The Winter of Discontent #3 Food, energy, transport, jobs, housing, cost of living etc

[Saddlesoap]

Don't worry ... I didn't know either until I looked into it. Actually I was surprised that such a high proportion of UK venison is still 'wild'. I read a paper produced by a farmer who was looking into including deer as part of his farming. The thing that stood out amongst the costs was of course fencing.

I guess deer are pretty flighty and can jump. Sheep, cows, pigs can be (more) easily handled.


Sorry, really trying not to sound like a typical veggie here
I think I big problem is people's mindsets. Deer are cute things that feature in Disney films, they are not to be eaten.

 

[Doc]

My old dad buys half a deer at a time, chops it into joints himself and feeds himself and mum for months for about £80. I can’t tell much of a difference from beef tbh.

I would suffer quite a lot without meat. Seed oils, legumes and some nuts cause massive inflammation for me whereas animal products don’t. My psoriasis that plagued me for years cleared up completely once I switched to animal protein and fats. A side effect of my inflammation is anaemia too, so it makes sense to me to eat offal etc. it works wonders for me personally but I know results may vary.

There’s some decent sales for warm winter clothes if anyone is planning for next winter. I’ve just bought my daughter some fleecy leggings to try and stop her frying herself in front of the electric fire

 

[Purrrrrrr]

I guess deer are pretty flighty and can jump. Sheep, cows, pigs can be (more) easily handled.


Sorry, really trying not to sound like a typical veggie here
I think I big problem is people's mindsets. Deer are cute things that feature in Disney films, they are not to be eaten.

This is a road I drive down a number of times a year it's not far from me. the road goes through a deer park

 

[emm]

Wow I would rather nothing then

i dont get why they dont hve an option to choose not to get something if it is unavailable, they do this on places like deliveroo. it is one of the things that puts me off ordering online tbh

 

[Falkor]

I guess deer are pretty flighty and can jump. Sheep, cows, pigs can be (more) easily handled.


Sorry, really trying not to sound like a typical veggie here
I think I big problem is people's mindsets. Deer are cute things that feature in Disney films, they are not to be eaten.

Yes, if you think about the height of a standard stock fence for sheep, you need to double it to keep deer in - or out, which is what most of the farmers use it for around here. At this time of year they'll strip a field bare of grass just as you really need it for lambing and barge ewes out of the way at hay feeding rings. Plus they're usually riddled with ticks and if they get passed on to young lambs then the lambs can get something called joint ill, which is an incredibly painful infection of the leg joints that requires a couple of antibiotic injections to shift it.

 

[Jc456]

i dont get why they dont hve an option to choose not to get something if it is unavailable, they do this on places like deliveroo. it is one of the things that puts me off ordering online tbh

You can choose what you want substitutes on with sainsburys, tesco and asda. I'm not sure on the others

 

[Moth]

I guess deer are pretty flighty and can jump. Sheep, cows, pigs can be (more) easily handled.
Sorry, really trying not to sound like a typical veggie here
I think I big problem is people's mindsets. Deer are cute things that feature in Disney films, they are not to be eaten.

Well I believe a cow jumped over the moon but I think that's the exception. On the other hand trying to keep deer in one place must be pretty difficult.

There is no real logic to what meat people will eat is there? Actually I like venison and we tend to have it in place of beef now although once a week at the very most. I don't really eat a lot of red meat nowadays, mostly chicken and fish. I have eaten ostrich, alligator and kangaroo but the mere thought of eating horse, dog or whatever !!

 

[Codiaeum]

I really like venison! Around major holidays like Christmas, it can be very expensive, but my grandma, who usually cooks a divine venison roast on Christmas, knows a hunter and gets it for a very good price.
We have scaled down our meat consumption in the past couple of years quite a lot and especially in the last year. The quality of the meat in our Aldi, which we bought for years, has gone down noticeably in the last two years. We typically now buy meat and deli meats from another supermarket. It is more expensive there, but the quality is so much better than a pound of ground meat lasts you longer than the same from Aldi, which shrank down to almost nothing in the pan. Probably comes out even in the end, as I typically can make three meals for two people with a pound of ground meat from the other supermarket. Still, meat is expensive and I'm looking to cook mostly vegetarian dishes, with the odd vegan dish thrown in as well.

What I personally find very sad is that many people seem to not know how to cook without a set recipe and if there are a few carrots leftover, don't know anything to do with it. I love throwing things together, odd ends of this and that can make the best dishes! I think when people were less scared of trying out things in the kitchen, a lot of food waste wouldn't even happen, but on the other hand, if you have a tight budget, I totally understand that people might not want to "risk it" and rather cook something they know they can do.


