Friday 1 February 2019

What Katy ... err I mean Sue ... Did Next



So that was it, the end of the Eat the Stores Challenge. So what did I do next ... well my first job was to empty, sort out and clean the kitchen shelves.


I mixed a few of the contents of the jars together, split peas, yellow peas and pearl barley were all amalgamated with the dried soup mix, and neatly filled just the one jar instead of four.  I took away the Christmas lights and strung them carefully in the living room to be used as cosy lighting until the batteries run out.  The reason they were lying on the shelf and not hanging along the edge as usual is that I accidentally smashed two of the glass balls, and they weren't safe to hang over a food preparation area.

Then the shelves were given a good clean, everything I wanted on there was put back in place and it ended up looking like the top picture.


Then I braved the snow and ice and went shopping.

Nothing too excessive, just a couple of loaves, four packs of buns (our favourite Welsh buns are nearly always on offer at two packs for £2 whereas a single pack is £1.20, so when they're on offer I always buy them in pairs), some potatoes, onions, fruit, a couple of salady things and some yellow stickered meat and fish bargains to go into the freezer.


So now one shelf of the freezer looks like this.

I bought two boxes of  McCain Ready Baked Jacket Potatoes as they were on offer at half price.  They are not something I usually buy, but they're handy to have in to add to a meal at the last minute or when either of us is here on our own and need an easy lunch.

I also got a bag of our favourite chunky frozen chips to go with couple of packs of yellow stickered fish portions that I managed to pick up ... it makes for an easy no think about it tea when I'm brain-drained after a day working, a pack of yellow stickered chicken in breadcrumbs for Alan and as my favourite Ben and Jerry's non-dairy ice-cream was also on offer with £1.50 off ... it would have been rude not to get one of those for me   ;-)


The fishy products went in the empty bottom door pocket of the freezer.


And the sausages, once separated with Easyleave, were popped into a box to join everything else in my now tidy freezer.


I also got some Six Nations nibbles for Alan.

A multi-pack of 'Stockwell' brand crisps and some of his favourite Bacon Rashers. 


Now these little bags aren't much but when you add them to a plate of sandwiches give you a nice little crunch to add something to your meal (it also, along with the beer, helps take away the pain of your team losing like they usually do).  And at just £1 for a bag of 10 packets they are not to be sniffed at ... although I can only eat the ready salted flavour as even the salt and vinegar flavour have milk products in them for some reason!


And of course I also topped up his salted nut jar.  As a treat mixing in a bag of his favourite Honey Roasted Cashews as he has patiently waited for a new delivery of nuts for nearly a week.


So that's it Challenge One of this year done and dusted and we are back to normal, well a slightly new normal as I am determined from now on not to be over filling the cupboards or freezer in future.  Just enough in store to eat what we have bought within a few days, and with a back up supply of store cupboard basics that can be made into meals should the worse come to the worse ... you know snow, flood, illness, Brexit ... haha   ;-)


🍲



17 comments:

  1. Well done - a lovely organised start to the new month!
    xx

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    1. It felt really good to restock the shelves,especially as there was so much room on them :-)

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  2. I’m so impressed, my freezer is still bulging so this month I’m determined to eat everything I cook and not stockpile meals in it.
    This also means ignoring bargains which will be extremely painful!
    Sue

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    1. It's very hard to ignore those yellow stickers ... I know I had to wrench myself away from the bargain shelves a couple of times. In the end I found it best to avoid going in the shops for anything!

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  3. One suplimentary question.
    Why do you buy fish and meat substitutes?
    Is it to give more variety?
    This is a genuine question not a criticism. We are inching towards a meat free diet ourselves.
    Sue

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    1. When I first stopped eating meat and fish it was so that I could continue eating meals that looked (and prepared) like Alan's, and I guess I just got used to eating some of them. But my tastes have changed and now I would rather eat something totally different, or on occasion I will make a vegan meal and Alan will just have some meat on his plate to go with it.

      I do still like to have a sausage butty now and then so I use Linda McCartney sausages for that, and most likely will continue to buy them. I have tried all the 'bacon', burgers and fake minces and really do not like them as they have a terribly manufactured taste and texture, but one product I do find okay in curries etc is the vegan Quorn pieces or fillets, and they add a good source or protein to a meal too.

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    2. Thanks for the answer Sue. I can see your point about sausage butties.
      My weakness is fish finger butties. They are my absolute favourite at the moment!
      Sue

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  4. I'm heading out to the shops shortly while it's still only Minus 9C - it's scheduled to drop again by this afternoon and start snowing again! I've got a bit of cabin fever and have been spending too much time in front of the TV so I am deliberately saving some errands for tomorrow to once again force me out the door!
    I need some onions, carrots & salad greens and plan to pick up a few tins of lentils, canellini beans & tomato paste as I'm a bit low - but that's all on my list. Then I'll have a look for any in-store specials not listed in this week's flyer. Then it's a trip to the library to return a few books and to pick up some holds that have arrived. Then home to do some laundry - what an exciting start to the month! :-)
    PS - your shelves look lovely and tidy and I love your upright freezer - really wish I had room for something similar.

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    1. It might not be an exciting start to the month, but it does set you up nicely for the days to come, especially in those sorts of temperatures.

      Yes,I do like our shelves and the upright freezer :-)

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  5. A new month Sue and you've managed to get some ys items and replenished Alan's treats. I like to keep a stock of foods as we can get cut off if the weather is bad or if I can't get out due to hubby having early onset dementia. I'm continuing my low spend into Frugal February xx

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    1. I was really pleased with my ys purchases, I could have got lots more as the shelves were full of bargains, but I am still in restrained shopping mode so i just chose the things that were useful to us.

      Like you I am continuing my low spending in February ... Frugal February has a nice ring to it :-)

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  6. I love to see jars on shelves, I would love a pantry with jars all lined up.
    I wonder what the next challenge is going to be?

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    1. I prefer nice simple glass jars to all the garish packaging. I am decanting as much as I can into my jars at the moment so it was nice to free up a couple when I cleaned the shelves.

      The next Challenge is going to be chosen by my readers ... call back tomorrow for the list to chose from :-)

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  7. You do need to read the labels - milk in the Salt and Vinegar chips!??? How crazy is that!? Sorry you have to be so vigilant about your food :-(
    KJ

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    1. I know ... how ridiculous is that!!

      Sometimes I have eaten something quite innocuous and wondered why I have stomach ache and a blocked nose 30 minutes later and on reading the packaging found it contains whey powder or 'milk products'. I need to have my reading glasses handy whenever I go shopping now :-(

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  8. I understand what you are saying about checking labels. We have a new GSinlaw and a nephew who are allergic to different nuts and both have to carry epi-pens. It's amazing how many foods have nuts in them! You did so well on your challenge, good for you! It's -13C here at the moment and has been snowing since last night. We are going out shortly to do some walking laps at the mall and have supper. The next 4 days are supposed to be in the -28C range so we'll be staying home and probably shoveling snow!

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  9. You did very well in your challenge. Still working on mine. Slowly but surely getting the freezers cleaned up.

    God bless.

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