Cheap Eats Choices
 

I'm newly retired and newly skint so we're trying to eat more frugally but not by loading up on pasta, spuds, and rice. Tonight I'll be making bean burgers and hoping that this time I'll get the recipe right. They are usuall too dry and crumbly.

Re: Cheap Eats Choices
 

Don't know if this is any good to you...

I often buy the ridiculously cheap beef cuts - Inside Round @ $2.77 lb, that sort of thing - and I've been doing them in the slow cooker in various combinations of broth/beer and other things thrown in.

They come out well enough, albeit a bit stringy, and the taste is good.

Sunday I tried an experiment, as a sort of back up in case of emergency but spare meat otherwise.

I did nothing more than season it (Montreal steak spice for this one) and put it in the slow cooker. I normally do it for 6 or 7 hours by which time it's falling apart and tender in the nice sauce.

But I noticed it was cooked - perhaps too well - within 3 hours, with plenty of meat juices sitting in the pot.

Plan A worked out fine so the back up wasn't needed but I did steal the juices to add to the gravy.

The inside round looked really unappetising, but yesterday I got it out of the fridge and sliced some. It was fine.

I cut it it into small pieces, cooked cabbage in a pan full of broth, added leftover veggies, microwaved some spuds which I partly mashed to give some body, slung in the leftover gravy and added the meat.

Turned out to be a really good stew and astonishingly the meat came out super tender and tasty for a fraction of the price of stewing beef.

It may well be that I could have just cut up the meat and used it as stewing beef without the slow cooker. Maybe the meat juices I stole for the gravy would then have been part of the stew and made it even better.

Perhaps people already know this and I was too slow to realise. :lol:

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I enjoy a chick pea curry. With some spiced or curried cauliflower on the side you don't even need rice.

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Ah yes I did know of the results of slow cooking the cheaper cuts. A pot roast in fact. I now have an Instant Pot which us an electric pressure cooker and it's excellent for round roasts, pork butt, beans. Much better than a slow cooker.

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Much improved by the addition of potatoes I'd say.

Tuna burgers are cheap, tasty and nutritious (there's some animal cruelty and possibly some human slavery involved but one can't have everything).

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Chick peas are yummy, good with spinach in the mix.

I have a picky eater husband who won't eat yoghurt, sour cream, cauliflower, tuna, salmon, cilantro, lamb, duck, rabbit, venison..... I can't eat gluten.

Eggs are good, curries. I need new ideas.

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I was sure you would, but - to me - this was more about the surprise of seeing this come out out like expensive stewing beef though.
The benefits of a slow cook, done quickly. Is this why slow cookers are all over the place cheaply priced?

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Bats, I wouldn't know

Good luck with it & trust you can find a solution to eat healthy just to save a few shillings.

Only one tip from me. If you ever ate out or had a coffee out - stop that immediately, that should put your grocery budget back on track

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Maybe. I've never liked meat other than ground meats done in a slow cooker. The sauce is great but the meat seems to have the flavour sucked out of it and veggies had the texture of canned veggies.

The IP I like but It does mean using hydro when I could cook a pot roast in the gas oven. It cooks dried beans in 30 minutes though which is great. You get perfect boiled eggs, soups, apparently you can cook cheesecake in it but I haven't tried.

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If chick peas - and by extension other legumes - are a good option, and South Asian flavours are good, then there's little to beat a couple of Punjabi dishes like dal makhani or chana masala. I can't recall where my go-to recipe for dal came from, but I'll try and remember to find it at home and post it here. Dried lentils are pretty inexpensive and really quite filling (although they do tend to promote a bit of wind...) and the other ingredients are pretty much storecupboard basics like onions, garlic, ginger, spices, canned tomatoes.

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any homemade soup done in a slow cooker and added crusty bread

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I second the legume family idea. Lots of recipes found here.

If that doesn't work well for you, maybe try a food bank or ask at a local church for help.

