Cooking for one

caronc

PasturesNew wrote: »

I knocked up a cheeky little cherry flapjack, which I'm tucking into. No photo as I can't take photos after dark as the kitchen's too dark and flash looks rubbish.

You know how they go: HUGE blob of butter .... HUGE pile of sugar .... HUGE amount of syrup .... fool yourself it's healthy by using oats .... scoff the lot in under an hour

Sounds lush - chuck a bit my way please:D

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

Picking up on previous comments re the increased costs for single households I'm wondering if fellow solo cooks have a strict budget for their food either through necessity or choice? I know there are lots of threads here and on other social media re living on a £1 a day and when the boys were at home I could manage on average at not too much above this. However, I am finding it difficult to get below on average £2 - £3 per day with drinks and household items on top of that. My food bill has been cheaper this month but that's mainly been due to using stuff up that has already been bought and paid for? I feel this is in part to increased solo cooking costs as buying smaller amounts of stuff I'm finding more expensive per kg overall. Once I get my freezer stocks down a bit I do intend to start taking advantage again of family packs of veg etc. but would welcome others views on this and if they don't mind sharing how much they spend of food and if under £2 per day how they are achieving it. For health reasons I can't eat a lot of pre-proceesed food and tbh would rather make it myself anyway most of time. Over to you folks......:D

I try to aim for £1/day. Then actively "choosing" to spend more on the few occasions I do so. Having a figure in my head permanently and questioning the price of everything I buy (and whether I need it at all) means I do keep to that overall.

I eat a lot of repetitive meals and "snack" meals.... I don't eat a great deal a lot of the time. Today's "big dinner" was about 60p or so.

I'm quite happy with, say, beans and eggs on toast as a main meal some days (when I've bought bread/eggs and need to get through them I can do that 3-4 days in a row).

What are these "drinks" you're buying? I spend under £1 on instant coffee granules. Just before Xmas I bought some cheap drinking chocolate, but that'll take another couple of months to finish off... also, at Xmas, I bought 1 litre of fruit juice and a 99p Schloer for Xmas Day.

caronc

PasturesNew wrote: »

I try to aim for £1/day. Then actively "choosing" to spend more on the few occasions I do so. Having a figure in my head permanently and questioning the price of everything I buy (and whether I need it at all) means I do keep to that overall.

I eat a lot of repetitive meals and "snack" meals.... I don't eat a great deal a lot of the time. Today's "big dinner" was about 60p or so.

I'm quite happy with, say, beans and eggs on toast as a main meal some days (when I've bought bread/eggs and need to get through them I can do that 3-4 days in a row).

What are these "drinks" you're buying? I spend under £1 on instant coffee granules. Just before Xmas I bought some cheap drinking chocolate, but that'll take another couple of months to finish off... also, at Xmas, I bought 1 litre of fruit juice and a 99p Schloer for Xmas Day.

Thanks PN from what I can see from your posts you do eat well for little spend. I have a good appetite so don't though if I could manage with egg and toast as a main meal though generally I don't have an overly sweet tooth I'd never make flapjacks for myself as I'd enjoy a wee bit and bin the rest. Drinks are coffee, tea, tomato juice and milk. I also buy Robinsons squash for when my son is here - it's the only one he likes and he helps me so much with the things I can't manage that I don't mind buying it. Alcohol is a separate budget and not an everyday spend . I need to be caffiene-free and hate the taste of cheap decaff coffee so it's the Kenco one I get and get through a fair bit of it. I have a small glass of tomato juice a day so use just under a carton a week but I count my drinks cost separately from my food budget. If included I'd definitely average £3.00 per day across the year

karcher

PasturesNew wrote: »

I knocked up a cheeky little cherry flapjack, which I'm tucking into. No photo as I can't take photos after dark as the kitchen's too dark and flash looks rubbish.

You know how they go: HUGE blob of butter .... HUGE pile of sugar .... HUGE amount of syrup .... fool yourself it's healthy by using oats .... scoff the lot in under an hour

EDIT: It's long been history actually .... probably 15 minutes that lasted from start to end.

