About once a month I'll buy £2 worth of off-cuts from the Morrisons deli-counter, that's quite interesting as you never know quite what you'll get but it will give me enough for one evening meal and a week of lunchtime sandwiches.
I usually have a pack of chicken thighs in the freezer, divided up into twos or threes and then I cook them up for one hot meal and several days of sandwiches again and chicken breasts make stir-fries. Sausages sometimes to make sausage rolls. But that's about it.
But the East-of-England Co-op are celebrating Local Produce and I got an email with the offer of this 'breakfast pack' with 4 sausages, 4 rashers of bacon and two pork burgers with 4 free eggs all for £4. (The farm that produce this pork are in Suffolk) The Dividend vouchers had just arrived too with a £2 voucher for me to use. So I just paid £2.
I've put the sausages into the freezer and will eat the burgers and bacon during the week.
Then I'll be off meat again for a while, back to pasta with home made sauce, nut burgers, fish, eggs and cheesey things.
The new Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall programme last Monday focusing on plastic waste was interesting, he went to see the huge heaps of plastic, some from this country, contaminating villages in Malaysia. The cheap meat offer above comes with a black polystyrene tray, plastic cover and paper label stuck to the plastic.........nothing recyclable. Very Bad Co-op!
The programme did an interview with Tesco about why 3 peppers bought separately loose cost so much more than 3 peppers together wrapped in plastic. - There was really no answer except "we're working on it". Hugh was also promoting tap water - hooray for that. I tried to persuade people on the campsite that the water there was very drinkable but there were always loads of bought water bottles in the bins - the amount of rubbish was one of the worst things about running a campsite. Another pet hate was having the loos to clean on the campsite when the weather was like it has been the last few days with all the wet grass being carted in and muddy footprints, at least I don't have that job anymore, now it's just cat sized footprints on the bed cover!
Hope the forecast is right saying things should pick up for the weekend as this grey,cold and wet weather is no good at all for my mental health, I expect many people feel the same.
Thanks for all the comments about the garden tour yesterday, I forgot to mention there are a short row of mange-tout peas inside the mesh frames as well as the leeks and sweetcorn. Tasker suggested the tall shrub with branches covered in sprays of white could be a Deutzia and I looked it up and I'm sure he is right, it's putting a very good display this year. He also asked if I cover the raspberries and Yes, I will. There are some tall canes fixed in the raspberry bed and I will use a stepladder and chuck a huge quite close-mesh net (left here for us to use) right over the top. It worked OK last year, it's the best I can do with such a muddle of raspberry canes.
Back Tomorrow
Sue
Well done Hugh for helping raise awareness - especially by hassling the supermarkets. I can remember going to Sainsbury's as a child and the cheese was cut and wrapped in paper, so was the bacon - and of course we took our own shopping bags. We've become too dependent on plastic wrapped precut portions
ReplyDeleteOh, bother - I meant to watch that. I must search for it on catch-up. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeletexx
I watched Hugh's programme the other day and it was really thought provoking, but seeing all that British plastic waste piled high in Malaysia was horrifying. I would love to follow the trail of recycling back from when I put it out in my divided green stacker boxes to it's final destinations.
ReplyDeleteI think I mentioned last week over on my Challenge blog that I will soon be doing 'a week without plastic', but I'm beginning to wonder if that will even be possible ... or at the very least I will have to rename it 'a week using as little plastic as possible' as I'm noticing that even inside some boxes and non-plastic packs, you come across a film of plastic over the food.
Your garden tour was great.
In an attempt to lower my histamine levels (affect asthma badly), I have been cutting down on red meat (difficult to get it fresh) and going more in a veggie direction. I watched 2/3 of that programme too and British producers of unrecyclable plastic packaging should hang their blardy heads in shame. It IS possible to use recyclable packaging - Sainsbury's have cut out the plastic bags for fruit and veg and plastic trays too. I would shop there but our nearest one is in Swansea - a 50 mile round trip.
ReplyDeleteLike Angela, I can remember cheese being wrapped in greaseproof - hah, and remembering after a week because mum never covered it with a dish or similar, the outside would be hard and cracked!
It has been known for years that what we put in recycling has been ending up exported to China in containers and then dumped. Nothing new in what H F-W has found, except perhaps a new destination. Best thing to do is incinerate as much as you can and forget supermarkets and shop where plastic isn't used, local independent shops and markets. Then your plastic free days will happen.
ReplyDeleteI watch Hugh as well, he is good at getting everywhere, I really would hope we as a country stop sending our waste elsewhere, if we had to deal with it the goverment would soon be looking at the source to stop the problem of the waste mountains.
ReplyDeleteI recorded Hugh's programme to watch later, but I have seen similar programmes about plastic. What I haven't been able to understand for many years is why did tinned food manufacturing change the cardboard for plastic when wrapping four tins together. I would like someone to explain that to me, please.
ReplyDeleteShrink wrap is more cost effective than cardboard, quick, less space needed, it is win win for manufacturers and pallets shrink wrapped are also secure, easy to load and safe. Shrink wrapping machines make life easier for all concerned in getting goods from factory to end user.
DeleteThank you Rachel. Greatly appreciated.
DeleteWe have become so dependent upon plastic. I wish it could all be recycled and reused.
ReplyDeleteYour approach to meat is good for the environment.
I rarely eat meat Sue - I just don't fancy it any more. The only meat I would find it hard to give up is bacon (especially smoked streaky in bacon sandwiches). As for plastic - it appals me. Our best fruit and veg stall on the Friday market sells absolutely everythin from crates and puts it into brown paper bags. I buy as much as I can from them and if I want enough to take down my trolley then I just get it in my trolley and not even in bags unless it is 'frail' like say grapes.
ReplyDeleteOur farmer friend had an abundance of lambs a couple of years ago and so we got a freezer full of lamb. It has totally spoiled me for buying meat from the butcher or supermarket now.
ReplyDeleteOh Sue, I really enjoyed watching the garden tour. Savour your breakfast pack of meat...more than likely designed to satisfy for one meal?! x
ReplyDeleteI am eating less meat and cholesterol laden products. I just need to figure out a way to get all the protein and calcium I need.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your meat pack.
God bless.