Biting the bullet - help with food please!

catchooky

Hi there I'm hoping one of you nice old-stylers can help please.
My OH and I have loads of debt, although we're in the really fortunate position of living with my M&D and not having to pay rent, we do our own food shopping. We currently spend............wait for it................around £100 per week on two people :eek: and most of our food ends up in the bin :eek: :eek:

Basically, we'd love to shave our shopping bill down to around £50 per week, with the odd treat. Unfortunately, we are slightly limited by the following factors and stipulations
1) We have a slow cooker which has never been used, and I'd like to start using it. I leave the house at 0730 and get in at about 1740. Are there any good recipes that would help us to use this machine which was an engagement present and hasn't even been out of the box???
2) I do the weightwatchers diet and so would be really grateful for any pointed budget recipes
3) I am currently learning to cook and so I do my best to make different foods every day.
4) The only people that we cook for are ourselves as my parents aren't fond of pasta and fish dishes like we are
5) I take a packed lunch to work every day and so try to vary what I have as I get very bored and then crave the canteen chips (not great for the diet!!!!!) :rotfl: . I am unable to take liquids such as soups to work.
6) I have recently been diagnosed with gallstones and so I am trying to balance and vary my diet and increase my vitamins and fruit and veg intake.......
7) We have very little space in our freezer as we share this with my mum and dad. We are trying to remedy the situation by doing a clearout


Sorry for the essay above!!!!!!

Thanks very much for your help in advance

Cat

Penelope_Penguin

catchooky wrote: »

We currently spend............wait for it................around £100 per week on two people :eek: and most of our food ends up in the bin :eek: :eek: Try meal planning - buy what you need, cook that, and don't buy any more until it's gone.

Basically, we'd love to shave our shopping bill down to around £50 per week, with the odd treat. Unfortunately, we are slightly limited by the following factors and stipulations
1) We have a slow cooker which has never been used, and I'd like to start using it. I leave the house at 0730 and get in at about 1740. Are there any good recipes that would help us to use this machine which was an engagement present and hasn't even been out of the box??? Loads of recipes - try searching for the Slow Cooker Collection on here.

2) I do the weightwatchers diet and so would be really grateful for any pointed budget recipes
3) I am currently learning to cook and so I do my best to make different foods every day.
4) The only people that we cook for are ourselves as my parents aren't fond of pasta and fish dishes like we are
5) I take a packed lunch to work every day and so try to vary what I have as I get very bored and then crave the canteen chips (not great for the diet!!!!!) :rotfl: . I am unable to take liquids such as soups to work.
6) I have recently been diagnosed with gallstones and so I am trying to balance and vary my diet and increase my vitamins and fruit and veg intake.......
7) We have very little space in our freezer as we share this with my mum and dad. We are trying to remedy the situation by doing a clearout Again, don't buy any more until you've cleared your freezer.


Sorry for the essay above!!!!!!

Thanks very much for your help in advance

Cat

Here it is - Slow Cooker Recipe Collection.

I'm making sausage casserole for tea tomorrow - brown sausage and a chopped onion. Put in SC with carrots, garlic, and stock. Delicious, cheap, nutritious meal when we get home.

HTH, Penny. x

charlies_mum

Hi,

Definitely dig the slow cooker out and try some recipes. if you're not sure, you could always used a prepared powdered mix and just put in the ingredients stated on the packet. Buy one of the light timer switches and set it to turn the slow cooker on at about 12 (don't forget to turn the slow cooker switch onto low). If you use a casserole mix, throw in some new potatoes and you will have a complete meal when you get in at night :T .

For lunch, make up a salad box with pasta, meat and salad and take some mayo or salad cream to stir in. In winter, try one of those food flasks for sale in Aldi, you just put your beans, pasta whatever in, and microwave. That should keep warm until lunchtime

I had gallstones, and you have my sympathy - I have never known pain like it, and yes, I have given birth.

Good luck, you will find plenty of useful advice on here

emmie1234

Hiya, I have found the best way to get my shopping bill down is to plan for the week what we will be having. I then either do an on line shop so I buy only what I need - I don't get tempted then by the special offers:T or if I do need to hit the supermarkets I do a pretend on line shop first write my shopping list out and stick to it!!! This has saved me loads on our shopping bills.

Slowcookers are brilliant when you're out at work all day and you don't have to dread coming home and having to cook, if you do a search on here there are loads of recipes about and there is a thread somewhere with low point ww recipes and slimming world recipes too.

I really sympathise with the gall stones. I had gallstones too and ended up having my gall bladder removed. The pain was terrible. I found eating plain foods really helped like plain chicken, rice and veg, spuds, that kind of thing, I lost about a stone and a half as well which was a bonus:D Anything with onions, spices etc made me really ill - one of the stones got trapped once and I ended up jaundiced and in hospital. off topic but have you been given any pain relief for when you get the attacks, eventually I was given dihydrocodeine after suffering for months with the attacks and they really helped, usual pain killers did nothing to help. Hope you get better soon.

Em x

squeaky

There's lots of advice and tips that can help you to ease into the Old Style way of life.

Hundreds and hundreds of them - and it can be a bit overwhelming.

Getting Started

The very best advice in that link is in the opening section -- start gently!

HTH