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I cannot comment on meal plans, its a personal choice, others have made some very good comments up thread on meal plans

Do you have to change your meal plan?

OK, being a numbers person, always on the frugal & bargain, I figured that I was not half bad at 'frugal anything', grocery shopping at price match, buying from mark downs, as well as the seconds shelves, preparing & cooking each & every meal to make sure that there is always leftovers that would stretch across three meal days for three people (9 meals in total). We have two fridges + one vertical freezer stacked full as well as a 6'L x 4'W x 8'H pantry in the basement fully stocked with all the specials or markdowns.

Most everything is cooked from scratch (fresh) including bread & pasta, we never ever buy seriously expensive cuts of meat ever. Meats consist of mainly cheap cuts of Pork, Chicken, mince beef & some fish.

Staples are rice, pasta, potato, beans & any kind of greens on special or from the markdown rack. Eggs, porridge, cream of wheat, corn flakes

Then along came Shirtback our poster on here that is truly amazing what she does. n2o tips his hat

see post #1173 & #1175 in the following thread

http://britishexpats.com/forum/maple...857019/page79/

To add, we don't do coffee take out's. Nor do we eat out - only, if and when it's a super special occasion, or we are given gift cards, or treated, no booze or soda pop in our grocery bill.

Is there anything in your monthly running costs that could be cut back that might add a few bucks to your grocery bill?




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Re: Cheap Eats Choices
 

I'm reassured by the suggestions given as they are The type of meals that I cook or shopping methods that I use. Legumes are the way to go. I was concerned I was missing a trick or two especially after reading Shirtback's $67 shop.

We've really only got this extra frugal phase for one year then another pension will kick in. Plus I need to get my website together, find some galleries who will sell my paintings etc, etc.

Eating out, we don't eat dinner in restaurants often but retirement is very sociable with constant invites to breakfast and lunch. I've become quite adept at choosing the cheesiest item, or suggesting meeting for coffee instead.

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You could try using this too bats.

https://www.amazon.ca/Bobs-Red-Mill-...3E7YC06RM89QVR

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Snap.. After my own heart. Could almost be me. Home brewed beer and wine in huge quantities do add to the budget though. Shopping is mostly pot luck, you get into a groove that resents paying full price for anything.

As an aside, our weekly garbage is minimal and I marvel at some as I drive past overflowing with pizza boxes etc.

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Based the living in Southern Ontario & having the benefit of choices of grocery shopping bargains + the ethnic stores

From the minute a person awakes to the when they lay their head on the pillow at night - when it gets to an all-in food bill, prepared & cooked, including, liquids, juice, fruit, staples, meats & veg, the all inclusive should be no more than $2/day per person ($60/mth). Me & mine are below this number.

The extra's to the grocery bill being - anything used in the bathroom, laundry room, kitchen & cleaning stuff.

On the remaining household running costs, whether its, the mortgage, rent, property tax, utilities, phone/cable/internet. These are a huge expensive items that eat away at your income

The food bill should be a small part of the total monthly expenses

Some folks use public transit, own their vehicles, lease them, have them on the 'never-never' (HP)

In retirement anyone with two vehicles should ditch one as well as go straight to 3 rd party insurance. That's what we did.

Pensions could be anything - private, drawing any RRSP's early or converting them to a RRIF, CPP, OAS, UK state pension. On the UK state pension for those that are eligible, my suggestion is to top up the NIC's as much as you can


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Absolutely mad.

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if you say so ;)

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Dredge chopped meat in flour then brown it in a frying pan before putting it in the slow cooker - IMO it improves the flavour of the end product one-hundred-fold. :nod:

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+1

that's the old fashioned way to cook beef anything, when cooking braising steak, stew, a hotpot etc.

Slow cookers are good for making a a load of [choice from,chicken, pork, beef or fish] curry

To make sure that any slow cooker 'concoctions' can go at least two dinner meals. Always cook to try to have leftovers is key :nod:

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Oh she glows website has got a ton more of recipes which concentrate on vegan gluten free options. I find that it's a less expensive way to shop, if you're. Or worried about organic produce as vegans often are..

