From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Blackcats

Back in the 70's/80's my mum was part of the Personnel/Payroll team that looked after the cooks and dinner ladies for 8 East London schools and was able to visit the schools a few times a year.  She was always so impressed by the efforts to provide nutritious, tasty food on a budget.  Those kitchens peeled and chopped masses of veggies, rustled up puddings from scratch every day of term.  For many children it was their main meal of the day and a high % were entitled to free school dinners.  The service was dismantled and outsourced when the GLC was abolished.  I doubt that quality improved or that any money was saved.

Greying_Pilgrim

Blackcats said:

Back in the 70's/80's my mum was part of the Personnel/Payroll team that looked after the cooks and dinner ladies for 8 East London schools and was able to visit the schools a few times a year.  She was always so impressed by the efforts to provide nutritious, tasty food on a budget.  Those kitchens peeled and chopped masses of veggies, rustled up puddings from scratch every day of term.  For many children it was their main meal of the day and a high % were entitled to free school dinners.  The service was dismantled and outsourced when the GLC was abolished.  I doubt that quality improved or that any money was saved.

I couldn't agree with you more Blackcats.  I am old enough lucky enough to have gone through a school meals system that (certainly in primary), was still in an age where tatties were peeled, custard was yellow, brown or white and Manchester tart was considered exotic 😁My primary wasn't in a big city, far from it, we were part of the "unseen" rural poverty, but the ladies who ran the kitchen had skills - good, plain, hearty fare, and they were revered for it.  To say you were a school cook, or worked in the school kitchen was something to be proud of. I remember the Head Cook - Mrs Price - being appalled at the introduction of soya mince, in place of 'proper' meat.  

It changed slightly in my secondary years.  The choice and 'restaurant' style came to the fore - with more choice and options (although the curry still contained sultanas 🤣) .  But again, the canteen employed anything between 7-10 ladies (all ladies, and mostly local 'mums'), plus the 3 dinner ladies who supervised the dining room and the playground at lunch.  Again, whilst there was some mechanisation, it was still predominantly a 'cooking' operation - rather than simply reheating, and the food was on the 'plain' side, but was for the most part 'good'.  

I'm sure I read somewhere......... BBC news site???  That a museum.... I want to say in Norfolk?  Is currently staging an exhibition about school meals through the decades.  1 telling thing for me was the move from crockery (utility green earthenware anyone?), Duerre (sp?) drinking glasses and aluminium water jugs to plastic compartmentalised trays and plastic beakers.  Memories of when a member of class one (5 yr olds) had to take 8 crockery plates back to the kitchen at the end of the meal, the littlies were furthest from the kitchen hatch, and there was always mashed potato dropped on the hall parquet floor...........  Ask me how I know how shameful it is to have slipped and smashed 8 plates in front of 100 other children...... 😔 But the table configuration never was changed.......

Greying X

Cherryfudge

Oh, I have so many bad memories of school dinners in the 1970s! I'd forgotten all about the yellow curry though, with square bits of chicken. I think the sultanas improved it: I still add sultanas to lots of my spicy dishes!

Worst memories were Lancashire Hotpot with genuine gristle and Manchester Tart with proper cardboard under the thin red line beneath the chill slab of bland custard.

My Mum was a superb cook and school meals were my first experience of hard-to-eat food apart from one time when Mum served tinned custard from Grandma's larder and it tasted horrible. Dad tried it and exclaimed it had gone off, but apart from that, food was a delight... till I had school meals.  

L ancashire E ducation Committee: Could do better.  

badmemory

I used to eat 8 portions of bananas in custard on condition that someone, anyone ate my frogs spawn.

Paspatur

GP school meals exhibition is in Stowmarket

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Afternoon MFW'rs

Wish I knew (for certain) what day it was 🤣

I didn't spend any money over the BH weekend, but have just been out for a walk and bought some milk and lentils in M&$.  £3.30 spent.  Need to update siggie.

Washing is out on the line.  Yesterday's load is awaiting folding.

Lunches have been a mix of soups and sandwiches over the weekend, due to the variable weather.  Teas have been pizza, pasta, baked tatties, A mish-mash of Greek Style casserole with Greek potato stew out of the freezer, served with English-muffin cheesy garlic bread.  So we've not gone hungry.

