fruit and veg( even on a windowsill) try some of you own hebs. Fresh herbs are great for tarting up cheaper dishes. Best of luck. Let us all know how you are getting on.
  • bupster
    bupster Posts: 259 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Two ideas from different ends of the spectrum - I moved into my flat some years ago in the same situation as you, with no real freezer, a tiny fridge and no idea how long I'd be there. I rented a big fridge freezer, as I couldn't afford to buy at the time. Now, while over the years I've been here it has cost more than buying one would be, it was a cheap way of getting a good, reliable fridge freezer in the short term. If you could get one for a tenner a month (which is what I'm now paying for mine) it *might* be worthwhile in terms of convenience and what you can save on food. It might not; it depends how you tend to cook.

    At the other end of the spectrum, I have friends who live on boats. Fridges, even, aren't an option. There isn't the space. What they do is what I used to do when a student - outdoors in the winter works perfectly well as a store for things that only need to be cool, not chilled. Most winters I keep stacks of vegetables in my downstairs hallway which is dark and unheated. This gives you a *lot* more space in the fridge. My boater friends buy what they need to eat each day and keep milk and butter outside. I used to store milk and butter on my windowsill. Before fridges and freezers, people used larders.

    It's not a matter of changing cooking habits so much as shopping habits, I think. Just shop according to what you need that week, and be open to experimenting on how to store food (except for raw meat which is not an area to experiment with!).

    Hope this helps!
    Grocery challenge September 2022: £230.04/£200
    Grocery challenge October 2022: 0/£200

    2012 numbers:
    Grocery challenge - April £65.28/£80
    Entertainment - £79

    Grocery challenge March £106.55/£100
    Grocery challenge February £90.11/£100
    Grocery challenge January £84.65/£300
  • Sulevia
    Sulevia Posts: 57 Forumite

    It makes me wonder though, how did people manage to be frugal before freezers were invented?

    We don't have a freezer, not even a fridge. There are cool spots in the boat where I can stash a pint of milk and some cheese and yoghurt.

    My answers are to shop frequently (local shops); eat meat within 48 hours of buying (24 for offal or in summer); bottle produce like my granny did; and use tinned foods.
  • Nodette
    Nodette Posts: 77 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10 Posts Combo Breaker
    Some interesting and useful ideas here. Thanks!

    Did you know that you can dry mince?
    I confess that I haven't tried it yet, but I intend to do so as soon as I can. The process is explained here.....

    http://delmarvapreppersnetwork.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/drying-ground-beef.html

    If you look further on that website, they explain how to use the mince (reconstituted) in a bolognese sauce but, obviously, you can use it in whatever way you wish. They have other interesting ideas too.

    I would love to get to the place where I don't actually have to use a freezer - but it's a battle (especially considering I once had 5 freezers all at the same time!! I now only have 2...)
  • DundeeDoll
    DundeeDoll Posts: 5,218 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    How much does a freezer cost to run, just out of interest? (I know, how big's the freezer etc).
    Re alternatives, obviously shopping more often was how my nan managed to be thrifty pre fridge, let alone pre freezer. When we had a chest freezer I used to freeze milk but find it actually lasts the week in the fridge. A breadmaker will mean you don't need to freeze bread. Meal planning as already mentioned, tins and jars. Have fun :D
    MrsSD declutter medals 2023 🏅🏅🏅⭐⭐ 2025
    25 for 25: 127 / 625
    declutter: 173 / 2025
    frogs eaten: 6
  • thatlemming
    thatlemming Posts: 269 Forumite
    Me and my flatmates are moving to a new flat soon, and there's no freezer yet (our landlord is getting us one, but not until the end of june).

    I freeze everything, make huge meals and then divide it up and freeze it etc, freeze all my chicken/fish/bread/vegetables etc and I'm not sure how to eat cheaply without it :o

    Soo, does anyone not have a freezer and if so, what do you do? or just any tips in general?
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.6K Spending & Discounts
  • 244K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.3K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.