Single and shopping

welshbookworm

Thumper7 wrote: »

I hate cooking, actually I hate it with a passion. I've always found that half way through cooking that I don't want it.

I sometimes think, ok I will have say, spaghetti for dinner, but when dinner time comes I just don't fancy it at all.

I'm the same!
I learnt to cook a double portion of things and freeze at least one of them. This way if you don't fancy what you've cooked that night you can freeze both and raid the freezer.

Thumper7

tiger_eyes wrote: »

Have you considered batch cooking? Making tons of a particular meal and portioning out the leftovers to put in the freezer? After a few weeks you build up a variety of homemade frozen meals that you can pick and choose from. Nuke it in the microwave for a few minutes and you can eat it before your enthusiasm wears off! Plus if you did cook a ton of spaghetti and didn't fancy it by the time it was done, you could put it all in the freezer and just take out something else and nuke it. Sorted!

Tiger Eyes,

I don't have a microwave. I did at one point but gave it away when I set micro chips on fire. hell I couldn't even make a decent scrambled egg in the micro even following the instructions.

paulineb_2

tiger_eyes wrote: »

Have you considered batch cooking? Making tons of a particular meal and portioning out the leftovers to put in the freezer? After a few weeks you build up a variety of homemade frozen meals that you can pick and choose from. Nuke it in the microwave for a few minutes and you can eat it before your enthusiasm wears off! Plus if you did cook a ton of spaghetti and didn't fancy it by the time it was done, you could put it all in the freezer and just take out something else and nuke it. Sorted!

Agreed, I dont batch cook because I have a small fridge and not a freezer.

But its a good idea. Also, I dont know if you are looking to cut down what you are spending, even if money isnt an issue, its good to save pennies where you can

I live in a medium sized town but there are supermarkets everywhere, however as I said above, I do the bulk of shopping at Aldi, Tesco arent cheap and they also have really ridiculous pricing policies.

Even if you were cooking micro meals, if you have an aldi or a lidl near you, youd be able to cut I would say up to 50 per cent off your budget.

My cats arent fussy !!!!!!s food wise, but aldi cat biscuits are 95p per 900gs, you'll pay double that for go cat and I do buy them go cat now and then, but they like the aldi stuff fine.

Im a fitness instructor and I see so many of my friends post on their timeline, didnt have time to cook, shoved something in the micro.

Its not the case, even if you dont batch cook and freeze you can make a curry and put it in the fridge and you'll get 2 days out of it.
A risotto takes 20 mins to make and would do two days. Pasta, if you have pasta leftover you can put it in the fridge and take it to work.

Its just getting into the habit. When I earned 5 times plus what I do right now I used to waste all this money and food on micro dinners that would sit in my fridge and go out of date and end up in the bin.

And theres nothing wrong with the odd treat either, but I was in tesco recently, priced a thai curry at a fiver, I could have made double the amount from scratch for 3 quid or less.

Even if you cook a few nights a week and eat convenience the rest its a start.

Thumper7

My nearest shop is a smallish co-op which is quite expensive, well more expensive than Tesco. I don't drive so that doesn't help.

My cat is better fed than me lol. He's a whiskas boy, not just the normal stuff but the Simply Grilled range (poultry). My last cat, was ruined, he would only eat Sheba, beef & heart. He cost me a fortune.

See even now, its 7.40 and i'm not even hungry, although I skipped lunch as well.

A risotto, god I have trouble with boil in the bag rice. hahaha

paulineb_2

Yes, but I dont make risotto from risotto rice, just from boil in in the bag which I tip out and cook it in a wok. Some recipes seem really scary when you havent done them, but once you have you think why didnt I give it a go sooner?

Have a look on the a girl called jack website, she has some really cheap and easy recipes on there.

Thumper7

Paulineb

I will take a look at that site, thanks.

Even better would be if you have a magic porridge pot or know where I could get one.

eschaton

Thumper7 wrote: »

I am totally useless at shopping for food be it online or in the supermarket.

I never seem to get it right. I don't think the fact that I hate cooking helps nor that I don't have a microwave.

I have just received my Tesco online order and i'm shocked at what I have received, this is my order (I wont list it all)

Butter
Melon slices
sliced ham
2 x salad bowl
Low fat dressing
salad cream
bread
3 x jars coffee
cat food
cat treats
cat litter
toilet roll
cleaning stuff
2 x boxes of beer

Now all the above added up to over £100. I did order pizzas but they never arrived. Looks like beer for dinner lol.

You might be single but that is no excuse to be buying cat food for your dinner and cat treats for later

I'm recently single again and I try to buy decent food but it isn't easy.

My trouble is that because I'm so busy at work, I often go all day without eating. It means I get home and am starving so want something as quick as possible which makes cooking a proper meal difficult

One thing I would say is shop weekly. I used to often do £100+ shops but you end up putting a load of stuff in the freezer that you never use and throw a load of food in the bin.

I would also get a microwave as it's useful for things like rice etc.. unless you can be bothered cooking it in a pot for 20 minutes - I can't. I don't use mine a lot but couldn't be without one.

pigpen

I get the bags of Birds Eye Fusions rice .. 3.5 minutes in the microwave and they are delish... there is only me eats them so it's ok.

OH and DS3 do bacon in the MW.. we have a couple of special trays to cook them on.

Other than warming stuff up our MW gets used for nothing else.

Thumper7

Sounds like i'm gonna have to invest in another microwave, those rice fusion things sound really nice. Though Pigpen, if I !!!!!! that up like I did micro chips, I'm blaming you,

I will admit that my eating habits have been atrocious since moving back here on my own. I've skipped dinner most often than not. I've have, however, got to the stage that crisp rolls are not enough to keep me going.

eschaton

Thumper7 wrote: »

Sounds like i'm gonna have to invest in another microwave, those rice fusion things sound really nice. Though Pigpen, if I !!!!!! that up like I did micro chips, I'm blaming you,

I will admit that my eating habits have been atrocious since moving back here on my own. I've skipped dinner most often than not. I've have, however, got to the stage that crisp rolls are not enough to keep me going.

Don't forget Birds Eye Roast Beef / Chicken Dinners