A Singularly Lonely Christmas

Byatt

LavenderBees wrote: »

That's a tough budget, methinks. Some months will be ok, especially if you eke out with lots of home grown salads/loads of nutritious soups. But some months that will be incredibly tough. What do you intend to do to achieve this? Or is £30 your ballpark, and coming in close will be ok??

I know that this month, just by cutting out buying alcohol and treats, and really sticking to what I need rather than want, I've cut my grocery bill right back to about a tenner a week, but this is really unusual, and would be difficult to sustain over a longer period and I have a fully stocked freezer to work through, too, which always helps.

I love food shopping in a way that clothes shopping will never come close to. I just love food! What I loved last year, was shopping at my allotment. That was fab! But my idea of bliss is wandering round a well stocked shop full of good food.

Yes, it is a tough budget, but like you say, more a ball park figure, no real thought has gone into it, , but some months will be more (stocking the freezer) and others about that, I hope. I need to be tough, I need to lose weight too...and I need a rainy day fund (or run off to Italy when the going gets (too) tough fund...:cool:)

I will grow some veg again this year too...:D No caulis though.

I made a soup earlier (all this talk of soups), carrot and lentil, I couldn't get the lid of the jar of the coriander, that's another thing, not having someone who can strong arm a jar or two! I have the jar thingy that's supposed to help, but doesn't always, I've run hot water over it, and the only other thing is to stab the lid with a knife, but the last time I tried that, I stabbed my hand. Anyway, soup is lush, so pleased with that, and I have a couple more portions.

Well done on the seedlings Calico...before you know it, all of them will be up and raring to go. :T

BookWorm

Talking of food budgets - as this is one area I know I can also do better.

I find it hard to motivate myself to cook for myself some days - sometimes seems to be a lot of faff for just me. I try to get round this by batch cooking where I can and having extra portions as leftovers quite a bit.

I also love my slow cooker for the fact I can be at work all day and come home to a ready cooked tea. :T Not quite as good as having someone else cook it for me...but it's the next best thing!

I wondered if any of you ever feel the same way and if so how you deal with it?

BW

LavenderBees

BookWorm wrote: »

Talking of food budgets - as this is one area I know I can also do better.

I find it hard to motivate myself to cook for myself some days - sometimes seems to be a lot of faff for just me. I try to get round this by batch cooking where I can and having extra portions as leftovers quite a bit.

I also love my slow cooker for the fact I can be at work all day and come home to a ready cooked tea. :T Not quite as good as having someone else cook it for me...but it's the next best thing!

I wondered if any of you ever feel the same way and if so how you deal with it?

BW

I can honestly say that I've never thought I'm not worth cooking for, but I really enjoy food. :rotfl:

I tend to batch cook on weekends, then eat throughout the week. It then does feel like someone else has cooked!! :T. If I have room in my freezer, I will freeze portion sizes so I can have a variety of food during the week. That's my preference, but at the moment, the freezer is full, so anything I cook will have to be eaten next week. Luckily, I am usually able to eat the same thing time after time without too much trouble, though by Thursday, I'm desperate for something new.

Slow cooker savoury mince being cooked tomorrow for me and loads of veges. :A

All this talk of food is making me hungry so am going to have my tea now and then laze in the bath. Serrano ham, cheeses, crackers, and my own chutney...all left over from Xmas. Fab!

Need2bthrifty

Byatt that is a seriously tight budget, although I am hoping to get somewhere near that figure this month but that’s only because I have a well-stocked freezer and a determination not to waste anything. I’m okay for toiletries, cleaning materials and loo roll but I will need to buy some before the month is up. Luckily @ldi, H/B and £/stretchers are all in the same place, so one trip with the car.

I made lentil soup today too, using up 3 hairy carrots and a bit of swede; I picked up a HUGE bag of lentils (2kg) for I think it was £2.99 about this time last year in Mr T’s ethnic foods aisle – not quite finished it yet maybe about 700g left :T

Bookworm – I love cooking and trying out different things – okay some are a total disaster especially when trying to cut a recipe for 8 down to at least four (one to eat 3 to freeze) and think to myself….definitely won’t be making that again. I’m afraid I can’t be converted to a SC or a PC either, to me the food just doesn’t have the same taste – call me extravagant but I would rather use the gas for a soup or stew to simmer on the stove for a couple of hours than use one of these contraptions.

Need2bthrifty

LavenderBees wrote: »

All this talk of food is making me hungry so am going to have my tea now and then laze in the bath. Serrano ham, cheeses, crackers, and my own chutney...all left over from Xmas. Fab!

