Breakfast - Granola and Almond Milk
with black coffee
It wasn't supposed to be a granola day, but I just had the urge to use up the last of the cereal and have the worktop a bit clearer. I do like using the last of something ... it's just one of my many strange little foibles!! Now the cereal box is off the worktop and in the recycling box, and the Smoothie that should have been this mornings breakfast has been moved to the final day.
It's a good job I write out my menu planner in pencil 😃
Lunch - Cheese and Onion Sandwiches with Tomato
Dinner - Potato, Chickpea and Cous Cous Curry
Served with more cous cous.
Gosh this was a HUGE portion and so filling and I managed to eat all but the last little bit of cous cous, which the chickens had in their breakfast treat bowl this morning.
The best thing about this week, apart from all the tasty foods of course, has been the menu planner. Having everything written down in black and white ... even if I have changed things round a little bit some days ... has been a godsend. Checking what's on the menu for each day and taking just what I need out of the freezer or double checking that it's still on the worktop, has made the whole of this Challenge so much easier.
Now that the Challenge is coming to an end I might give myself a week of freedom, just picking what I want from the cupboards and freezer and then after that go back to making a weekly menu plan using up what we have in store here at the house, we do need to whittle some foods down ready for moving house. But in the not too distant future money is once again going to be quite a bit tighter for me, so I do need to get into some good food habits. Of course I do know lots of tips and tricks for s t r e t c h i n g my foods out, and each and every one of them should stand me in good stead in the years to come.
Sue xx
📦
It wasn't supposed to be a granola day, but I just had the urge to use up the last of the cereal and have the worktop a bit clearer. I do like using the last of something ... it's just one of my many strange little foibles!! Now the cereal box is off the worktop and in the recycling box, and the Smoothie that should have been this mornings breakfast has been moved to the final day.
It's a good job I write out my menu planner in pencil 😃
Lunch - Cheese and Onion Sandwiches with Tomato
I was amazed at how lovely and fresh this tomato still was and couldn't resist putting a bit inside my sandwich as well. What a lovely fresh tasting lunch this was.
Dinner - Potato, Chickpea and Cous Cous Curry
Served with more cous cous.
Gosh this was a HUGE portion and so filling and I managed to eat all but the last little bit of cous cous, which the chickens had in their breakfast treat bowl this morning.
The best thing about this week, apart from all the tasty foods of course, has been the menu planner. Having everything written down in black and white ... even if I have changed things round a little bit some days ... has been a godsend. Checking what's on the menu for each day and taking just what I need out of the freezer or double checking that it's still on the worktop, has made the whole of this Challenge so much easier.
Now that the Challenge is coming to an end I might give myself a week of freedom, just picking what I want from the cupboards and freezer and then after that go back to making a weekly menu plan using up what we have in store here at the house, we do need to whittle some foods down ready for moving house. But in the not too distant future money is once again going to be quite a bit tighter for me, so I do need to get into some good food habits. Of course I do know lots of tips and tricks for s t r e t c h i n g my foods out, and each and every one of them should stand me in good stead in the years to come.
Sue xx
📦
As always, it looks so tasty! Very healthy too.
ReplyDeletexx
I have to say it has been a tasty couple of weeks, although I am starting to go off cereal a bit now. It's much too sweet for me and just leaves you hungry a couple of hours after eating it.
DeleteOh, I know the satisfaction to use last of something, whether it's last seeds from an ancient seedpack, last tiny ball of yarn or last droplets of ketchup stuck on the bottle...
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad I'm not the only one :-)
DeleteAlan on the other hand HATES using the last of anything. Much to my dismay he will leave 3 or 4 salted peanuts in his jar, a spoonful of cereal in the packet etc etc. When I asked him about it once he says it's unfair to finish things off completely ... what use he think 4 salted peanuts are to someone is anyone's guess!!
We too are now having to cut back quite drastically on food costs plus other things, as we have made the decision to buy the static caravan we are putting away money every month to save for next years site fees and as we are on one pension it means things are a little tight. I have 18 months until my state pension is due , then things will be a lot easier. I really don't mind scrimping a bit until then as sitting on the decking of our caravan with a value rich tea and a coffee will be paradise for me.
ReplyDeleteYou have exactly the right idea. Sitting on the deck of your Van with cheapo nibbles but no stress is definintely the way forward.
DeleteI always pay the next years fees ahead of time as soon as the bill comes at the end of November, as our park gives you a small discount for paying early. Worth having when I think that the amount I save even though only just over a hundred pounds could actually be my food costs for a month or two.
Good luck with your saving.
Thank you. we will see if that is an option at our site, definitely worth doing if we can.
DeleteI often scribble down meal plans but then I take a look in the fridge and find things need using up. It's such a great feeling of cobbling something together out of nothing, or stuff others would have thrown away. It's those tiny adjustments you do every day can have a great impact on the budget overall. I know you'll be great living on less, adderall you are adaptable, strong and determined.
ReplyDeleteYes I need to get into that habit, for now, of checking what I have and making a meal plan using that first and just buying the few additional extras I need.
DeleteOnce I've moved into my new place it will be shopping from scratch on a budget ... well apart from a few Brexit Boxes, as I'm calling them, of my absolute favourite necessities that will be coming with me.
I've gone back to making a meal plan this week, you are so right, it is so much easier. I have also already double cooked and frozen 6 extra portions and will be making a curry on Thursday so that will give me another 3 portions to freeze. Les cooking next week. :-) Helen S.
ReplyDeleteI do like to cook when I'm in the mood, knowing full well that some nights I just won't be. I'm glad I had the Chilli Mince and Pasta Sauces in the freezer that I cooked from last week, as this week would have been a bit tougher otherwise.
DeleteYou can't beat having a stack of homemade curries in the freezer can you, and I usually have a couple of the microwave pouches of rice for emergency 'can't even be bothered to cook rice' nights :-)
I've been enjoying your challenge with the food box. Definitely see why a menu plan has been a godsend, but as you and others note, a weekly food plan is one way to avoid wasting food (e.g. forgotten in back of fridge or bin) each week.
ReplyDeleteDefinintely, if you know what you're eating and plan carefully you can make sure the menu includes using every last little bit of what you have up in some way.
DeleteThis has been a smashing challenge. You have eaten very well, sue, and I have enjoyed following your posts, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI love the way you have handled this challenge. I find menu planning to be a big help at using things up....Even though things sometimes get switched around, or I find something else that needs using up.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.