Cooking for one (Mark Three)

flubberyzing

I've had a busy day at one of my "regular" schools... Although I call them that... I don't think I've been there since April! Obviously the universe was with me, because I was thinking only last week that I hadn't been there in a while.
The kids are absolutely horrendous, behaviour-wise, but the staff are so lovely and supportive, that I don't mind. I certainly wouldn't want to be their full-time teacher, but odd days are fine.

I've currently got potato croquettes and a chicken portion in the oven for an early tea. I've also got a portion of corn on the cob... I don't really care for sweetcorn, but it was on such a good special offer in Aldi/Lidl that I couldn't turn it down for the price.

Tea needs to be early tonight, as I've got a tutoring session that I need to leave the house at 6pm for.

caronc

Good evening everyone,
Unexpectedly CFO tonight as my son got delayed at work so travelling up tomorrow. We'll have the kebabs tomorrow night.
That's what I call "proper" trifle Farway, jelly is a must in this house and there would be a mutiny if a) one didn't appear at Christmas and b) it was jelly free:rotfl:
Welcome to the thread halogen, as you've been lurking you'll have realised we're a mixed bunch on here with multiple approaches, budgets and food priorities reflecting the varied paths CFO takes.:) Seems you have few priorites you're wanting to focus on - spend & eat a bit less and not running out of food by Thursday. Meal planning can help with those but it's not for everyone. Portion control - always hard when you are CFO especially if there's a "bit" leftover but not enough for another proper meal. I tend to use smaller portions of LOs for lunch the next day or if there's more than left freeze the other portion(s). Does sound as though batch cooking might not be working so well for you but if you have a freezer could you portion as you serve up and freeze once cool? Meal planning does work for me though I don't always do it and find a few days at a time suits me best. I only shop every 8 or 9 days so do keep enough of staples such as butter/milk/eggs/cheese etc. to see for that length of time. A plan can be as vague or precise as you want, mine tend to be fairly vague so might say "chicken thigh" or "pasta", this helps me as it's reminder if I need to take anything out of the freezer the night before but mainly I decide on the day or day before what the final meal will be and don't always stick to my plan if I really don't fancy it or cba cooking. A "plan b" is always useful;). I also have a "use up" list of bits in the fridge that either have a short shelf life or are reaching there are going to go very OOD. Cost - I'm not going suggest a budget, but have think about what you would like your spend to be. I have an annual budget for food, basic toiletries and household items like laundry, loo roll and cleaning products which works out at £30 per week for all meals/snacks/non-alcoholic drinks and I eat very well on that (though my wine & gin budget is seperate;)) but most weeks I spend less than that with others that are much more if I'm doing a butchers order or stocking up soap powder/ coffe etc. because it's on SO. However, it is very much about what you think is reasonable for you and what you can afford/want to spend. I'm happy to do a fair bit of food prep which can reduce costs but that doesn't suit everyone. Also maybe to think about are you running out of food later in the week/eating up stuff because you are buying things with short lifespans so it's a case of eat it or binning it? Why not start by planning a couple of meals for later in the week that are less reliant on stuff that goes off quickly, good stand-bys can be things like beans, eggs, baked spuds, toasties etc. Good luck and hope to see you posting again:).


With kebab no longer on the menu tonight, it will be a quick freezer/cupboard raid for me.I'm thinking either turkey casserole from the freezer or "something" & waffles, though I don't want to open beans and had egg mayo for lunch and don't want again tonight. Dust remains as the "donkey" was having a good kick earlier so I was mainly horizontal. It's definitely the unsettled weather kicking it off as it's dry & sunny now and he's headed back to the stable:).

flubberyzing

Hello Halogen! Welcome to the thread!

Wise advice from Caronc above.
Your weekly budget seems very high to me (mine is £70 for the month). Did you want to cut it down a bit?
I found my grocery spend much easier to manage when I made the swap to using cash only for food spends. And it became even easier when I moved from almost exclusively a Tesco shopper, to almost exclusively Lidl, with a tiny bit of Tesco thrown in. I found that I was getting more for my money, and the quality was just as good.

Only in the past year have I started to meal plan, and I've found that it's reduced wastage a lot.

Do you have much in the way of a stockpile of food? How's the pantry/freezer looking? A good way to have a "cheap month" is to try and eat them down a bit, and only stock up on fresh bits as you need them.

Brambling

Evening all and welcome Halogen :wave:

I've been lectured by my nephew on the steps incident (as he called it ) his mother told tales on me and he knows I can't reach properly standing on them. I promised not to stand on the old patio table after the last time so he wasn't amused :cool: I did remind him that I used to change his nappy :rotfl:

Halogen I tend to be a bit like Caronc with my planning ie Chicken on Monday and then decide what to do with it, but I have a well stocked cupboard and freezer . I will plan to use things up so try to incorporate LO ingredients to turn them into different dishes. What type of food do you like to eat? My freezer contains LOs portioned into meals often with rice, pasta or veg so I can take a complete meal and ping for lunches. Proteins (Fish, meat, quorn and tofu) that take a bit longer to prep and cook and something I can cook quick and easy like falafels, quorn goujons, fish fingers or mini pizza. I use my plan to sort lunches out too as I don't eat sandwiches so I may plan to cook extra or cook two pieces of the protein, one slightly different so I can have one with salad the next day for lunch.

