Cooking for one

karcher

PN have you tried Home Bargains for powdered milk? It's the sort of random item they may sell!

[Deleted User]

got out my tiny little grill tray, which fits in my small baking tray, lakeland about 8 years ago, it was a set of two strong trays that fit side by side. None of that awful slippery non stick. Will hold one lamb chop,will also do a portion of semi roasted parsnips and lots of green veg from one steamer. Well that is lunch sorted. Not bad considering I had nothing in mind first thing

Later will be soya/basmati/ginger/frozen veg all in one. Soya is dried and is soaking now

No faff easy meals today. Will have one small glass of red wine this evening, a treat

Is money ok? I worry about people on their own

Ames

Afternoon.

I had a luxurious breakfast of smoked salmon and a banana. Tea will be stir fry with chicken in a thai marinade. I'm not sure whether to cook the chicken in the wok and then add the veg, or to cook the veg and chicken seperately.

I've been keeping track for the last few days of how much the food I'm eating costs, which is about a third of what my spending had crept up to. It's been insanely out of control. I think a lot of the difference is in binge eating, the food itself might be cheap but over the course of a week or month it adds up, and buying it every day or two masks the cost because the amount each time is small. Add in the odd takeaway, and the 'bargain' yellow stickered stuff that ends up in the freezer never to be seen again and all becomes clear. Happily though they're all things that can be dealt with.

PasturesNew

karcher wrote: »

PN have you tried Home Bargains for powdered milk? It's the sort of random item they may sell!

No. It's been something that I occasionally remember to look for in some shops ... but haven't gone out "looking for".

I'll try to remember to look next time I'm there - although I forgot to look for the Pot Noodles I bought from there and liked last time I was in there.... and I was standing in the shop thinking "Now ... what do I like/get from here that I should check for?"..and I still forgot.

PasturesNew

Ames wrote: »

....smoked salmon ...

Ames wrote: »

I've been keeping track ... how much the food I'm eating costs, .... It's been insanely out of control.

I'd noted that you "eat a bit poshly" .... and thought it again when I saw today's breakfast, then you mentioned cost

My target budget/day for all food is £1. When I go over that I am aware of it. When I buy pricier items I am fully aware of the cost of them.

I did keep a VERY strict list in a spreadsheet last year - and added it up and averaged it - and after 6 months it showed I was sticking to £1/day on average.

16p for beans on toast a few times a week helps

It is "the other stuff" that most people have to watch out for. The snacks, treats, one-offs and drinkies that they don't count.

PasturesNew

Tonight was supposed to be a massive blow out day for me, it's been planned for a few days now. I was going to have a bit of a chinese buffet at a friend's house, putting £5 in the hat... but that's now been cancelled.

Right now I am mid way through making an egg fried rice with peas.... not really sure what I can eat with that - I'll probably make up a quick curry sauce and leave it at that.

karcher

Having a CBA, wasting my day off, day.

Along with an Eat-A-Thon...

2 scrambled eggs and 2 bits of toast drowned in butter. More toast with cheese triangles, tomato and salad cream...not too bad if I stop there...I won't though

PasturesNew

karcher wrote: »

Having a CBA, wasting my day off, day.

Along with an Eat-A-Thon...

2 scrambled eggs and 2 bits of toast drowned in butter. More toast with cheese triangles, tomato and salad cream...not too bad if I stop there...I won't though

I'm on an "Angry-based Eat-a-thon" probably ... as I'd expected to eat well later ...and now I'm not .... I might just keep picking all day.

Breakfast: Toast, beans, 2 scrambled eggs.
Lunch: Egg 'fried' Rice with Peas and Curry Sauce

And three sweeties (the last of the 250g bag).

But I'm anxious/twitchy as the plans changed .... I can already feel sausage rolls coming on .... and I've not even got any in the house, so I'll have to go and get those to scoff.

Farway

kittie wrote: »

Is money ok? I worry about people on their own

Reading the thread it seems a mixed bag as one would expect

Personally I have no problems at all with enough disposable income and do not have any budget in mind when I go out shopping, that said I do take a list along, keep eyes open for RFQ items and hopefully spot & ignore the rip offs

Today could be an example, walking by greengrocer, yay, we have one :jI saw punnets of lovely looking strawberrys at 69p, and this GG does not have rubbish normally as being local independent cannot afford to upset customers, so I bought a punnet

Next stop was Asda, YS bag of yellow/black/green bananas, 20p
Then "had" to buy cream to go with the strawberries, 60p

Today's total spend on food was £1.49, but could easily have been £14.90 if I had spotted something that took my fancy, but I didn't

To me that is one advantage of CFO, my choice & my money

I do realise that many in this world cannot have a choice and have to cut their cloth accordingly

Back to food, breakfast was strawberry jam on toast
Lunch was penultimate M & S burger & YS Lidl cheese topped bap
Dinner will be lunch all over again

I now cook the burgers in the Actifry without the paddle because yesterday's lunch burger had flames leaping out of the gas grill because I had set the grill pan fat alight, again

Soon extinguished without harm to self, oven or house, but thinking prudence would be wise option for burgers in future, until the Actifry catches fire as I think some do :eek:

Ames

PasturesNew wrote: »

I'd noted that you "eat a bit poshly" .... and thought it again when I saw today's breakfast, then you mentioned cost

My target budget/day for all food is £1. When I go over that I am aware of it. When I buy pricier items I am fully aware of the cost of them.

I did keep a VERY strict list in a spreadsheet last year - and added it up and averaged it - and after 6 months it showed I was sticking to £1/day on average.

16p for beans on toast a few times a week helps

It is "the other stuff" that most people have to watch out for. The snacks, treats, one-offs and drinkies that they don't count.

That's my point though - my 'eating posh' is costing just over a third of what I was spending before. There's lots of reasons for the overspending, a lot of them mental - I have bipolar and spending sprees are common, but whereas I think 'I might be told off for buying clothes/books/cds/whatever' food is essential, so 'allowed'. And a lot of food was getting wasted, though in my defence a lot of that was because of the fridge freezer that I didn't realise was as broken as it was.

I just hope I can stick to spending less on better food.

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