Edit, because that is what I actually wanted to write here:
Was at a birthday yesterday and of course, the supply chain issues were a talking point. Someone even mentioned that they were going to stock up on candles, as they had several power outages over the past four weeks and it seemed to coincide with the gas power plants needing scaling down (Russian gas...). Normally, the power supply is rock-solid in Germany, so if it happens multiple times within a short period and no storms or similar, then something is off.

 

[HaggisInMyBin]

I really like venison! Around major holidays like Christmas, it can be very expensive, but my grandma, who usually cooks a divine venison roast on Christmas, knows a hunter and gets it for a very good price.
We have scaled down our meat consumption in the past couple of years quite a lot and especially in the last year. The quality of the meat in our Aldi, which we bought for years, has gone down noticeably in the last two years. We typically now buy meat and deli meats from another supermarket. It is more expensive there, but the quality is so much better than a pound of ground meat lasts you longer than the same from Aldi, which shrank down to almost nothing in the pan. Probably comes out even in the end, as I typically can make three meals for two people with a pound of ground meat from the other supermarket. Still, meat is expensive and I'm looking to cook mostly vegetarian dishes, with the odd vegan dish thrown in as well.

What I personally find very sad is that many people seem to not know how to cook without a set recipe and if there are a few carrots leftover, don't know anything to do with it. I love throwing things together, odd ends of this and that can make the best dishes! I think when people were less scared of trying out things in the kitchen, a lot of food waste wouldn't even happen, but on the other hand, if you have a tight budget, I totally understand that people might not want to "risk it" and rather cook something they know they can do.


Edit, because that is what I actually wanted to write here:
Was at a birthday yesterday and of course, the supply chain issues were a talking point. Someone even mentioned that they were going to stock up on candles, as they had several power outages over the past four weeks and it seemed to coincide with the gas power plants needing scaling down (Russian gas...). Normally, the power supply is rock-solid in Germany, so if it happens multiple times within a short period and no storms or similar, then something is off.

I used to think I was awful at cooking. And I was! Because I had no idea what I was doing. I then had an operation on my knee and spent a few days stuck on the sofa watching tv. Channel hopping I ended up on a food channel and picked a few recipes I wanted to try. I was signed off work for a month so I cooked them. Some were great. Some were beyond awful, but I learned some things and picked more things to try. I’m by no means an amazing home cook but I’ve now got a decent range of herbs and spices and can throw together a ‘surprise’ meal out of what’s left in the fridge and store cupboard staples. Some of them have become family favourites.

It really seems to be a forgotten skill to cook with what you have and it’s sadly not being taught in UK schools - my teenage son has a Food Tech class this week - he has to take in the ingredients for a very specific meal which I will need to go and buy as 4 out of the 7 are not things we use.

I have Muntjac Deer in my garden some mornings. I enjoy watching them while I’m making breakfast but I’d have no qualms about killing one (humanely) and butchering it to feed my family if I ever needed to.

Power cuts were a fairly regular part of my childhood so I’ve always had a supply of candles, matches, torches, batteries, camping stove, camping gas, bbq, charcoal, blankets etc. I have fond memories of a Christmas dinner being partially cooked on the BBQ in the pissing rain and howling winds of Western Scotland one year as our power was out - as a child I thought it was exotic.

 

[PillowsofFluff]

This conversation has reminded me I have some lamb hearts in the freezer anyone got any good recipes?

 

[Brigitjonesbuttcheek]

I think food shortages and increases in prices are gonna be the hardest on people with allergies and people who don't know how to cook.

I'm not too worried I can make a dinner out of pretty much anything. But anyone that relies on jars or has very limited cooking knowlage is gonna struggle. We'll end up with a real health crisis on our hands if people can't make healthy food out of what's affordable and available.

My local Aldi hasnt had sweet peppers for two weeks. We've just managed without but seeing stuff missing is getting very normal now.

 

[Pesky Tarian]

Agree completely also those with brand loyalty. I just tend to buy what ever is on offer that given week, means we end up with lots of variety too.

Lidl has been missing my staples for months now: spicy bean burgers, 50 l bin liners, tortillas. Also their new standard washing up liquid Wyx is completely rubbish !

I really think Aldi will struggle to sell their 14.99 Easter egg this year. I will be happy to swoop in and buy them at a bargain reduced price though !

