Thrifty Thursday | Rising prices
The reason for todays picture is I’m thinking about transport. When the government in the UK does quantitative easing (printing money) commodity prices like oil go up. Oil is used for transport and gas is used for heating and making electricity; so all our basic costs go up. Prices on the stock markets have been taking a battering in the past few weeks and the Eurozone crisis has deepened; we just have to be thrifty and frugal and try to weather the storm. (more…)
Frugal Food | Adding flavour
Herbs and spices
I made a chicken stew over the weekend and put in extra herbs for flavour. This can reduce the cost, because you don’t need so much chicken and is particularly good if you’re using a more expensive meat. I used 2 chicken legs and cooked those in water until I was able to remove the bones easily. I added lots of veggies that included swede, carrots and onion that were in a stew pack, then added seasoning. The herbs gave it a great flavour and I used 1/2 a teaspoon of oregano, sage, thyme, basic and herb d’ Provence. I got all the dried herbs for about 50p a jar from Aldi and Lidl. The basil was in fact fresh and made a difference this week. I made 1.5 litres for less than 2 pounds and it was not only frugal but yummy! You can cut the meat down even more if you add vegetable protein in the form of pulses. Try a cup full dried split peas but soak them overnight first. If you are adding split peas the amount of chicken can be halved. You can also add a chicken stock cube for extra flavour. You can also add an extra onion for even more flavour. (more…)
Frugal Food | Warming Chicken Stew
Ingredients
Chicken legs (1 for each 600ml of stew)
2 carrots
2 parsnips
1 swede
onions (1 for each chicken leg)
herbs d’Provence
seasoning (more…)
A Sunday Ramble: Food
In the stone age they ate tubers from the ground, I suppose that’s the same as me eating potatoes; except I don’t have to forage for them. I do a little foraging in the fruit and veg department of the supermarket but it’s not exactly getting my hands dirty. They say the discovery of fire made all the difference; that first class animal protein made our ancestors brains develop quickly and many of them became smarter; the rest went into politics! (more…)
Thrifty Thursday 15
I like chicken and chips, but sometimes I like fish for a change. It is a little expensive, but after having a lot of frugal meals like egg and chips I can have what I want! (more…)
Thrifty Thursday 14
Thrifty or Frugal ?
Being thrifty is spending your money wisely and being frugal is using what you buy wisely! I bought vegetables, chicken and herbs at Lidl on Sunday, that was thrifty. I made soup with them yesterday; that was frugal! (more…)
Frugal Food 2
Egg ‘n’ Chips
You can’t get much more frugal than egg ‘n’ chips with veggies of course. Potatoes are a staple food, there is protein in the eggs (we need about 50g a day) and there is lots of vitamins, minerals and fibre in the veggies. It’s a well balanced meal and it looks good and so the kids probably won’t turn there noses up. I used oven chips which isn’t quite as frugal as frying chips from potatoes; but less messy. (more…)
Frugal Friday | Saving on interest
Motoring
I have started with a picture of my car, now 14 years old. A smaller car would be cheaper to run but the depreciation on my car has been around £350 a year over a 7 year period. It’s still in quite good condition and I expect it to last a few more years so depreciation will be even less in the longer term. I checked my fuel consumption today and it was about 6 miles to a litre of petrol; I could do better! It was 7.5 on a Sunday. (more…)
A Sunday Ramble
Hidden places
The path in the photograph is on a housing estate in between some houses. I went exploring! It leads to a heath and a pool that has ducks and swans. It’s a nice place for a walk. (more…)
Frugal Friday | The frugal way of life
Shopping
Traditionally, it’s lamb used to make a cottage pie. I want to make a cottage pie and so I checked lamb prices; it is a little expensive! The average family spends just 75p on each meal and I can’t make a cottage pie for less than £2.00 and then I would have to be a little stingy on the lamb! I could copy food manufacturers who pack food out with cheap protein, fibre and flavours.
