Thanks to everyone for the comments yesterday. I knew lots of points would be raised so will try to answer.
- I live alone, cooking and eating is not as much "fun" as it was when I had a husband to appreciate food!
- Therefore for me this is fun. Doing something completely different just for a while is good for the brain.
- A lot of people have to manage on less and a lot spend more that's why there's a thing called "the average"
- I don't drink fruit juice at all
- I agree that the ready made sauces are mainly water and thickening and that's why there are none bought.
- I have no concerns about eating 3 portions of fruit a day - not all are acidic.
So back to the Value Ranges Experiment - (The V.R.E) Part 2. Yesterdays post explains what I'm doing.....still not sure why!.
I'm not planning to write about breakfasts, the small meal and any snacks each day but below is the way things will be used.
I'll be doing more cooking, which is probably a good thing to stop me getting lazy . Apologies that measurements will be a random mix of kilograms and pounds/ounces, because items are sold in kilos but my mind works in ounces.
The 1.5kg bag of bread flour makes 3 medium loaves in the bread-maker (400g used in each) leaving a little to use as plain flour. Each home made loaf makes around 10 good slices and 2 crusts.
I did another shop including fresh stuff which will be on tomorrows post, then got started.
Breakfasts
375g Rice Crispies makes 13 portions or
2 tins grapefruit makes 6 portions or
Home made bread as toast with marmalade .
Main Meals
Using the main Value range items
Other meal
Sandwich using bought sliced bread, 1 per day, with various fillings (cheese,egg,chicken)
Also available so far
Fresh fruit
2 Tins Pineapple
Tin peaches
Crumpets
Toast if not eaten for breakfast
Any cakes I make from the bought ingredients.
Drinks
2 Cups coffee
Water
+ Although I realised I'd totally forgotten to add my definitely Not value range decaff frothy coffees in the evening. Which will add £2 a week for each week. I'll add that at the end of each 7 days.
I started off by making 8 scones, 1 pastry case, Fish curry which included some potatoes and making mashed potatoes to put in freezer for later, using..................
1 egg (glazing scones and then used the rest to make scrambled egg sandwich).
2 + 2½ ounces of the baking fat/Willow spread
8 + 5 oz S.R. flour
2oz sugar
2 small onions
3 pieces fish
1 tin tomatoes
Curry powder
Stock cube to make stock
Tomato Puree
Tablespoon of flour
Couple of Tablespoons from the bag of mixed frozen veg, ( I tried to take out most of the bits of carrot - carrots are all wrong in Curry - a bit of a fiddly job!)
600g Potatoes - some left chunkier for curry and some mashed and frozen.
50g Rice
The curry made 3 portions, 1 to eat and two for the freezer.
I ate my curry and rice with a mini naan from the freezer..
It was good but because curry always seems better reheated the two from the freezer will probably be even better.
I've already realised that it would have been better to have bought a bag of just frozen peas even if they are not value brand because the bag of Value Brand mixed frozen vegetables is mainly carrots and I've bought them fresh (on tomorrows post).
Back Tomorrow
Sue
Sounds like an interesting experiment. I will be interested in the outcome.
ReplyDeleteAll the working out and planning is a good for the old brain!
DeleteI have found similar with mixed veg,also the mixed berries where the Blackcurrants are too sharp! Isn’t it strange how divisive food can be by the comments on your last post. There are obviously far more affluent commentators than me, telling us to drop supermarkets. I guess I fall into rural poor category, thank heavens for LIDL, their fresh foods, fish and eggs still the cheapest around here. Plenty of farm shops if you have the money. Being a child of the 40s/50s, food was fuel and nothing more, this still reasonates with me. Eating food from far off lands or out of season doesn’t sit right with me but younger generations seem happy to gobble up Pizza, Chinese food and curries without a 2nd thought when we have such wonderful home grown produce, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, purple sprouting broccoli etc. Sarah Browne.
