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Saving Energy, Water and Time with Happier Homes

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I’m on the final additional unpaid part of my maternity leave right now and it’s making me take a long hard look at my budget and where I can save pennies. It’s also making me address the fact that when I go back to work I am going to be quite time poor which means household jobs need to be quick and efficient if I’m going to get anytime at all to spend with my family.

I’ve been sent some info by Happier Homes with advice on how to save energy and also how to save water – handy if you are on a water meter or if you just want to be a bit more environmentally friendly.

Some of the tips were things I had heard before but a couple of things surprised me.

Did you know that it’s better for you and the environment if you use a dishwasher? We have only had a dishwasher for about two years but I wouldn’t be without it now. I always thought that using up electricity to wash dishes meant it was a rather luxurious way to do your dishes and I actually believed it was costing me more money to wash up this way.

But no.

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* Intertek UK 2010 Washing up Study. For more details download the full findings here
** Comparison calculations assume:
One meal per person equates to one place setting washed up
Data from Intertek Study of washing up place settings by hand vs in a dishwasher
Average water and energy costs supplied by uSwitch.com

As a mum of four who cooks a LOT and uses a fair amount of dishes/pans for each meal I was astonished to find that I was saving myself nearly 700 hours a year just by not doing the washing up by hand.. And just think of the benefits to my sensitive hands too 🙂

Oh and it saves money too of course. Over £200 in fact. I easily cook a minimum of 50 meals a week. I normally cook at least two meals each day at home for four of us.

And of course there is the issue of water. Saving approximately 600litres per week. Wow.

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Does that surprise you? I wonder how many people thought along the same lines as I did and I wonder how many more people would buy a dishwasher if they knew?

Onto the washing machine..

I always knew that washing clothes at a lower temp was cheaper and obviously a bit more ‘green’ but I didn’t think about the fact that washing machines have improved so much over the years and also a lot of the washing powders have built in stain removal now meaning you can wash at 30 or 40 now and have pretty much the same results as washing at 60 would have given you a few years ago. Good to know.

One washing machine tip is to run a very hot wash every now and again to avoid a musty smell from occurring when you wash frequently at lower temps. I tend to put in a load of towels for a hot wash once a month to combat this.

I hope this informations has been helpful. Do you have any extra tips for helping to save energy and water around the home?

Here are a final few bits of advice:

*When you go shopping, take a reusable bag with you.
*Don’t leave appliances on standby
*In the kitchen, when cooking, keep lids on pans as much as you can, to reduce heat loss.
*Don’t keep the fridge or freezer door open for longer than necessary.
*Cook meals in bulk.
*Only boil the amount of water you need.

*This post is in collaboration with Happier Homes.

Money Saving 2014 Part 1 – The stock take

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It’s not a resolution as such but every year I make the effort to save money. This year I need to be even thriftier than usual as for a good chunk of it I will be on maternity leave and earning a lot less.

As always I will be sharing my tips with you.

The first thing I recommend that you all do is take stock. Literally. I did this last year and it really worked so well for us. I emptied my food cupboards, gave them a good clean and repacked them but whilst doing so I kept a tally in my notebook of exactly what was in there. You could keep your results in your notebook or stick in sheets inside your cupboard doors. This year I have my new pantry so I MUST be more organised. I have no more excuses,

For example:

3 X cartons of passata
2 X tins of chickpeas
3 X pasta twists

Etc etc

You can them amend whenever you use something so you know when to replenish.

I then did the same with both my fridge and freezer. When I had finished I sat down and meal planned for the following month. I was pretty amazed at the time to realise I had enough food in my house to feed us for 20 days with just a minimal fresh food spend of £20 per week for the remainder of the month. Crazy huh?

From then I did a big shop (approx £90-100) at the beginning of each month followed by weekly fresh food only shops of £20. I saved lots of money and I found that by meal planning we were all eating better meals and wasting less. I hate waste. When I got pregnant and had really bad morning sickness it all went a bit wrong and I stopped most of my frugal ways but I am determined to do better this year.

