Living on next to nought - is that the key?

Cheery_Daff

Sounds like a lovely Christmas for you Greying! :j :j Marvellous to do exactly what you want

Sorry about your escapades mothernerd Hope you've managed to get help with your pan now!

We have 7 inches of snow here I LOVE it

mothernerd

10 portions of lasagne have been safely boxed and are now in the freezer. On Christmas Day I had a turkey sandwich, a box of my coleslaw mix with a teaspoonful of dressing and a bag of cucumber sticks. Yesterday I had a cheese and red onion with mayo (and lots of plain yoghurt to lower the fat content) on soya and linseed bread. In both cases I had exactly what I felt like eating because I had only myself to please. I kept the calorie content up as DS2 had brought me a 200g pack of Bombay mix (nearly 900 calories).

The neighbours are fine but I prefer to chat in passing outside the house, rather than have them inside. They might have talked about the squalor I am living in "yoghurt on the floor" whereas I am content that the kitchen is workable, I made the yoghurt patch safe and the work flow is not disrupted.

Was worried about where the lasagne was going to go, my slow eating means there isn't the room that say doing a couple of full dinners would have made. Wanted (or felt I should/ bit of both) to do more yesterday so mixed plain yoghurt with enough mayo to taste a bit creamy/ rich. Grated one of my five blocks of cheese (when I stabbed my finger I kept sucking it until I had cut the large block of cheddar into 5).

Mixed 1/3 of the mayo yoghurt into the cheese and red onion, 1/3 into a ramekin for a dip (couldn't find the garlic powder so settled on a little peri peri sauce with lemon and herbs - had it later with celery sticks, delish cool at first and then little bursts of heat and flavour on your tongue) and the remainder into another boxful of coleslaw mix.

Made up three bowlfuls of salad (flat lettuce, sprinkle of posh lettuce - watercress/rocket and spinach- red onion, cucumber, red and green pepper, mushroom,tomato, beetroot and chopped celery, divided the coleslaw and added the remainder of the previous day's turkey to one. The other two are in the fridge (stacked with small plates over them).

Undecided whether to defrost prawns and mix with the remaining coleslaw and a suitable sauce (mine has a lot more kick than Marie Rose) or perhaps bean salad (maybe be really extravagant and have tuna and bean salad then could have a tuna sandwich the day after) for the remaining salads. Made another dip with yoghurt with mint sauce stirred in (30 second raita).

Today I have had broccoli and mushrooms with pasta in a cheese sauce. The other half of the broccoli + another couple of mushrooms and cheese sauce is cooling in a small dish. Not sure whether to top it with savoury crumble or sweet potato mash. Want to make leek and potato soup as well, but back to resting for now.

Have read lots of books, slept well (didn't realise how much DS3's habits broke into my sleep) and have some crafting on the agenda. In between I have been looking at different areas of my life and thinking how to reduce/ cut out spending. I have set a clothes budget of £25 for the year and I will need some things. But this will be the year of serious weight loss so will use the material I have stored and get back to making (and designing?) my own clothes.

I love some of the posh cheeses but found that they were one of the things that were left after Christmas, so tried to reduce purchases year on year. I shouldn't really have hard fat cheese at all so it's a rare treat (notice how far my block of cheddar is going. I was briefly tempted by the mini truckles but reminded myself that last year I got some ys'd to 25p after Christmas (they need somewhere to put all those Easter eggs). That's also where I learnt the making the cheese lower fat and more spready as I bought a ys piece of chilli cheese which was a bit too much - the yoghurt helped cool it but the flavour still came through.

My own posh food bugbear is adding alcohol to things. I love cranberry sauce (another on my banned list sadly) but doubling the price by putting it in fancy wrapping and adding a slosh of indifferent port? Don't see the point, at all. Yes pared down flavours and simplicity is the way to go. I am trying to eat slowly and savour every mouthful.

DS3 has been away for a week and don't know when he will arrive (when he can't cope with the gf's parents any more). So keeping meal plans fluid - if he comes back he may want a dinner tomorrow (or be all dinnered out) but loving my solitude atm.

liltdiddylilt

Oh Greying I do miss living within walking distance of Sherwood Forest. You make me homesick even when I am surrounded by picturesque views of rolling Kent hills and the English Channel!

Your Christmas sounds like just what you needed and I am very glad it pleased you well done you for finding the true spirit of Christmas. No commercial requirements

Have to say if the kettle was less than a year old, did you take it back for an exchange? Thus an NSD?!

I had 4 NSD's on the bounce and hoping to add today to it as we want for nothing *prays for own kettle and promises it another descale today*

GP do you count your bills as spend days? And pay for them by DD or otherwise? I was just wondering how many people chock up their NSD's and some don't count prescriptions, or sole yellow sticker buys etc, whilst others do

Greying_Pilgrim

liltdiddylilt wrote: »

Have to say if the kettle was less than a year old, did you take it back for an exchange? Thus an NSD?!