ReplyDeleteI went to the nearest once-a-month farmers market a couple of weeks ago when they re-opened after winter. The only food things to buy were venison, pork, cakes and wholemeal bread! No veg at all
DeleteI'm an Aussie so things are a bit different here, but I found the commentary a bit funny too!
DeleteMost country towns only have supermarkets or a general store. The town I loved in for nearly 40 years didn't have a fruit and veg shop or a butcher for decades. No farmer's market. And that's just the norm. I
If you can find a butcher or a fruit and veg shop, the prices will be WAY above what you will pay in the supermarket.
Sorry, that Anon comment is me!
DeleteI am looking forward to following your progress with this one.
ReplyDeleteCooking for two when you both have different tastes can be a challenge. If only we could afford to eat out more often then we could just choose whatever we fancy.
I was so lucky as we both grew up having to eat whatever was put in front of us and being grateful so we always ate the same with enthusiasm!
DeleteThat looks a tasty meal. It just shows you don't need to spend a lot of money to eat well. I occasionally (about every 6 mths) get led astray by a boughten pizza, which is always a huge disappointment, then I still have the other portion to heat up and force down. I look forward to seeing what you have planned for your meals.
ReplyDeleteIt was hilarious trying to pick the peas out of the mixed frozen veg! I've not worked a pizza into the experiment so far but I might
DeleteThere are recipes out there for carrot Curry, but I agree with you, carrots really don't have a place in Curry. Personally, I'm not a fan of frozen carrots. They are cheap enough and plentiful. One little extravagance I now have to indulge in is pre prepared vegetables. I know they're more expensive, but when you can barely hold a knife, it's a lot safer to take a couple of handfuls out of a bag from the freezer.
ReplyDeleteDo you still get parcels from Approved Foods? I was reading an article on them a couple of days ago. Apparently, their business has gone from strength to strength. And it seems it's one of the big missed opportunities that came on Dragon's Den.
Deb in Wales.
I get regular emails from Approved Food and look occasionally but they never have anything I need nowadays and if they do it tends to be more expensive brands so haven't used them for several years
DeleteI suppose adult attitudes to food depends a lot on your childhood. My mum spent the duration of WWII on a Shropshire farm where she always said food was never so good or so abundant. I think she recreated that experience for us growing up in the 1960s and 70s. Our large suburban garden was on the site of an old orchard and we had apple, pear and damson trees and a third of the garden was productive. My eldest brother became a chef, spending four years developing his skills with the Savoy Group after two years at college and worked in some of the finest restaurants around the world. My mum taught me that food and eating is a pleasure and that is now ingrained in me. I took on my allotment in 2001, I was the only young woman there, because I wanted to give my family the best possible food. I feel sad that we have a situation today where so many people are completely dependent on the cheapest supermarket offerings. I stopped shopping in supermarkets in the early 1990s when I was studying part time for a MBA. I had to do a study of a supermarket and I chose Tesco and bought some Tesco shares to make it more meaningful. I soon realised that supermarkets do not care one jot for their customers or suppliers. The only thing that matters to them is keeping their shareholders happy because that gives them the leverage to buy more land, open more stores, squeeze the supplier further and rinse the customer of every penny they earn. The value of my shares in Tesco doubled in one year earning me thousands of pounds for doing nothing. Have just finished my breakfast of porridge cooked on the hob using a mixture of half jumbo and half rolled organic oats (bought loose from the refill shop), half milk and water, served with a dollop of yogurt made with whole milk bought in reuseable glass bottles from the local farm using nothing more sophisticated than a milk pan, 500ml thermos flask, my pinky finger and a warm cupboard - I make yogurt nearly every day) and one large cox’s apple grated for three of us. Lunch in the winter is always homemade soup plus cold pork sandwiches for the men today and dinner tonight will be based around purple sprouting broccoli from the garden. I don’t snack between meals but I have a mid-morning coffee made using my original Kenco coffee filter which I took from home when I went to university and ground coffee from the village roastery and in the afternoon a pot of tea made with loose tea - so much nicer than teabags. I know we are all different and that’s really important. I’ve just bought a tea plant (camellia sinensis) so I can grow my own tea! I wonder how many people would consider that instead of an ornamental potted plant. I think your experiment is generating some interesting informative comments from around the world. Sarah in Sussex
ReplyDeleteMy Mum grew up 2nd oldest of 6 in a town council house with a father who was often ill - with no pay -because of working in a factory with asbestos - this was before anyone knew. During the war the eldest two children often went without so there was enough for the youngest.
