Please help my family!

winniepooh

Jill six months ago I was exactly like you. Since becoming a regular ludker on this board our eating habits have changed but im not as os as many on here. I took baby steps.

Meal planning. I started just doing a few days. Now I do it weekly but id like to do it for a month soon.

Make a list and stick to it.

Cook from stratch. It really saves money. No more bought cakes and the slow cooker gets used about three times a week. Ive still got to get the hang of batch cooking.

Shop wisely . I dont buy branded stuff now apart from beans. Ive managed to save about £25 a week. When the snow has gone I will be going to aldi. Ive been meaning to go for a few weeks but have put it off cause of the weather and I dont drive.

Dont throw ANYTHING away. I usdd to throw so much away that im ashamed. You would be surprised at what you can freeze. If you ever look in your fridge and you find something looking a bit wilted come on here and ask these lovely people what to do with it. Ive asked so many questions and they are always happy to help.

Lastly for you want a frugal cooking buddy to help each other just pm. Im still trying to get my food bill down by another £20.

sparrer

Startby using what you have in the fridge, as that the perishable stuff. For your sausage meat I'd mix it with a little of the chopped tomatoes, just enough to moisten, and make filo parcels. Serve with either potato croquette and spinach, or beans and golden veg rice.

Just a mention, re the pancake mix, it's basically just flour. If you make your own with plain flour, egg and milk you'll get much more for much less.

winniepooh

Oh and cleaning products you save a fortune by just using star drops, vinegar, soda crystal and zoflora. Oh and I do buy a bottle of bleach a month.

Also if you have a home bargains or b&m they do quite a bit of food really cheap

sillylittlejill

I got the pancake mix for 15p reduced (its a massive bag!) but stuck it in the back of the cupboard and only saw it today making the list. Is the pancake mix ok to use? Could I make a large batch of them and freeze or stick in fridge? I'm so useless atm! Filo parcels sound good

sillylittlejill

Another question whilst I'm on here...OH and I keep disagreeing on is when defrosting something, is it safer to leave it in the fridge or on the worktop? I always put it on bottom shelf of fridge but he thinks it doesnt matter if its on the worktop or not (obviously covered) as its going to get cooked anyways...who's right? x

jolfc

sillylittlejill wrote: »

Another question whilst I'm on here...OH and I keep disagreeing on is when defrosting something, is it safer to leave it in the fridge or on the worktop? I always put it on bottom shelf of fridge but he thinks it doesnt matter if its on the worktop or not (obviously covered) as its going to get cooked anyways...who's right? x

i always defrost in a fridge at home and work(i am a school cook) enviromental health came to inspect last week at work and also asked me if i was defrosting in a fridge. i hope that helps.

sonastin

sillylittlejill wrote: »

Another question whilst I'm on here...OH and I keep disagreeing on is when defrosting something, is it safer to leave it in the fridge or on the worktop? I always put it on bottom shelf of fridge but he thinks it doesnt matter if its on the worktop or not (obviously covered) as its going to get cooked anyways...who's right? x

IMO (but i'm no expert!)

Fridge is better if you have time, particularly in summer where the defrosted bits at the outside can start to get too warm while the bit in the middle is still frozen.

Worktop is better than partially defrosted, so if I forget to get it out early enough to defrost in the fridge, I put it on the draining board. Our house is freezing at the moment so very little chance of bugs multiplying anywhere in here! But its something I might think twice about when its warm out, or we get the heating working.

My mum quite happily defrosts in the microwave before cooking and hasn't killed any of us yet but I don't like doing it. I always seem to get it cooking around the edges while its still frozen in the middle and it doesn't seem right to me.

aliama

sillylittlejill wrote: »

Another question whilst I'm on here...OH and I keep disagreeing on is when defrosting something, is it safer to leave it in the fridge or on the worktop? I always put it on bottom shelf of fridge but he thinks it doesnt matter if its on the worktop or not (obviously covered) as its going to get cooked anyways...who's right? x

It should really be in the fridge. But in my house, it's nearly always left on the worktop.

sillylittlejill

YAY! I'm right!! That NEVER happens in this household! I refuse to defrost meat in a microwave. Had food poisoning once a long time ago and I refuse to go through that again! Thanks guys

Patchwork_Quilt

One money saving trick for moving is to make sure you're insured! Seriously, I made sure our stuff was insured while we were moving (with our house isnurance company - rang them up) just in case the removal men didn't have the insurance they claimed they had. And guess what? They didn't have any insurance at all, it turns out. I also made sure that the cover was continuous from one house to another, as a friend of mine was burgled the day after they moved in - they hadn't quite set the new insurance up yet and so they weren't covered.

Other than that, I would suggest starting in the loft and decluttering/boxing properly as soon as you can. Work your way down the house, with the kitchen being last. On the day, make sure you have enough money for fish and chips for everyone involved and a basket full of tea, coffee, milk, cups etc, a large cake and a knife to cut it with. Take a freezer box with a couple of home-made meals in it for the days afterwards, when you're exhausted and then you won't spend on takeaways. Lastly, try to relax. The only two times I have bopped my car have been when I'm driving from an old house to a new house (we've moved a lot) and whilst both of them were minor dings with no insurance involved, it could have been expensive!

Good luck. There's plenty of good advice on MSE.