Starting again ... again

Parkyp

I know what you mean about fussy phase but unfortunately that’s been me all my life 🤣🤣
Everything plain, no sauces, no spices, no strong smells and defo no veggies. So that means I don’t eat curries, pizzas, burgers, fish
i don’t even think I Like enough different foods to have a different meal Every day unless you count something with toast - scrambled egg, beans or spaghetti. It’s been a nightmare but at 45 I’m never gonna change I just say  I don’t like that without even trying 🤣🤣🤣

Debt_Me_Out_Of_Here

Parkyp said:

I know what you mean about fussy phase but unfortunately that’s been me all my life 🤣🤣
Everything plain, no sauces, no spices, no strong smells and defo no veggies. So that means I don’t eat curries, pizzas, burgers, fish
i don’t even think I Like enough different foods to have a different meal Every day unless you count something with toast - scrambled egg, beans or spaghetti. It’s been a nightmare but at 45 I’m never gonna change I just say  I don’t like that without even trying 🤣🤣🤣

Wow, that must make some aspects of life quite difficult I imagine. Do you ever eat out?
I take it back then, in comparison my toddler probably isn't that fussy haha! 
We're vegan so wouldn't be left with much it he didn't eat any vegetables haha. He strangely doesn't like potatoes except chips which limits things somewhat. No sweet potato, chickpeas, broccoli, green beans etc. But he'll eat baked beans, peas, sweetcorn, tomatoes, cucumber and any kind of fruit so I guess we're not doing too badly!
My eldest was similar at this age and now will eat most things except spicy things, seaweed, sweet potatoes and peanut butter, so I'm hoping little one will be the same eventually. 

Parkyp

It’s usually steak, chicken or steak pie when I go out for dinner, although it can be quite difficult when restaurants add sauces lol, so difficult being weird 🤣🤣
I think the only food my son doesn’t eat is mushrooms. Enjoy your day x

Debt_Me_Out_Of_Here

Ah, at least those are things you'll find in most restaurants though.  
My problem in our family is that we all have totally different favourite meals. There isn't a single "crowdpleaser". There's always someone loving it and someone just eating the bare minimum because they kind of have to haha. 

Debt_Me_Out_Of_Here

Another £7.50 survey on PA this morning, this is one of the best runs I've ever had on there! There seem to be a lot more surveys in my native language than in English.

BalanceBy50

Wow you are bossing it on the surveys! My 8year old only likes dry food - no sauces or gravy but will eat most fruit & veg but he has recently gone off potatoes in any form which is a nightmare! Last night he had dry pasta without any sauce.  Since the first  lockdown I have got into the habit of doing a traditional Sunday dinner (we eat about 4.30 so we have a bit of evening before bath and bedtime routine!) and this meal goes down really well - we all enjoy it and its probably the only meal I don't have to do a variation of and we have a nice time talking together.  I know you are vegans so this wouldn't do for you.  On a Sunday I try and prep Monday and Tuesday's tea's too so not as much effort on this days after work.  Means I end up spending a couple of hours in the kitchen but works for me. I also try and do two of what I prep so one for the freezer (lasagne, fish pie, shepherds pie, bolognaise etc) I know you would need to adapt these but i love the days I just get something out the freezer to defrost and just add veggies or salad on the side!
Also in awe of you being bi-lingual especially if English is not your native language!  Are you bringing your children up to be bi-lingual?
xx

Debt_Me_Out_Of_Here

We do have roasts actually, we just usually have vegan sausages instead of meat or a nut roast if I can be bothered, it's always been about the roasties, stuffing and veg for me anyway ha! We don't have them regularly though and usually not even on a Sunday - just when we feel like it.
I do want to try and do more prep of a Sunday, just DS2 (who's 17 months) has been impossibly clingy the last couple of weeks as he's been getting over a bug, so I've had to do most of it one-handed or leave the cooking to OH. 
Definitely want to try and batch cook more, I usually cook enough so there is a portion leftover for myself for lunch the next day, but can definitely expand on that. I'm thinking if I at least prep sauces etc, that's half the battle isn't it. 
I do love a cottage pie but potato-refusing toddler does not haha! 

