The OS Starter Pack

piggybank1 · 16 September 2005 at 3:45PM

Does a slow cooker save energy? I thought as it was on for longer it used more?

elona · 16 September 2005 at 4:06PM

It only uses the energy of a light bulb and cooks cheap joints so they are tender so saves time ,money and effort.

squeaky · 16 September 2005 at 4:07PM

On a low setting a slow cooker typically uses about the same amount of power as a light bulb.

elona · 16 September 2005 at 4:08PM

Squeaky

Snap

squeaky · 16 September 2005 at 4:16PM

I'm typing wa-a-a-y too slow these days

notenoughcash · 13 February 2009 at 7:25PM

Hi guys, firstly I will apologise for this really long post but I hope it will be of some help to people. I've spent all afternoon working it all out so I hope it was worth it. I'll post it in sections so it's easier to make sense of hopefully!!
I see posts on here every day from people asking for help to get them through the next month on x amount or reduce their monthly shopping bills etc etc

I have picked up so many tips and pretty much transformed our lives using these boards, initially as a lurker and eventually as a poster myself. We now spend less than half of what we used to on food, toiletries, cleaning, clothes, everything really, can proudly say are now debt free (thanks MSE again) and eat a hell of a lot healthier than ever before.

I therefore decided I would put a post together that I can refer people to instead of typing the same thing over and over with some tips and ideas that have got me to the great happy stage of my life I am at now. This is for myself and two boys (aged 5 & 10) who eat man-sized portions!

A spending diary (as long as I'm honest about everything) has been invaluable to me as you just don't see the bits adding up until you write it all down.

So my current budget per month is £100-120 food but that is food and soft drinks only, I have a seperate budget of £20 cleaning/toiletries and an entertainment budget which includes eating out and alcohol and here is an idea of how it works. I have a slow cooker and a bread maker (they are my 2 BEST friends) although I tend to use the breadmaker to knead and rise the dough and then bake it in the oven.

We also grow quite a bit of veg and plan to expand on this for it to last us all year round.

notenoughcash · 13 February 2009 at 7:26PM

I have in my stock cupboard:
Red lentils, gravy granules, salt, pepper, pasta, dry spaghetti, lasagne sheets, plain & self raising flour, wholemeal bread flour & yeast, sugar, cocoa powder, instant custard, various herbs & spices, olive oil, english mustard, fry light, golden syrup.

Then on a monthly basis I buy:
Sack of potatoes from farm in winter £2.25 (£4.50 per sack but lasts two months)
Eggs from farm 2.5 dozen £2

8 tins value beans £1.44 (18p each)
2 tins value spaghetti 28p (14p each)
4 tins value chopped tomatoes £1.32 (33p each)
4 tins value tuna chunks £2.20 (55p each)
2 tubes tomato puree 56p (28p each)
Value lasagne sheets 32p
Value dried spaghetti 39p
Value pasta 43p
2 value stuffing 32p (16p each)
2 value frozen peas £1.70 (85p each)
Value frozen sweetcorn 62p
Own-brand fish finger (8) £1
Own-brand cod fillets in batter (2) £2
Own-brand fish cakes (10) £1.25

2 whole chickens £5 (£2.50 each)
Frozen own-brand sausages (20) £1.34
2 value minced beef £1.94 (97p each)
Own-brand pork chops (4) £3.00
Cod fillet £2.00

Cheese (cheddar) £1.81
mozzarella £1.44
Milk (4 pints per week) £6
Yoghurts £5
Butter/Spread £2

Cereals £3
2 value porridge oats £1.16 (58p each)

4 value orange juice £2.24 (56p each)
Squash (blackcurrant & orange) £3.00
Cola (my treat!) £2.00

Cost of meat is often less as I tend to buy whoopsies whenever I can and freeze them.

Some months no veg to buy as we have a supply of our own but when we do need to buy I go once a week to stock up on fresh fruit and veg and spend per month:

onions 5 £1
carrots £1.50
mushrooms £1.50
2 garlic 68p (34p each)
brocolli £2
cauliflower £2
bananas £2
apples £2
grapes £2

notenoughcash · 13 February 2009 at 7:30PM

From this I would make on alternate weeks Roast chicken sunday dinner, next day remaining chicken & veg topped with HM pastry in a pie & mash, third day chicken & veg broth & HM bread (big batch so half can go in freezer for another day). Fourth day one pack of mince in slow cooker with 2 tins tomatoes, gravy granules, tomato puree, mixed herbs, onions & garlic. Half of this served as spaghetti bolognaise, other half used as meat sauce for a lasagne & HM garlic bread next day.

Middle sunday would be 2 pork chops (or lamb or beef, depending on what's in) chopped and added to gravy & veg for casserole served with mash and 4th sunday eat out for a treat (from entertainment budget)

Slow cooker is on at least 3 or 4 days per week over the winter months and filled with meat (pork, chicken, lamb or beef) veg, gravy & lentils and makes a great hot, filling low-cost family meal and any extra can be frozen for a quick meal another day.

One pack of minced beef will make a cottage pie served with fresh veg and a batch of chilli for later in week (some to be frozen)

Cod is poached and added to a hm parsley sauce with peas & sweetcorn topped with mash which will make two fish pies, one goes in freezer.

Sausages are used to make toad in the hole with mash, or for a cooked sunday breakfast with toast, beans and scrambled eggs.

I make my own oven chips by cutting potatoes into chip size, boiling for 5 mins and then spray with fry light and cook in the oven so twice a week we have something with chips like fish fingers and spaghetti or chips beans and hm bread.

I also do a tuna pasta bake once per month and a couple of cheap days which would be jacket potato with beans & cheese or something along those lines.

We have baking days when we make flapjacks, cookies, fairy cakes etc and keep value dessert (angel delight) and value rice pudding in the cupboard for a quick dessert occasionally.

Some saturday nights we make our own pizzas & potato skins/wedges, lots of fun and an activity we can do together which is much cheaper and healthier than take away, although we do have an occasional take-away maybe once every 6 weeks.

I'm sure I will have forgotten something vital on here, and I do have to go to local shops for extra top-ups during the month, although all of that is always added on my spending diary under my grocery budget.

p00 · 13 February 2009 at 7:38PM

Very interesting notenoughcash. my cupboard is very much like yours and I have a chest freezer in the shed plus the built in one in the kitchen.

If we all listed everything we already have then cross it off as we used it we wouldnt end up with so much of the same stuff all the time so I started doing this last month and have stock lists taped to the inside of the cupboard doors. Really does help with meal planning.

xxp00

nannaC · 13 February 2009 at 7:54PM

Hi, what a great list. Another sneaky way to save a few more pennies is to use ordinary tinned toms, if you want them chopped just drain the juice thne chop with a knife whilst still in the tin, also I buy own brand frozen white fish Mr A currently has 900gm of pollock for £1.61? this goes a long way.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING

The OS Starter Pack

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free