Wanting to lower our food spend, any tips? And toying with idea of a slow cooker.....

Pooky

Asda do a great dried packet mix for veggi burgers, it's around 85p and you just add cold water, mix and shape, 10 mins in the oven and you've got 8 decent sized burgers that taste fab (IMO)


Their nut roast dry mix is lovely too and around 75p.

With some roasted veg and mash it makes a lovely tasty cheap meal.

BitterAndTwisted

I've made roasted nut loaf from veggie-burger mixes and vice versa. I'm also prone to meddling with them by adding things like grated carrots, courgettes and sweated-off onions. All sorts, really.

I've been a non-meat-eating person for decades and I don;t think I've ever knowlingly had any of those quorn thingys. Certainly not bought any. Never felt the need. Plenty of great things are made quite easily if you put your mind to it. If I require guidance or inspiration I always reach for Rose Elliott's help. Half of her recipes would suit a meat-eater who didn't necessarily always require a slab of flesh on their plates at every meal.

seraphina

We're veggie here and I can't stand slow cookers - definitely see if you can borrow one before buying. Like someone upthread said, they just produce mush.

I do however have a pressure cooker which is invaluable for quick cooking of beans/pulses. Don't limit yourself to lentils - black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans etc are all cheap, nutritious and can be used in 1001 ways.

Part_Mouse

DundeeDoll wrote: »

I'm with Kim107. Lentils and soaked dried beans beat all SM meat substitutes hands down and are way cheaper. (beans cook quicker if soaked, and remember to boil them for 10 minutes before simmering). You can freeze beans, so why not do a big batch and freeze portions?

Thanks for the info, I never knew you could freeze beans, wich ones freeze well?

she_who_can_not_cook

Part_Mouse wrote: »

Thanks for the info, I never knew you could freeze beans, wich ones freeze well?

at the moment my freezer has portion size blackeye/chick/pinto and butter bean i over cooked my bb and they were a bit too soft but freezer and eatable

Part_Mouse

she_who_can_not_cook wrote: »

at the moment my freezer has portion size blackeye/chick/pinto and butter bean i over cooked my bb and they were a bit too soft but freezer and eatable

Thanks, what do you do with them when they come out of the freezer?