My food is all bland and tasteless and all the sam

digthisholdeepr, Apr 3, 3:11pm
I am stretched financially to afford luxury of food, I spend 40 dollars a week just for myself. I buy budget brand, I buy pams frozen vegetables, I buy 5 dollar chicken legs from mad butcher. I have chicken legs, potatoes and pams frozen vegetables every day for months, then when chicken legs are not 5 dollars a kg i get deli ham get budget pasta pams frozen vegetables and I freeze cheese and ration it because its so expensive. Sometimes when mince is cheap I have mince and frozen vegetables and rice. Sometimes sausage mashed potato but its all the same. What can i do. .
margyr, Apr 3, 3:15pm
use salt, buy some sauces, soya, worchester, tomato, and some curry powder. also use onions they are always good flavour. and i know some will say no, but buy some of the sachet cook in the pot things and use them.
seaspray1, Apr 3, 3:23pm
Start experimenting with herbs. Dried herbs are relatively cheap and last a long long time. Lot of interesting blends - Tuscan, Moroccan, Cajun etc should definitely make the chicken legs a bit more interesting.
vintagekitty, Apr 3, 3:34pm
poor you, agree with the above posters, there are those cheap packets of pams herbs, i think around a dollar a packet from paknsave, and yes onions, salt and pepper. If you lived near me id give you fresh fruit and veges from my garden.
pixiegirl, Apr 3, 4:45pm
have a look for a thread started by darlinmole I think - called Woe is me... ... . . I will have a quick looka nd see if I can find it for you and bump it up. There are some great ideas, tips etc in there.
pixiegirl, Apr 3, 4:51pm
just bumped the thread up - have a read through it and let us know how you get on. There are several other thread as well with menu planning, budgets etc that may be able to help.
lilyfield, Apr 3, 5:05pm
cut out the meat and eat more pulses . Have a vegie garden. $40$ a week is plenty to eat well and tasty interesting food. Go to the library and learn.
teddy147, Apr 3, 5:24pm
you could make chicken fried rice with veges, just a thought.
snapit, Apr 3, 5:38pm
Here is a recipe to extend your mince and some variations.
SLOPPY JOES
500grams mince
1 large onion finely chopped
1 packet chicken instant noodles (although could use other flavours )
2 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup milk
1 cup self raising flour ( or 1 cup plain or wholemeal flour and 1 tsp baking powder)
Seasoning to suit chicken stock, or curry, or herbs, or garlic, chive, parsley etc

mix mince, flour and onions in a lage bowl
mix egg water and milk then add to mince mix together add crushed noodles and the
flavour packet and any other seasonings mix well and stand overnight
(mix in the morning for tea)
cook like fritters

could use plain instant noodles and add the flavours to suit
could toss in some peas chopped up spinach, silverbeet,
diced cooked potatoes/kumara, pumpkin.
try them plain first time, then go from there on the additions
add cooked legumes , brown lentils or some of the smaller beans.
uli, Apr 3, 6:32pm
Ok - you could dig up your backyard - and grow veges instead of buying them frozen ...

You could keep chooks (usually 10 is ok in town)

You could breed rabbits (I had 75 to kill from just 2 girls and a boy in 1 year)

You could start bartering stuff - I babysit your kids - you give me 10kg of spuds ...

You could pick fruit from peoples trees that do not want it - an ad is all it takes - although I have seen people dropping leaflets into letterboxes of prospecting trees LOL :)

There is HEAPS you could do - BUT do you want to?

Or is it easier to buy frozen veges with nothing valuable in them? ?
lulu239, Apr 3, 8:28pm
uli, there is nothing wrong with frozen vegetables. Of course it is great to go out to the garden and pick the amount you want but some people are unable to garden. The link below is one of many that state there is nothing wrong with frozen.
http://www.heinz.co.nz/pdf/Listener_article_Nov08. pdf
karenz, Apr 3, 8:32pm
Why was the original post deleted by a moderator? There was absolutely nothing wrong with it.
malcovy, Apr 3, 9:38pm
Member has been disabled. School Holidays, but the post on here wasn't silly or offensive. Must have been another post that had them disabled. Edited to add that there seems to be no other posts.
uli, Apr 3, 10:57pm
I am not saying that there is anything wrong with frozen vegetables, but if you are stretched financially - which is what poster1 said - then it is logical (to me at least) to grow some free veges in your backyard and use the saved money to buy some meat or yoghurt.
mallee, Apr 3, 11:36pm
You have a point uli. Vege seeds don't cost much to buy, and it's so rewarding growing ones own veges. Bottling fruit, making chutney, and jams it's all fun. Making great pots of vege and barley soup, so good for us, and great for kids. Can't agree on killing the rabbits though uli :-) :-) although, oh how I love a rabbit casserole, and boy, rabbits are not cheap. Rabbit's are a good topic, after all, it's Easter!
uli, Apr 3, 11:58pm
Well I used to cuddle the small ones and eat the bigger ones - so it worked out ok.
Their bedding made for the best vege garden I ever had! And they would get the carrot tops, outer cabbage leaves etc. - again all free food - only investment was $150 for plywoood, netting, hinges and nails to make their housing. That lasted over 10 years with us and is now feeding another family with rabbits from their back yard :)
acoustic_roy, Apr 4, 2:30am
Give up smoking!
vailima1, Jan 16, 7:01pm
I think I divorced this women a few years ago!