Can't think of anything spiffingly MSE to add.  Ta for popping in.  Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs!  

Today it is Thursday and it is shopping day!  Back on track 😁

I am guilty of purchasing both a green box in MrL and in MrS today.  Had I been in MrS first, I would not have bothered with the MrL box, however, I was in MrL first.  The green box in MrL was 'just about' worth it to me.  There were 3 (I think) and the contents were pretty much the same for all - just differences in bagged herbs for example - I went for the coriander.  My 'not so good' option was a white cabbage - not too bad, I can make coleslaw, and if I get some beetroot at some point I can make the 'Mackerel Skies Salad' (without the fish) from one of the Leon recipe books.  I did get a bottle of red wine, and I have kept it in my grocery total this week.  I also bought some of their 'plant based' fish goujons to try as they were YS'd 50%, so worth a punt for 99p a packet.  There were goujons or 'fingers'.  The coffee I get from MrL has gone up by 20p since last week ☹️

I made a brief sortie into MrAl, but they didn't have what i was after, so just got some sultanas from there.  

MrS got the bulk of my shop.  The waste veg box was worth it - it gave a selection of useable fruit, and we'll have some strawberries and asparagus this season as a result of getting a box - the contents were varied, just like MrL boxes used to be in our neck of the woods.  Between the 2 boxes I have good ingredients for curry too. I didn't spot anything else spiffy in MrS, but I have now definitely got over £10 worth of n*ctar points, so will look to spend those in this month's budget. 

I rounded off by going to hB.  Fruit, yoghurt and sugar.  Why pay £1.09 when hB have the stuff for 89p?

In total today's shopping comes in at a whopping £53.45.  I'm pleased with what I got, but the waste boxes made the difference today - other wise I wouldn't have spent much less ££'s wise, but my shop would have been very 'pedestrian' in comparison.  Needless to say, everything will be utilised - with the possible exception of one overly squishy strawberry that I noticed - can't think of a use for that ☹️

Club for LG tonight and I know that lots of fun has been planned, so fingers crossed they enjoy themselves 😁

 Right, I'm away to prep curry, using today's ingredients.  It'll go for the freezer, or maybe adorn a baked tattie for DH and I's tea tonight.  LG will 'probably' be content with pasta and pizza 🙄

Ta for popping by.  Greying X

rtandon27

Wow - 2 boxes in one day - that is quite the haul! Strawberries & asparagus - I'm mighty impressed.

I've never been lucky enough to score a box at either place, but we have purchased some amazing yellow sticker deals at our local Waitflower for fruit & veg I'd not normally consider buying because of the expense.  This week's mystery fruit is loquat - it turns out that it's a bit like a sour apricot, but very juicy.  They were in fact free, when I pointed out that one of the 4 was badly bruised, we lucked out and were given them for no charge!

Pollie

Strawberries can actually be rubbed into your face as they help hydrate skin

Greying_Pilgrim

Pollie said:

Strawberries can actually be rubbed into your face as they help hydrate skin

You're not pulling my legs orf, are you Pollie??? 🤣

Definitely lucky, lucky, lucky, rt.  I've made a start on the vegetable mountain, and have made 2.5 tubs of cauliflower, potato and gigglebean curry, 2.5 tubs of aubergine and black eye bean curry and 2.5 tubs of Lemony Spinach hotpot.  I have zero idea why all the recipes made 2.5 tubs - as you know what a slap-dash, birra this and birra that type cook I is 🤣  The PrC has been earning its keep this afternoon!

I have all of the MrL tatties left (2kg bag of Melody - yassssh!), I have used all 3 aubergines, one of the caulis, most of the 'baby' tatties, and I have eaten the tangerine!  Still plenty of other things left over, and I have yet to process the bag of coriander to put in the freezer.  

I am one blessed woman, and I realise it. 

What momentous historical significant times we are living in at present.  Good to see the young folk of the land represented and taking a leading role in events today - and it was good to see them included on Monday, cadets representing the services, the blue light services and the scouting family.  I even spotted some.... scouts? behind the reporter in Rome last night 😁Marvellous stuff.

Greying X