It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

Siebrie

That sounds similar to my pasta sauces! We don't have 'bolognaise' etc, but we have 'red sauce / green sauce / white sauce' with whatever veg and (usually) meat I can find in the fridge.

Re the 5-a-day discussion earlier: I try to price a portion of fruit at 50cents max, but it's very hard to find here in Belgium. The best value fresh fruit usually is pineapple, at €2.25 for 8 portions. Apples, pears and kiwis are 55 to 60 cents each at the moment.

euronorris

On a roll with baking related stuff this week. Made pizzas for DH and I tonight.

I did pick up a non tomato based sauce option for DD to have with some pasta as it turns out its tonsillitis she's got and her throat is so sore and swollen that more solid food is too painful and tomatoes acidic.

Whilst doing that, and waiting on antibiotics, I found some yellow stickered sausages (now in freezer) and some fancy Berry flavoured porridge reduced to 73p a box. So, that's good.

YorksLass

We've had a few snow flurries today - a day earlier than expected - but tomorrow isn't looking good, with an amber weather warning  in place for heavy snow, maybe up to 40cm.    Haven't seen any gritters yet either.  We could be waking to a thick covering of the white stuff in the morning.

With that in mind, I've shopped today for the few bits and bobs I needed and won't be venturing out at all any time soon.  I saved £6.70 on some ys items - 2 sea bass fillets, a pack of breaded ham (both in the freezer), a pack of ice cream wafers (dated into 2024) and a pack of chocolate biscuit bars - actual spend came to just over £3, so I'm happy with that.      I'm afraid I had to bypass the fresh fruit as it was really expensive - eg £3.15 for 6 Pink Lady apples - so will make do with some store cupboard tins for now.

On the way to the shop I returned a book to the Little Free Library and, although I wasn't intending to take another, I spied a John Grisham novel (The Brethren) that I haven't read before so that found its way into my bag.

Last night I ordered a replacement pair of slippers for DH; apparently they are on their way to the courier and hopefully they'll arrive by the weekend (weather dependent, of course!)

Auntycaz

Our snow flurries arrived a day early too after lots of sleet overnight but fortunately it hasn't settled and we just have a yellow weather warning for the time being. DD has an Amber warning for tomorrow and Friday. She's going in for an op on Friday so hoping she gets to the hospital ok and it's not cancelled. I was planning on going to the shops today for a few bits but I will just make do with what I've got until the weather improves. Take care everyone.

YorksLass

@Auntycaz - Fingers crossed your DD's op isn't cancelled - I'm sure she'd rather have it over and done with rather than waiting for another date.

Auntycaz

Thanks @YorksLass she's been waiting a long time so really hoping it isn't cancelled.

CKhalvashi

Due to snow, OH has just got home via the M25, it's taken more than 90 minutes instead of 50. She's been awake for about 16 hours now and suffered a late departure on flight 1 and operational delays between 2 and 3 (same airport) due to a smaller plane not coming back in on time (swapping from a large one on the first 2, runway restrictions at the other end), so safety is better than driving down a series of back roads to get home. Tomorrow is looking slightly worse weather-wise.

Hope the operation is ok Caz, especially given waiting lists.at the moment. At the moment the weather is fine, just those in the UK don't seem to know how to drive in it. We both grew up in areas that get heavily snowed in winter so are more worried about decisions other drivers will take than actual driving in snow.

Just cooked Iceland YS burgers that have been in the freezer for about 6 months with some bacon (normally 2 for £5) that was ordered in far too large quantities by the shop in December that I picked up for £1 a pack alongside some reduced buns that are really really soft. CK tip; put some cheese between the bacon and burgers and it melts in the bun.

That with some potatoes in the oven for 30 minutes has warmed the lounge up 2 degrees (thermostat at the other end of the room), meaning the boiler doesn't need to stay on. We're sleeping in the spare room at the moment with the door to the 3rd floor bedroom firmly closed so we don't have to heat more than 2 floors (ground floor is floor 1 to us). It's beautiful room in summer but there's a lot of glass installed by the previous owners in winter for heat loss.

euronorris

Blimey that's a lot of snow forecast! We had a dusting overnight, but it only stuck to roofs, grass and cars. The ground is too wet here and it's remained between 1 and 2 degrees, so though it snowed all morning, it didn't stick. Then it turned to rain and hasn't stopped since.

Fingers crossed the op doesn't get cancelled! Really hope it doesn't snow as much as predicted for you and that it all goes ahead as planned.

Nelliegrace

I did a shop for milk, fruit and vegetables yesterday just in case people start panic buying when they see the yellow warning for snow for tomorrow and Friday. Dinner tonight was the last of a tin of chopped ham, jacket potato and tomatoes, very much in the spirit of WW2 rations. There is some more pot roast lamb left over for tomorrow. 

I had an interesting conversation with a woman whose mother was in the Women’s Land Army. I was at the till buying the yellow stickered Sainsbury’s cheese at Dobbies and said I would freeze it in ration portions.
Manual workers and Land Girls were allowed an extra ration of cheese, but there was some difficulty with rations in rural areas. Her mother went to bed hungry every night, but it was mainly due to the farmer’s wife who kept a lot of their rations. It was the custom that men got the meat and the best food, and women and children made do with the pastry, vegetables and gravy.
Do we get proper nourishment or are we fobbed off with just a little protein with a lot of cheap filler in the prepared processed meals on offer?

Pollycat

I have enough milk, bread, potatoes and full cupboards and freezer to last at least a week so I'm not going to bother going shopping.
I've done my meal plan for the next 9 days and have everything in that I need.