Selfsufficientish.com

Chickie2378 wrote:Do alot of people use breadmachines?

I never did. I make bread, rolls, etc. and do it freehand.

but I am one of those who hates kitchen gadgets actually. I don't like having to buy gadgets for everything. Just my personality I guess :)

Sadly I don't have a choice if I want home made bread. When I'm working, I just don't have the time. Also, getting my hands into the dough aggravates my eczema really badly so it's just not an option.

Zoe

oh I am like you definitely. If I require a gadget for whatever reason, I would sure buy and use that gadget.

never anything wrong with that.

Chickie2378 wrote:oh I am like you definitely. If I require a gadget for whatever reason, I would sure buy and use that gadget.

never anything wrong with that.

We gadgetaholics need to stick together.

Zoe

Although I agree about keeping gadgets to a minimum, a breadmaker does make sense. It uses far less electricity than a conventional oven. So unless you are baking other things at the same time, several times a week, you will be using more energy.

I used my friends breadmaker one time to see if I wanted to buy one. Maybe it was the model? not sure but I didn't think it performed well. I would think some makers are way better than others.

I truly think loaves in an oven do better. I always make 2 loaves at a time. Breadmaker can only make one and those loaves come out small I think. I like the big loaves.

Oven baked loaves definitely taste better, especially if it's a pizza oven , but it's just too hot over here in the summer to bake very often. I succumbed and bought a bread machine last year to help feed the hordes of helpxers we get in the summer, but still light the pizza oven one evening a week and bake several loaves at a time.

Pumpkin&Piglet wrote:Why is buying local produce good and important to do? Am genuinely asking, not trying to be antagonistic

chickie's post sums it up. Food miles, being able to have your say, knowing what goes into the food etc etc.

Might I add, I know, personally and socially, several growers within this county. I know their methods and sometimes visit them as friends. I like supporting them with my custom; what they do with their money is of course up to them but they know me and how I support local enterprise, so that may (or may not) influence them.

I don't say local is the answer to everything, as you need produce from a fairly wide spread to get a balanced, nutritious and varied diet but, for the bulk of your diet, a 100 mile radius should be more than sufficient. We will always be able to trade exotics and treats with far-flung places, even as fossil fuels deplete.

contadina

have you thought about an outside oven? I have one on my 'project' list. Outside to bake bread, pizza, and any other foods. I have reserached so many great AND easy ovens to build. I just gotta get that time.

greenorelse


Food miles. LOL that is the term I was trying to say but never could remember it. :)

Most self sufficient types do without alot if they are holding more in tune with their values.
Eat local. Means having a 'bit less variety at the fingertips' but with canning and preserving etc. you can eat SO well thru the winter months.

We don't want to get 'scurvy' now :) :) lol

This IS selfsufficientish, remember? Depending on the time of year and how hungry you are, there are blackberries to be picked, nettles (soups and stews), dandelion leaves (for salads). Freecycle - you can ask if anyone has fruit trees or shrubs and can they let you have some (not every one can deal with a glut), you could try offering to help harvest an allotment plot for some of the food.

£15 is tight, but I feed a family of four most weeks with £40 so I'm sure it can be done...

I shop at Morrisons or T***o as I have always found Sainsbury to be really expensive but you also need to consider the cost of getting to whatever shop you go to and these shops also happen to be my locals.

I buy own brands to save money, 55p 500g porridge oats, 44p 4 x yoghurt, 35p pasta, 27p beans, etc. so buying own brand often works out much cheaper... I take my time in the supermarket and make sure I'm getting the best deal and that doesn't mean buy one get one free and all their clever advertising... it means really looking at what the prices are for things. Also most fruits are alright price wise... but if in doubt you could grow some of your own like tomato plants in your house and you could try fruit and veg shops / markets as they tend to be cheaper than supermarkets.

If you struggle with this initially, T***o online shopping has an option to order the products cheapest first... I started out this way and now have cut my food bill from £160 to £40 a week... it's hard going but hey I'm a student too and have kids to feed so it's gotta be done.

Hope you are managing with your new budget. I think that attitude is important, if you see it as a challenge rather than a difficulty you are more likely to stick to your budget rather than blowing it on something you didn't really need.

Lots of really useful tips already but I would suggest growing some herbs on your windowsill as herbs can add flavour to the dullest of foods.

I sprout alfalfa seeds in a jam jar and these are great in salads and sandwiches. I have tried sprouting other seeds but I always come back to alfalfa. My last bag cost around £1 and you only need a tiny amount of seeds to get a lot of sprouts.

Always have an ear to the ground for freebies. Look locally for free gifts/offers and I often go online looking for freebies. The odd free sachet of tea or shampoo is a nice treat. Look on the 'Money Saving' websites for vouchers, occasionally they will be for food that is non luxury. You can also swap or barter, my neighbour gives me her surplus plums and apples and in return I make hand made cards.

Don't be afraid to skip dive whether it be for items that you can sell on ebay or things that will help in the kitchen. I found a Bread maker in perfect working order in a skip down our street. I haven't ventured into skip diving at supermarkets but I know people do, just not sure I'm agile enough to climb into those huge skips.

When I was a student I lived on Porridge- Cheap rolled oats, dried milk powder and a little sugar, honey or fruit.

Couscous is a cheap and filling base for many dishes and cooks quickly

Zech wrote: In my student days I had a book called 'Grub on a grant' - can't remember the author. Cue hollow laughter at the idea of student poverty including a grant!

'Grub on a grant' was by Cas Clarke. She's since followed up with 'More Grub on Less Grant'. Both recommended, as are other books I've listed on my blog (link below). I eagerly anticipate the climactic end of the trilogy, which can only be entitled 'Infinite Grub on No Grant'.

My top tip for surviving on a limited budget (I'm on benefit, and was a student, once) is to plan your week's food in advance. Decide your ingredients, take the list with you shopping, and buy only the items on it. Supermarkets get custom on the footfall generated by low prices for basics, but they make their profits on impulse purchases. You can, and should, take advantage of this strategy by resisting the desire to 'save' by buying stuff on offer that you wouldn't ordinarily have bought, anyway.

As for recipes: potatoes, tinned tomatoes, carrots, onions, pasta and rice are all cheap right now, if you shop around. Swedes and turnips are normally cheap, and, I discovered recently, really quite tasty. Try to find an ethnic food shop for garlic, chillies, herbs and spices, (much cheaper than supermarkets), add some pulses like lentils or beans, and there you have the makings of a week's menus, if you ring the changes. If you want meat, chicken thighs and minced pork, lamb or beef are versatile and good value, especially if there is a good offer attached to them. Offal - hearts, kidneys, liver - is also nutritious and flavoursome, as well as being a cost effective feature of a stew or casserole.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes, 2RM.

Morrisons are currently selling tins of chopped tomatoes, kidney beans and haricot beans for 20p a tin.