GP do you count your bills as spend days? And pay for them by DD or otherwise? I was just wondering how many people chock up their NSD's and some don't count prescriptions, or sole yellow sticker buys etc, whilst others do

Yes, you're quite right Lilty - we should have been able to take the kettle back for a refund. Unfortunately, the house has been so upside down this year, I appear to have misplaced the instruction manual and the receipt (which I no doubt will find somewhere around the 26th February 2015.... :rotfl:). So a new one it was. I have, however, immediately put the receipt and manual away in the correct folder, so should we need to return it....... I am currently unsure about it, as it - as is common with modern kettles - absolutely boils itself up into a shaking, rattling frenzy if you let it 'auto switch off'. I have no idea why manufacturers make kettles do this - it's STOOPID!

With NSD's to answer your question - I prefer to be *strict* about it, because I know that I am far too good at inventing reasons why I shouldn't count x,y or z as a spend - so I'd be broke yet virtuous if I didn't reel myself in! :rotfl: My DD's all go out on the same day - 1st of the month, which did usually coincide with my monthly shopping date, so a NSD didn't apply anyway. However, I think that the *weekly budget* works better for me, so that may well have to change. But I *think* that monthly D/D's is one thing that I'll allow to not break a NSD - even if I spend nothing else on that day. I'll just count money spent out of my purse, or drawn out of the bank. D/D's are a *known* expense which is built into my budget, it's the *frittering* that I want to control.

Having said all ^......... I'm not sure I'm going to count NSD's in the new year. Weekly budgeting does suit me better, and enables me to grab more YS bargains. However, it yields less NSD's - as they are sacrificed for a 25p aubergine or something. Therefore, if I can spend mindfully, and not exceed my budget, then NSD's won't matter. I'm going to trial it and see how I do.

I realise that what we got up to on Christmas Day and Boxing Day won't appeal to everyone, but it suited us And I always figure that the more I stay out of the shops and the more products that I leave on the shelf, helps all those folks that *need* stuff more than I do - for which I (tongue firmly lodged in cheek) award myself a; :A....... :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Greying

Greying_Pilgrim

Mothernerd - I *discovered* the adding of yoghurt to mayo in salad making in the summer for a Waldorf Salad. You're right, all the yummy creaminess with a fraction of the calories. Your food sounds really inviting, fresh and yummy - and I haven't even been filling myself to excess with stodgy carbs for the last couple of days

Greying

beanielou

If a weekly tally of NSd's suits you better than so be it.

sugarpuss27

Hi GP and Chums, hope you don't mind me being so familiar being a stranger and all. You seem like old friends as I am currently playing catch up on your diary. I'm up to page 148 so far but felt that I needed to de-lurk to wish you all a happy and peaceful New Year.
Your Christmas Day sounded not to dis-similar to ours for the first time in ages we only had ourselves to worry about. We have no kiddiwicks but we lost the last of the parentals this year sadly so made a decision to please ourselves. Stayed in our jim-jams all morning, cheese and crackers for lunch them a long walk down the lane to the 1st stile by the river then home. Back into night attire to have gammon, egg and chips, was wonderful to just enjoy time together breathing in mother nature. She's not half bad for an old gal!
I love and enjoy your diary so much, your inspirational, open,common sense and witty approach to life is something that we need more of I think. I like the cut of your jib GP, we too are striving for a simpler life. Life will always throw up unexpected stresses that we have no control over but those bits in between I darn well intend to look for the good and or joyous:T
Love your piccies by the way, always look yummy

liltdiddylilt

Thanks for the intel GP - I like your thoughts ref NSD's but you may find it a beneficial 'game' to play with yourself. I have to say I shop weekly, and don't count DD's but do everything else. I find that even though I have a mandatory day at least once a week of spending, I THINK VERY HARD, write a list, plan ahead, check cupboards etc, just because I am playing the game. The months where I rack up NSD's are the months I have money left. If I stop playing the game, I almost absent-mindedly drop into the local shop for milk because I didn't check the fridge, and come away with excess fritteries. And then I have less cash. It keeps me organised and helps me to think ahead more than 24 hours. But I know that you are calm and methodical in your purchases where I am reckless and silly sometimes. So maybe it is just for us untamed ones, this game I play

Hennnnnoooooo Sugarpuss - my oh my you're a long hauler. Happy Christmas and New Year to you too

sugarpuss27

liltdiddylilt wrote: »

Hennnnnoooooo Sugarpuss - my oh my you're a long hauler. Happy Christmas and New Year to you too

Morning Lilt:hello: Thank you and Happy New Year to you and yours. Oh yes, It's become compulsive bedtime reading:D I love the spirit of you lovely peeps so would to love enjoy a cuppa with you all.......SP opens tin and hopes the waft of warm mince pies will be enough to bribe her way round the kitchen table from time to time.........;)

supersaver1000

Morning all. Hope you are enjoying this lovely Sunday. We have blue sky here

Lilty that makes a lot of sense. I've not been planning my spending lately and as a result have lots in the cupboards but 'nothing to eat'. And I pop in the shops and end up not getting things or buying stuff that is cheaper elsewhere. I definitely need to leave that purse firmly closed more often.

Welcome to Sugarpuss. I love the jimmy jammy Xmas day. Sounds like our ideal day. And thanks for the mince pie aroma, it's wonderful.

Right off to RL to stop procrastinating.

Have a great day all. Xx