14 days of NSD can it be done?

joedenise

@Agentmomo brown sauce works quite well in place of Worcestershire sauce!  Dried basil is just as good as fresh in something like spag bol.

Caramac

I’ve just found this thread and found it very inspiring. I’m trying to do similar for the next few weeks though I’m happy to buy milk, eggs and fresh fruit and veg from the greengrocer.  We moved at the end of November and have been filling the freezer up ever since.

Agentmomo

Well as I said last Saturday the weekends are eat what we blooming well like days.... Today has been interesting, I'm not sure I can even call these meals.....

Day 13 meals;
Brunch; Breakfast bars (loving these), Tinned mandarins with custard!!
Saturday Grazing; Scraps of cheese, (although a nice selection), Crackers, Olives, Pepadews, Cheesy Jalapeno breaded things from the freezer along with cheese and mozzarella small bite things from the freezer. (went down lovely with a glass or 2 of wine)
Supper; Chicken selection (I'm trying to make this sound posher than it was) A box of battered chicken dippers and a pack of breaded chicken Goujons served with garlic mayo. Literally mayo with a squirt of garlic puree mixed in with chopped parsley!! They were served beauifully on the plate tho in a nice little circle with a pot each of garlic mayo dip!

Agentmomo

We are there! I can't believe we have actually done it!
I will post day 14 meals shortly (Still not had our Sunday dinner) but firstly I wanted to share my learnings and thank each one of you who has posted their support and / or advice.

Learnings;

1) If you intend on doing something similar to us, don't do it on a whim, like I did. It was only sheer bloody determination and stubbornness (mine not OH) that has got us through the last 14 days. Be prepared, If you like potatoes like we do, get a load in before you start the challenge.

2) Fresh stuff runs out quick! (Does that sound daft?) We only lasted on milk as I buy the long life fresh stuff (you all know the brand) I tend to have a milk on the go and an unopened spare at all times. Lettuce lasted us a long time that was because it was an iceberg and I never take a knife to it, just break bits off by hand (I think it stays fresher longer that way) However root veg lasts a very long time....

3) We actually ate smaller portions, particularly on fresh but had no waste (apart from half a cucumber) I watched every fresh item like a hawk. We used half onions in dishes instead of full ones, I made one pepper last us over 4 meals (including today)

4) I still feel like we have too much food in, I thought we'd use a lot of dried goods, we haven't. Are my freezers empty now? No. Are they significantly emptier? Yes....

The future;

Again thanks to the advice from those that have posted, here is what the future looks like for us;

1) I had a click and collect booked for tomorrow but I have pushed that back to the 9th March! Why? Because we don't need it. Crackers I know, we have not bought food or any household goods for 14 days. We do need some food of course we do, however I would struggle to make up the £40 minimum spend on the C&C so this has been pushed back.

2) A couple of people mentioned fruit and veg boxes that can be locally delivered to your door, I found one and this is being delivered on Tuesday, I literally cannot wait for this!

3) My shopping list for tomorrow, actually most can be purchased from the local butchers. Fresh bread!! Bacon, Ham, Coleslaw, Eggs, Butter. I need a proper potato, done in the oven, served with coleslaw, I want a bacon butty on fresh bread, I want a ham sandwich! I will then go the supermarket and purchase the following items; Cheese, 2 large potatoes (We will be having jacket potatoes tomorrow), Milk, Cream, Squash, Crumpets, Kitchen roll (ran out today), that's it!
Really it does go to prove how we had far too much food in. I will need tinned goods, Worcester sauce, oats, coffee, mayo, some freezer items like oven chips but they will all come on the order 9th March.

4) This challenge has helped us realise that we need to break the cycle of just getting Click and collects on a regular basis.
It hasn't been easy and the fact that we still have so much food in the house after 14 days tells us just how bad our shopping habits were.

Agentmomo

Day 14 meals;
Breakfast; We shared a tin of baked beans with sausages in it. Along with tinned potatoes which we drained and shallow fried. Lovely served with salad cream!
Lunch; Savoury rice with peas, sweetcorn and the last of the red pepper, diced.
Dinner; Roast pork, Sweet potato mash (I have saved the last sweet potato all of this time so we could feel like we were having a potato with this Sunday roast), roast parsnips, steamed swede, cabbage and gravy

greenbee

Thanks for giving us the update @Agentmomo - I too found that the cupboards didn't empty nearly as quickly as I thought. In fact, I still have plenty of OOD store cupboard items to work through a year later. Clearly I don't meal plan effectively enough! My plan is to gradually restock the freezer with veg in various forms (roast veg, stews, curries, soups) so that I don't have to worry about running low on them and can slowly use up the carbs and pulses that are taking up space without putting on weight.  

thriftwizard

Brilliant, Agentmomo; absolutely inspiring! I like to think I could do this, but I have my doubts... 

Toonie

Really enjoyed reading this thread. I think what you learnt is very useful. I know my DP and I (more him than me) are often guilty of popping things in the trolley on autopilot and then discovering we've either already got them or it doesn't work with our meals. We've certainly got better at grocery shopping, we do a main shop every six weeks and fresh top ups when needed (we both try to take salad and fruit to work every day so do get through it) but there is always room for improvement.

elbree

This has been an inspiring read @Agentmomo so thanks for sharing! Definitely opened my eyes about my own shopping habits!

goldfinches

This has been a really interesting thread and thanks to @Agentmomo for posting such helpful and informative updates. It is so useful to get a snapshot of what others are doing along with an elucidation of their thinking in order to be able to adapt an action to one's own situation.
I have found that although I believed I was eating down my own stores that I could do far better with planning and not automatically replacing a finished ingredient and will be trying to be much better at using an entire purchase in a short period too. That way I won't have so many half finished jars and bottles in the fridge and so many opened packets on my larder shelves. (Famous last words!)
I did make myself some breakfast biscuits too and used this recipe, I didn't have or couldn't find any dates so substituted dried figs. They taste lovely and one with some fruit is more than enough for me.
https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/baking-and-desserts/breakfast-cookies/
PS don't stint on the spices, they smell great in the oven and while you're chewing.