2014 Frugal Living Challenge

helencal80

Frugalsod wrote: »

I make my own pasta now. I bought a really good Kenwood Chef mixer and some bread tins for the bread and the pasta attachments for making pasta. I do save money on the bread, and find it very handy. It might be easier with a bread maker but it would have been another gadget in my small kitchen.

The Kenwood I bought takes up as much space as a bread maker but I can also make soups, baileys, cakes, grate fresh parmesan etc. it costs more than a bread-maker but so much more versatile. In the end I opted for a Kenwood Chef over the bread-maker. Like you I was a fancy pasta virgin and opted for the cheaper pasta maker attachment as a trial, but will buy the better version when funds allow. You would need an additional pasta roller if you make lasagne.

Making pasta is very easy but you do not save much over the dried pasta if anything at all. Though by making it yourself, you do get fresh pasta which the supermarkets charge a fortune for. So look at it as a lifestyle boost rather than a money saving option. There is the other benefit that if you have to make it yourself you might not eat so much and so cut out more calories. That is what I found. It was the extra ability to make soups that helped me decide the mixer over the bread-maker.

In fact I will be making a pizza base tonight for tonights dinner. It saves me a fortune on store pizza and is just as good.

Thanks for the advice Frugalsod! I didn't realise the did so much, I was sold the moment I saw the grinder/sausage maker and ice cream maker. Looking forward to buying mine in January, hopefully the prices will still be low then.

Soworried

I couldn't do without my bread maker yet I never make bread in it. I use the dough function every other day though.
I then turn the dough in to pizza bases, garlic breads, buns, cheese buns, even garlic dough balls. They all go in to the freezer and are then quick meals for during the week.

Here are some cheese buns I made.

Goldiegirl

Those cheese buns look fantastic - I'm really hungry now!

23rdspiral

I couldn't justify the cost of a kenwood, so I researched what I Knew I'd use a mixer thing for (making cake batter) and what I'd like to try (dough hook for bread dough). I have a v old stick blender and chopper I use a lot but know they won't last forever. So I got a tefal stand mixer (whip, beat & dough) that has a seperate slicer & dicer attachment. It also has a jug blender for smoothies etc but I prefer my old one.
I love it, and it's saved me a lot on buying cakes for family and club functions, plus coleslaw, batter, American pancakes etc. I'm still yet to try bread though!

Frugalsod

helencal80 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice Frugalsod! I didn't realise the did so much, I was sold the moment I saw the grinder/sausage maker and ice cream maker. Looking forward to buying mine in January, hopefully the prices will still be low then.

Yes if you look at the various attachments they do a lot more than the average mixer. All come with a dough hook as standard. You could buy a megapack which comes with a good number of accessories that you will probably want to get eventually. Though look around and see if you can get them separately for less. Also take your time. Look at what they can do before buying the attachments. Youtube is good for that. Watch as many as you can to see if the attachment could be useful for you. My advice would be to go for the bigger mixing bowl for the maximum flexibility unless you know you will never ever need it. Hold off on accessories until you work out how often you need them or unless you can haggle a deal on a bundle.

Yes I have the grinder/sausage maker mainly for making mince. So the horse meat scandal missed me completely. Having the multi mill which can make salad dressings and mayonnaise. It allows me to mill my own flour to add to a bread mix to make a more granary type loaf. Also to grind my own coffee beans. One day I tried a Tesco salsa sauce that normally retails for a £1 for a small tub. I made one identical for closer to 15p.

Mine came with a food processor, a few extra mixing attachments and the glass blender as well. Though if you make soups a lot add a metal blender to your budget. I have both. The glass blender is great for making mixes where you need to see that it is mixed properly. The metal blender is perfect for soups. Soups are really easy to make and if you cut out a lot of the fancy elements in many soup recipes you will definitely save money.

I have not made sausages yet but if you think what has been passed off as food by the supermarkets you can probably think by making it yourself you might not only save money making your own food, but will have a lot healthier diet. I have noticed that since I converted to using it, my intake of ready meals is now zero and I notice that my food tastes better possibly because I am not eating any additives.

I reckon I save £1 a loaf and make two loaves a week, I save money on scones and cakes. Making soups can be a real money saver if you like them. My pasta is break even but if you compared to fresh it would save £2.80 a pack. I make my own Baileys and that saves me £7 to £10 a go. So the more you can make with it the faster you can actually get it to pay for itself. Also they last for years. You hear of people using them for decades.

nomi76

I need to join this thread.

I thankfully have no debt but I am wasting too much money. Its usually small amounts here and there but it all adds up - in fact I don't want to add it up.

My biggest waste would be dropping into the shops most days and spending too much on food. I am going to start freezing sandwiches for lunch. Does anyone do this and want combos work well?

strandedinaber

nomi76 wrote: »

I need to join this thread.

I thankfully have no debt but I am wasting too much money. Its usually small amounts here and there but it all adds up - in fact I don't want to add it up.

My biggest waste would be dropping into the shops most days and spending too much on food. I am going to start freezing sandwiches for lunch. Does anyone do this and want combos work well?

I have to say that I'm not sure freezing sandwiches would work terribly well (that said, I've never tried, so I might be wrong!!). I've forced myself to get into the habit of thinking about lunch the night before. I usually end up making sandwiches whilst I'm waiting for dinner to cook to save on time spent in the kitchen (it's really cold in there!). Either that or I'll pull some leftovers out from the freezer and they're defrosted by the morning. That only works if you have a microwave available to you at work, though.

nomi76

strandedinaber wrote: »

I have to say that I'm not sure freezing sandwiches would work terribly well (that said, I've never tried, so I might be wrong!!). I've forced myself to get into the habit of thinking about lunch the night before. I usually end up making sandwiches whilst I'm waiting for dinner to cook to save on time spent in the kitchen (it's really cold in there!). Either that or I'll pull some leftovers out from the freezer and they're defrosted by the morning. That only works if you have a microwave available to you at work, though.

I can be a bit of a fussy eater but I am hearing that freezing sandwiches works great. I guess the only way I am going to know is by giving it a go.

I live alone so thought this would be a way of cutting down wastage as well. I could do a loaf of sandwiches at once so I don't necessarily have to have ham 5 days in a row

I got a packet of smoked salmon (yum) marked down today so have frozen 4 sandwiches will see how they go.

Goldiegirl

We popped out this morning to get our turkey joint from M&S and a large salmon and prawn en croute ( for New Year), all paid for by vouchers that we've saved through out the year ( we have an M&S credit card)


We really appreciate getting our Christmas treats in this way - the other week we used Nectar Points for our other treats.


Also, as we have this food which will last several days, we won't have to do any 'real' shopping for a while, so there'll be a saving on normal outlay too


I love vouchers and points !

Buffythedebtslayer

this thread is VERY good for lunch ideas


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4832833=


Might join it in Jan, do not want to think about Jan now got loads to do for Christmas still!