Learning to be frugal in the kitchen

Molillie

Re: child not wanting a pork chop, I'd avoid making a different meal. As children, we just had the accompaniments. I was a budding vegetarian from when I realised what meat was, and often just had the veggies from a meal. Sometimes my mother would add a bit of grated cheese, to everyone's meals, but probably because of me. This was the same if someone didn't want e.g. carrots, too, not made to eat it, but not given a different thing, unless it was a known dislike.

maman

MartagonLilies wrote: »

Did you mean to post on a different thread, maman?

Sorry, deleted now, not sure how that happened.

bouicca21

Maybe the first step is to do an inventory of the freezer. If you are going to get into batch cooking (basic tomatoes, onion and mince, as already suggested can be spag Bol, chilli con carne, baked potato topping, curry - so well worth doing) you are going to need some freezer space, so work out what you've got and start using it to free up some space.

Pollycat

bouicca21 wrote: »

Maybe the first step is to do an inventory of the freezer. If you are going to get into batch cooking (basic tomatoes, onion and mince, as already suggested can be spag Bol, chilli con carne, baked potato topping, curry - so well worth doing) you are going to need some freezer space, so work out what you've got and start using it to free up some space.

And keep that inventory going as you take stuff out and put new food in.

I usually menu plan 3 weeks at a time.
I sit down with a cup of coffee and my freezer list - split into 'raw' and 'ready meals' (mostly my home cooked ready meals like bol, chilli, corned beef hash, sausage casserole, but also lightly dusted fiah, maybe chicken kievs for when I've been out all day) and make sure I use up items that have been in a while.
I have this on Excel so I can update it easily.
If you menu plan, you can buy a family pack of mushrooms or bag of peppers and use up in different recipes instead of buying a single pepper for a specific recipe.
We are just us 2 so that may not apply so much for a larger family.

I also have my menu plan on Excel so it's easy to swap things around, for example if the weather changes and we want salads or if I pick up any YS items.
I can also look back over previous months and see what I've cooked that we'd like to eat again.

It might sound like a faff but I find it relaxing (but I'm a bit anal and love lists ).

maman

I think maybe you've had too much advice.:D


Try not to be overwhelmed. Most of us have been where you are now and we've gradually used these boards to move forward. You've taken the first step by posting. What next?


It's hard to make definite suggestions for meals (batch cooked or otherwise) without knowing what your family like to eat. I generally cook for 2 people so my menus wouldn't necessarily suit you.


You say that when you're unwell your DH buys stuff that can just go in the oven altogether. What sort of meals are they? You can save money by keeping things like that in the freezer but buying them in advance from somewhere cheap like Farmfoods or Iceland or Aldi.


Your children have school meals. I looked at a school meal menu last week (it's a 2 week rota here) and there seemed to be tray bakes on there which would be easy to replicate like pasta bakes. Vegetables are largely things like baked beans, carrots, peas and sweetcorn which most children like.


I know your daughter was playing up last night and as it's half term she needed a proper meal. During term time, maybe the children don't need a proper meal in the evening? What's wrong with a cheese toastie if she's had a meal at school?


Give us some clues.:)

Tink_04

Just popping back to see how you are getting on! Xx

MartagonLilies

OK, so I'm going to do my inventory, as suggested.

I'm trying to copy and paste, so I can answer questions, just I can't seem to figure it out:o

DD did eat her dinner in the end yesterday. she is a good eater, health wise, just meat is not her favourite. DH just put the dinner on the table, and said she needs to try it. Turns out she did like it:o
I do give them like a tea tray sometimes, if they've had school dinner. It's just basically what they would have had in their lunch box. Then it makes me feel guilty that we haven't all eaten together.:cool:
I quite like the suggestion of different side options, for a choice.

When I'm unwell, DH will do things like spaghetti in a Lloyds Grossman sauce. Or southern fried chicken strips, in the oven and put into wraps.
Currently he's making the younger two some quesadillas and later he said he making super noodles for the 3 of us. He usually makes up his own seasoning, and adds things like chorizo or tuna, with peppers, spring onions, cherry tomatoes etc.

