Cooking for one (Mark Three)

moneyistooshorttomention

Brambling wrote: »

Evening .

Money beans and pulses are free on SW if you get egg bound from your protein choice :rotfl: fingers crossed your young guy works out

Oh yes - I do eat beans and pulses. Yesterday (and today's:cool:) dinner is yet another cba stirfry - and it's got marinated tofu in as it's main protein item.

Though I do know it's surprising just how much protein is in many vegetables - after reading stuff about it on WFPB (ie Whole Food Plant Based) websites. Still - "belt and braces" and all that.

I'm hoping that I can finish the diet in December. If not - I guess it should have "done the trick" by some point in January. I keep trying on my label size 12 tops/dresses and seeing how they fit and am not quite there yet.

Latest incentive was spotting a clothes advert on tv yesterday that I hadn't noticed before - and the firm concerned is obviously an online rival to Evans (formerly Evans Outsize) and their clothes range starts at (label size) 14. Yep...a little reminder that I am to be a maximum of (label size) 12 then.

Some pennies take a long time to drop. I've always listened very cynically to comments about "Oh figures change shape as they get older". I was reading another article yesterday about stomach muscle damage many women get from pregnancy/childbirth and thought "Hang on a minute - the women that are telling me that are telling me half a story. Their figures might have changed shape - but they know very well I've not had pregnancy/childbirth - so mine won't have". Duh! Penny just dropped it most definitely still should be the same shape in my case - unless the couple of inches I think I've shrunk have compressed to my middle (as there's certainly no other reason for a change in my case). So the most I'd have to "allow" for me would be going down to current waist size 12, rather than current waist size 10.

Fingers crossed indeed re the workman - I suspect the way things go with him (until he's got a few years older) are female customers "mothering" him. He's only a little 'un LOL. Time will tell what his standard of workmanship is like and that's the crunch point. If that's okay - then yep...he has got a customer with a father that taught her "You bring on and encourage the young people".

PasturesNew

melweeks73 wrote: »

Well I finally reheated a dish this evening using the microwave (gasp!!) .... I’m still alive!! It’s a revelation 😂

Do not believe the early-days hype that they're "bad for you".

That myth has been scientifically dispelled many times over the decades.

90% of my food is entirely nuked, from scratch and reheated. 8% is cooked in a mini oven and 2% slow cooker. I never use an oven/hob.

PasturesNew

caronc wrote: »

I think many recipes for soup assume a small starter portion rather than it being the main part of the meal (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it

A figure for soup as a meal, with bread, is about 350 grams. That's an "official portion" .... doesn't mean you have to stick to it, just be aware "oooh, this soup looks like twice a proper portion" and then still eat it

PasturesNew

Last night I ate one of the tomato sandwiches I'd boxed up .. and four squares of chocolate.

Breakfast this morning has been a piece of toast, 1/3rd tin of beans, 1 scrambled egg, brown sauce and a black coffee.

I've still a tomato sandwich made/wrapped in the fridge for later.

moneyistooshorttomention

PasturesNew wrote: »

A figure for soup as a meal, with bread, is about 350 grams. That's an "official portion" .... doesn't mean you have to stick to it, just be aware "oooh, this soup looks like twice a proper portion" and then still eat it

To me - soup is something I have as part of a soup/bread/cheese type lunch.

Since moving to Wales I've discovered this is pretty commonplace in this part of the country.

My definition of the amount of soup to have then boils down to 2 - 2.5 generous ladles worth of soup per portion (so that means somewhere between 7 fluid ounces and half a pint worth basically).

Wednesday2000

I just had a vegan cheese toastie and lots of water for brekkie.

I have some tofu that needs to be used up so I will do a stir fry as I have a bag of frozen veg and have it with brown rice. I bought brown trying to be healthier but I prefer white rice.:D I have tamari and sweet chili sauce in the fridge.

