2022 Frugal Living Challenge

YoungBlueEyes

I hadn't considered it from a female angle, but that makes a lot of sense Primrose.

When women were on the job it was all done proper, now everyone is chipping in it's turned to hell (ha ha!)

London_1

It was mentioned by one female on the podcast that she cooked more during lockdown and WFH, and apparently the total food waste in the UK dropped considerably as well for many people .maybe the COL crisis will bring people back to having less waste again .
As the cost of food rockets perhaps folk will feel less inclined to bin perfectly good food

JackieO xx

mandy47

kayannie said:

I must share this - my OH has his 80th birthday soon. He received a letter from the Pensions Service this morning to inform him that his pension will be increased by an age addition of 25p a week! Now, a decision to be made, what to spend it on?!! 

My usual butter as gone up 25p this week. That pension rise isn't going to stretch very far.

Primrose

My morning toast has such a thin layer of butter now you need a magnifying glass to see it. I'm comforting myself that this will probably benefit my cholesterol level ! 

florianatwobob

Cooking in my house is split mostly between me and DBro. There is far less food waste and scraps in the food caddy on a week when I’ve been mostly cooking than there is on a week he’s been cooking. I learnt to cook alongside our mum (who was a war and rationing baby) whereas he came to cooking much later and you can tell the difference. He needs recipes where I need occasional inspiration. 

Bluegreen143

I was a stay at home mum for 3.5 years and we DEFINITELY had much less food waste. Every day I was checking the fridge to see what needed used up, was batch cooking, baking, using up wrinkly fruit in crumbles or veg in soups etc. Everything made from scratch. It wasn’t always easy being home with a baby and preschooler at home but in general I loved it. I was able to grow some stuff in the garden too.

Two years later I now work and it’s just really hard to fit it all in so we definitely waste much more. I only have the energy to make dinner, not bake or be creative in the kitchen or round up wrinkly produce to make into something else. I also find it a huge struggle to try to keep on top of housework and we didn’t grow anything this year. Even though I’m part time! And my husband cooks and cleans!

I constantly feel like there must be a better way of organising it all but I haven’t found it yet.

mandy47

I've treated myself to a heated throw. It's a lovely thick fleece in a beautiful shade of red. 
Best of all I only parted with £1.99. I converted survey points into vouchers for the big river company and it left me with very little to pay. 
I work an early shift and I'm home alone most afternoons. Can't bring myself to heat the house just for me so the heated throw is ideal. 
Yesterday I harvested produce from my garden, prepared and frozen. 
 6 bags of runner beans
3 bags of french beans
4 courgettes
4lb of tomatoes, cooked blitzed and sieved. 
Too many chilli's to count. 
Freezer is looking pretty full.
  

Sweetlittledaydreams

Productive money saving day today 😌 saved £90 on home insurance plus will be getting a £20 voucher back, and saved £10 on roadside cover, so all in I've saved £120 from the comfort of my sofa! It took a bit of time but it was worth it. 

Primrose

mandy47 said:

I've treated myself to a heated throw. It's a lovely thick fleece in a beautiful shade of red. 
Best of all I only parted with £1.99. I converted survey points into vouchers for the big river company and it left me with very little to pay. 
I work an early shift and I'm home alone most afternoons. Can't bring myself to heat the house just for me so the heated throw is ideal. 
Yesterday I harvested produce from my garden, prepared and frozen. 
 6 bags of runner beans
3 bags of french beans
4 courgettes
4lb of tomatoes, cooked blitzed and sieved. 
Too many chilli's to count. 
Freezer is looking pretty full.
  

Always satisfying to freeze your own home grown "free" vegs. Of course they,re not totally free when you take seeds & compost into account but you know what I mean.

Can any  folks on here please advise on the best way of freezing courgettes?  They,ve always seems too full of water content already to blanch before freezing as we do beans, and our preferred way of using them is to griddle or roast.  I'm wondering how frozen ones subsequently cook successfully.

weenancyinAmerica

I used to dry courgettes and save in jars for using in muffins , cakes, and other things, even in with meatloaf.