Likewise....except I had prosciutto and some cheese left so made a hm pizza

moneyistooshorttomention

In a different size/different set-up house like I have recently moved to my idea on cooking now has changed from "cook 2 portions of something and have the 2nd one the next day" to "cook the whole 4 portions specified in standard recipe books and put two of them in the freezer for the future". So, I'm still having the same thing two days running, but there are two portions in reserve in the (much) bigger freezer I now have.

Saves on thinking about what-to-have time and also saves on fuel.

Byatt

I'm getting worried now...:rotfl: :eek: On the positive side, I do have time to hunt out bargains, although not the convenience as I'm rural.

Have you looked at A Girl called Jack's food or the skint foodie blog?

Bookworm, when I became single again (even though DD was at home she didn't like my cooking) I actually stopped cooking for about 2 years. I just heated up in the MW or shoved in the oven...then for another 6-7 years I just did the basic, but in the last year have started cooking from scratch again. I enjoy food but also have gastric problems which means I can feel nauseous and something I've prepared earlier, just doesn't have the appeal. Some days I can eat quite happily and enjoy it. Mostly I cook traditional food, such as roast dinners, cottage pie (I use soy mince), egg and chips! And my stand by for when I have no appetite are beans on toast, or just beans sometimes. Like LB, I can eat the same meal for days, it doesn't bother me. I'm only just starting to freeze extra portions.

I did enjoy the SC stews for when I came in after a long day out, but my work is fairly easy and hours are ok. I don't use a microwave anymore, because it was taking up too much room in my kitchen which is tiny. I don't miss it, I have a baby Belling cooker which I adore.

Most of my food though probably wouldn't be enjoyable by sight for most people, as I do concoctions, some work and some are a Dis.As.Ter :rotfl:

moneyistooshorttomention

Actually...that brings me onto one of my ways of looking at things. Being that physical comfort is actually a good bit more important than we usually think it is.

So....warmth, good food, a cuddle, light are all very important and its surprising what an effect these things can have on our mood. This being the case...I tend to think "Oh well....cuddles etc;).....aren't available to me as a singlie and I had better lay a heavier emphasis on those physical Comfort Factors that ARE available then" and hence I think Good Food is a much more important factor to a singlie than a couplie and its worth having as "good a diet" as money will allow for if the budget will cope with it.

LavenderBees

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Actually...that brings me onto one of my ways of looking at things. Being that physical comfort is actually a good bit more important than we usually think it is.

So....warmth, good food, a cuddle, light are all very important and its surprising what an effect these things can have on our mood. This being the case...I tend to think "Oh well....cuddles etc;).....aren't available to me as a singlie and I had better lay a heavier emphasis on those physical Comfort Factors that ARE available then" and hence I think Good Food is a much more important factor to a singlie than a couplie and its worth having as "good a diet" as money will allow for if the budget will cope with it.

I agree...these are fairly basic needs, and sometimes in shorter supply than they should be. I'm sure food is a substitute I use for a number of things I miss.

I get most of my cuddles from the furry-purries these days, but tend to greet good friends with a hug...whether they want it or not :rotfl:. Calicocat and Boddy are duly forwarned for next weekend's ladies who lunch meeting :rotfl:

ETA is it just me, or is the TV really extra appalling tonight? There is not a thing I want to watch...think will get a CD out...which I haven't done for ....gosh, must be at least a year or more...

Need2bthrifty

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

In a different size/different set-up house like I have recently moved to my idea on cooking now has changed from "cook 2 portions of something and have the 2nd one the next day" to "cook the whole 4 portions specified in standard recipe books and put two of them in the freezer for the future". So, I'm still having the same thing two days running, but there are two portions in reserve in the (much) bigger freezer I now have.

Saves on thinking about what-to-have time and also saves on fuel.

My freezer has become my best buddy and couldnt live without it now - for years I lived in bedsits/small 1 bed flats and only had a small table top fridge (icebox usually frozen shut) a weeks menu would consist of buying 1lb of mince = 1st day savoury mince, Days 2 & 3 throw in some tinned toms & mushrooms for Spag Bol, Days 4 & 5 add some chilli powder and kidney beans, voila Chilli. Week 2 = 1 Whole Chicken.......you know where I'm going...

Byatt wrote: »

I'm getting worried now...:rotfl: :eek: On the positive side, I do have time to hunt out bargains, although not the convenience as I'm rural.

Have you looked at A Girl called Jack's food or the skint foodie blog?

I've tried some of Jack's recipes and really enjoyed the carrot, cumin & kidney bean falafel/bean burgers - but did need a bit of tweaking for my taste.