I am going to use my slow cooker more to free up my afternoons and evenings but also so I can use cheaper cuts of meat along with the mountains of chickpeas and butter beans I seem to have accumulated.

Tomorrow I will write up the results of this years stock take and the meals I plan from it as well as my new weekly shopping budget.

I will continue to share my money saving ideas and any tips you have are gratefully received.

Join me. Save some pennies.

My Pantry Essentials

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YES I have a pantry. Wooooohooooo. I have wanted a pantry for such a long time. Some people would call it a store cupboard but to me it’s my pantry.

Now that I can have the space and the means to store everything the way I want I thought I would share with you my pantry essentials. Food products that I always always have in my kitchen and which I use all the time. Things which save me money, time and give me great flavours. Staple products which mean that I can create a meal in minutes even without ANY fresh goods.

Spices and herbs – cumin, nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme,bay leaves, curry leaves, curry powder,allspice, Chinese 5 spice, cloves, fennel, garam masala, ginger, mustard seed,celery salt, garlic powder, paprika, sweet smoked paprika, saffron, turmeric, star anise ,oregano and tarragon.. There are probably more!

I also use a lot of the Schwartz perfect shake line.. Including chargrilled chicken, fish blend, season all, piri piri and Thai 7spice blend. I was sent a few to try a while ago and I love them. We have used them to make homemade fish fingers and beautiful crispy griddled chicken recently.

Baking goods –

Plain flour, Self Raising flour and Cornflour. I always have a full stock of these three. Plain flour with a little olive oil,salt and water means I can always make the most beautiful flatbreads. Self raising flour to make cakes at least once a week 😉 Cornflour to thicken my stews and to make sauces from scratch. I also have bread flours, pastry flours and more.

Jars of flavoured caster sugars such as vanilla and lavender for baking. Icing sugar and granulated sugars also.

Cocoa powder – for baking and hot cocoa.

Nielsen Massey vanilla pastes/extracts – I adore these products. I also always have vanilla pods.

Hobbycraft food colouring paste – I like these as you only need a tiny amount of paste to create really vibrant colours.

Oils – I have a full stock of plain olive oil, vegetable oils, rapeseed oil and flavoured garlic/chilli oils from The Preservation Society.

Salts and Peppers – I only really use sea salt but I have a fair few varieties of it such as smoked,chilli and more. I use a LOT of black peppercorns but I generously have a stock of Sichuan peppercorns and mixed too.

Tins and cartons – Chickpeas, butter beans, kidney beans, passata, chopped tomatoes,baked beans, coconut milk, new potatoes, sweetcorn,tuna and some dessert emergency essentials such as custard and rice pudding 🙂

Sauces and condiments – soy sauce, sweet chilli,fish sauce, worcester sauce, jerk paste, Thai green curry paste, garlic paste, curry sauce mix such as, I have stock cubes and gravy granules for thickening stews/adding flavour.

Pasta, lentils and rice – I stock up on pasta when stores like Asda do a promotion. Recently they sold all of their pasta products for 50p a pack so I now have a huge stockpile of lasagne sheets, linguine, twists and shells. Pasta has a long shelf life and is something I always buy so buying it in bulk at a reduced cost saves me a fortune.

I buy dried red lentils in large packs in the world food aisle – they seem to last forever. The same goes for rice, cous cous, bulgar wheat and quinoa.

I will probably add more to this list as I finish organising but this is a great place to start if you are looking at doing more home cooking and if you buy one or two things each week then it won’t really affect your shopping budget. Most of the products I have last me ages.

Photos will be added when my pantry is completely finished and organised. A nesting pregnancy woman’s dream hey?

How to spend less

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Last Winter I wrote 6 blog posts on how to spend less, they were really popular and have recently started receiving a lot of views again. I guess we are all trying to be more thrifty these days.