Do you cook it before scoffing? :D

Nelski

caronc wrote: »

Picking up on previous comments re the increased costs for single households I'm wondering if fellow solo cooks have a strict budget for their food either through necessity or choice? I know there are lots of threads here and on other social media re living on a £1 a day and when the boys were at home I could manage on average at not too much above this. However, I am finding it difficult to get below on average £2 - £3 per day with drinks and household items on top of that. My food bill has been cheaper this month but that's mainly been due to using stuff up that has already been bought and paid for? I feel this is in part to increased solo cooking costs as buying smaller amounts of stuff I'm finding more expensive per kg overall. Once I get my freezer stocks down a bit I do intend to start taking advantage again of family packs of veg etc. but would welcome others views on this and if they don't mind sharing how much they spend of food and if under £2 per day how they are achieving it. For health reasons I can't eat a lot of pre-proceesed food and tbh would rather make it myself anyway most of time. Over to you folks......:D

No budget here but it would be way above 1 or 2 pound a day :eek: I have however become more conscious of spend since I started doing the eat up everything in sight challenge So far this year I have spent about 16 quid without wine (dont ask ) but as you pointed out I have actually already spent the money on the food Im eating up so no real saving.

One of the reasons I have so much food in the freezers is because I buy my meat and various other things from Costco using their vouchers so serious bulk buying which i split down into solo portions. I don't think I have ever gone to Costco and spent less then 100quid but that will also include loo rolls kitchen rolls cleaning stuff and loads of other "bargains" and is also only around 4 times a year. I hate shopping so bulk buying suits me then I also have Asda deliveries so that I don't need to wander aimlessly round the store.

I know I could cut down lots on my food budget but for now I don't really need to so I prefer to buy good quality stuff and food I enjoy.

Feel free to have a go :rotfl:

PasturesNew

karcher wrote: »

Do you cook it before scoffing? :D

Nuke ... had to wait for it to chill, got bored of that so stuck it in the fridge ... got bored of waiting again so shoved it in the freezer for 10 minutes

Nelski

PasturesNew wrote: »

Nuke ... had to wait for it to chill, got bored of that so stuck it in the fridge ... got bored of waiting again so shoved it in the freezer for 10 minutes

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: thats keen

PasturesNew

Nelski wrote: »

.... Costco.... serious bulk buying which i split down into solo portions. I don't think I have ever ... spent less then 100quid

How big is your freezer?

I've never seen a Costco, they're very 'exclusive' AND regional.

I measured my freezer drawers once. Two are 14" square and 7" deep and the small one's 14"x7" and 7" deep.

It's soon full ... and using up, say, 6 brussels at a time it takes ages to free up space again.

caronc

Nelski wrote: »

No budget here but it would be way above 1 or 2 pound a day :eek: I have however become more conscious of spend since I started doing the eat up everything in sight challenge So far this year I have spent about 16 quid without wine (dont ask ) but as you pointed out I have actually already spent the money on the food Im eating up so no real saving.

One of the reasons I have so much food in the freezers is because I buy my meat and various other things from Costco using their vouchers so serious bulk buying which i split down into solo portions. I don't think I have ever gone to Costco and spent less then 100quid but that will also include loo rolls kitchen rolls cleaning stuff and loads of other "bargains" and is also only around 4 times a year. I hate shopping so bulk buying suits me then I also have Asda deliveries so that I don't need to wander aimlessly round the store.

I know I could cut down lots on my food budget but for now I don't really need to so I prefer to buy good quality stuff and food I enjoy.

Feel free to have a go :rotfl:

Sounds like my approach I buy meat from an on-line butchers a few times a year so forms part of my frezer stash but you need to count the cost and it frustrates me when folk (not specifically on MSE as we seem to be a pretty savvy bunch:D) say it only cost me pennies to make as I had already had x.y.and z in. No it didn't unless what you already had in was gifted to you :mad: . I find if I watch for special offers the meat price is comparable with supermarkets but quality generally much better. I would like to reduce costs a little but still eat well and with a varied diet IFYSWIM and wondered if my spend was pretty typical for a solo household

PasturesNew

Nelski wrote: »

thats keen

Hate waiting for food. If I've got to the point where I've chosen something ... and I've got the ingredients ... it's off into the kitchen to return with it on a plate ASAP.