14 days of NSD can it be done?

goldfinches

I was going to suggest adding dumplings to home made soups because they're easy, cheap and filling.
There's some nice ones given at the bottom of this link if you need a recipe or two
How to make dumplings - dumpling recipe (goodhousekeeping.com)

Agentmomo

PipneyJane said:

Hello. I’ve just found your challenge and wanted to wish you well.  Prior to Lockdown, we did one big shop at a supermarket per month.  This was supplemented by a fortnightly trip a local farm shop, where I’d buy virtually all my fresh veg and eggs.  

Agentmomo said:

A spanner in the works today as I was reminded by OH that he is working more hours next week, will not be here for lunch, can't leave site so requires food to be taken in. Only cooking facility is a microwave! Any ideas would be welcome folks please. Prefer not bread related as we only have a few slices of "fresh" left (not fresh now and only using for toast, remaining slices will probably head to the freezer tomorrow). Tomorrow he has cous cous with added roasted peppers and onion with sliced left over chicken for lunch. Only 4 days of ideas needed!

Re lunches for your OH, the thought occurs to me that you are planning your meals around 2 portions.  When you cook dinner, cook 4 portions instead and set two aside for lunch the next day.  That’s what I do.    Almost every main-course recipe is for 4-6 portions anyway.  At the same time that I dish up dinner, I also dish up the lunchboxes for the next day.  It acts as portion control and also prevents your carefully planned lunch being eaten as seconds.

DH and I have been carting our lunches in to work for years.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a stew, a curry, or a portion of roast dinner with gravy on top, virtually everything can be reheated in the microwave in 2-3 minutes.  I use Lock-n-Lock boxes, which are water tight and never leak.  Before I owned them, I used to seal my lunchbox in a ziplock bag  and hope it wouldn’t leak too badly.  (Some boxes were better than others.)

For a specific meal idea for lunch-boxes, how about doing a chicken stir fry with a breast or two of chicken and stirring it through 2-3 cups of cooked rice.  That’ll make 4 portions for lunch.

- Pip

Great advice thank you Pip and you will see that we kinda adapted this behaviour today but well worth noting for the future. Thanks again x

Agentmomo

goldfinches said:

I was going to suggest adding dumplings to home made soups because they're easy, cheap and filling.
There's some nice ones given at the bottom of this link if you need a recipe or two
How to make dumplings - dumpling recipe (goodhousekeeping.com)

Thank you Goldfinches, great idea! x

Agentmomo

So Day 10 and a reality check today as we still have a few days remaining and we are close to running out of milk and bread (the few remaining slices left in the freezer.) Now I don't have milk in coffee and drink black coffee in abundance. OH has milk in both tea and coffee. I only have milk in cereals, so we had to make a decision to see us through this challenge. The remaining milk has to go to the OH hot drinks. Toast is also a quick on the go breakfast for OH. Which make for interesting breakfasts for me for the remainder, so as I am working from home, I got a bit creative....

Day 10 meals;
Breakfast; I hard boiled one of the remaining eggs last night so OH had toast with sliced hard boiled egg. For me, I was facing porridge with water which I know some people like (I'm not keen) but I had a brainwave and topped with cold peach slices (from tin) and used some of the syrup mixed into the porridge which was bloody delicious. I have my eye on the tins of coconut milk and may do something similar with those over the next few days. For now I have peach slices remaining.
Lunch; OH took into work the remaining Cheese and tomato pasta bake. Me; The last baked flat bread topped with fish fingers and tartar sauce and yesterdays left over beans on the side.
Dinner; Chicken Kiev's, oven chips and peas. 

joedenise

@Agentmomo - when you make porridge with water leave it soaking for 10-15 minutes before cooking it and it makes it creamier, almost as though it's been made with milk.  I usually have some frozen fruit with mine but tinned fruit sounds good too.

goldfinches

I'm also having to be a bit creative about breakfast due to running out of yoghurt and fresh fruit and I've been thinking of making a batch of these breakfast bars
Breakfast bar recipe - BBC Good Food
or either a crumble or more adventurously something like a rice or polenta pudding made with coconut milk, cardamom and orange. I'll let you know how I get on, goldfinches.

Agentmomo

joedenise said:

@Agentmomo - when you make porridge with water leave it soaking for 10-15 minutes before cooking it and it makes it creamier, almost as though it's been made with milk.  I usually have some frozen fruit with mine but tinned fruit sounds good too.

Great idea thank you x

Agentmomo

goldfinches said:

I'm also having to be a bit creative about breakfast due to running out of yoghurt and fresh fruit and I've been thinking of making a batch of these breakfast bars
Breakfast bar recipe - BBC Good Food
or either a crumble or more adventurously something like a rice or polenta pudding made with coconut milk, cardamom and orange. I'll let you know how I get on, goldfinches.

I had a look at these and they look delicious thank you for the suggestion. I may make mine with added nuts as I have loads of nuts but no dried fruit at the mo x

Agentmomo

Day 11 (nearly there...)

Day 11 meals
Breakfast; Me Porridge made the same as yesterday with peach slices and syrup. OH: The last of the eggs! Boiled on toast and we shared half an Orange each
Lunch: I had tinned tomato soup. OH took a tin of chicken soup along with crackers into work
Dinner; I had one of those meal kits lurking in the freezer with the chicken, veg and sauce which I defrosted overnight this was a Thai Green chicken one, it was lovely, we had served with coconut sticky rice

Agentmomo

Day 12...

Thanks to @Goldfinches for the breakfast bar suggestion, how yummy are these! Although saying that, I had to adjust the recipe to what we had so... Dried fruit, nope, added some chopped hazelnuts and walnuts instead, seeds? Nope, skipped that bit and added more oats, golden syrup, replaced with honey..... You get the gist, but these are ace, thanks again for the suggestion....

Day 12 meals;
Breakfast bars and shared the last of the last orange
Lunch; I defrosted a cooked sausage plait last night, we had that reheated with chutney, OH took his to work.
Dinner; Spag bol, was ok, I have now run out of some ingredients such as Worcestershire sauce but it was still good, topped with cheese and my sadly depleting fresh basil