WHY are you old style?......

adelight

It's a combination!
I won't buy/eat anything over ~£2 a meal, and I won't spend too much time cooking, 5-15 mins prep and do other stuff while it cooks.
50:50 nutritious v tasty.

Some of my flatmates think I put a lot of effort into my food, but it's second nature to throw together a good meal whilst I'm doing other stuff! A few minutes prep then the occasional stir whilst I'm doing something else to get a cheap, delicious, wholesome meal is worth that minimal "effort" to me.

adelight

economy- 9
ecology- 7
healthy living- 9
feel good factor- 7

I have a limited budget, refuse to eat rubbish and try not to waste, eat too much meat or have anything to do with over-packaging and chemicals!

Kitcaboodle

I picked recognised by the family (taking that as that they all enjoy it!) but I'm another one who'd pick 'taste' if it were an option!

Alison_Funnell

In this order

Season
Taste
Cost
Health
Ease

But isn't a true representation as season/taste/cost are linked, health is important but different aspects with different meals so the rainbow concept isn't always strictly adhered to depending on season,cost etc. Ease can also change. Instead of cooking things on a hob I use oven or slow cooker adaptations when possible.

This is easier at the mo as I am off work so have more time, also we have a local box scheme and some of our own 'crops' to make seasonality simpler. That we are all adults so not too many problems with eating different foods.

katholicos

Taste ( i would rather have less of something that i enjoy eating, rather than loads of something i don't particulayly enjoy but that is cheap)
Cost (my low income necessitates wisdom being used to eek out the money I have for spending on groceries)
Seasonal eating (I try to eat what i can from the garden if i can...i grow vegetables where and when i am able, providing i can manage it)
Health (I don't fry anything, except very occasionally)
Ease (most the meals i make are uncomplicated and well practiced though i do experiment rather a lot it usually doesn't become too complex or time consuming)

Gefjun

Penny-Pincher!! wrote: »

This is going to sound snobby, but I think if I ever liked won the lottery-I would rather pay for a housekeeper and get them to cook rather than buying ready meals...yuk!!

I couldn't do this - she'd get too annoyed with my constant interfering in the kitchen! :rotfl:

DH and I are OS out of choice and we love it. It raises people's eyebrows when they learn that we (in our early 30s, married for 2 years, just got a mortgage and have a baby on the way now) have no debt, other than our house. It comes from living a satisfying OS lifestyle where we know the difference between want and need (and choose the correct one!), cooking from scratch (it used to amaze DH when we were dating that I could make 4 meals in a row out of nothing at his place, and he still counts himself lucky that he gets a nice home cooked dinner every night and the occasional cake!) and generally being frugal and not wasting money. We recycle and compost so much that our wheelie bin barely has enough to cover the bottom of it, and it only gets collected fortnightly!

We both work full time on decent wages but we make sure that we can live on one wage, as we've always known I was going to be a SAHM when we had children and didn't have to go back to work to make ends meet.

We clean using Stardrops, vinegar and caustic soda - I don't see the point of spending a ton of money on cleaning products which smell disgusting and clutter the cupboards. I got my last winter coat from a charity shop 4 years ago for £8. I've been promising myself a coat from a proper shop for the last 2 years but can't justify spending the money on one. We're doing the majority of our baby shopping at car boots sales and have turned up some amazing bargains already.

We have no desire to keep up with the Joneses - we don't know them that well! - and still drive round in a T reg Skoda Octavia. We love planning our veggie patch for the coming year and poking around down the end of the garden to see what's grown for dinner!

I also count this site as my financial bible - I don't make a move financially before I've checked it out thoroughly on the articles and forums!

So:
Economy = 10
Ecology = 8
Healthy living = 8
Not bowing to consumerism = 10
Pride at the fact we could have lived post war without too many problems = 10
General smugness = 11 (sorry, had to include this one!)

Paulie'sGirl

Quality and taste.

I wouldn't eat a meal if it tasted vile, even if I'd paid for it.

There's a definite balance (for me) in OS between ensuring the meal I eat or provide is balanced, tasty and of a high quality, and the cost of that. You can't turn a sows ear into a silk purse.

So yes, TESCOs value stock cubes may be vastly less expensive than Knorr or Kallo or Marigold, or making my own - but they ruin the flavour of my dish - so I choose to make my economies elsewhere (as an example). Its no saving if the resultant meal is inedible...

PGxx

FelinePrincess

For me the 2 main reasons are ecology as it's so wasteful to do things the non os way and healthy living as I like to use organic, good quality ingredients and you don't get that in most ready prepared food. Also, I really do love the general smugness it brings!!

So for me its,

ecology - 9
healthy living - 9
general smugness - 9
economy - 5

Vaila

for me its cost and taste, i can make a lot of yummy meals using basic ingredients such as 20p cans on kidney beans, veg,herbs from the garden and cheap frozen veg and rice in an ideal world where i had no budget it would be taste but i just cant justify spending anything more than £2 for a meal

Angel_Jenny

I haven't posted here before but what I have read has been fascinating!

I was wondering which era you were inspired by in your old style living? Little House on the Prairie, WW1 and WW2 years or more modern Good Life!

We were talking about essentials at work and how things like internet access, Sky television and foreign holidays were now classed as basic needs.

From what I have read about the war years the essentials were real basics, food, heat, clothing etc. I don't know how it has changed so much over time!

What are your bare essentials that you could live with?

Are there any things that aren't essentials but that you aren't willing to do without?

Angel Jenny :A