When things go to plan, we like to eat pasta, chilli, rice, sweet potato baked. Tacos, pizza, burgers. Lots of things really. We like soup, just I don't know many recipes, despite having a soup maker.
I should probably use my slow cooker more too.
I'm trying to lose weight as well, which I think will be difficult on a budget.

maddiemay

MartagonLilies you mention not having recipes for soup maker. A lady blogs as Scottish Mummy has written 2 e books for soup makers and I get a lot of use from them, but her website gives a lot of free recipes.

Have a look HERE

There is a really good selection, hopefully you will find a few that you like. Many would be good in aiding weight loss as they are vegetable based and they are very filling and keep you going longer than a sandwich/wrap/pasta etc.

ETA - when OH and I have had skint times we would regularly have as a main meal HM soup and toast, perhaps a bit of grated cheese on top of the soup and a pudding. Rice pud in slow cooker, some fruit fresh or tinned with a sponge topping cooked in oven if using it or pinged in microwave (recipes/times on line), bread and butter pudding, a crumble. Healthier than ready meals, high fat stuff etc.

lessonlearned

MartogonLilies....I won't add any advice, I can't really better anything that's already been said. You have had some great advice and tips.

I just wanted to say don't be too hard on yourself. None of us is perfect and we all fall off the wagon sometimes. We all have the dreaded cba days.

I noticed I have gone way over my food budget this month. It happens sometimes. I'll just have to try harder too. :rotfl:

I find keeping receipts and recording all my food shopping purchases helps me stay on track a bit better. So maybe keeping a spending diary might help you too.

Good luck. And try not to worry. Rome wasn't built in a day, it might take a few months to get your spending down. Maybe try and enlist your family's help. Or even just explain what you are trying to do. If they know what you are trying to achieve they might get on board too.

fuddle

MartagonLilies when I'm not doing too well I 'cook' via the slow cooker - lamb chops,stock cube, splash of water and mint sauce - is my ill person's family meal of choice and then come meal time I have frozen veg to put in a pan. All I have to do is seive. If I'm really out of fettle I will use jars of sauces and not feel at all ashamed in that because with a hard working DH and two girls to feed the alternative would be takeaway, but that I'm sure of.

My girls are 13 and 10 so I understand the snacking thing. I think kids can be 'trained' to accept lower salted and sugared snacks. My two have had to drastically change their snacking expectations to help with my health and but they have grown up not falling for marketing ploys of kiddy snacks so they may have a determined snub of pretty packaging that helps with better choices or when mam says no.

Providing snacks isn't cheap, but especially for the health conscious (I have an array of dried fruit, and nuts and seeds) but buying individual yoghurt pots (natural yoghurt, fruit, honey topping of milled flax seeds) is expensive and not very high quality most if the time. What I do in brackets is work in dollops and smidges of stock items. For the person who buys the shopping its easier to cope with demand when not dealing with 'once there but now in recycling and needs replacing arrrrrgh!'

I've never once bought babybel. If the girls want cheese they get a chunk of Cheddar. Crisps are a no no these past 8 months. They I replaced with ready popped popcorn but that just fed into their need for sugar.' picking snacks'are only for when mam pops the popcorn on the stove, so that way I control the salt and sugar content and they' re not getting into the habit of 'cupboard diving' whenever they sugar crash and need a pick up. My two aren't exposed to that these past few months and what I saw was their snack of choice was turning to cereal because even though I watch the sugar content of cereal they were drawn to the hidden sugars within. Fascinating stuff if it isn't your own kids being manipulated!

So we're now nearing a place of being at the other end of a sugar, salt and fat addicted family who don't really snack and have learned to be full from meals rather than go with sugar crashing snacking behaviours. I don't save money, no, I but it'more manageable to control my stocks because of the 'bulk buy' aspects of the food items I buy as opposed to the ready made grab kind of food pots and packets.

The children get used to it. The rule here is a handful of fruit, nuts or seeds of their choice and generally as they're always on hand they make that handful do till meal time because they're not looking to continue a sugar binge.

It's taken me 9 years to get my kitchen running how I want it and before those 9years I was completely and utterly clueless. I've learned solely from these OS threads and the people who kindly have helped me out. Don't be hard on yourself. The fact you posted here is, in my opinion, showing you have makings of a mighty fine head of the household looking forward to seeing your successes and helping with helping you grow.