2022 Frugal Living Challenge

London_1

I had to post a letter this afternoon so when I popped across to thepost box I had a quick mooch around the little Tesco Metro in the small precinct about three minutes from my house. I didn't buy anything, as I was just pricing things up.

 But I did notice that from last week the cost of McVities Hobnobs had shot up from £1.10p to £1.70p. Came home and made my own oatie biscuits for a lot less, and far nicer.

Also made a apple crumble from windfalls I had been given ,and a semolina pudding as the oven was on. I cooked a couple of jacket spuds on the bottom of the oven so had a mid week bake up and the oven was filled. No shopping needed until probably Saturday then it will be the last shop of the month
 
JackieO xx

mandy47

I thickly slice them, spray them with a minimum of oil and roast. Oven, air fry or halogen, doesn't matter. Don't over cook. Bag when cold and freeze. When I use them I just defrost and re-roast slightly. 
I grow a ridged variety that are particularly firm and add them to curry, chilli, pasta etc and they've always held together well.
Had tons off 4 plants. Given loads away and a drawer full in the freezer plus what we've eaten fresh.
They're called romanesco latino. Would recommend.
 Primrose said

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.

QueenJess

Bluegreen143 said:

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.

I don’t think so as you are trying to fit 1.5+ of peoples things to do with 1 person. I’ve come to the conclusion that you have to choose what is done properly in accordance with what is most important to you and don’t worry about the rest that never gets done/doesn’t get done properly.

Saying that, my inner self refuses to acknowledge I can’t do it all so I remain in a cycle of never getting everything done, but can’t seem to agree myself with the things that don’t need to be done.

YORKSHIRELASS

Thanks to DH we currently have home grown aubergines, peppers, courgettes, spinach and spring onions in abundance so I have been making up batches of spicy veg stew with some tinned tomatoes and tinned chickpeas and freezing it.  I can take a tub out of the freezer and chuck it in my work bag when I need something to take for my lunch.  I have always hated food waste so try really hard to not throw things away.

We had a roast dinner tonight, I couldnt tell you the last time I cooked a whole chicken.  Put it in the slow cooker while I was at work then did roast veg out of the garden, roast potatoes, gravy and yorkshire puds.  So nice.

Cycled to work so didnt use the car.  I will have to drive in tomorrow, partly because we needed potatoes so I bought a big bag and only brought 4 home with me in my rucksack and left the rest at work, and partly because I have a parcel to take to the post office.

Primrose

YORKSHIRELASS said:

Thanks to DH we currently have home grown aubergines, peppers, courgettes, spinach and spring onions in abundance so I have been making up batches of spicy veg stew with some tinned tomatoes and tinned chickpeas and freezing it.  I can take a tub out of the freezer and chuck it in my work bag when I need something to take for my lunch.  I have always hated food waste so try really hard to not throw things away.

All the veg you grow make a really nice ratatouille, especially when they're roasted rather than  fried in a pan as this really seems to intensify their flavour.  IF we want a more filling substantial meal in a bowl we  stir in  in a can of borlotti or butter beans.

cw18

Primrose said:

I wonder if food waste these days is partly a reflection of the busy life women lead, as well as an increasingly affluent society.

I imagine one of the big causes is the appearance of a fridge in every home.  Before then people had to shop pretty much daily and use quickly to stop it going off.

bupster

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.

Blanch super-fast - really just in and out and certainly no more than a minute. I have to say though I don't tend to cook frozen ones in the same way as fresh ones, for the same reasons! 

Cheery_Daff

QueenJess said:

I don’t think so as you are trying to fit 1.5+ of peoples things to do with 1 person. I’ve come to the conclusion that you have to choose what is done properly in accordance with what is most important to you and don’t worry about the rest that never gets done/doesn’t get done properly.

Saying that, my inner self refuses to acknowledge I can’t do it all so I remain in a cycle of never getting everything done, but can’t seem to agree myself with the things that don’t need to be done.

Oh, you have just described EXACTLY what I struggle with! I beat myself up CONSTANTLY because I can't seem to fit in working 4 days, commuting, housework, chickens, all garden maintenance, growing veg, fixing dry stone walls, DIY, sewing an entire set of thermal blinds, scything my own hay field 🙄 Sounds ridiculous when I write it down 🙄 

What drops off though? Growing veg the last couple of years. Housework is usually borderline. I never iron anything, and rarely do as much washing as I think I should. Some walls have remained unfixed for years now 🙄 Never clean the car (inside or out), DIy takes forever, quite often i just eat porridge for tea 🙄

Like you say, QueenJess, I often make decisions about what to drop, then keep disagreeing with myself! 😂

Frugaldom

AnimalTribe said:

Frugaldom asked "Is anyone on here fully off-grid?". I've been reading along but not posting. I am fully off-grid. Solar panels, wind turbine, generator for electricity. Gas bottles for cooking. Oil, wood burner for heating. Well for water. Septic tank for waste. Satellite broadband. BT phone line, mobile phone reception 1/4 mile away. Solar panels are great in summer, but our wind turbine is slowly failing after 20 years of service. My DH does all of the regular maintenance, as specialist engineers can be expensive, and they charge a lot for travelling time to such a remote location. I'm no expert but I'm happy to answer any questions on the forum or by PM.

Thank you for posting your response and well done living off grid. It's certainly not an easy option. Where are you located?

Frugaldom

@Siebrie Several of us have tried the solar oven style cooking and it just didn't work for me here in Scotland - I'll stand corrected if anyone can say they managed to cook regular meals. It's probably just the Scottish weather. I've been reading up more about the cooking bags but they are basically makeshift slow cookers after minimally cooking or warming the food.

@mumof3.12kindebt I'm not sure if the old challenge threads survived the changeover or even if I posted on here about quitting smoking. I'll try to take a look as it was around the time we did the Billy Can challenge. The abbreviated version is find your own trigger points that make you reach for the cigarettes so you can be prepared and then start pushing back the time of day that you light your first one until it finally becomes your last one. I believe cigarettes are now about 50p each so each time you succeed in skipping one, set the savings aside. It's a massive expense and I knew exactly what I wanted the savings for so I did quit. My main trigger was the telephone and stopping for a cuppa.