Win Some, Lose Some (Debt Free At Last!)

Purplebonnie

joedenise said:

What recipe do you use for your lentil loaf?  That sounds right up my street.  I'm not vegan but do like to try to include some vegan meals into my meal plan.

I will dig it out in the morning and post it for you 😀

joedenise

Thank you.

Purplebonnie

joedenise said:

What recipe do you use for your lentil loaf?  That sounds right up my street.  I'm not vegan but do like to try to include some vegan meals into my meal plan.

Morning!

I use American cup measurements :

1 cup red lentils & 2cups vegetable stock - boil & simmer until lentils are cooked.

Chop in blender or chop finely with knife - 1 small onion, 1carrot & 2 celery sticks

Put veggies in a bowl, add quarter cup of ketchup, 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast and 1.5 cups of oats.  Add cooked lentils and mix well.

Put in a loaf tin and cook for about an hour at gas mark 6 or 180 degrees.  Keep an eye on it and cover with tin foil if necessary to stop it burning on top.

This recipe is very versatile and I have added nuts or beans and different veggies such as broccoli, parsnip, brussels etc.

joedenise

Thanks so much.  I'll give that a go - I've copied and pasted it onto a document on my PC.

Purplebonnie

joedenise said:

Thanks so much.  I'll give that a go - I've copied and pasted it onto a document on my PC.

You are welcome, I hope you enjoy 😀

Purplebonnie

I said I would say more about our trip this summer.  We travelled all over Northern Europe for six weeks and had an amazing time.  The whole trip cost just under £2000.  Bearing in mind that my normal food/diesel/dog/other budget is £500per month, that meant the trip worked out about £200 a week more than we normally spend.  My Dad used his Tesco vouchers to buy our EuroTunnel ticket and I am now saving mine for next year’s trip.  The dog cost about £300 to take with the Animal Health Certificate and Rabies Jab (Thanks Brexit 😡).  Camping spaces were mostly free as Europe is a lot more camper van friendly than the U.K. and most towns/villages offer either free or very cheap overnight parking spots. Daytime parking was usually free too. We also stayed in some Marinas and on Farms which cost about €10 per night with Electric and showers.  Diesel was a lot cheaper than the U.K. and that was our biggest expense.  We did eat out a few times and had the odd coffee & cake, but most of the time we cooked on board and as I mentioned earlier, food was cheaper than here.  We saw some wonderful places, met up with old and new friends and had some amazing memory making experiences.  I had saved up for a year for this trip and am now saving for next year’s trip as we are certainly going again.  It did mean delaying my debt free day by a couple of months but it was so worth it.

Frugal living today -  A NSD, I cancelled a yearly subscription for £16.99 before it auto renewed.  It was a ‘use whats in the pantry’ eating day.  Made Pumpkin Bread using a can of pumpkin purée that I have had forever.

Money Saving : I used to use fancy shower gel, shampoo and conditioner which cost a fortune and meant loads of plastic bottles to the recycling bank.  When I started looking to save money, I was also looking for ways to cut my plastic usage.  I came up with the idea of a single bar of soap that does body and hair.  It was trial and error to find one that suited me, but I now use a Tropic Pebble and it is great, lasts about six weeks.  Previously I was spending about £15 per month and now I spend £8 for six weeks.  That’s a saving of £110 per year and loads of plastic bottles saved.

Today’s Menu –

Porridge made with water with dried fruit, nuts, seeds & peanut butter

Butternut Squash Dahl – leftovers from Saturday

Balsamic Tomato Pasta

Snack – Pumpkin Bread

joedenise

That was very kind of your dad to pay for your Eurotunnel with his Tesco vouchers.  That's what we do when we go to France.  We go a couple of times a year but don't get anywhere near as many vouchers as we used to!

I actually thought a lot of the food was as expensive or even more expensive than at home but we still managed to do a month each time for around £1200!  We're planning on going twice next year but when we go in the summer we're actually going to try the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry so that we are on the west coast which we where we like to motorhome, particularly Brittany.  At least that way we'll have enough vouchers to pay for the trip later in the year!

Have you had your van long?  We've been motor homing for over 20 years now and prior to that caravanned for many years.  We really enjoy it and like to get away as often as we can.  We're quite lucky as we can go to a park and ride about an hour away and park up for the weekend for £12 and then get buses into the City Centre and get buses to go all over the county.  Not many places you can do that!

Purplebonnie

joedenise said:

That was very kind of your dad to pay for your Eurotunnel with his Tesco vouchers.  That's what we do when we go to France.  We go a couple of times a year but don't get anywhere near as many vouchers as we used to!

I actually thought a lot of the food was as expensive or even more expensive than at home but we still managed to do a month each time for around £1200!  We're planning on going twice next year but when we go in the summer we're actually going to try the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry so that we are on the west coast which we where we like to motorhome, particularly Brittany.  At least that way we'll have enough vouchers to pay for the trip later in the year!

Have you had your van long?  We've been motor homing for over 20 years now and prior to that caravanned for many years.  We really enjoy it and like to get away as often as we can.  We're quite lucky as we can go to a park and ride about an hour away and park up for the weekend for £12 and then get buses into the City Centre and get buses to go all over the county.  Not many places you can do that!

I tend to get my petrol in Tescos, I’ve stopped shopping there as it has got really expensive, so I don’t as many vouchers as I used to either.  We have had the van for about five years now, before that we were tent campers and sailors.  We didn’t do much of France this year, but that is the plan for next year. £1200 is a good price, some people spend that on a weekend away!

Camping in this country is getting expensive now so you are really lucky to park up for £12 a night and be able to get into the city centre.  We do get away quite often, we were in Kent last weekend for three days.  We mainly use the CL sites with the Camping & Caravan Club, especially as we now get the age concession rate.  We belong to the National Trust and they have been opening some car parks for overnight camping, which is a great idea.  We certainly get our monies worth out of our membership by visiting all the NT sites when we are away.

joedenise

If you're ever in Kent again it's the Canterbury Park and Ride at New Dover Road which we use - it is £12 for the weekend Friday to Monday!  It's £4 per day midnight to midnight and that includes the bus into Canterbury.  If you have bus passes too then there are lots of places you can go to using it which is what we do.  Not sure whether you do but thought you might as you say you get the age concession with Camping and Caravan Club.

When we use site we tend to go to CSs as well - the club sites are far too expensive even with the age concession discount!

Purplebonnie

joedenise said:

If you're ever in Kent again it's the Canterbury Park and Ride at New Dover Road which we use - it is £12 for the weekend Friday to Monday!  It's £4 per day midnight to midnight and that includes the bus into Canterbury.  If you have bus passes too then there are lots of places you can go to using it which is what we do.  Not sure whether you do but thought you might as you say you get the age concession with Camping and Caravan Club.

When we use site we tend to go to CSs as well - the club sites are far too expensive even with the age concession discount!

Thank you for that info, we will use that in future.  We don’t have bus passes.  My husband is the right age to get one but where we live is so rural that there aren’t any buses, so we have never bothered.  Perhaps we should look into it.  Club sites are so expensive and too many rules for us 😉