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If you're Downtown they do $5 wings for lunch at the Dogs Bollocks on Queen West.

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They must be the B's D's...

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A picky eater makes it much harder, as does the no gluten requirement :(. However, some of those items listed (other than yoghurt) aren't necessarily on the "cheap"/budget list *where I live & shop*.

I fear that my 67$ shop is being given unwarranted attention/kudos. There are multiple factors in play:

- I don't live in Ontario, nor in/near a big city
- I've been a (very) frugal shopper (needs must, more so in the past than now, but it's a habit) all my adult life
- there are 3 "discount" grocery stores in the same parking lot here, plus 2 other regular grocery stores and a wholesaler all within 1km on the same road, so price matching/competition is a factor

Anyhow: meal planning and or batch cooking (I call it feeding the freezer), a slow cooker, & shopping the weekly flyers are my basics. Like BristolUk, I buy/stock up on meat only when on sale.

I cook a lot of Asian-inspired food, both Indian & S-E Asia, stews, soups. Make my own bread which is easy-peasy (but again the no gluten might be a problem for you).

Jack Monroe, formerly known on the internet as 'a Girl called Jack', & now blogging at https://cookingonabootstrap.com is a fantastic resource for very low-cost but tasty food & recipes, if you can get past/ignore the politics.

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every couple of weeks we get a flyer in the mail for the local 711 gas station with its convenience store, with it's really good take out - all inside in one store

The staff are amazing, as is the kitchen in the back, food is always fresh

Coffee, Chicken, pizza, potato wedges, donuts etc

Anyway, back to the coupon, the postal delivery guy always gives us two coupon flyers (because we asked him to)

Free 6 chicken wings (choice of regular, hot & spicy, medium) + 6 free potato wedges + free coffee

Wife & I get gas, pop into the store & use two coupons each, separately of course (two different customers) for 6 wings each + the coupon for 6 wedges each. 12 of each in total. Generally the woman behind the counter throws in a free donut.

This is a free night eats every couple weeks, just add some home made coleslaw or salad

Wife gets the free coffee

There are lots of 'cheap eats' (free) foods to be had, just have to look for them

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You are too modest :nod:

Just those points can make or break the budget.

Batch cooking is key, as is 'only buy specials & lots of them', like my recent cheese, veggies & pizza buy

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Next time I'm in the GTO, I'm going to try & replicate one of my budget shop & cook for ~a month (feed the freezer) episodes. And see how different prices/available produce are. This should probably be in the grocery thread - sorry bats for the swerve.

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When I lived in London, Sainsbury's used to mark down their short-dated cuts of meat in an evening, after the pensioners, the mothers with children, and the unemployed had all gone home. Then I would stop in on my way home from my well-paid job, or sometimes after stopping off in the pub, to grab a few groceries along with any half-priced steaks that they might marked down. :lol: ..... I now live in the US but I can still find marked-down meat if I am shopping late. :)

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Not a swerve at all. Still on topic really. When I have to go to Toronto I usually stop at a supermarket as the produce is often cheaper and fresher than we get here. We have no cut price stores, corner shops so cheaper shopping involves 85km worth of gas. You have reminded me of one place in Peterborough so I'll look in there today but it's pretty shabby. It looks as if they just polish the floors without cleaning them, shinny dirt.

Veggie chilli on the menu tomorrow. Beans and more beans.

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Snobbish ;)

Then do not go to my favourite grocery stores in Ajax or Pickering

Quality with price is key, not the appearance or who owns & operates or the fact that you may bethe only white English speaking person in the stores :sarcasm:

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Chick Pea and Potato Curry is good.

