Home cooking - Is it cheaper?

Meadows

Simo429 wrote: »

Things from other cuisines that should be home made rather than using a jar of dolmio.

Basic Tomato Pasta Sauce (serves 4)

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 to 2 tablespoons tomato puree

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Prep: 5 mins | Cook: 25 mins

In a large frying pan over medium heat, cook onion in olive oil until translucent. Stir in tomatoes, cook until juice begins to thicken. Stir in tomato puree, salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes more, until rich and thick.

Make several batches of this basic sauce and then freeze in meal-size portions!


Simples (then play around with it from there).

MrsGSR

I tend to buy my herbs and spices from the local health food shop or market as they are 30p plus a bag and means i can just refill my jars or my spice tin.
I also love the posh supermarket's frozen coriander and basil which can just be added in as it is.

redfragglebiker

Hi OP - Have you got a B&M near your or an Asian or world food (idian/polish/other culture) supermarket. They tend ot do bags of herbs and spices for a LOT less that the piffling little jars you get at the supermarkets.

I agree with a lot of the post here that state it's building up the cupboard that kills the budget. Once you're set up you should be okay though. Perhaps a good way to start is to buy a pre-filled spice rack for cheap (Argos etc used to do them) and then work out what you use ona regular basis so you can search your local area for places to get it cheaper. Also don't forget your local markets. A lot of our traders are now seeling fresh herbs very cheap.

The other option would be to go somewhere like Wilkinsons and get some cheap seeds to plant out yourself... It will take a while to get going but then you will have a whole selection of fresh herbs whenever your heart desires.

KittyFisher_2

Another way to liven up bland mince is to add a splash of balsamic vinegar or Worcester sauce as it browns. I vary this according to cuisine - Bolognese gets the balsamic, while cottage pie or mince & dumplings cry out for Worcester sauce. Neither costs the earth, and they last ages, for example you can get balsamic vinegar in Mr S (and no doubt elsewhere) for £1.

A really cheap Chinese sauce is oyster, soy and sweet chilli, combined to taste with stir fried veg and meat. Once you've invested in the jars, they last ages - I use maybe a tablespoon of oyster sauce, a few splashes of soy, and maybe a tablespoon of sweet chilli, to feed two adults and one 16mo (easy on the soy but my boy loves chilli!).

katyboo123

1. Buy a slow cooker - speculate to accumulate here, it's about £10-£12 for one in Tesco / Asda or similar. I couldn't live without mine
2. Go on Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) or just google and search for slow cooker recipes - look out for preparing in advance, using ziploc bags & writing on instructions, freezing in advance and so on... e.g. http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/02/freezer-cooking.html
3. Buy herbs fresh from Supermarkets when they are whoops! or reduced (yellow stickered), then chuck them in a tub in the freezer. I bought mint, parsley, basil and chives and all live in the freezer and I take out what I need when I need it. Plus, the chopping action soon defrosts the fragile leaves and it makes SUCH a difference having fresh rather than dried.
4. If you have an ethnic supermarket like an Indian, Chinese, Thai or Turkish - get yourself in there. Bags of spices can be bought for pennies (30p for a huge bag of garam masala for instance).
5. If you need an expensive herb like Saffron, Vanilla Pod, etc try loose shops (weigh your own/food weighhouse) or markets. If you don't have those, enlist a couple of friends to split the cost then divvy out the spoils (e.g. my friend and I split the cost of 1 vanilla pod [£1] and then chopped it in half to each make our own vanilla essence)
6. Check out the International food aisle in Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, etc rather than going to the herb and spice section. This also counts for basic ingredients like chopped, tinned tomatoes (Tesco International Food aisle 25p per can, Tesco Every Day 35p), and stock up on canned goods when on offer.
7. There's not a glass jar of sauce that you can't make cheaper, plus cutting out the added rubbish is better for your health! If you must buy them for convenience then look for low salt/sugar and only buy them if on a VERY good offer.
8. Use Pinterest for weaning recipes
9. Save any jars you use, tubs, even your margarine tubs, all will help you for freezing or storing left overs cheaply - no need to purchase expensive food storage containers.
10. Become inventive, try new things, don't always worry about the recipes! We made a curry from a tin of chopped tomatoes, left over mushrooms, peppers, cauliflower and onion, garam masala, curry powder and had it with Rice one night when we had hardly anything in and were too skint to go buy some chicken. It was lush and we now have it as a staple food planner favourite.

