Eating out of the freezer and cupboards challenge - part two

CRANKY40

I'm pleased to see you here too Caterina. I remember your posts from a while ago when you used to look after the boys.

Out of freezer - one loaf, chicken defrosting in the fridge for tomorrow and a pack of stuffing balls ditto. From cupboard - pasta and from fridge 2/3 of a tub of tomato and basil sauce (do you think it would be cheeky to ask Caterina for a good recipe for making my own sauce? ) Into freezer - 1/3 of a tub of tomato and basil sauce. We have also disposed of 4 out of 12 croissants bought for Christmas breakfasts.

dannie

Since last Monday :-


Continued over Xmas to use up existing food "stocks". These were either the usual foods that I have, or a few recipes made that were adapted as Christmas type.


The online (food) grocery arrived but these were mainly "stocking up" on regular weekly food. Also, one "special offer" product. Last Wednesday, the local shops reduced much of their Xmas food stock but these were mainly sweet products. Nothing wanted of these and undecided whether to bother about any reductions on the potential savoury items.

pamsdish

Vacuum Sealed some left over cooked meats yesterday as over stocked.
IN goose, beef, turkey.
OUT nothing.

Suffolk_lass

Oh my, my best tetris skills have been needed to get three family-sized pies made of leftovers into one of my freezers. So can this manoeuvre have freed up so little space in my fridge?!!

lil_me

Based on what I just posted in the Flylady I’m saving this as a bookmark

I am not sure how active I can be but I have a freezer I haven’t opened for a year

With 3 freezers (ok one is a small on top of fridge) at home and 3 at work with food in having bought more meat yesterday as it was cheap is nuts

In fact yes nuts might not be the term

I think I need to declutter food and get the mental health issue I have because of previously being unable to afford food and the terror I have thinking of going through it again. We’re not at that point but have been close

New year new challenges I need to do something and I’m not sure how to tackle it

tootallulah

I need to get two freezers down to one, I can then have the freezer in the kitchen moved out. Began today by taking out: Packet of mince, two bags of tomatoes, bag of strawberries. It doesn't seen to have made much difference!

dannie

Updated my food inventory today. One of the local shops has begun to reduce its Xmas savoury food but nothing purchased.

pamsdish

tootallulah wrote: »

I need to get two freezers down to one, I can then have the freezer in the kitchen moved out. Began today by taking out: Packet of mince, two bags of tomatoes, bag of strawberries. It doesn't seen to have made much difference!

It always amazes me how I can move items about, remove a decent sized piece, then seem to end up with less room.

Caterina

Thank you Dannie and Cranky for your welcome!

Now that Christmas is over, the saving commences. The only expense that we're expecting to have before 2019 is an Indian takeaway for 3 on New Year's Eve and it's budgeted with cash we have already.

Everything else is going to come out of food stocks, apart from fresh fruit, veg, eggs and milk. Veg will cost around £15 per week, as we will still order organic. Bought in the farmers market and supplemented by allotment leeks and greens. Fruit £5 per week, apples and pears from farmers market but I'll be on the lookout for YS oranges and other citrus (non organic but hey-ho!).

Milk from milkman around £2 per week max. I use it only to make organic full fat yogurt, 2 pints per week is good for breakfasts, puddings (with chopped fruit or seeds from dry food store). Also any spare yogurt is strained to make cream cheese (breakfasts spread with jam from food store).

Organic eggs £6 per week, rounded up for a dozen large. As we are vegetarians (DH pescatarian) we rely on eggs for some protein. Might not need a dozen per week if eggs are used parsimoniously - e.g. a meal for 2 people, peas and onion omelette using 3 eggs instead of 4. The peas provide enough proteins to ensure that we won't miss the 4th egg.

I have a good stock of cheese, which will be used in WW2-like rations stretched with homemade coleslaw for lunch sandwiches. It might not stretch to the end of Jan so i am budgeting £10 for cheese top-up. But it might not be necessary.

I've got enough flour to make bread for the rest of the month. Again, taking a leaf out of WW2 food strategies, potatoes will be served instead of bread, or mixed with flour to make potato cakes, to make the flour go further.

Got lots of oats for porridge, enough grains and pulses for a varied diet and still a few tins of tomato. Just got some olive oil in a sale so won't need any. Butter will be stretched but I might need another packet, organic £2.

All in all I don't expect to spend more than £150 until end of January, and it might even be less, by which time I'll have paid the large Christmas credit card bill and life will return to normal.

Novice_investor101

I'm in the January Grocery Challenge, but looking to not go shopping til mid Jan - having eaten my way through as much of the freezer & store cupboard as possible. I live alone, so it can take a while & mostly needs to be good for one portion - otherwise I'll just be taking out the cupboard & putting it into the freezer! As it's only for one, it also doesn't matter if meals are a bit "random". I also want to defrost the freezer sometime soon.

So far, freezer going down well. I'm trying to use the stuff that's been there longest first. I always get stuck with what to do with veg. Currently got a bag of sliced courgettes & no idea what to use them for.