Feeding Lilith

This post will cover how I lay the foundations to do a cost effective meal plan. But also, how I cut the costs on the food shop itself and prolong my foods life by storing it properly!  The first thing I do is take a stock check.  I focus on what fresh ingredients I have in my fridge the most. This helps me minimise waste. For example, I currently have a pepper and some mushrooms in the fridge, I'm thinking of doing some stuffed mushrooms and pepper for lunch tomorrow!  Then, after jotting down what I have excess in the fridge, I search the cupboards for what tins or general dry store ingredients I have.  I make a note of these and get my thinking cap on. Some examples I've previously done are - Stock cubes, sausages, split peas, lentils and pearl barley - I'll make a scotch broth Lentils, onions, chopped tomatoes and mushrooms - Bolognese  Flour, cheese, mustard, pasta - something resembling Mac cheese It's okay for these ideas to be missing a couple of ingredi...

On this post, I will be covering what I always ensure I have in my kitchen cupboards and fridge. For example, I often bulk buy dried lentils, chickpeas and split peas from Grape Tree. You can use other stores local to you or even supermarkets do great selections now! Always check the world food isles for these items too.  These are ingredients I use all the time and really help me whip something out of nothing! Or bulk out meals.  A family member recently made a joke of "Shannon cooked it, of course it has lentils in it!" This made me giggle more than it should have!  Now, I'm not saying go out and buy all of this immediately. That would be absurd. It took me a little while to build this up. Make notes of what you use often and then build from that!  This is what I find myself regularly grabbing for: General dry store ~ Chopped tomatoes - I always ensure I have 2 tins in my cupboard. Especially for when poop hits the fan and I have £5 to my name so I can focus on oth...

I'm begining a new money saving series. Here are my top tips and tricks when it comes to saving money on the pesky food shop. From what to have stocked up in your food cupboard and what to look for when buying food.  I'll be covering Meat and Fish in this post!  Chicken I opt for chicken drumsticks, my local supermarket sells them for 1kg for £1.99 I cook them in the oven or air fryer, then simply shred the chicken and keep it in the fridge. Adding it to meals where I want to incorporate meat Chicken is a versatile meat and pretty much works in 90% of meals.  Alternatively, if I'm doing a roast chicken, I will shred the remaining chicken from the carcass and use that for another meal. Also perfect for making stock!  Mince (beef) Opt for roughly 10-15% fat mince. 9 time out of 10, these are price matched to Aldi at major retailers making it affordable.  5% mince can dry out easily and be harder for little ones to eat, whilst the highest fat content mince (around ...