I did only speak German with my first for the first 9 months and he was saying a few words, but then I went back to work full time and he started getting really worked up every time I spoke it to him, so I left it for a bit with the intention of getting back into it, but I never did. He can count to ten, knows colours and animal names etc, but that's it. 
It would be nice if he could talk to my parents properly, but everyone else speaks fluent English at home, so the incentive just isn't there really. I've lived here for 13 years so feel more British now and it's kind of weird for me to speak German haha.
I've also realised that raising kids bilingually isn't as easy as people think.
They need to be exposed for 25 hours a week (!) to become fully actively bilingual, and I don't even see my kids that much in a week sometimes! It doesn't help that OH doesn't speak the language, and there is no need for them to ever speak it to anyone else. We only really go to Germany for a few days once a year or so as well, so there's not much impact there either. Even friends of mine where both the parents are German can't get their kids to answer them back in anything other than English. 
I was going to start again with the baby while the older one was going to be in school during the day, but then we had lockdown so he was home all the time and I didn't ever really get started. I'm hoping to drop them off with my brother for several weeks each summer when they're older - they have cousins the same age and I think full immersion will at least teach them something. And maybe they can do German for their GCSEs when the time comes, although not many local schools seem to offer it anymore. 

foxgloves

Hi @Debt_Me_Out_Of_Here, It must be difficult to budget effectively for groceries when you have lots of different likes & dislikes. I don't have children, but have encountered this in the past when small nephews have come to stay. My way around it was to get in touch with them a week in advance & ask them each to think of the three worst foods they could possibly find on their plate during their stay. They used to put some effort into this, thinking they'd come up with their 'three' then thinking of something even worse so would start their lists again. I stuck to my side of the deal & never served them any of the foods on those lists......but their side of the bargain was that I expected them to eat everything else they were given & they knew I meant it. And it worked! I did have to get a bit cunning one year when one of them had on his list 'Stuff with big bits of onion in it'. I'd planned to cook my meatballs in tomato sauce, which contains sliced onions so I blitzed it smooth & there were no complaints at all except for him suspecting his brother might have snaffled an extra meatball! But I only have nephews to feed for 2 or 3 days at a time. I know that if I'd had children, I wouldn't have gone down the 'everyone having a different meal' route, but I'm sure there is sometimes a lot of moaning to deal with & I can imagine it is tempting to go for an easier option.
Re cottage pie & one of your children not liking mashed potato, I sometimes make a Waitr*se recipe called 'Moroccan minced beef pie'. I'm just flagging it up as an alternative idea for topping, as it is topped with couscous, then it goes back in the oven to crisp it up. I've only tried it with this particular recipe, but I'm sure it would work with other things if they weren't too runny? 
Good luck with your debt-busting anyway. Agree with take-aways. We used to waste way too much money on those before the LBM. Batch cooking 'fake-away' style meals for the freezer has been helpful to break the habit, as well as re-positioning 'the takeaway' as a once in a while treat instead of every week or even more. As you say, getting back home from full time work, feeling knackered, etc, it is just far too easy to phone out for food. If you add up what you spend on takeaway in a month & multiply it by 12, you'll soon find you'd rather use that money towards your debts.
F

Debt_Me_Out_Of_Here

Thanks @foxgloves! Yes I agree, I don't make separate meals for everyone, but I still try and balance it out over the week so everyone gets to have something they really like. 
I think the kids won't learn to like something if they're never exposed to it so I keep giving the stuff they don't like to them anyway. I just make sure there is always at least one "safe food" on the plate for them so it's not too intimidating. It's worked well for my older son who came round to a lot of foods that he didn't like when he was younger, many of them now being his favourites!
And I totally agree about the takeaways, I'm sure we've spent thousands on these over the years which is just daft! Especially as it's usually not even that nice anyway. Much better left as a treat for a special occasion. 
We also sometimes get a large portion of chips from the chippy have that with whatever else we're having for our tea - exciting enough for the 6 year old and only a couple of quid haha. 

Debt_Me_Out_Of_Here

Good morning and happy Friday!
The tacos I had planned for last night's dinner went out the window when I discovered that the avocados we got this week were only fit for the bin, so we just had jacket potatoes with beans and salad - at least it's something that we all love (well, except for the toddler's disdain for potatoes). Think I'll do a spag bol tonight, I'll grate all the veg odds and ends that need using up into the sauce. 
My balance transfer has gone through, so now I have £2150 on 0% with Virgin, and "only" £987 left with Barclaycard on 17%. 
So my plan is as follows:
1 - pay off Barclaycard
2 - pay off Virgin card
3 - get emergency fund back up to £1000
4 - start overpaying on the loan
I definitely want to complete the first 2 steps by the end of 2021, stretch goal is to also do step 3 this year, but it'll be tight. 
Let's see how it goes.