I had a dare...

Graham_Devon

By 'chatta' to post this on oldstyle. So here I am

My excuse for eating yummy prepared meals...

My day today is this:

Out the house at 7.30am after getting up at 6.45. When I finish at 4.30, off to another customer for 5.15 as it's a small drive. Finish there around 6. Then off home, another hours drive. So thats 7pm.

Tonight I desperately need to go shopping, so get in maybe have a shower, then go shopping (if I can be bothered got another headache at the mo!). Another hour - hour and a half.

Get it at maybe 9.15.

I don't really want to start peeling spuds, carrots, etc etc. I'd rather open a bag of prepared salad. Open a prepared something else, bung it in the microwave, add prepared sides and munch.

I can have a real nice meal out of packets within quarter of an hour. That same meal would take over an hour to prepare and cook with the ingredients.
Not everyone is at home to be putting their dustbins out at 8 and bringing them back in at 9.

I still have a multitude of things to do before going bed. I may or may not go shopping yet, might grab something from the garage on the way home for tonight and go shopping tommorow, either way, it's going to contain more packaging.

Point is, we don't all have the lifestyle or time to be creating less rubbish by simply cooking from scratch.

I'm not one complaining about the bins, works for me ok, wondered why there was such a hoo hah on the news about it all!

Uniscots97

My dinner for tonight is spaghetti carbonara and it'll take me 12 minutes to cook from scratch

In large pan melt a blob of butter, using scissors (find knives too fiddly) chop couple of rashers of bacon. Stir over high heat until cooked, meanwhile boil kettle.
Take bacon out and set to one side add spaghetti to pot and boiling water and cook. While spaghetti is cooking, switch up an egg with a little milk and some black pepper.
Once spaghetti is cooked, drain and place back in pot over very low heat. Pour in egg mixture and bacon and using a fork pull the spaghetti through the mixture for about a minute (it looks like fine scrambled eggs coating the spaghetti) and serve.

Made from scratch meal in 12 minutes (or less if I use quick cook spaghetti), and not a packet in sight!

Graham_Devon

Ta, but I don't have any spaghetti!

I do have a ready meal with spaghetti though, bolognase I think in the freezer. 9 mins I think from freezer to mouth! :T

Uniscots97

I too have a very busy lifestyle like you but had to find the time to cook things from scratch as I became very ill last year. My recipe was just to show that with a bit of know-how made from scratch can be quicker than ready meals and definitely more nutrious.

Graham_Devon

It does sound quite delicious actually. Love eggs! Spose you could do that with pasta? I got pasta!

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

I work up to 5 shifts a week of 12 hour night shifts and still manage to find time to cook cheap, healthy meals from scratch because I like to see my family eating well and also its cheaper. Being organised helps and having a well stocked food cupboard which means I can knock up a good meal in no time, even when I'm half asleep as I have a repertoire of recipes in my head.

I think its whatever works for you. It saves time as well as money by being OS because instead of running down to the shop every 5 minutes to buy some packet or other that you've run out of, you can just access your well stocked cupboard of ingrediants and cook from scratch.

I shop once a month off the internet (using a money off code from this forum) for non perishables, I grow a small amount of salads and herbs in pots outside, and stock up on bargains when I see them which means I can just top up locally. Meal planning helps as does the use of a slow cooker and bread maker.

Life for the desperate household seems to be a balance between using time or money, how you choose is up to you, if you're lucky sometimes you can save both but it takes some organising and creative thinking.

As for the packaging, you have to throw it somewhere so why not in the recycling bins?

looby75

well done Graham, I promise you that by the time the good posters over here have finished with you you will never look at a ready meal in the same way again

(I was one of the ones who dared him to post lol)

Uniscots97

Graham_Devon wrote: »

It does sound quite delicious actually. Love eggs! Spose you could do that with pasta? I got pasta!

Yes you can do it with normal pasta. I normally put in a stock cube with the pasta while its cooking to give it more flavour. For variation you can also add some chopped spring onion too.

Curv

Oooooh Graham... you are brave!

Maybe that headache you mention might be caused by all the additives etc. in the oh-so-easy ready meals...?

Instead of buying a ready meal you could buy a bag of pasta, small head of broccoli, pack of lardons (OK, if you were really being OS you'd buy bacon and chop it yourself, but I'm being gentle) and a jar of pesto.

Put the pasta on to cook and whilst that's happening chuck the lardons into a frying pan and fry them off.

When the pasta has about eight minutes to go, throw broccoli in with it. When it's cooked, drain it and mix with the bacon and a couple of tablespoons of pesto. If you've any parmesan in the fridge, grate a bit on top, if not then don't bother. Ten minutes, fridge to mouth and a tad more wholesome than the ready meal.

Graham_Devon

I promise you I won't. I will stick to my guns and gorge on pre-packed salads and pre packed other bits and pieces!

I buy ready cut up veges!

I buy mashed tatty in a frozen Aunt Bessy's bag (she makes nice food!) her roast potatoes, frozen. Stuffing balls frozen, parsnips frozen etc.

Change those habbits, pah, I'll just wait till someone adopts me and sends me some cheese scones in the post

What are lardons?!?

newlywed

If I need a meal in a hurry I do grilled pork chops (about 10 mins or so depending how think they are) - meanwhile heat tinned new potatoes (value ones are fine), and heat frozen veg.

All done in approx 10 mins and no salt or additives.

Or I do similar but have fish fillets that I microwave -eg salmon. Only takes a few minutes.