 

[IfTheCapFits]

Cucumbers back in tesco, they were very small compared to normal , mustn't grumble though!

 

[Codiaeum]

I got two kilos of flour today! Wheat and spelt, both of which we were out of. My plan to go to the store at around 11 really went well. It's my last day off, and normally I either need to go before work, when they often are still stocking up the shelves, or after work, when the store is raided, so I was happy that I could go today.
Toilet paper seems to become an issue again, not a single roll in sight.

 

[Brigitjonesbuttcheek]

I never buy brands, I just get supermarket own. Can't see the point in brands when it comes to food. It's all made the same, the supermarket just doesn't have to put money into marketing and packaging.

 

[DameKitty]

I'm not the best at cooking. I lack confidence in it and as a single person find portions an issue (and I'm a bit funny with some food and freezing it). I work long shifts including nights so don't always feel like standing for ages doing meal prep etc but know I need to be better about it. My shopping bill is always really high as I often go for convenience and often lower cal ready meals for the weeks where I know I'm going to struggle with time/energy to cook. I've never been one to know how to prep a meal with whatever I have left over so need to learn how to do that if anyone has any advice or starting points? I'm lactose intolerant and all that stuff is much more expensive than regular - milk being a big one. I think in Sainsburys a 1ltr carton of their lactose free milk is £1 (or was last time I bought it in there) but Tesco is £1.20. Whereas a larger 2 pint bottle of milk is 95p so it all adds up.

My council tax has only gone up by about £60 this year (had to look it up as my council still hasn't sent the letters out to all residents!) so that's taken a small pressure off, especially with this rebate that is due but I'm worried about the cost of everything else so can't be dropping the amount I do on a weekly shop anymore!

 

[kneedeepsnow]

I'm not the best at cooking. I lack confidence in it and as a single person find portions an issue (and I'm a bit funny with some food and freezing it). I work long shifts including nights so don't always feel like standing for ages doing meal prep etc but know I need to be better about it. My shopping bill is always really high as I often go for convenience and often lower cal ready meals for the weeks where I know I'm going to struggle with time/energy to cook. I've never been one to know how to prep a meal with whatever I have left over so need to learn how to do that if anyone has any advice or starting points? I'm lactose intolerant and all that stuff is much more expensive than regular - milk being a big one. I think in Sainsburys a 1ltr carton of their lactose free milk is £1 (or was last time I bought it in there) but Tesco is £1.20. Whereas a larger 2 pint bottle of milk is 95p so it all adds up.

My council tax has only gone up by about £60 this year (had to look it up as my council still hasn't sent the letters out to all residents!) so that's taken a small pressure off, especially with this rebate that is due but I'm worried about the cost of everything else so can't be dropping the amount I do on a weekly shop anymore!

The bbc good food website is so good for learning to cook there are some fab recipe collections (they’re listed by dietary requirements, season, ingredient, cooking time, difficulty rating etc) and the search function is really good. The more you cook the more you know the basics of how dishes are put together, the more adventurous you get.

You said you’re funny with freezing some foods, and portion sizes. Most recipe will make 4 portions, so half the ingredients, make 2 portions and put the other one in the freezer for the next day? Means you only have to cook once for 2 days and you don’t have to worry about the freezer.

 

[Jc456]

The bbc good food website is so good for learning to cook there are some fab recipe collections (they’re listed by dietary requirements, season, ingredient, cooking time, difficulty rating etc) and the search function is really good. The more you cook the more you know the basics of how dishes are put together, the more adventurous you get.

You said you’re funny with freezing some foods, and portion sizes. Most recipe will make 4 portions, so half the ingredients, make 2 portions and put the other one in the freezer for the next day? Means you only have to cook once for 2 days and you don’t have to worry about the freezer.

If you did this you could do something like spag bol/chilli one day and then the next warm it back up and have on top of a jacket potato
@DameKitty we are dairy free, soya yogurts and soya/oat milk is cheaper in aldi/lidl

 

[Cantthinkofausername]

I never buy brands, I just get supermarket own. Can't see the point in brands when it comes to food. It's all made the same, the supermarket just doesn't have to put money into marketing and packaging.

I'm the same (apart from the odd special offer which works out cheaper). I must have saved thousands of pounds over the years.

 

[kneedeepsnow]

If you did this you could do something like spag bol/chilli one day and then the next warm it back up and have on top of a jacket potato
@DameKitty we are dairy free, soya yogurts and soya/oat milk is cheaper in aldi/lidl

Mmm such a good idea.

Meant to say put it in the fridge not freezer