Farway

Welcome to the new folks, and Andy returning [STRIKE][/STRIKE]

Last night's dinner was the LO half of C & O flan, with an orphan & lonely spud I chipped in the Actifry, plus one of my freshly baked beetroot & a tomato.
Had to remember about the beetroot in the loo the morning, I've been caught by that before:o

Cold this morning, heating nudged on, sun's out though

Breakfast was same old porridge combo, used some the HM yoghurt to knock up another batch

The YS pizza has a few more days shelf life left, 23rd, no idea why it was YS but it'll keep until Monday now

That being the case, and cold I've decided to defrost some sausages, fancying a roast dinner. It could be mash but that was the cause of my burnt pan last time

I may have another roast tomorrow, of out to see, again, the Lego exhibition in Chichester with the grandchildren and could find myself scoffing another roast dinner in the Cathedral [STRIKE][STRIKE][STRIKE]cafe [/STRIKE][/STRIKE][/STRIKE]restaurant, they do a very home cooked style, one of my treats

Lunch, will be one of the PB baguettes, with ham & salad inside

PasturesNew

Farway wrote: »

....Cathedral [STRIKE][STRIKE][STRIKE]cafe [/STRIKE][/STRIKE][/STRIKE]restaurant, they do a very home cooked style, one of my treats

In the past I've found a couple of cheap/WW2 style "British Restaurants", with little old ladies serving, at Cathedrals/similar. They tended to be marvellous retro meals at truly affordable prices.

I bet they've pretty much disappeared now and "been gentrified", with the associated Bistro Style, hand cooked, locally produced, vegetarian/vegan society approved organic fare ... and 3-4x the price

I've just checked one that used to be magnificent... it's now, as expected, "all poshed up" with no pies/quiches and shovels of chips for sale... but paninis with fillings (5-7), salad bowls (£8) and cappuccino (£3) (I had to look up how to spell that, so far is it from my life/knowledge). It used to be more "canteen style" with 3 hot main courses served from those big metal dishes dropped into a hot water bed to keep them warm... followed by veggies/chips etc... and helping yourself to an assortment of cakes from the display stands ... or ending up having a hot sponge dessert with custard... 2 courses typically £6 for heaps of food...

Oh, small print says "specials board" ... "from £8", so that's not too shabby... although it depends what they're offering... and, really, it's still "a bit pricey". I bet that's priced out the "little old ladies that'd shuffle to visit the Cathedral, then have a little hot lunch before shuffling home to feed their cat".

Novice_investor101

Hi all, hope everyone has had a good morning!

Today I'm having a "house" day. Ie a full clean of everywhere & everything!

I've a question about the chicken I bought. I've shredded it this morning & managed to fill my biggest Tupperware box - there's loads of it! & I don't fancy eating chicken for every meal for the next 2 days. Can I portion it up as is & freeze it? That way I'll be able to make different things with it as & when I fancy them?

I'm no good at batch cooking & freezing things like curry etc as I tend to do that & then never get it out of the freezer again.... So was thinking I could have some cooked plain chicken frozen & ready to use to knock up a quick curry or chicken pizza, stir-fry etc as & when I fancy it.

I'm having a "no shopping" week to eat my way through the sausages, pork chops, & raw chicken pieces I already have in the freezer along with the fresh veg, eggs & any other stuff I have in the cupboards.

I want to stop being wasteful with food.
I've started buying frozen vegetables, like mushroom slices, peppers & mixed veg so I'm not chucking stuff away but I do struggle to eat all the fresh food if I fill the fridge up.

PasturesNew

Novice_investor101 wrote: »

Can I portion it up as is & freeze it? That way I'll be able to make different things with it as & when I fancy them?

Yes you can. Yes it's as simple as that. The only thing with chicken is that you need to reheat it fully so it's piping hot when you use it... although that does make you then wonder "so what if I froze it, to defrost it and eat it cold in a sandwich?" ... in which case ... that advice seems to be counter-intuitive.


The answer is that if you cook it, then freeze it, then defrost it in the fridge, you can eat it cold.