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Freegan October Food Challenge

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  • Viking_mfw
    Viking_mfw Posts: 728 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Well, on Oct 1st, Day 2 of the challenge, the children had a very high class Charlie Bingham macaroni cheese for their dinner which they roundly condemned for being far too good for their taste buds! DH had chicken jalfrezi samosas for brunch and declared them delicious which is a good job as there are two more packs in the freezer. He then had katsu curry for dinner, and has just had another one for breakfast! The main issue I think is going to be getting him to eat enough vegetables - which is also a problem when we're not on a food buy ban. There is no lack of veg to eat mind you. 

    I had yoghurt and stewed rhubarb for breakfast, with the rhubarb being an Ol*o number. Yoghurt is my usual go to for breakfast, but there's only half a tub of greek left, which is probably one or two more days. I'm going to have to start on the boiled eggs I think. 

    We are finally going to eat our planned bacon cabbage and potatoes (sort of Colcannon but with roasties instead of mash) tonight, which will at least get one veg in. It's a dish that goes down well with everyone. The cabbage is hanging around from a L*dl veg box bought two weeks ago, and the bacon was part of the last food buy. Potatoes come from Ol*o. 

    I can already tell the real challenge for me is going to be lack of chocolate. I had quite a stressful day yesterday and finished off the half a bar my MIL bought me at the weekend. We had decided to cut down our hot chocolate buying before the freegan month idea, so we had run out and were not getting any more until October... too late now! We do have some chocolate nesquik powder in the cupboard and that may well end up being my lifeline. There is also a jar of nutella which is only slightly ruined by having to eat it on stale rice cakes... :wink:

    I don't have another pick up scheduled til Friday, and that's one that often doesn't have anything, so it will be a chance to eat some of the things in the freezer - like five packs of spinach!

  • mumtoomany
    mumtoomany Posts: 1,535 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Hi Viking, it sounds like you eat better as freegans than many do who pay for food. I wish we had Olio, to good to go, and/or community pantries locally. The disadvantage of living rurally.

    Keep up the good work, hugs, mumtoomany.xx
    Frugal Living Challenge 2025.


  • Viking_mfw
    Viking_mfw Posts: 728 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Fab idea to go Freegan!

    We've been freegans since 2020 and have never looked back. Family of seven so all different age groups!
    It completely changed the kids' attitudes towards food when they saw how much would have been thrown away.

    Don't forget wild foods as well. There's a lot out there, some of which isn't very tasty tbf but a lot is lovely.


    Thanks @knitandsew . I do do a bit of wild food but tends to be mostly fruit. 


    @mumtoomany you are completely right - the late night sa*nsbos pick ups are insane. We are trying to give away stuff but just cannot manage it all. I think I'm even more appalled now than when the idea started. My husband has certainly stopped worrying we will starve. 
    Hi Viking, it sounds like you eat better as freegans than many do who pay for food. I wish we had Olio, to good to go, and/or community pantries locally. The disadvantage of living rurally.
  • Viking_mfw
    Viking_mfw Posts: 728 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Strawberries would be great! My children love strawberry jam but I'm making them use up the homemade stuff first :smiley:

    Today everyone had apple crumble (or apple slab/ cement!) from the windfall apples I pick up at work for breakfast. I used quite a lot of oat flour in the crumble because we have a lot in the cupboard and that may have been the cause of the slab. 

    Dinner is fishcakes, sweet potato wedges, beans and carrots, which are all Ol*o except for the carrots. We could have Ol*o carrot batons from the freezer, but we happen to still have paid for carrots which need using up. 

    We have worked our way through the fresh stuff we got at the beginning of the week and are now moving on to freezer content. Which is a good thing as the freezer is completely stuffed full, probably about one third of which is Ol*o related. We also received 6 corn on the cobs from our neighbour this morning, whose L*dl box was too sweetcorny for her! I might make chicken and sweetcorn soup at the weekend, given we have some frozen chicken, stock etc. But the children also love sweetcorn, so it may well all go before then!


  • Well we are at a wedding a couple of hours away from home today. Sat in car eating specially acquired Ol*o sarnies as you can't wait til when weddings decide to feed you with small children!
  • Viking_mfw
    Viking_mfw Posts: 728 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 500 Posts Name Dropper
    Apparently I over counted on pear availability. 6 of the 7 have gone down the children at lunch!

    Cooked some windfalls from a week ago. I will check tomorrow but I think they might be the last windfalls of the year. Made pastry for pie having finished the last crumble for breakfast. Even if this is the last lot we have 3 x 1l bottled or frozen (enough for 1 pie each) so still fruit for the future. 
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