Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

mothernerd - your freezer list is epic! Not only a testament to using up all your food, but also a real lesson in good use of freezer space How I wish I had 7 drawers of space to contemplate..... 2 1/2 is all I've got, and it fills in next to no time Oh, your le crewsew must have given you so much pleasure - bought at the right price and a product that can last a lifetime and beyond.... bravo :T

little_sweetie - I'm not sure that DP or I are 'fit' - I missed out the bit about us breathing rather heavily as we climbed up (DP set off at a very enthusiastic, and frankly overly ambitious pace..... :rotfl:) However, I prefer that type of exercise. I have every admiration for folk who can do gym work - it's drier and warmer for a start! But it just doesn't press my buttons like the great outdoors. None of us know what is around the corner for us healthwise, but I admit, I am certainly taking much more concern over 'moving more and eating less but eating better'. I don't get it right, and I've a ton to learn, but it is in my sphere of control, so I'm trying to see what I can do to improve our diet and access to *interesting* exercise.

Anyway, does the swede microwave cooking method get the thumbs up from the little_sweetie household?

Hopefuljoy - I think you turn a corner when you can watch an ad and see it for what it is - all the cynical ploys and guilt trips.....

I hope that you find 'Pirin' - that little pupster is going to be one adored little doggie

So I can't claim a NSD for yesterday, but I have a little stash of chocolate and a HUGE cauliflower, so I am a contented wumman..... :rotfl: However, I may be able to snag a NSD today, so I'll aim for that

Dinner last night wasn't technically what was on the menu-planner, as I wanted to watch the rugger with DP by the log-burner, rather than stand over a pan in the cold kitchen by myself So a raid of the freezer yielded up 2 pots of leftover curry (2 potato vindaloo and a small portion of the sprout and aubergine curry) and some dhal. I boiled up some rice and hey presto, we had tea to eat on us laps in front of the TV. I didn't take a pic, it was a curry plate

Tonight, I am going to make a new recipe - I haven't quite got all the ingredients, but I've had an idea to improvise, so we could be eating at midnight, or go hungry if it all goes wrong..... :rotfl: Talking of going hungry, have you seen the trailer for a programme (or series?) on Ch5, starting Wednesday about 10 yr olds in poverty...... Not going to be an easy watch......

I was pulling my own leg yesterday on Fortune's thread about my 'mild obsession' with all things food related. But I hope that I can transform it into practical measures. I was watching a programme last night on the 'Quest' channel (freeview) called 'Nomad Chef'. A Scottish chef, based in Australia is trekking the globe to find new dishes/flavours/ingredients to use in his restaurant back in Oz. Last week he was with First Nation Aboriginal people and this week he had travelled to Peru to the Amazon. What was interesting was that he was worried about presenting 'grubs' to his diners - and yet both weeks he had been able to incorporate ants into his dishes, and get people to eat them. The secret? To not have them look anything like ants..... I was however, really taken with his attention to presentation. That is one major failing with my food. And before you think, how is this related to moneysaving? I think that our portion sizes are too large, and if I put more 'finesse' into our meals, we would be content with less, and could purchase good ingredients. After all, I think we are agreed that a 'junk food' diet can be cheap, but fruit and vegetables and 'quality' ingredients never are...... If I can incorporate finesse as a frugality/economy factor - rather than a *ponce* factor, can I improve our diet further? Something I'm going to aspire to I think Although tomorrow night's meal is so going to blow that concept out of the water if we follow the planner...... :rotfl:

I do think I shall draw the line at putting food on our plates with tweezers though. By the time I have done that, and taken a pic of it, the food will be stone cold and unappetising..... :rotfl:

Right, well, daylight is burning, better get and do something I suppose

Thanks everso for popping in, reading and joining in. I continue to appreciate it.

See y'all later.

Greying

Fortune_Smiles

Hi Greying


portion size used to be our biggest challenge. I'd make a recipe designed to serve 4 and we'd have half each :eek: Now I have the 2nd freezer I either freeze half or make less in the first place :rotfl:


You have such a wonderful, healthy diet - are you sure you need to cut down?


Fortune x

Greying_Pilgrim

Fortune_Smiles wrote: »

Hi Greying


portion size used to be our biggest challenge. I'd make a recipe designed to serve 4 and we'd have half each :eek: Now I have the 2nd freezer I either freeze half or make less in the first place :rotfl:


You have such a wonderful, healthy diet - are you sure you need to cut down?


Fortune x

Well, ^ is exactly the sort of thing I am musing on Fortune - take for example our curry plate the other evening - the one with the cabbage, aubergine, chickpeas and rice. The thing that I have taken from that, is that I still cooked 75g (uncooked weight) of rice for us each - which is a valid portion 'size'. But when I plated up, there actually wasn't a lot of space left for rice, so I just popped 'some' onto the plate - which left a third portion over. This wasn't wasted, it got cooled rapidly and then frozen. The biggest portion was probably the colourful cabbage dish.