Good luck and enjoy X

kreativ

Cook at home, not just to save but for healthier meals. Plus cooking is a grest stress buster!

Mrs_CB

Loads of good advice already given on this subject, wouldn't expect anything else.;)
I suggest buying a book called Economy Gastronomy, it gives 'bedrock' recipes which you then build on. Cook once, eat twice sort of system. Very good recipe for basic mince, very tasty. Also good suggestions for using up food that you may consider past it.
My method of deciding if food is past it is:-
1. Does it look OK?
2. Does it smell OK?
3. If the answer to those two questions is yes then I taste a little
bit of it.
4. If it tastes OK use it, if not bin it.
Overall I think homemade food is cheaper and better for you in the long run but don't beat yourself up about it. All journeys start with one step. :T

HecticLife

I think Home Cooking isn't cheaper compared to Supermarket ready meals & jars, unless perhaps you are cooking in bulk (mince dishes etc), but it is certainly a lot healthier and I personally enjoy home cooking (with an very expanding collection of cookery books) as you can decide what you put in each meal. You're in control. I have a 7 month old & 3.5 year old and whilst it's more time consuming cooking from scratch I like teaching my children where food comes from and being creative with ingredients. In fact on the ocassions I have brought supermarket ready meals, they are always rejected in favour of something home cooked - so yes I think generally a home cooked meal costs more but it's worth it.

claire1a

I keep peppers in my fridge for weeks... seriously until veg goes rotten you can keep using it... even by just cutting off the rotten bit! Veg past its sell by date is great in stews or homemade soups!! DO NOT LISTEN TO THE DATES!!! Its basically so the shops dont get sued!

Home cooked frozen meals play a massive part in my life, i cook enough for 3-4 meals, eat one, save another in the fridge to eat over the next couple of days and whatever is left is frozen in tupperware boxes and reheated in the microwave when I can't be bothered to cook. I also sometimes freeze smaller portions so I can have it for lunch rather then a dinner.

There are loads of cheaper healthier recipes and meals out there. Lentils are fab at bulking out meal. So is frozen veg (staple in my freezer), I always add a good handful of lentils and a measuring jug of frozen veg to things like chilli, curry, spag bol etc.

Again as others have mentioned you can always freeze fresh veggies, some veg like cabbage, brocolli keep better if u blanche them first in boiling water for a few minutes.

In terms of Fajita mixes you can get massive tubs often in cheap places like B+M, home bargins, costco etc or you might even pick them up in supermarkets -will be more expensive, but weightwise it works out ALOT cheaper then buying the packets!!!.

i'd say staples you need are Chilli, paprika, black pepper, thyme, bay leaves, cayanne pepper, rosemary, mint, parsley, mixed herbs always good, ginger, garlic and things like worchester sauce, lemon juice, tomato puree. there are alot of others but you'll build them up as you expreiment.

Just try and cook from scratch and dont eat processed food - you dont know whats in it.

Ive also found my slow cooker invaluable and I cook roasts and use the left over meat to make other meals - ie roast chicken can be made into Fajitas, curry, chicken casseroles etc - loads cheaper. You can also pick up quite cheap cuts of meat that work really well with slow cookers or just cook in the oven for a few hours.

theres loads of other tips and suggestions but alot could be repeated in other replies to you.

Also in terms of Children's food. Cook the same you are eating (minus the spices or salt) and freeze in little portion (you can get small tupperwear from loads of places for this!).

katyboo123

Mrs_CB wrote: »

Loads of good advice already given on this subject, wouldn't expect anything else.;)
I suggest buying a book called Economy Gastronomy, it gives 'bedrock' recipes which you then build on. Cook once, eat twice sort of system. Very good recipe for basic mince, very tasty. Also good suggestions for using up food that you may consider past it.
My method of deciding if food is past it is:-
1. Does it look OK?
2. Does it smell OK?
3. If the answer to those two questions is yes then I taste a little
bit of it.
4. If it tastes OK use it, if not bin it.
Overall I think homemade food is cheaper and better for you in the long run but don't beat yourself up about it. All journeys start with one step. :T

Absolutely 100% agree with Economy Gastronomy - it's usually on sale for pennies too - it's a great book which teaches principals of home made food making a few ingredients span a weeks worth of dishes! YUM!