Coming up to Christmas we could all do with some extra pennies so here are the links to the 6 posts ..some maybe useful..some not so much but they definitely helped me and just re reading them today has inspired me to start being more frugal again.

How to spend less. Part 1

How to spend less. Part 2

How to spend less. Part 3

How to spend less. Part 4

How to spend less. Part 5

How to spend less. Part 6

30 Ways to save £1 ..or more.

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For the 30th anniversary of the £1 coin MoneySupermarket have asked bloggers to come up with 30 ways to save a pound (or more). One lucky blogger will win £1000. Below is my entry. For more details visit MoneySupermarket

1. Meal Plan : I cannot tell you enough how much this has saved me over the past year. Plan your shopping exactly around your meals. It halved my shopping bills.

2. Buy own brands – for example the Sainsburys basic range is just as good as any of the more well known. I use chopped tomatoes and Passata at least twice a week – using the basics range for just these items saves me approx £2.00 per week.

3.Use chicken thighs instead of breasts in curries/casseroles. Not only are they tastier but they are approximately half the price. A saving of £2/3 on each meal.

4. Don’t forget to take your own bags! Plastic shopping bags in Wales cost 6p per bag. If you use 6 per week that’s a minimum of £18 per year.

5. Use comparison sites – we saved £120 on our car insurance and £50 on our home insurance by using various sites.

6. Look for voucher codes before going on holidays/ for family days out or for meals – I estimate this saves us about £250 a year.

7.Bulk buy at baby events – nappies and wet wipes in particular are far cheaper when bought in large boxes.

8.Use sites such as eBay,gumtree and similar when making a purchase. We bought a Mamas & Papas changing unit for £70 on Gumtree in impeccable condition. In store we would have paid £600.

9. Cook in bulk and freeze : not only do you save on energy costs but you have a handy meal for those nights when you just can’t be bothered.

10. Make your own – be it takeaway style food, birthday cakes or just plain old bread. It can save you lots and taste far better.

11. Change or at least threaten to cancel Internet/TV providers at the end of your contract. You will normally get a far better deal as a new customer elsewhere and if not your current provider will usually slash your current rate by £10 or more.

12. Go veggie occasionally – we have vegetarian weeks every now and again and it saves us quite a lot as good meat is expensive.

13. Buy lentils, rice and pasta in large bags a saves a lot and they are always handy for cheap, filling meals.

14. Grow your own – herbs especially basil can be expensive when bought fresh from your local supermarket but most grow very well on your kitchen windowsill and the seeds are normally far less than the price of one packet of fresh herbs.

15. Use free trials for film rentals, if you work your way around them all you could get approx 6 months free use. Don’t forget to cancel before the 30 days are up.

16. Use your local library. Free books!

17. Loyalty cards – nectar cards and Tesco clubcards in particular can make you money and cost you nothing at all.

18. Share bath water- Izzy always bathes with either her dad or me.

19. Companies often give you money off for paperless billing and its far less clutter!

20. Turn it off – before you go to bed make sure you turn off all your appliances.

21. Walk instead of using public transport or car whenever possible. Keeps you fit too 🙂

22. Take a packed lunch – to work or on trips with family.

23. Watch exercise programmes such as 30 day shred on YouTube instead of buying. After all it may not be for you.

24. Save money on gym membership by cycling, walking and enjoying the countryside.

25. Know where the reduced to clear sections are. We regularly buy close to end of date items and freeze them for later use.

26. Look for free eye tests – at present Tesco offer free tests,

27. Shop around for bank accounts. Some accounts pay you a monthly amount if you put in a minimum of say £1500 each month.

28.Try to use cash instead of your card, it’s far too easy to overspend when using plastic.