I don't know if I'm looking to 'cut down' or 'cut out' per se. I just want to be a little more considered about what goes onto the plate. I fully realise that I may well be talking a load of hog-wash - nowt changes! But I want to give it some thought and see where it takes us in terms of our meals. If I don't 'discover' anything new, at least I don't think I will have wasted money, only a little bit of time But musing on how we *eat with our eyes* I'm wondering if the plate looks a bit more attractive, will we be satisfied with slightly less, but of better quality ingredients? I really want to ramp up veggie quantities, and buy more fresh stuff. But as we know, fresh isn't cheap - since when have Brussels sprouts been £1 a lb? :eek: So instead of 'cheap and lots' have I got any wiggle room for 'less' but more.... flavour, satisfaction, 'fullness' etc? I don't know the answer, but want to see if I can discover anything by experimenting a little..... I know, I'm *daft* :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Greying

beanielou

Happy Sunday Grayling & friends :wave:

supersaver1000

D'yknow GP, you are better than Good Housekeeping and Health&Fitness all rolled into one. Watch out cos one of them is going to be knocking on your door asking for a regular column.

Moving more, eating less, but better! You are brilliant! I also love it that you have a cauliflower and lots of choc at bargain price and are happy - feels like November section of the MSE photo calendar. Mine would be my tray of eggs and a 25kg bag of potatoes - so a picture at the local farm shop for me with me wellies on - maybe October!:rotfl:

I so know what you mean about the log burner and rugger, sounds so cozy. Glad you had your leftover find in the freezer - what a perfect time, gives me a cosy feeling just thinking about it.

Your section (see I think you're a magazine already) on arranging food really hit home. My chicken stock was too thin so I added lentils, rice and chickpeas which then became gloop. It was nice but I won't be repeating it. I added too much water to the chicken carcass I think and the watery stock never recovered. I need a bit more attention to detail methinks. You definitely eat with your eyes first - that's going to be my next step on this journey.

Just also to say thank you for the heads up about the programme on Wednesday. It will definitely be difficult to watch, there will doubtless be a teary eye. I'm away so will be recording for watching when I return and hope DD will be able to watch with me.

Right off to try and get some semblance of order into superDave heights before Mr Superdave gets back from his morning expedition. I think sport on the telly this afternoon so it will be a quiet one here - maybe DD and I will go for a walk depending on the weather.

Have a good one :rotfl:

in_need_of_direction

My gp (doc) would totally agree with you gp. His theory is to just eat less of what works in balance and you lose weight. He also advocates things like parking in the furthest away space in the car park. And to think you've nailed his approach without the years of training! It's odd though, for me it's about upping the size of meals to mitigate against the ongoing grazing that results in an increase in sugar levels. I do try to avoid the processed stuff, frozen is ok, in favour of make from scratch as I can then see what goes in.

Upsidedown_Bear

Just for info
This is from the 2014 Frugal Living Challenge thread.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/67043088#Comment_67043088

creditavenger wrote: »

For those considering buying National Trust and/or English Heritage membership, why not consider joining "Heritage New Zealand" instead? Google their website for details.

HNZ membership is open to UK residents and costs considerably less than either NT or EH memberships alone, but gives access to all the properties of both NT and EH organisations under reciprocal access agreements.

See the "Visiting Rights to Overseas Heritage Places" section towards the bottom of the "Membership Benefits" page.

Family membership for a year is 79 New Zealand dollars which works out at approximately £39.82.

Some people may question the strict ethics of joining an overseas organisation in preference to the UK ones, but I can't afford NT or EH prices. I salve my conscience by buying the kids sweets and ice creams from the NT/EH shops, which is money they wouldn't have otherwise.

Apologies if this suggestion offends anyone, but this is a money saving site afterall :money:

I have found this on the National Trust website that gives more info:
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/article-1355831557488/

in_need_of_direction

[FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]
1 packet hobnobs - can use digestives[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Half a standard jar smooth peanut butter [/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]15 oz dark chocolate (approx. 2 big bars of b'ville)[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]5 eggs[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]70g cubed butter[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]200g caster sugar[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Heat peanut butter for 20 secs in microwave to soften then add to crushed hobnobs[/FONT]. use to line base of tin
[FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Beat eggs, add sugar and beat til roughly double the original size. [/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Melt chocolate and butter in microwave. Fold into egg mix and pour over the base.[/FONT]

[FONT=Calibri,sans-serif]Cook at 160 for 20 mins ( I prefer 25mins at 150 but this depends on your oven)[/FONT]

Greying_Pilgrim

Goodness INOD that is a lovely simple torte recipe. Thanks everso for sharing. I wonder how many chrimbo/NY parties are going to have that on the menu :T Brilliant! :D:D

Ay up beanielou - not *seen* you for an age - hope you are well

supersaver - I love your post. Although I have my misgivings about this 'MSE Calendar', afterall, you don't specify if you are going to be wearing anything else with your wellies as 'Ms October' :rotfl::rotfl: But yes, I'm easily contented me

Upsidedown Bear - I've seen that purchasing of the alternative historic places membership before. May well be of use to someone reading. Ta for the link.

