No Spend Food Challenge

I had another look at the cupboards and the freezers over the weekend, and decided that as Dave is off work this week and we might go for days out that we could do this for another week; I have cancelled the veg box for this week so I can get everything used up, I do have some frozen veggies if needed, and may have to buy some salad.

Monday - fried new potatoes with hm meatballs

Tuesday - Beef Casserole served with noodles

Wednesday - Fish Fingers and hm chips

Thursday - Macaroni Cheese but using penne pasta

Friday - BBQ - still have sauasages in the freezer, will make some buns

Saturday - hm pizza

Sunday - Roast Pork, (found a joint hiding under the bananas in the chest freezer)

I will more than likely do a grocery shop on Friday or Saturday to replenish stocks, as there definitely isn't enough to keep us going another week after this.

Week 2 of No Spend Food Challenge

I have decided to carry this over a second week, as I still have plenty in the freezer meat wise and loads in the cupboard. I also decided to try and plan for the week this week rather than looking in the freezer each day, as we are having a more stay at home week.

Breakfasts and Lunches will be as last week, Cereal, fruit & yogurt; and sandwiches or hm ready meals.

So dinners this next week will be:

Monday -Fish, baked with butter and lemon juice, and served with new potatoes and veggies from the veg box.

Tuesday - Lasagne with garlic bread ( found a couple of bought ones lurking in the back of the freezer the other day), will also do a side salad with fixins from the veg box. Have Mince in the freezer and loads of tins of tomatoes and tomato puree in the cupboard.

Wednesday - Not sure as yet as David has a football match and we have to be there 5.15pm. So maybe jacket potato when we get home.

Thursday - Will be a Chicken Curry this week as have some drumsticks in the freezer and still some tubs of Curry Sauce Base; this again will be served with Basmati Rice cooked through with the garlic & herb stock cube.

Friday - Will be Omelette with salad, this is an easy dinner for the boys, Dave doesn't usually have dinner Fridays as he has a chippy lunch at work.

Saturday - Weather dependant we may have a bbq as I have burgers and sausages in the freezer and will just make some buns.

Sunday - This could also be a bbq as there would still be enough burgers and sausages even if we used some on Saturday.

Saturday and Sunday will also depend on what we are doing as Dave starts his weeks holiday when he finishes work Friday night.

My Weeks No Spend Food Challenge

I joined in the challenge over on MZW at the beginning of the week.

I get my milk delivered from the milkman, eggs from the farmgate and have an organic veg box delivered weekly, so in theory I shouldn't have needed to go to the shops for any food items whatsoever.

I had also done a small grocery shop on Saturday so did have some bits in.

Breakfasts are usually cereal or fruit and yogurt.

Lunches are usually sandwiches or rolls. Unless Dave takes a hm frozen ready meal.

Here is what I cooked for dinners throughout the week:

Monday - we had Turkey Stir Fry with noodles, using all ingredients from either the freezer, pantry and veg box.

Tuesday - we had Savoury Mince Cobbler, again using some mince frozen from a previous batch of mince in gravy, adding in a scone cobbler topping and some cabbage from the veg box


Wednesday - it was Macaroni Cheese, but using penne pasta instead of macaroni, I also prepared a salad to go with this.

Thursday - was Pork Curry and Basmati Rice. Pork Curry base was already in the freezer from a previous batch so just had to add in some onions, garlic and pepper and cook the rice.

Friday - Omelettes and salad, with fried new potatoes, cooked these up specialy to be able to fry them off.

Saturday and Sunday - these 2 days days are a little difficult as myself and Dave aren't at home on Saturday, and David is at a friends, so Tom is having pizza and oven chips (admittedly already in the freezer); Sunday we are out for the day so will be sandwiches and maybe a jacket potato when we get home if still hungry.

No Spend Food Challenge

Over on MZW they are having a





Why not head over and have a look at what is going on.

Myself I have cleared out and defrosted a freezer and found some bits lurking in the backs of the shelves.

