From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

kayannie

You'd have been stupid to leave that box behind! Have you got a MrW storecard? As far as I'm aware, you can still get a free hot drink every day as long as you buy something in the shop, but you need to take your own mug. There aren't any of their stores near me, so I've not been in one lately. 
KA x

Greying_Pilgrim

Thanks kayannie - no, I don't have a MrW card, since there are no stores near us, either.  But I shall just enjoy being in them 🥰 Good job i'm easily pleased, eh? 🤣  I do like their 'cooks' range of ingredients, so will keep an eye out, just in case there is anything new/useable post holiday.  Better than a nik-nak 😁  Mind, in the one town, there are quite a few independent retailers that stock local produce, so I will be looking to spend my pennies wisely, whether it's on stuff to eat whilst on hols, or to bring back for use at a later date.  

I've decided to make a sort of ratatouille/Turlu Turlu/Pisto-type dish with some of the contents of the box.  There wasn't an aubergine, but several of the other vegetables were giving me the meditteranean vibe, so I'm going with it.  I'm going to make it in the PrC now, so that it has time for the flavours to meld before teatime.  I'm going to use HM tommie sauce, just in case I need 'my precious' tin of chopped tommies before Tuesday........ 😬🤣

Greying X

rtandon27

I'd say that is a good buy GP! - Just borrow the 2.18 from next month's budget and call it even - lol - also a good call using freezer tomoto sauce  - always good to roate through the stocks - keeps everything at it's freshest which is truly a big deal when keeping food simple and healthy!

Greying_Pilgrim

Good evening MSE'rs

So tea ended up being a success - purely by luck, I am sure.  I used up the; mushrooms (all 5 of them), the orange bell pepper, the courgette, one (count 'em) cherry tomato 🙄 and some of the carrots from the box.  I combined them with onion, celery, garlic, black olives, some green lentils and the HM tommie sauce with paprika and herbs.    I steamed up some bulghar wheat and then shredded up the cavolo nero from the box, and steamed it in the microwave.  I put the bulghar wheat on the bottom, topped it with the steamed cabbage and then added the stew on top.  DH raved about it - (I'm not sure why, it's my usual fare), and LG ate it up.  They found a piece of celery, which unfortunately was still attached to a rib 'string' if you know what I mean, and held it up, and said, "Mum, is this fibre?" .  I managed to stifle a laugh, and said what it was.  They managed to part the two, the piece of celery got eaten and the stringy fibre went in the bin 😁

I potted up a big portion of the stew before tea, and put it in the freezer for another day.  I used all the cavolo nero tonight.  I don't think LG has had this type of cabbage before - and I don't think they loved it, but they did eat it, so that is good enough for me.  There is a lettuce, a cauliflower, some carrots, 2 nectarines, 3 apricots, 4 apples and a punnet of grapes left to use.  I'm intending to use the cauli in a curry, and I'm hoping that we can have a curry buffet tomorrow, watching the rugger.  

LG did well in their spelling test at school - which is a testament to all their hard work, completing homework out of school.  

So a teeny bit of money spent today - but it has yielded a spiffy tea, leftovers for another day, and sufficient ingredients for another tea and other bits and pieces.  Well worth it I think.  What we were going to have for tea (not 100% sure what it would have been, but there were choices), will come in for another day 😁The box for £2 has - and will - definitely yield more than £2 worth of meals.  It will help us get into October (not that I want to speed time up), with a bit more left in the stock cupboard and freezer 'kitty' than we might have had.  Which encourages me to hope that I can still keep to my £200 budget in October, and still have money to feed us on holiday.  I shall be trying my best 😁

Ta for popping by. 

Greying X

rtandon27

That sounds like a lovely Mediterranean type stew GP - I can see why your DH was a fan!

VintageHistorian

If you've got a thermos Greying then could you heat up something on the morning of the trip and then eat it at the PI when you get there? Even something like cooked veggie sausages should stay relatively warm and can then just be shoved into some buns you've taken with you.

Greying_Pilgrim

Hey VH - yeah, that's the sort of thing we do. 

 It's just we have a day 'out'/overnight stay/'day out'  before we reach the S/C accommodation, so I don't think we can take anything pre-prepared or part prepared for the first night's tea in the s/c accommodation.  I think the PI "tea" will be ok - we can either take something, as you suggest, or - if all else fails, get something nearby (I've seen a chippy).  I know we can't just have chippy teas - willy-nully - but sometimes you've just gotta do what works.  But actually, we might be OK on the first day - it's the second day (first night in the S/C accommodation), that is more of a worry.  We'll be good - it's just the combination of PI with no catering facilities, segueing into S/C accommodation, but later in the day.  Thank goodness my Fam. don't require a Turducken, 3 bird roast for a weekday's tea...... 🤣  If all else fails, we can have beans on toast, can't we?  😁

We're incredibly lucky, and won't starve, if we don't eat 3 meals at equal intervals for one day.... although I'm expecting a hard sell on that with the other 2/3rds of the fam........ 🤣

Greying X

VintageHistorian

Oooh I see, I got the days mixed up. I'm sure the fam can survive with something microwaved in the sc accommodation, no one wants to be digging out the pots and pans after a day in the car.

rtandon27

@Greying_Pilgrim - we often pick up a supermarket quiche and a bagged salad for our first night in s/c - no cooking and still tasty - I eat mine cold, OH zaps his.  Still cheaper than a meal out even though it's 'convenience' food.

Cherryfudge

Well done LG for the spellings and GP for the veg box. It would have been a shame to have missed it, a false economy in fact. I had to laugh at the solitary cherry tomato and LG's 'fibre'. 

I had a thought for your N3ctar points: could you do an online order to your holiday address? They deliver from the larger supermarkets and if there's one in delivery range of your hols, you could keep the food prep secret from LG while spending your store of points (and earning a few more). You might have to do some research but it's could be a bit of a treat and also give you access to the things that are only stocked in larger stores. (Incidentally we went to Mr W while on holiday and got some lovely breads on the evening discount).

Re: eating in hotel rooms: I'm sure there was a thread on here once all about that but I couldn't tell you where. People came up with all sorts of things that you can cook with a kettle: noodles, instant soups, cartons of porridge, tinned fruit, instant custard or pots of jelly, hot drinks... I think those little packets of cereals got mentioned too, and dried milk, but that doesn't work for everyone. Breakfasts are easy to replace (though I used to think of them as the reason for going to a hotel - but the last couple of trips either the standard has gone down or we've been unlucky). Packet of croissants, don't forget plates, tin opener and cutlery, jam and butter in little tubs, tin of fruit cocktail or fresh fruit.