Very frugal meals?

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perchy
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Very frugal meals?

Post by perchy »

I havn't read this thoroughly, what do you think?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... cones.html
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jackian
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by jackian »

It sounds like me in the 60/s 70s .
I think it is great and I follow most of this type of thing anyway and don't waste a lot . I think the key is also very little meat .
I do think though that if my 4 kids were at home today they would not eat half of it !
I used to make corn beef fritters , corn beef shephards pie and sausage casserole with 6 sausages packed out with vegetables to feed 6 of us.but when discussing this with my older daughter the other day who is in her late 40's she said she would not give it house room! What a cheek! ..
A treat on Sundays though was usually pancakes for breakfast as I usually shopped once a week for shopping and had run out of porridge or cornflakes . I used to make sure it was classed as a treat with golden syrup on .
I think the way of cooking etc., has changed and a lot of families have never had to budget until now and find it a struggle .We always had to struggle with no help from any where .

Jackie x
4 lovely girls~~ Clover, the oldie and top chick Bonnie second in command .new girls Bluebell and Blossom.
2 lovely new girls 19-01-2015~~ Chelsea and Ruby.
Eva , Florry , Poppy ,Annie and Rosie R.I.P
The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” - unknown
Totally Scrambled
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by Totally Scrambled »

It would do the job cheaply but it would probably be considered as bland and unappetising by todays standards as people are used to so many additives and flavourings in their food.
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perchy
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by perchy »

Yes, I think you could be right Dom.
Jackian, I think if you have always had to be very careful you don't know any different and to your family it is just normal, we certainly ate everything given as children as it was normal to us. )t'
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saint-spoon
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by saint-spoon »

When I bought my first house the interest rates went sky high and the girl I bought the house with moved back in with her mum as soon as I went off to sea, I was left with virtually no money with which to live and had to be very inventive as well as looking at what was on special offer. I used to make lots of vegetable soups. Fortunately it was only for a few weeks before I re-joined my ship and in that time my Mum supplied me with a luxuries red-cross parcel (teabags, sugar and marmite if my memory serves me correctly. ) I know that lots of Laners make stock out of meat bones and chicken carcasses etc but I wonder how many folk nationally just ditch what is left after the Sunday roast. Give me one ultra-cheap chicken (not that I eath them these days BTW... FR all the way), a few store cupboard staples and five quid to spend in my local veg shop and I could feed myself for a week no problems, whether or not Mrs Spoon or the Spoonettes would appreciate ginger-chicken soup with rice for breakfast is up for debate but I am fine with that sort of thing.
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by Clucky Carol »

Thanks Perchy what an interesting article. I have just taught my 21 year old daughter, who is living in a shared house, how to make chicken pie (although she opted for a mash top rather than making pastry!) to use up their Sunday left overs, so it is not a dying art!

My Parents were brought up in the War, so we didn't waste anything, she made some amazing meals from a bare cupboard, but not always what you might expect to see together!

She was also the best person to cut the bread, the slices were as thin as net curtains, and we used to hold them to the light to see whose was the thinnest! {rofwl}

I love that feeling of making a low cost meal ... A recipe thread would be lovely, although I do remember a "baked bean pie" which was a huge disappointment!, {rofwl}

Thanks again everyone xxxx
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Mo
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by Mo »

I was a war baby, and remember rationing. Though, because my Dad was on a low wage as a hospital chef, we couldn't always afford to use all our sweets ration.
My parents had lots of low cost meals. Using the cheap joints like knuckle of bacon - which were stretched by mincing the fatty meat and mixing with potato in a pasty. A joint would last all week in various forms (e.g. shepherds pie, casserole)
When I was first married and a stop-at-home mum I explored all the cheap cuts - things like Breast of Lamb (very stringy, maybe I cooked it wrong!), belly of pork (too fatty for my fussy OH), brisket (OK if cooked slowly).
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HedgeHugger
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by HedgeHugger »

The thing is these days... even the traditionally cheapest cuts of meat are now being priced the same as the better, leaner parts. No more cheap belly pork for instance.