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Good one

home made from scratch that's doable for less than $1 Cdn/person (70p British money) for a 18 oz serving/person all in, including home made nann bread + a cuppa tea with milk

Recipe, serves two $0.815/person

Off the shelf one 28 oz can chick peas $0.88 (No Frills)

One medium/large potato $0.20, not peeled, boiled & cubed

Small diced onion $0.10

Curry paste/powder $0.25

Water

Home made nann bread $0.10 (flour, salt, baking powder, water)

2 x cups tea with milk $0.10 ($0.05/person) from a box of 144 Tetley tea bags for $4.97


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No not snobbery, my concern is hygiene. If the public part isn't looked after then it's unlikely the back rooms will be. I'm really not concerned with how people look and certainly not bothered about colour. Shame on you for thinking such a thing.

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not at all, I said what I said because its what I mean, and because from my personal experience 'is the way it is' in my part of Ontario.

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Hmm... hygiene.

This reminds me of something that might bring a smile to those with a moderately strong stomache, others might be reaching for a bowl.

I studied for my degree in Bradford. I applied when it was still a College of Advanced Technology and before it became the tourist curry capital of the UK. However at that time you could still eat authentic indian and pakistani cuisine in small authentic cafes serving the immigrant population and very good it was.

Years later, and a little more affluent, I was travelling with a colleague and extolling the wonders of Bradford curries and suggested that we stop in Bradford for lunch.

I won't tell you where we ate, but it was one of the more upmarket restaurants and one I wouldn't have afforded as a student. As I recall we both thought that a chicken dish would go down well. We were both looking forward to a tasty mouthful when my colleague left to visit the loo. He returned with a worried look on his face. Apparently the corridor leading to the toilet had been lined on the floor with dead chickens.

I thoroughly enjoyed the meal but we didn't go back and I think my advice as a gourmet fell several points.

We both lived and suffered no ill effects in fact I don't ever remember anyone suffering as a result.

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Assuming they still had their clothes on, probably no worse than all that uncovered meat in the butcher's, sharing space with the flies.

I remember a Honeysett cartoon from Private Eye. Butcher's shop.
"A pound of mince and six flies please."

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...70df93d774.jpg

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I promised to find my dal makhani recipe... here, eventually, it is. Can't remember where it originally came from, it's on an index card in a box in the kitchen, covered in scribbles and what I hope is tomato paste...

3/4 cup black gram lentils (urad dal)
1/4 cup dried red kidney beans (rajma)
1 medium onion, chopped
about 2 inches of ginger root, finely chopped
5 or 6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon chili powder
small can of chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon garam masala (pre-mixed is OK, unless you habitually make your own)
a good glug of veg oil
2 fresh green chilies, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup of cream (very optional but yummy)
salt

Soak the lentils and beans in water overnight, then drain and rinse thoroughly.

Put the lentils, beans, a pinch of salt, half the chili powder, and half the ginger in a pan with about 3 cups of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until the beans are soft and the lentils are beginning to fall to pieces.

Meanwhile, towards the end of that cooking time, heat a heavy pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds to the dry pan and toast for a couple of minutes, then add the oil, onion, the remaining ginger, and the garlic and fry for 5 min or so til the onion begins to colour.

Throw in the tomatoes, remaining chili powder, and the fresh chilies if using. Bring to a boil and allow to reduce slightly.

Add the cooked beans & lentils to the onion mixture, stir well, and add a little water if the whole thing looks too thick. Stir in the garam masala. Simmer for a few extra minutes. Stir the cream through just before serving.

Completely delicious with fresh naan (usually from the supermarket, but I did make it fresh once and cook it on a pizza stone in the oven, that was relatively simple and much, much nicer - I think I used Madhur Jaffrey's recipe here Madhur Jaffreys Naan Bread Recipe - Food.com)

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That looks very nice and almost identical to my red lentil dahl. I add a big teaspoon or black mustard seeds, some freshly chopped coriander/cilantro and small pinch of ground black cardamom seeds at the end of cooking. I also puree my onion, garlic and ginger into a paste. Instead of naan, I eat it with homemade chapati. Tasty.