The idea of the challenge is to only use what you have either in your pantry or fridge or freezer.
If needs must you can purchase fresh milk and veggies.

This idea also uses up things that maybe you've bought thinking they would be a good idea but never gotten round to using.

I run a pantry store cupboard so the theory is that I should never have to "nip" to the village shop for a staple ingredient.

As items are used from my pantry I mark them onto my master shopping list, so that they are replaced on the next shop. The idea behind this is that I could if necessary (illness, weather, unforseen extra expense) use the items from the pantry and not have to worry; we live approx 10 miles from the nearest big supermarket.

Zero Waste Menu

Mrs Green has been looking at what packaging she gets from cooking a days meals, so I thought I'd do a similar thing here.

Here are yesterdays meals:bear in mind the boys are on school holidays, so permanently hungry.

Breakfast: fruit juice
toast & butter
eggs

Snack: Fruit & yogurt
water or squash

Lunch: Sandwich with Egg mayo or Tuna mayo or grated cheese
cucumber & tomato
homemade cake
water or milk

Snack: Fruit & yogurt

Dinner: Salmon fishcakes
chips
carrots, broccoli & cauliflower

Apple & Blackberry crumble
water or squash

Snack: Cereal & milk




Fruit Juice comes in glass bottles from the milkman and so are returned for recycling, the foil lid is saved in the foil ball for recycling. Toast is homemade bread which is made using ingredients whose packaging can all be recycled except the yeast wrapper, so once a month this goes into the landfill. Butter comes in a plasticised foil wrapper so is not recyclable but it is English butter so I stick with this, the wrapper goes into landfill once a week. Eggs these come from a farm in the next village so the tray gets taken back each time I buy more.

Fruit comes usually as Fairtrade Bananas, English Apples or occassionally seedless grapes, the apples and grapes come in Type 4 bags which I can take to HWRC. The bananas I buy loose. Yogurt I make this using the "Easi-yo" system so this does provide 2 plasticised sachets once a week, but that is 2 litres of yogurt. Squash this comes in a doorstep recyclable bottle and the top can be taken to HWRC.

Sandwich bread as before homemade, eggs as before, tuna comes in a can totally recyclable, mayo comes in a glass jar which goes to the bootle bank and the lid goes to HWRC, cheese I try to buy cut off a big block so as to minimise the waste plastic, then grate and freeze in 100g tubs. Cucumber & tomato these come in my organic veg box, so this time of year may be imported but they do not air freight, the tomatoes can either be standard sized in a paper bag or cherry in a type 1 tub this can be doorstep recycled (not ideal but!!). Homemade cake this is made using basic ingredients all of which the packaging can be recycled either in the doorstep collection or at HWRC. Water is filtered and I send the cartridges back to Brita for recycling. Milk the majortiy comes from the milkman in glass bottles which get returned and the foil lids are added to the foil ball, with some extra bought in type 2 plastic containers which are doorstep recycled.

Fruit & Yogurt as before.

Salmon Fishcakes, the salmon was given to us wrapped in a carrier bag so that has been washed in soapy water and will be recycled, potatoes for the mash for the fishcakes and Chips come from the farm shop in a paper sack which gets composted along with all the veggie and fruit peelings, Carrots, Broccoli & Cauliflower all come in the organic veg box and are grown on the company's own farm. Apple & Blackberry Crumble is made using apples & blackberrys foraged or given last summer and frozen, crumble topping uses ingredients all in recyclable packaging.The cardboard box the veg is delivered in goes back each week to be used again.

Cereal & milk, this depends on which cereal they decide to eat, although most have a plastic non recyclable inner, I do keep some for using to put cakes in the freezer or even to put my landfill waste into, milk is as above.

Throughout the day I will drink tea with milk or coffee with milk and sugar or water, the teabags are composted, the box is recycled and now the wrapper will be sent to STM for recycling. The coffee jar is taken to the bottle bank and the lid is taken to HWRC; milk is as above and sugar comes in paper bags which are doorstep recycled.