I was brought up in a house where the sunday chicken would also be used for sarnies and a meal or 2 after as well.
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albertajune
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by albertajune »

Looking through her weekly menu, I note that there is almost no meat or fish there. It is something that I could do for a week but would get pretty bored with it for much longer. I love my fresh fruit and saw very little of that.
I am a very careful cook and waste nothing that can be used. Before shopping yesterday, I found in the fridge 1 sweet potato which I diced with an onion and cooked with a little cajan spice in saved chicken stock. When liquidised it made a lovely thick, tasty soup for lunch. Cost next to nothing. Because I do things like that, I can then indulge in something a bit more costly for a treat.
I'm sure that lots of us could do as she does if absolutely needed but would get fed up with chick peas.
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Mo
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by Mo »

It is the 'if needed' isn't it.
Iwould economise on food - and everything else - rather than be in debt (except a mortgage earlier on).
Now I know that I don't need to economise any more than my frugal habits make automatic (maybe I could relax a bit more but that feels wasteful).

But if it is a spur to those who have little money, and maybe card debts, even if they only use it some days a week. There must be some people for whom it is not obvious, but who are interested to learn, else the paper wouldn't publsh it.
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jackian
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by jackian »

Mo wrote:It is the 'if needed' isn't it.
But if it is a spur to those who have little money, and maybe card debts, even if they only use it some days a week. There must be some people for whom it is not obvious, but who are interested to learn, else the paper wouldn't publsh it.


We have not really had to economise so much these last few years after the 4 kids left home but years ago we had to and it has stuck with me and now the " writing being on the wall" in maybe a couple of years if not sooner It comes back naturally and I am economising again .. Although I have never wasted anything. .
My Mums generation was the rationing and the war years .My generation was the 70's three day weeks ,redundances and 4 kids . My kids generation (except my youngest daughter)have never had to pull their belts in at all.
Thinking about what you have written Mo ,I wonder if we tried to teach them how long would it last ? Have they time to plan? Maybe a lot of the pre packed meals are not only quick , exspensive but also a habit .
Until recently I worked in a shop and a lot of people would come in and pay for their rent , electric ,gas water etc., and moan about having to pay them at all but would not blink at paying over the top for food and drink etc.,.
Jackie x
4 lovely girls~~ Clover, the oldie and top chick Bonnie second in command .new girls Bluebell and Blossom.
2 lovely new girls 19-01-2015~~ Chelsea and Ruby.
Eva , Florry , Poppy ,Annie and Rosie R.I.P
The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” - unknown
anglynn
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by anglynn »

My observation is she was a very wise woman. Her love for her children shone through the dark veil of poverty. I commend her in her efforts.

I don't think I can eat for $1.00 or one pound a day, but I can come close - with sale items. A pound of pasta can be had for 50 cents and a can (tin) of tomatoes for 85 cents. The pasta would be 4 meals, then I would make the can of tomatoes last as long. Four meals for $1.35. (about .34 cents per meal. I would also purchase in season and on sale fresh fruit and veggies. Let's say 1 orange, 1 apple, 2 bananas. I would eat 1/2 of each per day. The cost would be about 1.30. One bag of frozen veggies, (.99 cents) one dozen eggs, ($1.69) oatmeal, (?) 1 quart of milk. (2.10) My menu would not be varied, but it would be relatively healthy. Drink lots of water in between meals.

Would I want to eat like this? No. Have I? Yes. Thankfully I don't have to any more. But, like the author, I am still frugal. She's right in saying the fear stays with you forever. However, for me, it's a fun lifestyle.
charlilowew
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Re: Very frugal meals?

Post by charlilowew »

Sounds really cheap but I also feel I cannot last that long if the meals aren't that appealing to the palate.
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