INOD - it seems like a 'commonsense' approach to me - but I get your point about having 'decent' meals to cut snacking attacks too. I think I was lucky in childhood that we didn't have a lot of 'snackage' opportunities, and I've not really developed the habit in adulthood - which is not to say that I never eat snacks, I do and I love crisps, but not as a daily/regular thing. I caught an interesting comment by an eminent brain surgeon, on, of all things a R4 'comedy' show (it's supposed to be factual, but everyone plays for laughs, so....) and he made the point that you'll find an awful lot of doctors, 'of his age' (his phrasing) rushing around trying to keep fit...... I figure if docs are actually listening to their own 'advice' then it must be important. He went on to make links with general health/well-being and a possible mitigating effect on a number of health conditions, which I won't repeat here, as I'm not qualified to. But it does fall into the 'sensible approach' category.

And yes, I agree about frozen veg being good too - I'm just a little bit limited in my freezer space currently - but I did break a NSD today and picked up a couple of things - one of which was a bag of frozen leeks from Farmf00ds. The bag is 750g for 79p and it has had much praise over on the grocery board for being a good buy, so I thought I would give them a go. I was slightly tempted by the frozen sprouts, but I don't think that they would work for the dish I have in mind.

Well done Lewis Hamilton for winning the world championship, loved the sporting gesture in relation to Nico too - takes a big man

Right, best get dinner underway - once I've copied INOD's super torte recipe down!

See y'all later.

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

You know I was wittering on about portion size etc this morning? Well, you're aware that all that is starting next month aren't you? I've had such an epic fail today - and I am STUFFED! :rotfl:I'm blaming it on having oats and banana for breakfast (a misers museli....) I always get hungrier when I eat healthy stuff! :rotfl:

DP did some painting, so I took myself off for a wander over to the Sunday general market. It's over the other side of the industrial estate, so a 6 mile all round walk I guess. Wish I hadn't bothered, as there weren't any bargains

On the way back, I snagged some YS'd parsnips and a bag of carrots and got the leeks from FF's. I used some of the leeks in the meal for dinner - so far so good

So by the time I got home, I was a bit 'peckish' so we munched on a 'sausage' roll whilst lunch cooked - baked tattie with l/o Jollof stew, and watched the F1. We then went out for a circuit around the high street as DP wanted some fresh air. By the time we came back - with lashings of fresh air being partaken of.... YUP! you guessed it, we were both hungry!

I made a new recipe tonight, and I have to say, I do wish that I would read instructions!!!! I thought it was going to be a stew type of thing - turns out, half the ingredients were 'accompaniments' :rotfl: I am a twit Anyway, managed to actually read through the instructions and fathom it all out before I went wrong - it is also vital that you look at recipes if you are thinking of omitting ingredients, as that didn't help matters and added to the confusion!

Anyway, the meal is not the most attractive of dishes, but it did deliver on taste, so I am going to write the recipe out in a much better manner than the newspaper did and I'll definitely make it again. With all those [STRIKE]excuses[/STRIKE] provisos in place, I give you mushroom and carrot blanquette, with spinach, roasted cauliflower, 2 grains and garlic bread;



And I'd better quickly explain what I did, before you lose interest in the dish..... I roasted some cauli, as I wanted the oven on to cook the garlic bread. Had I realised that the spinach was an accompaniment, and not in the main dish, I probably wouldn't have bothered with it. That said, I used Heidi's method again, and the cauli cooked really quickly because it was so fresh (YAY! to mrL ), if you are wondering why it looks 'dark' I used some oil out of a jar of red pepper slices to marinate the cauli - and they took up the flavour/colour and cooked beautifully. The garlic bread was YS'd to 50p from mrW, essentials range - it's been in the freezer a while, and I have another one to use too.

The spinach is just microwaved.

The grains are pearl barley and the last of the buckwheat. Again, if I'd have known they were to accompany, I'd of used something else I think. My print off of the recipe didn't include the pic (my fault - wanting to save paper ), which may have made me think before I started cooking the grains. As it is, I now have surplus grains, but they'll get used.

The blanquette does not look very appetising, I will admit - BUT, I didn't have any creme frais and decided not to buy any, because I wanted to try something else out. I wanted to see what using pureed white beans would do for the dish (less chance of splitting). I think it worked really well, the only thing in (in hindsight) is that it also thickened the dish, whereas the cheese/cream would have not thickened so much. However, because it worked, I know that I can use the technique again :j I used a tin of butter beans from H0me bargins - 3 for £1.

I also didn't have any dried mushrooms left, so I chopped up some of the Portobello mushrooms (last week's S6 in mrA) to impart a bit more mushroom flavour. I also used ordinary onion, rather than pearl onions.

But apart from that......... :rotfl: Nice dish - done correctly, it can be quite a *posh* dish, suitable for entertaining I think Or you could just pour it over a big baked tattie, slathered in butter - YUM!

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

That DP elected to take on the painting task - gloss paint, ugh!

for the health and well-being to walk a fair few miles - I enjoyed the thinking time without DP and the company with DP

for MSE inspired purchases at Farmf00ds - the leeks are good in a casserole (my only test use so far ).

Thank you so much for popping in, reading and commenting - and leaving lush chocolate recipes All appreciated

See y'all later.

Greying