Love Food Hate Waste 2020

VfM4meplse

bouicca21 wrote: »

I made a delicious lentil lasagne yesterday.

Recipe please?

candygirl wrote: »

Carrots have to be fresh, as I have a pooch that's addicted to them :rotfl:

I can identify with your doggie, I get through lots of carrots myself! Just didn't realise that it was something you could feed a dog with, but having googled it my eyes have been opened.

I did some mega-batch cooking just before the NY, got hold of some huge packets of spinach YS at just 10p each and that got turned into saag with mushrooms and paneer. Plus I used up all the cheap Christmas veg that was loitering at the bottom of my fridge, and that was turned into a huge vat of soup. Once cooled it was all packed up, and I froze a total of 26 meal servings. A real bargain and should see me through the coldest winter months if I want something hot to eat . I thought I'd done my bit for services to the kitchen for this month, but the thought of lentil lasagne might well tempt me back in that direction...

bouicca21

The lentil lasagne recipe was the one using puy lentils on the BBC website
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/puy_lentil_lasagne_23244

I upgraded the mushrooms to shiitake, and I had to cook the lentils longer than the recipe said. Because I’m on my own I halved the recipe, it still resulted in enough for 3 portions.

[Deleted User]

bouicca21 I have bookmarked the recipe,thank you as I have some puy lentils in the cupboard that one of my grandsons forget to take with him after Christmas after he went back to London where he now lives .Soon as I have some space in the freezer I shall make a big lasagne and portion it up so when he comes home in a few weeks time for my birthday he can take some frozen portions back with him,he teaches in London so after his hours commute back to Mitchum from Edgware he is often to tired to cook properly, He is a primary school teacher and loves his job and has cut right back on meat based meals through being on the lowest rung of the teaching ladder and having to pay a fair chunk of his wages in shared rental.Every little helps for him

Just been for my weekly essential shop and spent £16.70 so my monthly total now is just under £41.00. Quite pleased with that and fingers crossed next Friday's shop will be lower as I have sorted out the menu's for the rest of the month and a quick look through stocks I think very little to buy for the rest of the month ,perhaps some more veg maybe.

Cheers chums

JackieO xx

ellas9602

Hello LFHWrs

I have taken to visiting Aldi at 7pm each evening when they mark down to half price. My freezer is absolutely bursting and I don’t think we will need any meat for at least a month. They reduce the stuff ready for the early morning shoppers the next day so anything bought that night still has a good days use by on.

I can’t list all I’ve bought but it included 2 x free range chicken, 2 x beef joints, mince, stew steak, fish and a large pork plus tons of veg/sides/sundries.

First of the chickens (£2.14!)was shared by me DH and adult DD yesterday with a lovely winter slaw from Xmas red cabbage that was still good (included green spring onion tops before they go lank) and celeriac (50% off )chips . Celeriac was huge so half is cubed and frozen to bung into a stew.

I also got half price baby spinach x 2 so made 9 big portions of a lentil/saag curry base. One portion has the leftover chicken and is for tonight’s tea, remainder frozen. Finally one well reduced portion of chicken stock and a full days dog food for big dog! I’m a happy bunny!

ellas9602

I also wanted to add my DHs food saving this week. We bought a jar of “potted cheddar” for Christmas. I’m not fussy AT ALL but it was really unpleasant ��. DH boiled some cabbage and broccoli, made a white sauce and added in the potted stuff. Grated Parmesan and nutmeg over his “vegetable gratin”,baked til bubbling and it was a deliciously different side to two meals this week.

[Deleted User]

Re-purposing leftovers is one of my fave things to do!! Rarely any waste in this house and this year I'm going for none at all!!

candygirl

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Recipe please?

I can identify with your doggie, I get through lots of carrots myself! Just didn't realise that it was something you could feed a dog with, but having googled it my eyes ...

Yea all my pups have teethed on frozen carrots, n when they grow up they have at least one a day.Keeps their teeth perfect

YorksLass

Friday shop done, just £8.76 spent. Decided not to bother with carrots and onions after all as I don't need them this week so have put them on next week's list. Bought: milk, lard (I use it for pastry), potatoes, sprouts (yes, we like them ), cooked meat for sandwiches (lunch tongue and turkey), eggs, 2 ys avocados and a ys apricot swiss roll. Oh, and 2 rolls of Xmas wrapping paper for 20p each.

I've noticed on my two shopping trips this year that some items seem to be creeping up in price again. I'm sure retailers think we won't notice the odd 5p or 10p here and there, but it soon adds up so I shall be giving the old grey cells a good work-out so I can stay within budget.

Jackie: Yes, our ideas do seem similar. My basic cooking skills came from mum who got hers from my paternal grandmother, a Yorkshire woman through and through. Grandma never had much money but, with 7 children, had to make the pennies work hard. Not to mention rationing through two WWs and being deserted by her husband. Mum was what I'd call a "plain" cook but her meals always tasted much nicer than any her older sisters could make.

Dinner tonight is the usual battered fish from the chippy with hm mushy peas. I buy packets of dried peas for 60-65p each (depending on where I shop) and each packet makes either 6 decent portions or 4 generous ones, so it's always some for now and some for the freezer.

ellas9602: Your mention of potted cheese has just jogged my memory about making some from all the bits of Xmas cheese that are floating about in the fridge. Another job for the "to do" list.

Nick_C

I've started buying pineapples a lot. They are so cheap, healthy, and filling, and I'm having pineapple for breakfast a couple of times a week.

However, the amount of food waste I produce is tripling as a result.

It would be much more environmentally friendly to buy pineapple that was prepared locally in Costa Rica and packed in plastic, instead of flying that food waste 5000 miles.

Nothing wrong with plastic packaging in the right circumstances!

JIL

Nick_C wrote: »

I've started buying pineapples a lot. They are so cheap, healthy, and filling, and I'm having pineapple for breakfast a couple of times a week.

However, the amount of food waste I produce is tripling as a result.

It would be much more environmentally friendly to buy pineapple that was prepared locally in Costa Rica and packed in plastic, instead of flying that food waste 5000 miles.

Nothing wrong with plastic packaging in the right circumstances!

A bit like tinned?