29. Take turns with friends coming over for dinner and you going to theirs.. Or each make different courses.

30. Use the money supermarket website and read the forum posts for news of flash sales or supermarket price glitches.

Meal Plan Monday

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I’ve been a bit rubbish at meal planning the past few weeks, firstly we had a week away then a few things got on top of me and I just had a bit of a break from planning and social media etc but it just made me feel worse. Meal planning saves time and stops you worrying about what you have left in the fridge to eat the next day as you only shop for what you need – thus it also stops overspending and ensure you use up everything. So with that in mind I’m back in track and without further ado ( waffle ) here is this weeks meal plan:

Monday : roast dinner – cant really take credit for this as was cooked for me by OH’s dad.
Tuesday : Comforting Chicken Casserole – recipe here
Wednesday : Red Lentil Thai curry – recipe here
Thursday : Beef stew and dumplings
Friday & Saturday : Off to London to visit friends so takeaways or restaurant food 🙂

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Feeding the family – cheese, bacon and broccoli gnocchi bake

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Sometimes it’s hard to work out what to cook that we can all eat. For the most part these days Izzy eats the same food as us. It means that I have to think twice about what I put in our food.. Throwing in handful of dried chilli flakes may not be the right thing to do anymore. If I can I will make the same meal but in a separate pot/pan so that if needs be ours can have a little extra spice.

I am going to try to post some recipes occasionally of meals which are entirely suitable for ALL the family. The following is one of them. I only started using Gnocchi at home about a year ago, it was one of those ingredients that I just never thought to base a dish around. Now I love it. A lot. I make a tomato based gnocchi bake at least once a month and we all enjoy it – it’s one of Izzys favourites.
You can find the recipe here: www.munchiesandmunchkins.com/2012/09/25/eating-well-on-a-budget-simple-suppers/

Today’s recipe came about from wanting to get Izzy eating more broccoli. I know it’s one of those vegetables which children can begin to get fussy about so I’m trying to stop that from happening.

So anyway here is what you will need:

1 500g pack of Gnocchi – I use Il pasteio ( around 70p at Asda)
1 – 1/2 pints of prepared cheese sauce ( recipe link here ) I didn’t measure!
A squirt of garlic paste or crushed garlic clove
3 rashers of smoked bacon ( fat removed and diced)
2-3 handfuls of cooked roughly chopped broccoli
1 cup of breadcrumbs ( I blend mine with herbs and freeze ready for such dishes)
1 tbsp of chopped rosemary ( fresh or dried)
Pepper

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Cook your gnocchi as per packet instructions and drain. Brown your bacon with the garlic and set aside. In an ovenproof dish ( I use a large cazuela) mix your gnocchi, bacon, herbs and broccoli together before pouring over your cheese sauce ensuring everything is covered then sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and cover with breadcrumbs. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 20-25 mins until golden and crispy on top.

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Serve with salad. Delicious.

This went down a storm with all of us. Tasty and comforting. Izzy certainly approved.

Meal planning and Chicken Coconut Curry

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This is a little late but here is this weeks meal plan:

Monday : Freezer food – this is for days when I’m too busy or tired to pull a meal together. This week it was Bistro chicken and broccoli pies ( frozen when reduced to clear in Asda) with mixed veg.

Tuesday : Spaghetti bolognese – I used a cheaper minced beef than I normally do and was disappointed. I won’t make that mistake again.

Wednesday : Vegetable curry

Thursday : Cheese and broccoli gnocchi

Friday : Jerk chicken with coconut rice

Saturday : Sticky pork with rice. Recipe here

Sunday : Family get together and meal at a restaurant

Last week lots of you asked for the recipe for Chicken and Coconut curry. So here it is:

You will need:

3 skinless&boneless chicken thighs ( or breasts – I prefer thighs in curries)
1/2 can of coconut milk
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 small sweet potato cubed
1 onion or shallot chopped
1/4 jar of Balti ( or other curry) paste. I used Indi grand.
1 tablespoon of shredded coconut ( not essential but tasty)
Olive oil

Fry your onions in a tbsp of olive oil until soft and golden, add your Balti paste, whole chicken thighs and sweet potato. Fry until meat is browned. Add chopped tomatoes and coconut milk and cook for approx 5-8 minutes. At this stage you may wish to add up to 100ml of water – this depends on how thick you like your curry to be. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Your meat should now be tender enough to pull apart into smaller pieces. If using add your coconut, cook for a few more minutes and serve immediately.