DeleteYou write so well and at such length it would be useful if you started your own blog to share more.
A brilliant start to your challenge Sue, I happily hand over my food challenge baton. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI remember on one of my challenges separating out the mixed veg into different bags so that I didn't have to have 'mixed veg' with every meal. It's always obvious what is the cheapest ingredient by what you get of each type. You also get a bit of frostbite with this technique!
Those scones and your pastry look so tempting. I'm really missing carbs ... can you tell?
Better not call it a challenge - that's your expertise! Mine is just an experiment.
DeleteOff to a great start, Sue, and I agree about the mixed veg-I sometimes use them for soup. Agree also with the comment above about mainly currants in mixed fruit bags. Your scones look delicious-enjoy! Catriona
ReplyDeleteI'm cross about the mixed veg - never bought them before - should have realised.
DeleteI live alone and cook for one, but I enjoy it, after years of catering to a picky partner! In his later years he became more appreciative, but I do enjoy cooking for myself.
ReplyDeleteI was very lucky with my husband who ate everything!
DeleteHave you thought of getting a milk frother? I have a cappuccino maker. I start my morning with a frothy cup and it is no more expensive to put together than a regular cup of coffee. I know that it has way less sugar.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about the sachet is that they use hot water rather than milk so are less fattening - more of a mock cappuccino.
DeleteEspresso is brewed as usual. I use 1% milk, 4 oz. The lower fat milk actually froths better than higher fat. I suppose it is what your tastes are accustomed to. After all these years, sachets are too sweet for my tastes. You might find my drink to be unpalatable as well.
DeleteI also like to cook my own food. Your curry and homemade bread looks delicious. As for berries, when the berry season starts, it will be nice to go to Parlee's Farm to pick my own berries. They are by far the tastiest. Until then, it will be Wyman's frozen mixed berries for me. During the snow storm on Saturday, I made chicken vegetable with rice soup. I have enough for a few days and froze some for later.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of frozen fruit so tend to eat fresh or canned
DeleteI completely agree about the jarred sauces. Mostly water and it's easier for me to open a can of tomatoes and start fresh. Love a curry but no one else in the house does so, alas.
ReplyDeleteI've never used any jars of curry or tomato based sauces - always start from scratch with an onion
DeleteI don’t know if it’s like this where you live, but I’ve noticed that the name brand frozen veg here is actually much better than the store brand. I’m not sure when that happened… I used to find they were much of a muchness, and then recently I had to buy Birdseye frozen broccoli because they were out of the store brand, and I was amazed at how much more usable food broccoli there was in the package. Big florets instead of all the tiny bits of stem.
ReplyDelete(I don’t usually comment, but I really enjoy your blog!)
I love to hear from people who don't often comment and glad you enjoy reading.
DeleteIn 'normal' times I only have a bag of stir fry veg, frozen peas, sweetcorn, spinach and vegetable chips in the freezer and my own peppers. When I've had frozen broccoli or cauliflower I've always managed to make them go soggy! I stick to fresh now - much safer for me
That lovely home made loaf looks great - nothing nicer than fresh bread - and doesn't the house smell great too.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying this experiment/investigation. xx
Mmm, it all sounds wonderful. Your experiment is off to an excellent start I see.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I think I'm heading to yours for tea! That bread looks delicious. I used to love making bread (admittedly, mainly it was in my bread machine) but I haven't used it for a while. It tastes a lot better than bought bread and even now is cheaper than a loaf of bread here!
ReplyDelete