I went out to watch The Merry Wives of Windsor tonight with a friend of my sister's, it was filmed from the Globe theatre and screened the cinemas. Not a play I've seen or read before but it was very good

Lunch to was the last of the smoked mackerel and salad, I had to pick up more salad stuff for lunch tomorrow which was bad planning :cool: Dinner wasn't as planned by the time I got though the traffic tonight and then got caught on the phone it was a bit rushed so I airfried the last of the quorn goujons from the freezer and had just with frozen broad beans before dashing out.

Caronc hope you have a good weekend with your son

Farway does your trifle have dream topping on top instead of cream and tinned fruit salad and a glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream

pattypan4

welcome halogen, a rare gas indeed


I am also a rarity. I don`t budget these days, if I want it then I get it. A throwback to a lifetime of budgeting, remembering the monthly cash in envelopes in a drawer. Having said that, I am not extravagent and don`t drink but I love my feverfew lemon tonic with ice cubes, a large bottle lasts me 4 drinks. Neither do I meal plan for more than a day ahead, I often swerve from meal to meal in order to get through the large amount of veggies in my freezer and I make fresh veg juices on a regular basis, freezing portions because cleaning the machine is a faff. Any meat is organic but I scarcely have one portion a week, so not a great expense


I am waffling, got to wait in for parcels that never arrived yesterday. Baking today, all in one pan honey cake because I have ood honey and currant buns because I hae too much spelt flour
Breakfast was cottage cheese and tomato slices on ryvita, lunch will be a rich tomato and veg pasta sauce with edamame pasta, pud will be berries and yoghurt. I have LO beetroot, a bag of granny smiths, celery and fennel all asking to become juice later today. Much to do in the kitchen then

Fire_Fox

Wednesday: Last bowl of Mediterranean tomato soup with jumbo prawns.

Appointment with my new support worker.

Went to Morries without my glasses, without a proper purpose (use bus ticket) and at the wrong time of day. Still picked up Yellow Sticker plaice, a fat wedge of Cornish brie and a small pot of Jersey double cream. :T

Shattered and had to lie down for a couple of hours.

Not hungry but ploughed through a leftovers salad (goats cheese/ YS babyleaf salad/ asparagus/ red onion/ avocado/ frozen pom seeds).

Early hours fruit dessert (strawberries/ blackberries/ Greek yogurt/ mixed seeds).

Yesterday: Slept all day. :eek:

Fridge-bottom egg and cashew stir fry (jar sauce/ YS tenderstem broccoli/ shiitake mushrooms/ baby corn/ long pepper/ red onion).

Late night fruit dessert (rhubarb/ gooseberries/ Greek yogurt/ YS double cream/ mixed seeds).

The refrigerator is surprisingly empty. Partially refilled it from the freezer, but completely out of a couple of basics.

Food waste: Slimy bits from YS bagged salad, few spears from YS tenderstem broccoli.

pattypan4

honey cakes are baking, yeasted buns made with spelt are having a first rise in the fridge, it was all happening too fast and I need to catch up with myself. I can see me making the veg juice tomorrow, haven`t even had the time to go and get some outdoor exercise.Lunch was nice and mid morn was an orange and 2 apricots

Wednesday2000

I have had two slices of toast and then a bowl of lovely cherries.

PasturesNew

I do love a good trifle. Mum used to always make the Birds one at Xmas, always the strawberry one and I wanted the sherry one, but we weren't allowed two, so it was always the strawberry one.

I prefer big juicy old fashioned sherry trifles, but I also wasn't allowed to make a trifle for everybody because "we're having the Birds, we always have the Birds" and so nobody'd have eaten whatever I made.

Two Xmases ago I did knock up a trifle....

Last year I didn't bother. I had everything in the house so could've made one if I fancied it, but I had Xmas food overload without it.

Farway

Hello halogen. Caronc has covered most things very well and as you may have noticed we are a mixed bunch. My "planning" follows similar patterns, what have I got & what needs using up? I try and think a few days ahead, but can duck & dive depending what I find YS in the shop, mainly Lidl / Asda

My meal plan this week consists of making a trifle this weekend:o Brambling, I did toy with the Dream Topping idea but have decided to play at healthy and plop HM yoghurt on top of the custard, plus some wild strawberries from bottom of the garden, fresh fruit will also include sliced bananas, no tinned fruit salad, but I've tinned peach slices & mandarin bits to chuck in with the jelly

I've everything ready now, including cake & peach slices from L's this morning

I don't budget but don't chuck it away either, I try & buy ethically so some items are more expensive but still affordable for me. However the YS pack of cheap bacon for instance can lead me astray. To paraphrase someone, I have principles but if you don't like them I'll change them:D

Awful pong last night, I'd left my pea pan on the gas after F & C dinner:eek: One burnt & bu66ered pan:( 'twas only a £land non stick one I bought for cheeses sauce mixing & the like so not an heirloom

Lunch was cheese & salady sarnie
Dinner, I've taken a salmon fillet out to defrost, so it's that plus salad & frozen chips