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

[Codiaeum]

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.

BBC Good Food also do a great magazine that I look forward to every month. Reasonable portion sizes and they even have a feature where they give you ideas what to do with the leftovers some of the recipes generate.
Olive is another great British magazine. I have a Readly subscription and have fallen into an abyss of British cooking magazines, many of them are much, much nicer than German ones.

BudgetBytes is a good blog for this as well. It's based in the US, and some things aren't available here, but the founder generally creates recipes with normal grocery items, is huge on leftovers and not wasting anything. Too many recipes with a ton of garlic in it (yuck for me), but still a nice blog!

 

[Ibrokethegoddamnwheel]

My energy supplier is trying to get me to increase my dd again as apparently £250 a month isn’t enough to cover our usage and they want £290. I’m not doing it, 4/5 weeks ago I increased my dd and the app said the amount would be fine to cover my usage and not end up in debit. That was when I was having the heating on a lot more compared to now when I only have it on for an hour here and there since it’s gotten a bit warmer. I’m also out of the house more due to starting a new job so I know we’ll be using less electric too in the coming months.

I’m going to keep an eye on things but I’m not going to keep increasing my dd indefinitely on their say so, they’re playing on peoples fears imo so they can make money out of peoples credit. It’s getting a bit silly now. Can barely afford £250 a month it’s just extortionate. God knows how people will cope come October.

 

[Pesky Tarian]

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!

Some great ideas, I second bbc good food. I would really advise getting a slow cooker, they are so good when you've been out at work all day and have no energy to cook. Chilli's, meatballs hardly any prep. I sometimes just bang a whole chicken in there and it does for sandwiches, wraps, pasta salad.

Also tray bakes med or root veg and couple of sausages/chicken thighs, this is my go to when cooking for just me as I'm loathe to create lots of dishes to wash!

This is one of my fave books as it offers the option to cook in slow cooker or conventional oven (and Dean's lovely )

 

[emm]

My energy supplier is trying to get me to increase my dd again as apparently £250 a month isn’t enough to cover our usage and they want £290. I’m not doing it, 4/5 weeks ago I increased my dd and the app said the amount would be fine to cover my usage and not end up in debit. That was when I was having the heating on a lot more compared to now when I only have it on for an hour here and there since it’s gotten a bit warmer. I’m also out of the house more due to starting a new job so I know we’ll be using less electric too in the coming months.

I’m going to keep an eye on things but I’m not going to keep increasing my dd indefinitely on their say so, they’re playing on peoples fears imo so they can make money out of peoples credit. It’s getting a bit silly now. Can barely afford £250 a month it’s just extortionate. God knows how people will cope come October.

yeah I agree, I am considering getting rid of my DD for bills as I don't trust them to not overcharge so Ihave to claim back tbh

 

[underwhelmed1985]

I read some where that 50% of your income should be on bills, 30% on fun and 20% savings well, I’ve worked mine out as 67/13/20 lol! Just interested to see what split everyone else has!

 

[Jc456]

Food Waste Recipes | Foods & Recipes | LFHW

Use our foods and recipes search tool to look at Love Food Hate Waste recipes, best food saving practices, nutritional information and more.

www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

This one you can type what you've got left over and it'll show recipes

 

[Brigitjonesbuttcheek]

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!

Honestly, Delia. She's a bit old school but she does the basics and home cooking. She also does a budget show with some good tips for cooking with tinned and frozen food.

When I was cooking for just me and hubbie I struggled with waste and portions too because everything is portioned for a family of 4. Using frozen veg helps. Even things like frozen mash, you can just portion a bit out instead of buying a big bag of potatos which will spout before you eat them.

Have you tried dairy free rather than lactos free. The butter spreads are cheaper than actual butter and the milk is on par with cows milk. The milk just takes a bit of getting used to.

 

[emm]

I read some where that 50% of your income should be on bills, 30% on fun and 20% savings well, I’ve worked mine out as 67/13/20 lol! Just interested to see what split everyone else has!

