Cooking for one

Hollyharvey

Breakfast this morning was scrambled egg on toast. I was going to have some more toast but there wasn't any bread in the inside freezer and I didn't have time to get the keys, unlock the outhouse, root around in the outside freezer from bread and come back in and toast it. I was in a hurry to catch the bus to the hospital. So I grabbed a banana, to eat while I was getting dressed.


Lunch will be a cheese and pickle sandwich (I got some fresh bread on the way home).


Dinner is a turkey breast fillet, which I am going to grill and have some steamed veg and new potatoes with. Pudding will be either a crumpet or some cake/crumble from the freezer.


It is quite warm here, so it may be too hot for the crumble, we will see.

PasturesNew

I achieved chips at L1dl ... and worked out what's going on.

Today the price label was above them and I could see it was 1.5Kg for 85p. There are no longer 1Kg bags at 57p. The saving/100g of chips is less than 1p so no real financial benefit to buy a bigger bag - but putting a 1.5Kg bag in the freezer is a major commitment as it takes up about 1/6th of the space!

1Kg is four portions, 1.5Kg is six portions before you see the back of that bag!

Bit of a bummer....and the chips are thinner, I prefer the fatter ones.

If I'm forced to buy 1.5Kg, I'll cast an eye over what 4ldi offers next time I'm in there.... they might have 1Kg, or their 1.5Kg might be a better price or they might look more attractive from the photo on the bag.

Cheeseburger and chips today ..... uses up another 2 lettuce leaves from the lettuce I bought last week.

moneyistooshorttomention

Mid-morning drink out with a friend was a fruit smoothie - so that counts towards food imo.

Lunch has just been a bit of artisan wholemeal bread toasted with cashew nut butter on, a slice of watermelon and a glass of rice milk.

Carefully not finishing the whole of my 2 slices of toast - as I wasnt hungry enough for it.

Think the weight is still coming off very gradually. I basically buy clothes labelled size 14 - but I've got a size 14 jacket in my wardrobe I intend to wear again that I think I must have bought in the 1970s or 1980s and the label says size 14 and it's way too small for me (nowhere remotely near being able to be done up - the sides are inches from meeting up). I estimate Dorothy Perkins has vanity-sized clothes by 3 sizes since I bought it:eek:. Gloomily thinking "If I was back in the 1970s again I'd have only one shop to buy my clothes from - now just called Evans - and I'd have to get a size 18 or even size 20". I shall be trying that jacket on everyday until I can wear it again...

Tossing up re dinner tonight - I think I might try out some of those garlic scapes I've got growing in my garden for the first time. I came across an idea to grill them, tossed with a little oil (make that very little oil imo), salt, lemon juice and zest. With it - I fancy a new recipe of harissa aubergine (baked aubergine with yogurt with a bit of harissa in and served with cauliflower rice).

Farway

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl:Swop you that saucepan Farway for what I hope is the last of the day's irritating little things that have been happening. This time - it's a pair of slippers from Marks & Spencers (should I say it a bit louder? MARKS & SPENCERS). The irritation being I'd bought them some months back to keep in for when my last slippers gave up the ghost. I've only been wearing them for 1-2 weeks (yep...weeks!) and the sole has darn nearly detached from one of them and they've had it.

I figure I've got no way of proving they're literally only days old as regards actually wearing them and getting a refund:(.

I won't be buying slippers from Marks & Spencers ever again then.....:mad:
.

Do you have a Sparks card? And did you use it when buying the slippers?

Just asking because when I had a problem with Gristlegate the evidence was all there on the M & S card records, plus Live chat on the Marks card web site, sorted in no time. I took the complain route after other CFOers said I should. Worth a bash IMO

Hot old day today, watered the runners ready for picking later for dinner, my first picked meal of them this year

No breakfast, but remembered at last to have HM chutney on my lunchtime cheese sarnie, nice change

Scouted around the steamer replacements this morning, seem all much the same, all within a couple of quid of each other so guess it will come down to a bit more on line research & convenience in the end. In the mean time I will get by with the one handled base and just be careful

As mentioned dinner is home grown runners, not sure how many I have so that will decide on what else & how much goes with them. I have one courgette that must be picked before it is a marrow, plus YS broccolli from this mornings meander. All with a pork chop defrosted this morning by easy leave it on the worktop method, now in fridge in this heat

I picked the one ripe fig, so that is pud with LO yoghurt

I am trying to limit the fresh food I buy over the next few days because I don't want to leave some going manky while I am down Plymouth next week, just have salad stuff in once the veggies have been used

PS PN - thanks for Lidl chip results, I bought some from Morries at weekend. 1.5kg but I did just have space for them. May have to re visit the Lild chips if they are now skinny, like you I prefer the thicker ones & thay just suited me fine. More needlees "improvement"

moneyistooshorttomention

No Sparks card I'm afraid.

