The Simple Bare Necessities feat. Gratitude & Recipes

Pippilongstocking

Hey up all

I breakfast on 1/4 cup uncooked porridge made up with water (m/wave 1.30 min) and served with nut milk, no sugar and even with my scoffy belly I am full til lunch and that's with a 6am start and a 12.45 lunch.

Those of you who know me, will realise that's amazing.

I do supplement with vitamins for daily life up here in the dark windy frozen north.

I get porridge from Mr A or L or the other sooooooooooooopermarkets for about the same price. As its basic I'm assuming it means limited additives if any.

But agreed - shopping, staples, all have gone up a lot its very dear to eat these days.

Hugs to BG and BG's mum.

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

EH - you are, as ever, right. It's just been a bit of a wake up call I guess, and now that I'm more limited than ever as to being able to 'shop around' I feel that I am floundering a bit. The way that I shop has altered dramatically. When DH and I first set up home together (over the brush :eek:), we just went to mrT, got what we wanted and didn't think about the cost. We only went to other supermarkets if we were passing and needed something, or if there was something that they specifically sold that was better/different to mrT. Nowadays, a month can go by without me setting foot in mrT - and yes, I do feel blessed to not be contributing to the petrol in the ceo's merk :rotfl:

BOBS - I'm sure that being a veggie household keeps our budget lower. 3 teens with hollow legs :eek: I'm dreading that stage with 1 - and all their mates :eek: (although I do actually hope that BG is popular and actually has lots of mates on the QT :dance:) I currently do £140 food and £40 for 'non' food, including a hair cut for me.


I got some reading of my book done. BG stayed a-snoozing

Dinner was Snert. What a wonderful name for soup I didn't have any carrot in the end and decided against using the sweet potato, as there is already a conventional potato in the soup. A carrot would have added an additional colour dimension though. I made flatbreads featuring caraway seed. I have got in the back of my mind somewhere that Nordic countries are hot on caraway, so I thought I would incorporate it. I had bought a 1kg pot of 0nken natural set yoghurt from h3ron f00ds for 89p. It's nice yoghurt, but separates out, so I poured the whey into the flatbread mix, plus a little extra yoghurt. The breads puffed up nicely Picture here;



Tomorrow's tea will have to be amended. It was going to be mushroom risotto, but DH couldn't get a big punnet of mushrooms from mrAl on Saturday, and was getting barged and grumpy in the process of looking for them, so we have less mushrooms than anticipated.

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

taking action - no good lying a-bed, awake worrying. Doing something is the only way forward.

a lovely walk with a cheerful & then sleepy baby - wonderful

support - thank you

Ta for popping in, reading, joining in and for your support. Know that it means more to me than words can convey. Which for a waffler like me is summat............... :rotfl:

XX

Greying_Pilgrim

Pippilongstocking wrote: »

Hugs to BG and BG's mum.

Gratefully received love

I am hungrier if I eat breakfast. Fact

Greying X

Verbatim

Another vote here for incredible frugality feeding your family for so little. I'm sure you're right about vegginess making it more possible.
I imagine it's pretty good too for keeping the unwanted extra pounds (weight) at bay.

in_need_of_direction

if i were you, i'd cut the bill by not buying tofu. the texture is just wrong for food

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning :hello:

Verbatim wrote: »

I imagine it's pretty good too for keeping the unwanted extra pounds (weight) at bay.

I think that a good veggie diet is. Just as a good, balanced omnivore diet can be. I wish it would *magic* away the last few pounds of baby *padding*

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

if i were you, i'd cut the bill by not buying tofu. the texture is just wrong for food

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: It's all in the pressing INOD - press it and it is transformed


Here we are at hump day. I heard the first 4 records of the 'Glam rock' segment on the radio and knew all of them :eek: But at least I didn't inflict 'dad-dancing' on BG like *someone* :rotfl: Someone call the services quickly! :rotfl:

I've bananas and the TV guide to get today. I haven't thought about what is for tea. I read some more of my book and then went to bed for an early night last night, which is just as well........ pass the matchsticks, someone..........

I'm turning into a right sceptic. Justin King reckons supermercado prices will rise by at least 5% in the next 6 months. This may well be necessary and true - others have predicted an 8% rise in some prices. But are the rises applied to everything that is to cost more, due to currency fluctuations/fuel rises etc, or does everyone put up their prices 'because everyone else has'.........

