What OS tip didn't work for you?

Serena51

I started buying dried beans to cook in the pressure cooker and freeze, but found they were a bit mushy, so back to canned beans



FOZZ - I batch cook all my beans in the pressure cooker, then freeze (1bag of dried beans = 5 cans of tinned).

Apart from kidney beans, which I cook for a couple of minutes, I let all the others come up to pressure then turn off pan and let them reduce at room temp.

This way they are never mushy.

justpeyton4now

Oh thank you for starting this thread Mad Monkey! I suppose the main thing I changed back to is buying bread instead of making it. Despite different recipes, time baked etc, it made enough crumbs to feel a couple of birds for a week when I slicked it. There is one recipe I found that slowly proves over 24 hours that I still use for french loaves and the like. Back to store brand for sandwiches and toast.

I do love stardrops tho, especially the stardrops with ammonia in it. It cleans very well and stretches a long way. I use it very diluted on glass and it gives it a great shine.

I also love my slow cooker and I'm one that doesn't usually cook something in it for 10 hours even on low.

Some value products are ok, others aren't. I believe it's trial and error on what works best for you and your family. One person's tastes and needs can be very different from another's.

My best advice is to try something new in a small quantity, like value beans etc. I'd buy 2 tins instead of 10 to make sure we like it before getting a lot that we may not end up using.

skintmumof3

i used to make up my own kitchen spray cleaner with stardrops and disinfectant. but after a while noticed my worktops were looking more stained and not so clean. so i swapped back to actifizz spray and immediately they were brighter and cleaner.........
but still a confirmed oldstyler......well actually i prefer young styler these days....lol

tattoed_bum

i did try the value soap powder with soda crystals but went back to the named stuff mainly because it was on offer in makro and worked out just as cheap as the value ,
i usually use stardrops for everyday cleaning ,but i do have a sneaky bottle of flash that i use for mopping the floors with if i know i have visitors coming round just because it has a nice smell ,i know thats really sad lol

ALIBOBSY

I think of Old style as going back to how our grans lived rather than just going cheap on everything. I see it as about value rather than price.
Like meat I buy good quality meat from a local farm shop. I know how well the animals are looked after, it is miles cheaper than the equvalent "free range/finest/ etc from the supermarkets" and better quality. But like during the war I make the meat go alot further.
For example I can get a really big free range chicken from a local farm with giblets for around £8. Sounds alot but it is bigger than the largest birds you get in any of the super markets (and far tastier) with loads of meat on. We have a roast on sunday, then I strip the meat. The carcass and giblets make a brill stock and we can have a soup from that another night(plus a little meat) and I will either freeze the rest for another meal, or make a curry on the next night. We will also have had a few sandwiches on the way. So for the 5 of us the chicken goes a long way.

I also can't stand cheapo sausages and the kids refused to eat them, so we went back to the better ones (usually from the farm shop). We also have another farm shop which does veggies and fruit, obviously not all of this is local, but the vast majority is, and is cheaper and or much better quality than the supermarkets. Both farm shops do wonderful cheap free range eggs (you can see the chickies running around at both places) and also sell other locally produced farm type products such as cheeses,farm butter,cottage cheese, cream etc. The veggie shop also has a fish stall outside twice a week with wonderful tasty fish (you know its good when you see all the older ladies and gents queueing up .

We do visit Lidl and Aldi plus occasionally Morrisons for certain bits eg flour, cleaning stuff etc and the odd treat.

I am not averse to the odd takeaway as a treat and when finances allow, but do cook and bake from scratch alot (something for me which is the essense of OS). I love my SC but it only goes on for maybe 5 hrs (I like to do tea at lunch time and leave it simmering away saves time later with 3 kids-baby 4 due in oct). I love stardrops and do bake my own bread but not all the time. But agree about better quality washing up liquid, it defo lasts longer, so buy it when on offer and add it to the "store". Can't stand cheap soup so went back to heinz (unless it is home made), do like aldi cheap b beans, but not value ones.

Enjoyed growing some veggies and salad (plus herbs)last year and am in process of turning much more of the garden over to productive growing.

For me this is OS, but for ev1 else they may have their own definition. Take a look at the ideas thrown around, try em out and take what suits you, your family, your lifestyle and pocket best. But don't feel guilty about spending a bit more in certain areas if you feel it is worth the extra/better value if you can afford to.

ali x

hilstep2000

I have to have Kellogs corn flakes:rotfl:Tried loads of value brands, but they're only good enough for cornflake cakes!:rotfl:
Got rid of my breadmaker too, two weeks after I bought it, a bakers opened up over the road, and it tasted better from them!
Have stuck to other things though. I love stardrops, and use soda crystals to keep my WM and drains clean.:T

Don't like thin bleach either. Asda's own is pretty cheap and really thick.
bought some dried lentils a few weeks ago, haven't used them yet, will report back on results!

thriftlady_2

KarrieBee wrote: »

The slow cooker - i want it to work I really do but it just isn't a patch on the stews i make in the cast iron casserole dish in the oven! perhaps i shouldjust freecycle it and get it over with...
Stardrops I like but OH doesn't so when he cleans it is ecover stuff!

That's so true;)

anguk

My slow cooker still gets used for gammon joints, pot roast beef, ham shanks and rice pudding etc but I've gone back to cooking casseroles and stews in the oven because they seem to taste so much better.

The breadmaker gets used to make wholemeal loaves and pizza dough but I just can't make a decent white loaf so it's back to shop bought for them.

Homemade soap powder & laundry gloop were a disaster, as were soap nuts so I'm back to Tesco naturally soap powder. And I didn't like the vinegar instead of fabric softener so I've gone back to Ecover.

Stardrops I love so still use them along with Dr Bronners but I have to have a cream cleanser for the bath & sink (going to try making my own next time).

laineyc_2

I haven't mastered the art of cooking in my slow cooker. I use it for making stock, chilli but I don't like joints cooked in it.

Melonade

I can't buy cheap sausages YAK!! I've tried them but changed back to the more expensive ones.

I love my slow cooker (I don't use it for whole chicken) and stardrops but I'm not even going to think about a bread maker... I know I'll just put it in a cupboard and leave it there after one use

Always buy good loo roll too, mainly because everyone in the house moans if I buy cheap stuff... I'm anything for a quiet life sometimes

I like trying cheaper brands, usually it works out and saves a bit of money. But sometimes it's a disaster :rotfl: