Home cooking - Is it cheaper?

theoretica

If you buy your vegetables loose they don't come with dates attached... though I find peppers are vastly more expensive loose.

You can also plan your meals to put the mushroomy ones near the start of the week.

gemmylou86

hiya,
I'm a mum to a 12 month old and just getting into the idea of batch freezing food but i've been cooking from scratch for about 18m so i thought i'd share some tips

re herbs and spices - i was determined to have a full complement of herbs and spices as each new recipe i tried and liked seemed to use something new! however i just popped a couple of tesco own brand (under £1 each) into my basket each week and within a few months i had everything i needed. and ive not had to re-purchase any yet, over a year later. they really do pay for themselves as you can pull easy meals together when you have the options of adding herbs and spices. the ones ive found i use most are rosmary (in chicken dishes) cumin, ground coriander, bay leaves and chilli powder (curries) basil and oregano (italian)

i use fresh garlic cloves when roasting/oven cooking but for on the hob meals ive found these nifty things in the tesco freezer sections that are like small ice cube trays of frozen crushed garlic and can be popped straight into dishes whilst theyre cooking.

for chilli flavours i tend to use fresh chillies from the supermarket. they are very cheap and last forever in the crisper.
the same goes for pepper - out of the wrapping ive had some for 6 weeks and you'd never had known.

i always ALWAYS crumble a beef stock cube into browning mince and it makes even the !!!!piest mince taste nice lol! stock cubes have become my best friend i use the veggy ones in the water for pasta and rice rather than salt.

i always keep either some chopped bacon or pancetta in the freezer to add to meals that dont have much 'going on' - fry an onion in some oil, add some garlic and bacon and you have the base for a great meal.

most food that has had flavours added will actually taste better after freezing then defrosting as the flavours have more time to grow. you're OH may be thinking about veg tasting less flavourful after freezing and that's usually the case although its more down to personal taste than scientific fact. Trust me your meals wont suffer from being frozen. Although saying that it might be a good idea to have a nosey around on some of the threads here about what does and doesnt freeze well.

lastly, (and i will stop typing soon, i promise) and this was the hardest bit for me - try and lose any preconcieved ideas you have about shopbought foods being better, brand named foods being better and how long things ACTUALLY last. in our house we do have a few things we dont budge on... lurpak butter and fairy liquid are the only two springing to mind right now, but mostly ive shifted down to own brand (not as far down as the 'value' stuff but enought to make a big difference in our shopping bill and not compromise on taste)

oh, and make a list and SHOP ONLINE! so much less temptation and you can see whats on offer much easier!

Simo429

Been trying to save money on our food shop and following the grocery challenge and see that a lot of people talk about food being cheaper if its homemade but I don't find that in my experience.

For example tonight we are having curry for tea. We are making it (partly) but for the meat, a sauce, rice and Nan breads if we hadn't have had some of these in the cuboard/ freezer already it would have been much more expensive than buying a ready made curry in a bag from Mr T's it would have been more expensive again to make the recipe from scatch with spices ect.

I'm wondering how people manage to keep their bills down when homecooking, personally when I make a recipe from a book it turns very expensive very quickly which is why I don't do it often.

shegirl

It works out more expensive to start with as you need to build up your stock cupboards- spices,herbs,tomatoes etc that kinda thing.It then reduces over time.

And,no,it's not always cheaper.It depends what you eat as well.There are some very cheap ready meals out there but it doesn't mean they're any good for you.Likewise,not all cheap home made meals are the healthiest.

rachbc

well using a sauce and ready made naan breads isn't what I'd call homemade which maybe why you are finding it dearer!

I make a batch of curry pasta using 1 tin toms (31p), spices and 1kg onions (50p)- so about £1.50 max- this does about 30 tablespoons of paste at 5p each. 2 spoons of paste, 1 tin toms (31p), some extra spices if wanted plus 3 huge chicken thighs from the asian shop (£2 max), some frozen spinach (1/4 bag - maybe 25p) makes anough curry for 4 plus a helping for Oh lunch the next day. Easy flat bread is equal amount yoghurt (30p a tub) and SR flour (10p?) mixed to a dough and cooked in a frying pan. Rice £1 kg - use about 50p worth max.

£3.50 to feed 4 plus a lunch.

ETA - my paste uses cumin, coriander, tumeric and garam masarla - all of which can be bought for about 50p a bag in the 'ethnic' aisle at asda and will make tons of dishes. Fresh ginger and garlic are pennies. So even if you are starting from scratch its still not that expensive

SailorSam

If you look on here you'll find a thread 'can i live on £7 a week' or you'll find threads with £1 meal recipes, even 50p ones. I doubt you'll find supermarket meals for that.

happy35

i think when you first start cooking it is expensive but once you have herbs,spices and a decent store cupboard it can be cheaper. I find it cheaper as OH and DS are big eaters and a ready meal wouldnt be any where near enough for them.

I make curries from scratch and find it cheap as I have all the ingredients, I buy large bags of spices from an indian grocer for about £1.40 a bag and herbs for about 40p a bunch.

It is also easier to make meals healther by including veg in the dishes etc.

I enjoy cooking but I think when you compare quality with ready prepared that is when you can see what you have saved moneywise as I think my ingredients and taste compare with the premium range without the cost

Simo429

rachbc wrote: »

well using a sauce and ready made naan breads isn't what I'd call homemade which maybe why you are finding it dearer!

I make a batch of curry pasta using 1 tin toms (31p), spices and 1kg onions (50p)- so about £1.50 max- this does about 30 tablespoons of paste at 5p each. 2 spoons of paste, 1 tin toms (31p), some extra spices if wanted plus 3 huge chicken thighs from the asian shop (£2 max), some frozen spinach (1/4 bag - maybe 25p) makes anough curry for 4 plus a helping for Oh lunch the next day. Easy flat bread is equal amount yoghurt (30p a tub) and SR flour (10p?) mixed to a dough and cooked in a frying pan. Rice £1 kg - use about 50p worth max.

£3.50 to feed 4 plus a lunch.

ETA - my paste uses cumin, coriander, tumeric and garam masarla - all of which can be bought for about 50p a bag in the 'ethnic' aisle at asda and will make tons of dishes. Fresh ginger and garlic are pennies. So even if you are starting from scratch its still not that expensive

I can understand that but generally we buy both of those things when its on offer

Another example is making your own chinese bar going to the chinese, to make my favourite chinese dish myself when I add in everything comes to around 6.50 which is the same as the take away, I must be doing something wrong but I'm not sure what.

rachbc

Simo429 wrote: »

I can understand that but generally we buy both of those things when its on offer

Another example is making your own chinese bar going to the chinese, to make my favourite chinese dish myself when I add in everything comes to around 6.50 which is the same as the take away, I must be doing something wrong but I'm not sure what.

My sauce works out at 40p ish at its most basic - even on offer jars are about £1. Plus I think hm is tastier and healthier - or if not healthier at least I kniw exactly whats in it.

Whats in your chinese dish?Maybe we can suggest some cheaper substitutes or ideas...

pink_princess

It is not about price for me, I don't want to eat processed food.

I can make a batch of naan breads and curry in very little time and freeze as ready meals.