I mean in London at least about 60% is rent let alone bills! mine is pretty similar to yours I would say (at the moment) but I think savings will become 0 very soon

 

[DameKitty]

Thanks everyone . I've got a slow cooker but rarely use it. I'm ok with freezing things like bolognese which I do on the odd occasion batch cook. Oh and I do the Pinch of Nom Pizza Pasta and freeze 5 or the 6 portions of that (I'm ok with hard cheddar and can tolerate the small amount of mozzarella that ends up on each portion. It's more things with chicken etc in and I have the fear about batch cooking anything with rice too!

I shall take a look at the Good Food website and see if anything takes my fancy pretty certain I had a Delia book for easy cooking too but I think I may have let my mum borrow it (and also never cook from it as she's not a natural cook either) and it's stayed at theirs, will have a look next time I'm there.

The milk I get is just the lactose free stuff as I can't get on with soya/oat/nut milks - almond milk is beyond grim but maybe I need to persevere with soya if I can get it cheaper than the lactose free stuff. Not drinking tea or coffee means I don't have to worry so much about how they go in hot drinks and it's only for porridge I use it as I rarely have cereal too.

 

[Jc456]

Jamie Oliver Ministry of food book is quite good, I used that when I first moved out.
Agree re dairy free, flora (all except buttery), vitalite and I can't believe it's not butter are df

Jamie's Ministry of Food Recipes | Jamie Oliver

Discover Jamie’s plan to spread cooking skills, Ministry of Food teaches people to cook in 24 hours see the recipes at JamieOliver.com

www.jamieoliver.com

 

[Brigitjonesbuttcheek]

Is there anywhere you can watch the old cooking shows, maybe YouTube. I much prefer just watching how things are done to reading a recipe when it comes to dinner type meals.

 

[Thank(space)you]

I read some where that 50% of your income should be on bills, 30% on fun and 20% savings well, I’ve worked mine out as 67/13/20 lol! Just interested to see what split everyone else has!

I don't know about percentages but my monthly income is £1900 and my bills are £1550 so definitely not right for me I try to put £50 pcm in savings.


My sister suggested a money wallet idea so I'm gonna try that and see if that helps

 

[kneedeepsnow]

Loving all these ideas for places to get easy budget friendly recipes. I’m all about that life, with 2 kids and a strict food budget I’m learning loads as I go.

The one thing I’ve found that is honestly a game changer for saving money and no waste is having a meal plan. We never throw anything away now because everything we buy is assigned to a meal.

 

[Lindylou]

I second meal planning, it doesnt take long to do and it will save money, we also rarely waste food.

 

[Doc]

Agree with the above! We meal plan, it helps me avoid wasting fresh produce and means I can use up leftovers easier too. Another game changer is vacuum sealer. I hated putting leftovers in the freezer as it always ended up freezer burnt and gross. But vacuum sealer prevents that. I just scribble on with a sharpie what day I froze it and what it is and pop it in the fridge overnight to defrost. I hate wasting the plastic bags so cut them open just under the seal, wash them out and reuse

Tight af.

 

[Cantthinkofausername]

I don't know if she's been mentioned yet, but I follow Frugalqueen in France on youtube. She goes into detail on her budgeting, meal plans and has some good recipes.

 

[underwhelmed1985]

I love a good meal plan. Did a weekly shop today for £60 and I’ve two kids (although they do have school dinners). Meal plan this week is pasta pesto tomorrow (with leftovers for my lunches), sausages and mash, pizza, bolognaise, chicken roast, chicken curry and naan breads with leftover meat and jar sauce and scampi and chips. Other lunches for me and OH include cheese and pickle sandwiches, halloumi and chilli jam sandwiches and filled gnocchi. Snack wise I bought cereal bars, crisps, yoghurts for kids and fruit. Also included nappies, wipes, bin bags and a bottle wine. Not bad for £60 I don’t think

 

[Saddlesoap]

Thanks everyone . I've got a slow cooker but rarely use it. I'm ok with freezing things like bolognese which I do on the odd occasion batch cook. Oh and I do the Pinch of Nom Pizza Pasta and freeze 5 or the 6 portions of that (I'm ok with hard cheddar and can tolerate the small amount of mozzarella that ends up on each portion. It's more things with chicken etc in and I have the fear about batch cooking anything with rice too!

