Learning to save...

the_cat

wannabee_in_credit wrote: »

DD and I have had a chat about this list of 10 things and she's keen to go for that.:)

Just a word of warning. They are always 'keen to go for that':D The realisation that thing number 11 has to be eaten is where she will dig her heels in. It will work if you stick to it, but be prepared for your battle at this point

JulieGeorgiana

Just thought of a few other things...

Egg fried pasta/rice (using leftover pasta/rice) add veg and eaten with ketchup
Stew over HM yorkshires or potatoes if you didn't use them in the stew.... you eat less stew!
Cottage pie toasties (using 1 portion of LO pie I can feed 4 people) and it tastes like a cornish pastie (same ingredients)

You sound like me when I first found this site... it really does inspire you

wannabee_in_credit

Well I'm home from S'bury and managed to get all of my groceries for £55.78. Not quite the £50 I was hoping for but better than the £78 I spent last week.
My next challenge now is to not go shopping again this week. My fridge and cupboards are full and I shouldn't need to.
I'm so pleased I found this place. So supportive, helpful...

cat_smith

OK wanabee. What have you got so that we can meal plan with you?

wannabee_in_credit

OK, here's what we have - it's taken from the receipt but I have lots of store cupboard stuff too. My cupboards and freezer seem already almost full...
Potatoes
Leeks
Broccoli
Mixed peppers
Frozen potato stuff (potato letters and waffles)
Pizza bases
Cooked ham
Bacon
Sausages
Chicken breast pieces
Reduced ready to roast chicken joint (believe it or not I have never ever cooked a whole chicken from scratch)
Spinach
Tomatoes
Onions
Apples
Bananas
Figs (reduced to 20p and I love them)
Fishfingers
Muffins (bread not cakes)
Wholemeal bread
eggs
milk
orange juice
apple juice
digestive biscuits
houmous
lemon curd (JulieGeorgiana made me crave this when mentioning packed lunches - might have it myself for my lunch next week)
minced turkey
noodles

Bit of a mix there. Time to get planning... )

cat_smith

Any freezer space? There is a lot of food there!

ETA: We also need your DD choices out of the available ingredients.

wannabee_in_credit

Loads of space. The chicken and mince are already in the freezer. We're lucky to have quite a big freezer.
DD hasn't put her list together yet but says absolutely no tomatoes (though she is fine with tinned/sauces), lasagne or leaves (spinach etc). I will make with her in mind but she has promised to try everything else.
Have I still bought way too much?

JulieGeorgiana

Lots of fresh food... just be careful to use it all... or freeze it before it goes off if you don't (or make a soup).

Lots of meat, if you bulk it out with veg (frozen is great) you could make the meat last ages.

Cooking a whole chicken isn't hard if you know how. You calculate the time needed to cook according to weight. I cook it for half the time breast down, turn it over and roast until the end. That keeps your breast moist.

wannabee_in_credit

JulieGeorgiana wrote: »

Cooking a whole chicken isn't hard if you know how. You calculate the time needed to cook according to weight. I cook it for half the time breast down, turn it over and roast until the end. That keeps your breast moist.

Can you slow cook a chicken?
Quite often do that with pork and beef joints. I'm curious but don't want to mess it up trying...:cool:

cat_smith

You can easily slow cook a chicken. But it will fall apart so don't expect a standard 'roast'. But the benefit is you will get ALL the meat off it and get rubber chicken.

Looking at what you've bought, I'd freeze ALL the meat and bread items unless they are long dated or you are cooking them tomorrow. For sandwiches etc, take the slices out in the morning, they'll be defrosted for lunch. Muffins etc - shove frozen into the toaster.

Re. DD no tomatoes. Do you have a hand blender? I blitz up veg for casserole and DH never recognises them.