Cost of food/a meal

[Harry Bloomfield]

No, I am not concerned, but there is a lot of talk of eat or heat in the news, with people in panic at the cost of living and I have never really given the cost of eating much thought..

I live alone (for the moment), just me and the dog. I've never really had the need to learn to cook more than a quick fry up, but I am learning. I usually have one cooked meal per day, rarely bothering with any breakfast, but usually having some sort of extra snack. I used to have a lot of 'ready meals', but I'm gradually having more and more of my home cooking, though I tend to eat out once or twice per week.

Yesterday for instance, I had a couple of lamb chops, mash and roast potatoes, frozen mixed veg, a frozen Yorky pud cooked in goose fat with onion gravy. What it cost, with the gas for cooking etc. - I haven't a clue. All I really know is it was much better than anything I could buy as a 'ready meal', as well as much better than any probably any reasonable cost meal I could have out. The easy bit to work out, was the cost of the chops - 10 for £10 I paid, so £2. I bought at the same time 5 steaks for £10.

Frozen ready meals can be add from £2 to £4, collected from the likes of Iceland, are not a patch on what I can make, need cooking, I usually need to add extras to them anyway, so only really sensible for quick easy solutions.

There are companies who specialise in home delivery of ready meals, either frozen, or not frozen. They vary between £4.50 and £7 per meal. I once took advantage of a special offer of a pack of several meals of the not frozen variety from one company, on approval and to be honest I sent them back for a refund. They were so small, I would have needed two per day, to satisfy me - I would describe them as snacks rather than meals.

Eating out, I can have a very decent carvery, a bus ride and a bit of a walk away - help myself to as much veg as I want for around £7.50, but always the cost of a pint on top. A very local carvery, at a similar cost, is not nearly as good. A more local pub does hunter's chicken, chips, peas for a similar price, so the carvery is the better value. Best value of all, is a cafe in the next town, which does a proper cooked meal for £5.75 including tea or coffee - along the lines of home made steak pie, mash, chips, three veg and gravy.

 

[charliegolf]

For reasons I'll let slip, last Friday I made 6 main course meals from which my daughter and her friend were to choose 3. Each came spookily close to £2.50. So a week's main meal of the day can be done for under £20 imo; and far less processed than ready meals. Had any of the meals been casserole types, I suspect way cheaper if you (as we do) like it the next day or day after that too. Fresh soups in winter- great lunches, last for days.

 

[Ihavenojob]

You can get a slow cooker and batch cook meals, which can then be frozen, and re heated in a microwave. Things like curry or minced beef in a Bolognese or similar sauce. Frozen mash is also fairly acceptable, no waste, no boiling spuds for ages, just a couple of minutes in a microwave.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

You can get a slow cooker and batch cook meals, which can then be frozen, and re heated in a microwave.

There are two slow cookers in the cupboard, but neither I nor anyone else has managed to produce reliably good results using them.

Frozen mash is also fairly acceptable, no waste, no boiling spuds for ages, just a couple of minutes in a microwave.

I regularly spot frozen mash in shops, but I find it difficult to believe people need to buy it when DIY mash is so quick and easy. I don't boil spuds for ages, rather I do a quick simmer then mash whilst they are still a touch hard. I made rather to much mash a couple of weeks ago, so decided for the first time to try freezing them for future use. Once reheated they were simply not the same as first use.

I find some things do work frozen and reheated. I sometimes cook an oven ready chicken for my Sunday lunch, which is too much for me, even though I only like breast. The dog gets the leg/wing meat and the left over breast I use for chicken a la creme, which freezes well. I don't like/cannot eat strong flavours such as curry.

 

[Ihavenojob]

There are two slow cookers in the cupboard, but neither I nor anyone else has managed to produce reliably good results using them.

I think they need a bit of getting used to, just recently got one and found that some things come out wetter, so need to use less liquid than usual. May try a steak in it soon.

regularly spot frozen mash in shops, but I find it difficult to believe people need to buy it when DIY mash is so quick and easy.

Frozen mash is surprisingly good, just 3 minutes odd in the microwave (depending on portion size), no having to peel spuds and throw half away, much less cooking time. For 1 person it is ideal-as long as you like it. Did try the frozen diced onion , peppers and sliced mushrooms. Again, less waste and the onions and peppers weren't too bad, as long as you were cooking them, the mushrooms just seemed to evaporate when cooked.

 

[Tigercubrider]

I bought my first slow cooker at about 18/19.
They are brilliant at more 'wintery" foods such as stews or soups.
You can do a pot roast style joint simply by chucking the meat an some veg in, spuds on top and head for work.
stuff like steak and kidney/stews are also easy/cheap.
freeze portions and use the microwave to reheat. Some flakey pastry adds a drier touch if stuff seems too wet.

Curries, chili etc as well as chicken stew style
I tend to debone a chicken, use the breast for "best" and legs are cut and bagged for stir fries. leg has more flavour.
Then make stock in a pressure cooker for soup from the skin and bone.

 

[securespark]

Slow cookers are great.

I find the best meals I make with them is slow cooked pulled pork and beef stew or soups.

The best cut for pulled pork is butt, or shoulder.

