A ridiculous amount of food in my cupboards

cornishchick

bargainbetty wrote: »

Yes! I am trying to empty the freezer by cooking things. I took out a small half shoulder of lamb and put six lamb hotpot meals back in, a pack of lamb mince turned into six shepherds pies, and a pack of beef mince turned into seven large portions of chilli.

The chicken is just sitting there, mocking me.

the ever increasing freezer stash strikes again....:rotfl: the same thing happens to me. we are empting the freezer to move. only I take out chicken and made curry... 2 pots back in, take out cheese and make mac cheese,, 1 pot back in.. pork joint now cooking,. and have told OH we ARE eating roast till its all gone. I cant put any more stuff in the freezer lol

floss2

When I take something out of my freezer, it gets made into jam, jelly or pickle.....which then has to be crammed into the cupboard under the stairs .

mothershipton

Chris25 wrote: »

I recently read that toxins build up in oily fish - you can't see, smell or taste them but they can be extremely dangerous. This is why it's so important to heed the use/eat by dates for it.

Just by chance, I looked at the bottom of the container of codliver oil capsules we use & realised that they are a month OOD :eek:There weren't many left so I tossed them, although I wasn't sure whether they would be affected by toxins but didn't want to take the risk.

I also found in a cupboard a jar containing a solid piece of what started out as dried cardomom powder. I can grate that though

Toxins only build up in oily fish while they are alive. the levels dont get higher during storage although the cod liver oil capsules would probably have been ok the oil might go rancid quite quick

bargainbetty

cornishchick wrote: »

the ever increasing freezer stash strikes again....:rotfl: the same thing happens to me. we are empting the freezer to move. only I take out chicken and made curry... 2 pots back in, take out cheese and make mac cheese,, 1 pot back in.. pork joint now cooking,. and have told OH we ARE eating roast till its all gone. I cant put any more stuff in the freezer lol

I did manage to cook and eat a small loin of pork over the weekend, without putting anything back into the freezer. Last night, two pork chops turned into a very nice soup noodle dish (deliberately cooked something that wouldn't go back in there).

The flatmate also reached the end of his salary about a week before payday, so has been happily demolishing HM ready meals all week. I've managed to free up half a freezer drawer! Then I got some lamb mince out for tonight, with a vague idea of lasagne. Five portions will go back in. *sigh*

Pre-war_babe_33

I`ve gone and done it again!!! I had managed to clear almost a whole shelf in my freezer and have now filled it up again with 12 helpings of curry and 3 small tubs of stewed apples. I took chicken and mushrooms out of the freezer to make the curry but by the time I had added all the other bits and bobs to the curry it was a really tight squeeze.

I had to make the curry because I had some celery in the fridge that was in danger of going soggy so I have managed to use about half of it. I now want to make soup with the rest but there would be no room to put it and in any case I have almost run out of tubs to put it in.

On the bright side though I have now cleared some space in my cupboards and fridge. Found half a tin of ravioli in the back of the fridge which must be used up VERY soon so will have it this evening with some chips.

alex21

I am so with you all. I am beginning to think I might have a medical condition which compels me to keep buying food. :eek: It is stashed everywhere. The outhouse has several 30 litre boxes full of tins. The 6 shelves of the pantry have buckled, I kid you not. I couldn't squeeze a slice of ham into the 6 drawer freezer. The worrying thing is that there is only me and DS and he will be at uni next year. Don't get me started on the non food items stashed away. I started to list the stock in order to get to get it into some perspective, do meal plans etc but when I had filled the 5th A4 sheet I stopped and concluded it was just obscene. I was not deprived as a child so why do I need this massive security blanket. I did have a few tough years on benefit but this is ridiculous!! Help!!!!!!:D

bargainbetty

alex21 wrote: »

I started to list the stock in order to get to get it into some perspective, do meal plans etc but when I had filled the 5th A4 sheet I stopped and concluded it was just obscene. I was not deprived as a child so why do I need this massive security blanket. I did have a few tough years on benefit but this is ridiculous!! Help!!!!!!:D

Why not sort out one shelf in the cupboard and one drawer in the freezer, and set yourself the task of meal planning from them. Just do one week, and see what you don't need to buy to make up meals. If you know you've got something elsewhere that might make things more appetising, bring it over, and allow yourself a one-for-one swap. But focus on a small chunk - the universe is so much more manageable when broken into chunks!

pinkypig

It is such a relief that I am not alone :rotfl:

I have a real stock pile mentality - I just can't help it. I think I am actually worse since I started coming on here as I now unable to throw anything away!
All that said, i wouldn't change a thing. We eat well and seemed to spend a fraction of what other families we know seem to spend on food. I also like the fact that we do not need to venture out in awful weather and i also like to know that if we have unscheduled guests I can feed them well ( I am a feeder as well as a hoarder!).

I am so impressed with those of you that keep a spreadsheet. I think that be my next step.:T


I too have heard that we are in for a cold winter so I guess we'll have the last laugh!

PP x

PS - shove your flour and rice in the freezer for a couple of days - it kills anything that might be lurking in there before it has chance to hatch.

katep23

alex21 wrote: »

I am so with you all. I am beginning to think I might have a medical condition which compels me to keep buying food. :eek: It is stashed everywhere. The outhouse has several 30 litre boxes full of tins. The 6 shelves of the pantry have buckled, I kid you not. I couldn't squeeze a slice of ham into the 6 drawer freezer. The worrying thing is that there is only me and DS and he will be at uni next year. Don't get me started on the non food items stashed away. I started to list the stock in order to get to get it into some perspective, do meal plans etc but when I had filled the 5th A4 sheet I stopped and concluded it was just obscene. I was not deprived as a child so why do I need this massive security blanket. I did have a few tough years on benefit but this is ridiculous!! Help!!!!!!:D

I can so identify with this - in fact, I have posted on the hoarding thread about my food stockpiling.

I decided I was going to reduce my freezer stockpile then I found a butcher selling a side of pork for £69 and bought it and OH doesn't really eat pork

Now I really have to reduce my stockpiles for various reasons (may be moving, change in circumstances etc) and I feel a little panicky I must admit

So I have done a spreadsheet (about 120 "lots" of meat - which are all at least a 2-person portion ), 30-odd lots of fish (which only I eat) so must get meal planning and stop buying more!!

Popperwell

Katep23,
That's my worry...change of circumstance(income/location)but as I have a decent store of food and household goods, I can spend less against food prices increasing, so can stick to mainly just fresh fruit, veg, bread and milk.

Now just maybe that means I can save a little or...the lightbulb went on as I was writing this and I thought perhaps if I don't have to buy food perhaps I can afford to put the CH on and be warm and cosy again...at present I am trying to avoid using the CH or electric.

And perhaps the trick in future is to...buy and store food during the spring and summer for future use over the year...then the money I might've spent on food in the Autumn/Winter might pay for the heating when it is most cold...it may/may not work but I just thought of that!

So having a store of food is not silly...If I end up somewhere where space is limited I don't care if I fill it with as much as possible. I am alone, no one visits so I don't care if it is on show but there may be ways to hide it...in a cupboard, on shelves(I could draw a curtain across)hide some things under the bed, if there is access to a loft put items in there...

My difficulty is not knowing what I spend on utilities because...when Mum was here we had her pension and as she was unwell it covered keeping the heat on sometimes 24/7 so bills were expensive but now I try to use less and that is too little so I am having to find my way...and even indoors with the layering of clothes and wearing thermals, socks, gloves, hats and scarves...I can still be cold.