I shall take a look at the Good Food website and see if anything takes my fancy pretty certain I had a Delia book for easy cooking too but I think I may have let my mum borrow it (and also never cook from it as she's not a natural cook either) and it's stayed at theirs, will have a look next time I'm there.

The milk I get is just the lactose free stuff as I can't get on with soya/oat/nut milks - almond milk is beyond grim but maybe I need to persevere with soya if I can get it cheaper than the lactose free stuff. Not drinking tea or coffee means I don't have to worry so much about how they go in hot drinks and it's only for porridge I use it as I rarely have cereal too.

I personally wouldn't batch cook anything with rice as it can be a bit dodgy to reheat. Chicken is fine though, but I do know where you are coming from as I use to be the same. Just got to trust your instincts.

A really easy freezable meal:
Grate courgettes and carrots (quicker than chopping imo), add to pan with some butter and chopped onions (I buy frozen), add a tin of chopped tomatoes and half tin water with a stock cube. Cook pasta to aldente. Mix together. Put into a freeze/oven safe container (takeaway foil ones are great).
Can go into oven straight from freezer. I always have a few of these in the freezer for a quick meal.
Can sub any veg.

Also if using mince, sub half with the same amount of lentils. Nutritious and makes the meat go further. I'm veggie now, so all my 'old' mince meals I just make with lentils.

 

[HaggisInMyBin]

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!

• https://onedishkitchen.com/14-day-meal-plan/#grocery-list-start - has a few meal plans with recipes and shopping list for one. It’s American but might be a starting point for ideas and gives you a basic meal plan/shopping list you can tweak to suit you.
• If you have time and eat meat - I use a local butcher and buy the exact amounts I need as even when cooking for 4 I find supermarket meat doesn’t always come in the right size so we can end up with some wasted and the quality can be a bit hit and miss. They’re also often a good source of ideas on what to do with some cuts that you’d possibly never have bought before.
• Most veg is freezable. If you have the odd carrot or something leftover, chop it up and throw it in a container or food bag and freeze it. You can then pull out the bag, leave it for a bit and then gently heat in a pot before adding some stock (cubes are fine) and any other bits you have left over for a soup. Chuck in some Pearl barley, broken pasta, lentils or whatever else you have for an easy but quick, hearty meal.
• Don’t shy away from tinned foods. Tinned potatoes are great for making a Spanish Tortilla or Frittata. Some chopped tinned potatoes and a few whisked eggs in a pan - again you can add anything other bits that you’ve got nearing the turn.
• Packet Pearl Barley and tinned Chickpeas, Tinned tomato’s etc are cheap have a good shelf life. You can throw them in a pan with some stock or tinned tomatoes and whatever else you have leftover.
- (fake risotto made from Pearl Barley is a favourite in my house and can be reheated without the rice reheating concerns you have).
• Get a few cheap jars of dried herbs/spices - they last for longer than the dates say and can change a meal - if you know what you like, great, if not something like thyme is great with potatoes and not too strong and paprika is great for tinned tomato dishes.
• Buy a small pot/frying pan - most are too big for cooking for one. You can get these pretty cheaply from Asda or Amazon.

Apologies if that was a bit of a lengthy ramble.

 

[DameKitty]

You're all fab thank you. Will go through these properly at the weekend and start having a look at what to get. I'm on day 4 of a 7 day set of shifts and fit for nothing so crawling into bed before the next early alarm but I've got a lot to look through with all your lovely suggestions x