PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

Hello Forumites! However well-intentioned, for the safety of other users we ask that you refrain from seeking or offering medical advice. This includes recommendations for medicines, procedures or over-the-counter remedies. Posts or threads found to be in breach of this rule will be removed.
We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Reverse Meal Planning

Options
1342343345347348498

Comments

  • Primrose
    Primrose Posts: 10,701 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've been Money Tipped!
    happydenial . I think a trip to Costco is on the cards as have completely run out of part baked rolls, salmon, washing detergent and uht oat milk!
    Ah, Costco! . We always used to go there with a pre arranged shopping list and come out with a bill needing a second mortgage !   Amazing how many "bargains" you come across you find you simply, can't manage without !    

  • happydenial
    happydenial Posts: 770 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 20 January 2023 at 9:44AM
    Ha @Primrose - yes! I always go in with a list and get waylaid by massive tubs of nuts and boxes of muffins 😁 Definitely best to go alone but I do find it hard to steer the enormous trolley 🤔 It’s so useful though, we must save a fortune on takeaways and ready meals as I can keep ‘easy cook’ items in stock for when we’re in a rush (breaded chicken fillets, salmon, good quality sausages etc) and it stops those emergency dashes to the supermarket for milk/bread.

    I noticed yesterday that the pack of puff pastry in the fridge was bb today, so tonight we are having puff pastry pizza, topped with leftover pasta sauce from last night and some
    pepperoni that has also been lingering in the fridge. I’ll just have mushrooms on my portion, and eldest will have dairy free cheese on his bit. 
    Books read 2023 - 49/75

  • ruby_eskimo
    ruby_eskimo Posts: 4,792 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Keep debating about joining Costco - my parents had a membership a few years ago and we used to piggyback off that.  Was good for some of the savings you could make but not sure we have enough space to store some of the bulk items 😆

    Dinner tonight is a new recipe of BBQ turkey meatballs with roasted veg which will use up the odd bits and pieces from the fridge.  Really need to get around to that inventory at some point this week so I know what we actually have and what I need to use up!
    Emergency Fund - £8572.39 / £10,000 :: Mortgage OP 2025 - £
    LISA 24/25 - £3200 / £4000 :: NSD 2025 - 2 / 150 :: Books Read: 1 / 52 :: Decluttering - 4 / 1000
    Engaged 9th December 2010 :: Married 29th October 2015 :: Bought a House 13th January 2017
  • Suffolk_lass
    Suffolk_lass Posts: 10,258 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Keep debating about joining Costco - my parents had a membership a few years ago and we used to piggyback off that.  Was good for some of the savings you could make but not sure we have enough space to store some of the bulk items 😆

    Me too. The last time I went with my friend was to the Lakeside one in February 2020! I still have coffee and Worcester sauce in the store-cupboard from that trip. It should be telling me I bought too much. I remember I bought a clear plastic sack of 9-packs of the koala toilet paper - I thought I had a year's supply but I ended up giving some away to DS, and my neighbour. Not sure I can afford to forget about these things when they do now!
    Save £12k in 2025 #2 I am at £4863.32 out of £6000 after May (81.05%)
    OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I am at £1286.68/£3000 or 42.89% of my annual spend so far
    I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the Grow your own thread
    My new diary is here
  • Primrose
    Primrose Posts: 10,701 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've been Money Tipped!
    Costco membership is good if you,re,organised about using up stuff regularly but there are only two of us and in the past we got rather over enthusiastic about our purchases!  A good idea to share visits with family or friends so you get the benefit of cheaper prices without having  to buy so much stuff it goes out of date before you can use it.
  • Hello all.  I popped over from the decluttering thread as someone suggested I shop from my cupboards! have a lot of tins in …… any good recipes for using chick peas and / or cannellini  beans please?
  • Primrose
    Primrose Posts: 10,701 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper I've been Money Tipped!
    Apart from making hummus as a dip with the chickpeas, both of them are ideal for packing  out  small quantities of meat in various stewed meat casseroles or adding some filling content to home made soups.  They can also be used to pack out various curries.
  • Tonight I’m using up a leftover bacon wrapped chicken fillet and some potato gratin from Saturday. We are having teriyaki salmon with ginger rice for dinner - fish hater DH will have the chicken instead of the salmon, and the rice dodger will have potato gratin. I’m sure it will get eaten 😬

    Re Costco - I go every 2/3 months and try to buy two different large packs of meat/fish each visit so at any time I have 4 different items to choose from in the freezer. At the moment I have stewing steak and sausages left over, so this time will get chicken and salmon. The first time I went I did go crazy in the aisles but have to repeatedly remind myself that - whisper - I can always go back and don’t need to buy it in one go! 

    Always, always, get toilet roll though, first rule of Costco 👍
    Books read 2023 - 49/75

  • Hello all.  I popped over from the decluttering thread as someone suggested I shop from my cupboards! have a lot of tins in …… any good recipes for using chick peas and / or cannellini  beans please?
    Hi! I would suggest looking at the recipes at the beginning of the grocery challenge thread which is pinned to the top of the Old Style boards. Lots of brilliant suggestions there. 
    Books read 2023 - 49/75

  • EssexHebridean
    EssexHebridean Posts: 24,424 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Hugh Furry-Wotsit's Merguez Chickpeas recipe has been a bit of a staple in my house for a good long while - although in fairness I rarely use the original recipe any more, it tends to just be a variation on a theme! 

    Yesterdays failure to check the meal plan ahead of time worked out fine when I looked as soon as I got in last night to see that it was in fact risotto - hurrah! Less good was getting to the cupboard and remembering that I had intended to stick "Risotto rice" on the shopping list after last time I made it though... Still, the spanish style chorizo and mushroom pilaf we ended up with was delicious...! :lol: 

    All under control for tonight with the "usual" tuesday night tea of couscous 'n' stuff. This week's "stuff" is leftover roast lamb shoulder from sunday, mushrooms and chickpeas (which will get pan-fried with some smoked rapeseed oil and some middle-eastern-y spices) and possibly some form of additional veg alongside. 

    I still need to work out what I am subbing in later in the week in place of the eggs I couldn't get on saturday because everywhere was out of stock. At least T's DID have a few boxes, but from the looks of the price on them, they must have popped out of hens with gold-plated backsides! They stayed on the shelf!
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
    Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
    £100k barrier broken 1/4/25
    SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator
    she/her
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.9K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.9K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.9K Life & Family
  • 257.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.