Eat Well For Less Series 3

VfM4meplse

phizzimum wrote: »

Has anyone tried any of the recipes? I've bought some paneer to try to meat free version of the chicken surprise. The recipe is on Facebook but it's a bit vague about how to use the paneer

Its normally sold in slabs that need to be cut into bite-size pieces. Make the curry base and add it in at the end, with a bit of hot water if the paste is too thick. You can fry the chunks lightly beforehand if you wish but whatever you do, don't fry for a long time otherwise you will end up with rubber bullets.

pelirocco

ash28 wrote: »

I recently spent a month with my son and his wife while she was in hospital with pregnancy complications. This was their 6th child so needless to say she is a stay at home mum. I don't stay very often (usually for the birth of a child) and never for as long. We don't live near them and when I have stayed previously there was never any food in the house, which I thought was a bit odd and one of the first things I used to do was some shopping for basics....tinned tomatoes, kidney beans, baked beans, pasta, rice etc.

They are intelligent people, he has job that pays enough to support the family, have a nice house and 6 lovely kids. This time when I got there there was food in the cupboards because my son had taken over the shopping as she had been having problems for a while. She thought it was hilarious that when he shopped he brought home a few extra tins and packets, his reasoning was that it would help at the end of the month when money was tight and he told her he had been brought up in a house where there was always food. And that no money wouldn't mean no food.

It turned out that her mother used to shop for food daily and there was never anything in the house other than that days shopping. So her shopping habits had come from her mother although she shopped weekly not daily. To someone who some would think was akin to a "prepper" this was total anathema and could even lead to anxiety!!!!! She thought the way she and her mother shopped was normal and had thought our house was unusual.

To be fair to her , if you dont buy extra food for a 'rainy day' then you should have the money left for a 'rainy day'

VfM4meplse

pelirocco wrote: »

To be fair to her , if you dont buy extra food for a 'rainy day' then you should have the money left for a 'rainy day'

For me, the best way of not spending is by staying out of the shops / away from online sites. The more frequently I enter a retail space, the more likely I am to make an unintended purchase.

I'd find shopping frequently with children in tow stressful anyway.

phizzimum

Thank you Vfm!

[Deleted User]

Here, Here, VfM I agree wholeheartedly, I try to space my food shopping out if I can, and have a list by the kettle of things I have run out of, or really need when there is around 7-10 things on the list, unless it really urgent, then I will go to the shops ,but if I can adapt something else already in store then I will.

I suppose I food shop around every 10 days or so I am not one for mooching around the shops aimlessly I am far too busy doing more interesting things than wasting time :):)

I have honestly never liked shopping much anyway, and its a necessity rather than a pleasure to me.

Driving past a large supermarket on a Sunday and seeing it packed with people I wonder if they really need it and how nice and quiet Sundays used to be before shopping became almost a past time for some .

My eldest DD and her OH go to New York twice a year and mainly go to shop !!! when I went there I never went near a shop,far more interested in seeing the sights and chatting to the locals.But each to their own I suppose :)

pelirocco

VfM4meplse wrote: »

For me, the best way of not spending is by staying out of the shops / away from online sites. The more frequently I enter a retail space, the more likely I am to make an unintended purchase.

I'd find shopping frequently with children in tow stressful anyway.

Me too , but my point was you spend the same money if you buy item A now or buy it later

Pollycat

pelirocco wrote: »

Me too , but my point was you spend the same money if you buy item A now or buy it later

Or you may even spend less if you buy it when it's on offer or even half price.
I do buy food that I know I'll use (tinned tomatoes/beans/tuna etc) when it's bogof.
I currently have (according to OH) 7 packs of 9 rolls of toilet paper - the only brand I use - in our garage & I paid not quite half price for them.
To me, that makes good financial sense.

suki1964

pelirocco wrote: »

Me too , but my point was you spend the same money if you buy item A now or buy it later

But what happens on these days when like the person in this post, she's laid up having a baby, and there is nowt in the house?

I'm not a hoarder. I have a larder that has flour, hers, spices. I also keep four of everything when it comes to the tins I use, 4 toms, 4 sardines, 4 baked beans etc

This means that if there is an emergency I can feed the family without a take away

MrsSave

suki1964 wrote: »

But what happens on these days when like the person in this post, she's laid up having a baby, and there is nowt in the house?

I'm not a hoarder. I have a larder that has flour, hers, spices. I also keep four of everything when it comes to the tins I use, 4 toms, 4 sardines, 4 baked beans etc

This means that if there is an emergency I can feed the family without a take away

Snap. I always like to keep tins of tomatoes and beans, as well as passata and a few extra bits like that in the cupboard. Just in case.

VfM4meplse

pelirocco wrote: »

Me too , but my point was you spend the same money if you buy item A now or buy it later

If interest rates were any good I'd be encouraged to shop later. Sadly they aren't

I always kept a well-stocked food cupboard but since I quit sugar I've got rid of my baking stash and aside from dried fruit, anything vaguely sweet, including large jars of mincemeat, a Christmas pudding and Christmas cake. Whilst I was having my purge on the cupboards I also disposed of a number of tins that had expired because I'd not actually got round to using them, they were "just in case" purchases but I am a lazy girl who is disinclined to cook! What I kept was a few tins of pulses (chick peas and kidney beans), along with my huge range of herbs and spices.

The other week my brother decided to cook us Sunday lunch. He asked if I had any tinned tomatoes, so I gave him a box of passata that had been hanging around for a while. I shan't miss it, not will I be in any rush to replace it. For me, less is definitely working out better!