Reverse Meal Planning

EssexHebridean

Last night's dinner FINALLY saw off the last of the bag of quinoa that has been kicking around for a good number of years. We inherited it from Mum who originally bought it but having tried it, was unconvinced. Last night it was turned into ozotto-ish with some orzo added to make up the volume, previously roasted mushrooms and some of the christmas turkey - plus frozen peas, all from the freezer. I threw in some of the 5p shallots as well, and a stock cube from stores. It must be said it did NOT look like the most appetising of bowls, but it tasted great, so all good!

We're unexpectedly in this evening after some plans changed, so I'm invoking a favourite storecupboard staple in the form of sardine & butterbean pasta. In determination to still get something out of the freezer, I'm using home grown tomatoes, in fact that might be the last of them.

Suffolk_lass

I watched a JO episode this week where he made a puttanesca pasta using sardine pieces instead of anchovies. It looked really nice

I've just downloaded the YUKa app and have spent a while going round my larder, scanning some barcodes. Interesting! The ready-made curry combo from Spice clothes-maker is good. So that's good, if you see what I mean. So was ready-made custard. Even better. Who doesn't love a bit with jelly!

EssexHebridean

I'm not too convinced that apps of that sort really do much aside from create food fear and encourage the grouping of foods into "good" and "bad" to be honest - if a food has a bar code these days there is a decent chance that it may also have "traffic light" nutritional info anyway - again way too much of a black and white simplification really, but with at least a degree of nuance. We're all smart enough to follow MSE principles, and to be allowed loose to post on the internet here, so I'm guessing that we all have a pretty shrewd idea of the sorts of foods we should be eating more, or less of! Things like custard re going to vary wildly based on the style and maker - but in any event, probably still a food that most of us should regard as a "sometimes" not an "everyday" - that said, for a child with food issues or an elderly or poorly person struggling with appetite it can be a cracking way of getting calories and calcium into them!

I can see that sardine could be an excellent way of making something like that sauce more "budget" and more accessible, too - they won't disappear or simply create an umami flavour in the same way that anchovies do I guess, but from most people's perspective, perfectly tasty!

rtandon27

There are a couple of apps that now scan an image of your meal and give you a breakdown of the macros - has anyone tried one of these?

itsthelittlethings

I got a veg delivery consisting of the below. Any ideas for recipes? I might pickle the beetroot, throw the onions, leeks and celery in tomato sauce for a pasta bake, not sure what to do with the kale, savoy cabbage or coriander.

Celeriac, 2 red onions, 2 parsnips, savoy cabbage, 2 leeks, large beetroot, kale, wild celery, coriander.

itsthelittlethings

Any ideas for the parsnips too?

Saver73

parsnip and celariac soup

celariac and leek gratin

parsnip and celeriac mash

coleslaw?

rtandon27

parsnip & potato tart with cheese and rosemary? needs a mandolin but goes over well in our house, even with the one who does not like parsnips!

moginstein

If the oven is on anyway, I like to roast parsnip just in a little oil, or with some spices (chilli flakes, or whatever takes your fancy). Always have some when they're done (can't resist), and they can be added to stuff over the next few days cold from the fridge. When they are chopped into chunky-ish strips, they reduce in size quite a lot, and pointy ends get lovely and caramelised, and it brings out the sweetness.

Suffolk_lass

Shocked how much a chicken has gone up in price, I am minded to revive rubber chicken methods from 15 years ago on here