I rub it in a spice mix and leave it for at least a day in the fridge, then at least a day slow cooking with some onion and stock.

Serve on crusty white rolls with home made coleslaw and stuffing if desired.

Beef stew is good because you can use tough cuts and the slow gentle cook with tenderise the meat.

I find the trick is to seal off the meat in a hot frying pan before chucking it in and put in some boiling stock, so the temperature is already up before it goes into the slow cooker. The absolute beauty is that you can leave it in the slow cooker as long as you like. It won't spoil.

 

[Mottie]

I did a batch cook of Bolognese sauce today. Enough for two portions tonight, plus 2 more double portions and 1 single portion that I’ll take round to my mum. 7 portions in all. Probably cost me a tenner for the lot of you don’t include the wine. Mince, onions, garlic, tinned toms, dried herbs, carrot, oxo cubes, to auto purée, a splash of Worcestershire sauce and a glass of red wine and a few cubes of chocolate. I've frozen 5 portions so only need thawing and microwaving while the spaghetti is cooking. Messy business but full of flavour.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Frozen ready meals can be add from £2 to £4, collected from the likes of Iceland, are not a patch on what I can make, need cooking, I usually need to add extras to them anyway, so only really sensible for quick easy solutions.

Talking of which, I decided to have a lazy day and just have a 'ready meal' for dinner today - I always try to keep a few handy. T'other day I picked a couple up in a local Budgens, marked Jacks (Tesco). No idea why Budgens were selling Jacks stuff, but anyway, I decided on one suggested to be 'Liver and bacon, with mash', popped it in the oven, organised some veg to go with it and waited. Once ready plated I tried it and it was horrible, the very worst ready meal I have ever tried. The mash was indescribable, the liver was just a mush. It all went straight in the bin, barely touched, not even fit to offer it to the dog.

 

[transam]

Princes do a chicken casserole in a tin £2.20 ish if I recall

Tin of peas or what ever and yer laughing ??

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Princes do a chicken casserole in a tin £2.20 ish if I recall

Tin of peas or what ever and yer laughing ??

It once used to be a case of 'It's Princes you know' suggesting it was the very best, that has not been my experience for many decades.

Likewise with those pies in the flat round tin, they used to be passable, with some sort of meat content and quite tasty. Now it's a game of find any meat in them.

I don't usually suffer much thirst or hunger, but since the spring I have begun to suffer both a little. For the thirst, not likely plain water too much, I began drinking orange juice, bought by the litre from Lidl. Chatting to a nurse, it was suggested the no added sugar orange to dilute would be healthier, so I began buying what was suppose to be the best Robinsons. After a few weeks, I developed a strange constant taste in my mouth, which I assumed was a result of the Robinson's, drinking a litre per day of the diluted, so I changed to Kia Ora and the horrible taste went.

 

[transam]

It once used to be a case of 'It's Princes you know' suggesting it was the very best, that has not been my experience for many decades.

Likewise with those pies in the flat round tin, they used to be passable, with some sort of meat content and quite tasty. Now it's a game of find any meat in them.

Them pies are Fray and bintos

Horrible pies a case of spot the meat

Princes chicken casserole is not bad IMO

Stewing steak seems ok as well

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Them pies are Fray and bintos

Horrible pies a case of spot the meat

Princes chicken casserole is not bad IMO

Stewing steak seems ok as well

You've talked me into it - I'll give em a try. I can always blame you

I used to like the pastry on those pies.

 

[Deleted member 18243]

I bought my first slow cooker at about 18/19.
They are brilliant at more 'wintery" foods such as stews or soups.
You can do a pot roast style joint simply by chucking the meat an some veg in, spuds on top and head for work.
stuff like steak and kidney/stews are also easy/cheap.
freeze portions and use the microwave to reheat. Some flakey pastry adds a drier touch if stuff seems too wet.

Curries, chili etc as well as chicken stew style
I tend to debone a chicken, use the breast for "best" and legs are cut and bagged for stir fries. leg has more flavour.
Then make stock in a pressure cooker for soup from the skin and bone.

I occasionally make a stew in the slow cooker with a mixed game pack, which can be had from Booths or on market stalls in the north. It's unbeatable when you get it right.

 

[conny]

The only Fray Bentos pie I liked was the minced beef & onion. Plenty of gravy and not dry like the steak & kidney one. Can't stomach chicken pies of any description though I do like a good homemade chicken soup that my wife makes during autumn and freezes them for winter time. Lots of herbs and seasoning in them and are great for lunch on a cold day.
Most of what we eat is what I call 'fresh food'. i.e. All veg is bought from a local farm or farm shop/greengrocers, same as meat, all fresh and not pre-packaged in a supermarket. I think the main things we buy in supermarkets are cleaning products, toilet rolls, toiletries such as soap or shower gel etc and chocolate & beer.
We usually go to a Chinese buffet on a Thursday as a treat after working most of the week. £18 a head but as much as you want and all freshly cooked and brought to your table. Always piping hot with non of this self service from big containers over a pan of hot water keeping the food lukewarm and because it's cooked to order no one else has had a stir or taste of something then coughed all over it.