Something to factor into my meal plan menu, anyway...... I just hope the price of tofu doesn't plummet. I'll fill me boots and then I'll risk losing INOD's interest in this diary

Right, best go and rescue BG just in case the 'dancing' indoctrination starts up again........ :rotfl:

Greying X

EssexHebridean

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

if i were you, i'd cut the bill by not buying tofu. the texture is just wrong for food

:rotfl::rotfl: can I add Polenta to the list of things that shouldn't qualify as food, please?! I said a while ago, in that "musing, thinking out loud" kinda way that we do sometimes, that perhaps I was being harsh on it, and I should try it again at some stage....MrEH went positively green-ish, and said "No, you don't need to do that" with a degree of haste that made his feelings totally clear! I have to confess to being a wee bit relieved!

My thought on the "logic" behind the 5% price rise was thus - the theory is apparently that because imports are expected to rise by 10%, and 50% of our food is imported, what they *actually* meant was that those who buy an "average" basket of shopping, with 50% or more imported, could expect the 5% rise. So for those of us who "Buy British" whenever possible, prices should hopefully hold a little better? Not sure if I'm being over optimistic? I guess we'll wait and see - certainly with our sorts of budgets, a rise of 5% will be noticeable, so we may need to revisit this one in a few months! :eek:

greenbee

I like polenta in Italy (particularly with liver cooked the venetian way) but somehow it is always disappointing at home. A bit like all the 'interesting' booze you find on holiday....

I'm highly sceptical that prices for home-grown food will stay down. I'm sure there'll be some kind of justification related to cost of inputs going up (fertilizers, oil prices etc). But I'm sure that supermarket profits won't suffer unduly. I need to make MUCH more effort to buy from farm shops (proper ones), farmers markets and roadside stands.

Greying_Pilgrim

EH 'wet' polenta is absolutely wonderful with sausage casserole! I never worry too much about the polenta being tasty, but try to ensure what I serve it with is. Then it is just a carrier carb.

Mind, I'm all for if you don't like something, and you've given it a fair go, then leave it on the shelf for someone else There are plenty of other things to munch, we're very lucky.

I have to say, I think my scepticism is in line with greenbee's thinking. A way will be found to put up prices, even if, in theory, there should be no need. And of course supermercado profitsmust remain in the gazillions - how's the ceo gonna fill up their merk with petrol otherwise? Didn't you know, prices are going UP! :rotfl:

Anyway, I am gonna annoy INOD up oneside and down t'other as I've just picked up a library book that is FULL to the brim of tofu recipes that I have not tried before..... :rotfl::D

Right, I'm still in a bit of a quandry as to what to make for us tea. So I better toddle off to the kitchen to sperry-ment

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Evening :hello:

So we trekked up the high street today. I had a list and I stuck to it for the most part. My downfall was a YS'd ruby red grapefruit, which will come in handy for tea tomorrow night, some envelopes that I had forgotten that I needed (ie not put down on the list of 'things needed' :doh:), some tissues and a little bodywarmer top for BG from the chazza for 50p - bargain The top has washed up beautifully, and will be put away for future use.

Tea this evening wended its way down to the southern states..... of america...... *ish* I found a recipe on Laura Wright's blog for baked beans that didn't include tomato (for once) and instead used ingredients that I had in the store cupboard. Mine didn't look as silky smooth as Laura's but then I did make them on the stove-top, as opposed to the oven. In addition, i used tinned cannellini beans (and then added in some black-eyed beans, to bulk it out a bit) rather than cooking beans from scratch. I made up some burgers, using red kidney beans, onion, garlic, the remaining sweet potato (grated), oats, smoked paprika and cumin. I boiled up some rice (well, it is *

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with rice*day and served it with a sliced avocado, some lime zested yoghurt and some onion seeds. Picture here;



The beans do look claggy, but tasted fine. I couldn't have made them if you could only do them in the oven, as I don't have a casserole (no need) and can't afford to have the oven on just to cook beans. I made 5 burgers with one tin of red kidney beans (plus the other ingredients) 4 were all pretty much 100g (I do weigh the mix into the burger press, it makes for even cooking). The 5th was about 117g, and has been put into the freezer for another day and another dish

Today I am grateful for these 3 things;

Libraries and book request facilities - a £17 tome for 60p

Team Greying :kisses3:

resources - a store cupboard, a stove and the internet = Tea

Ta for popping in, reading and chatting. Much appreciated.

Greying X