Bought on a debit card as I recall.

Thanks anyway.

PasturesNew

I had the most magnificent cheeseburger and chips

Scorchio here.... can't have the windows open as there's a man with a HUGE digger digging out a brand new road just 60' away and getting closer....

Re sizes. I'm a mixed bunch. I'm tiny/short. I'm top heavy (12/14). But my jeans are sometimes 8, more often 10 - sometimes loose, sometimes not.

Clothes don't fit me, so I've no interest in them

Farway

That's the replacement steamer ordered - Ar6os, 10.99, collect & pay for it tomorrow, luckily the store is sort of near where I need to be anyway so may just pop in Marks & Home bargains while in the area

Now to pick the runenrs in the heat

Hollyharvey

PasturesNew wrote: »

Re sizes. I'm a mixed bunch. I'm tiny/short. I'm top heavy (12/14).

I'm the other way around. I'm bottom heavy I have always wanted to be 'in proportion' but in reality I don't think many women are.

Hollyharvey

Farway wrote: »

That's the replacement steamer ordered - Ar6os, 10.99, collect & pay for it tomorrow, luckily the store is sort of near where I need to be anyway so may just pop in Marks & Home bargains while in the area

Now to pick the runenrs in the heat

Glad you sorted one out. My steamer is one piece of kitchen equipment which is used a lot, and when mine broke a couple of years ago I felt lost without it.

caronc

Fusspot wrote: »

Can I join in please? I just can't get organised with my eating, I live alone and work full time. I've tried batch cooking after living off purely ready meals for ages then I got fed up with that, I've tried having Birds Eye frozen food (ie chicken grills) along with steamed veg as a sort of compromise but then I feel I'm still eating processed food. Is there a happy medium?

When I freeze stuff I end up forgetting to thaw it out, hence having nothing for tea when I get home. I guess that's the cook from frozen food is appealing, nothing goes to waste then.

How do you build up a routine and stick with it? I just want to eat healthily but without depriving myself. I'm not a lover of salads either. I also find when I buy fresh veg and salad stuff it goes to waste as I don't use it all it one serving and then it goes off.

Any help appreciated.

Welcome Fusspot - I think most of us CFOers struggle with using fresh stuff up. I tend to not have too much problem with veg but do at times with fruit. I do still batch cook some stuff (soups, chilli, curry etc.) but mainly try to avoid having too many portions of something to use up.

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

I bought myself a pot of that "Welsh Caviar" recently and it's sitting on my shelves - whilst I'm summoning up my nerve to try it:rotfl:. Whoops! Did the tourist thing there didnt I - buying that? My excuse is I wanted the jar actually - so I figured I'd be getting something for my money even if I didnt like it.

I think that might be an idea re emailing M & S. I have an idea that I tried to look up their email address for something else (cant recall what) before and couldnt find out - ie they dont give it out to the public:eek:. I'll have another look and see....

You can email them via their web page under Contact Us options - like Farway I also found their web chat really helpful.

Farway wrote: »

That's the replacement steamer ordered - Ar6os, 10.99, collect & pay for it tomorrow, luckily the store is sort of near where I need to be anyway so may just pop in Marks & Home bargains while in the area

Now to pick the runenrs in the heat

Och my runners are only just starting to form.

Well that's my elder son and partner on their way back to Cardiff so back to CFO for the next week until my younger son comes up next week.

I made chicken stock overnight in the SC so turned some of that with the carcass pickings and the end of a bag of mixed veg into a small pot of soup (just 2 portions I think;)) so that was lunch. No idea what to have tonight probably fish & wedges with salad. After pouring all day yesterday and most of today the sun's now out so hopefully they'll be salad leaves ready for picking:)