Money saving without a freezer

cambridgegradstudent

Hi Everyone,

I'm hoping someone here will be able to help me, I've just moved to Cambridge to start a PhD, and with that I've moved into College owned accommodation, which is lacking in a freezer. We have already been told that we are not allowed to get a freezer, either for communal use in the kitchen or personal use kept in a bedroom without medical reasoning.

The reason behind this (according to the college) is that not having a freezer encourages College members to eat in the dining hall, which at £4 a meal is cheap, but not as money saving bulk cooked and frozen meals I survived on for my undergrad!

So does anyone have any suggestions for ways to keep costs down whilst only having a fridge? (full cooker and microwave though...)

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks in advance

cambridgegradstudent

Sorry, yes I have a shelf in a fridge.

wyebird

You could make a base sauce which you could keep in the fridge for a few day and add different things to make each meal e.g. a tomato sauce with mince / veg/ pulses whatever, could be chilli, shepherds pie, spag bol, lasagne, curry.

dlusman

How many are sharing the kitchen ?
If there are half a dozen set up a communal cooking rota , so you are still cooking in bulk - but there are no leftovers ?

meg72

One of my favourite cheap tinned meals is smartprice beans and sausages, 28p a tin, can have it on toast, baked potato or chips.

santer_2

Have a look for half price or buy one get one free offers at shops near to you, then buy in bulk

http://www.madaboutbargains.co.uk/offers/Off-Your-Trolley.htm

Check if own brands are suitable, tick the shops and dietary requirements, add tasting notes, set the score to at least 8+ then enter a search item

http://www.supermarketownbrandguide.co.uk/search.php?table=all

Asda smart price soups and baked beans are good

MonicaBerry

You can find cheap delivery service. Or you can eat fresh vegetables and fruits. Also if you have a grocery store nearby, you can always buy fresh food and use special coupons to save money. Dry food is also can become a good alternative. Here you will find more suggestions

JoJoB

I did 2 months without a fridge or freezer recently, which was difficult and more expensive- but I learned a lot!

One of our staple meals was a stir-fry, using veg that kept fairly well and "wok noodles" which can be bought at the 99p shop for 2 packs for 99p, (4 portions). Garlic, couple of chilli peppers, soy sauce, fish sauce, root ginger and cooking oil are essential for your store cupboard, then you can just add whatever veg you have around. Here's the recipe:

slice one onion thinly
Chop roughly 2tsp of garlic and 2 tsp of root ginger
slice thinly and de-seed a couple of chilli peppers
Slice some red bell pepper, some mushrooms, butternut squash/carrot, courgette (whatever you have, or buy some pre-packed stirfry veg)
Fry the onion in a wok in some cooking oil.
Add the garlic, pepper and veg
Fry for a couple of minutes and add a slug of soy sauce and 2 tsps fish sauce
Add wok noodles and mix in with the veg till cooked
Add more soy as required for your taste.

It's really delicious and cheap and can be adapted and created with very little as long as you have the basics like garlic/ginger/soy sauce/chilli/noodles in your cupboard/fridge.

Another tip is to visit the supermarket around 5.30 each day to buy your dinner. There'll be lots of reduced stuff around that time so you could still eat quite well for very little.

Tins of chopped tomatoes, tuna, sweetcorn are essential too, along with supermarket basic pasta and potatoes. Tomato and tuna sauce is very good with pasta, as is tuna and sweetcorn, or you could have the same on a baked potato. All of which can be stocked up on and kept in your cupboards.