I served mine with fragrant rice and flatbreads. You can find the recipe for the flatbreads here

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How to spend less – Be prepared ( Part 6)

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It’s been 2 weeks since I started these posts and I feel like I’ve made a subtle change in my spending habits. It may not be a huge change and it may not last forever but I’m learning.

I think this will be the last post on this topic for a little while as I don’t want to go over old ground!

Firstly I want to tell you how this month has been going for me:

* Eat in month – I am doing a lot better with this challenge than I imagined. I haven’t eaten out at all. I don’t buy any snacks or drinks in work and this is saving me at least £15 a week. We went to Bristol Zoo and we took a big picnic lunch so there was no need to indulge in the gift shop or cafe – I almost caved in when we saw the ice cream van but he was packing up to leave which was surely a sign. I have had 2 hot chocolates when we have taken Izzy to the soft play and we did buy some food in the hospital canteen when Izzy was admitted last week but that was totally unavoidable. Unfortunately I will have to cut the challenge a week early as we are going away for 5 days later this month but I’m thinking of doing an extra week in Feb instead and I’m hoping to continue with the no purchasing food at work for good! We also had a trip to the cinema and I even took my own popcorn – impressive yes? Thanks to Brittany from A healthy slice for writing about this challenge, I’m definitely going to do it again next year.

* Drastically lower shopping bills – I looked at my bank statement for November ( I avoided December as I knew it would be higher due to Christmas) and worked out I had spent approximately £289 in the various supermarkets ( Asda,Sainsburys, Tescos) this is without any possible times I may have shopped using cash. So possibly over £300 on food. Too much. Way too much. This month I have made 1 large shopping trip (£95 on NY eve) and I just did my second weekly shop. My first weekly shop was just under target at £19.80, today’s was £22.21 but this included washing powder and dishwasher tablets, if I manage to only spend £20 each week for the remaining 2 shops this month I will have saved over £100.

* Meal planning – this is still going well. I am flexible in that if something comes up which stops me from cooking something one night I’ll swap it over but most days we eat what’s on the planner.

Such as chicken and coconut curry. Yum.

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Being prepared

This has been the key to my money saving this month and will be going forward.

1. I prepare meals the night before if possible. I use my slow cooker a lot and if not I still try to chop vegetables when Izzy is in bed, get the meat out of the freezer etc. Anything which makes cooking the next evening even easier. It also means I get more time to spend as a family when I get home from work – bonus,

2. I make larger portions. Most meals can be bulked up purely by adding vegetables, I do this whenever I can and it leaves me with food for Izzy to eat the next day or a lunch to take to work.

3. Making large batches of breadcrumbs mixed with herbs or garlic and freezing them means you can use up excess stale bread and they can be used straight from the freezer. Such an easy way to add an extra dimension to a vegetable bake or to top gnocchi or pasta instead of cheese. Saves you money and time as well as calories when replacing cheese.

4. Use your freezer – if you know next week is going to be hard. Precook some meals. Lasagne, curries and pies are just some of the dishes which freeze well. If you prefer to cook it fresh just chop and freeze your veg or meat. It may mean an extra half hour with your family and stops those extra vegetables going off saving you pennies.

5. Buy the basic ranges – I have always bought one or two items from the supermarkets basic range but lately I am trying more and more and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. The difference between a carton of Asda chosen by you Passata and the smart price pasatta is around 15pence and a plainer box. I have found no difference in quality. Having stock cupboard items such as Passata, mixed herbs and dried spaghetti or pasta means you will always have a meal on hand even if your fridge is bare.

6. Write lists. My trusty notebook has been by my side every day since New Years Eve and I’ve used it to stock take my cupboards, meal plan and write recipes which I have made up on the go. I’ve even been slightly obsessive and written down prices in the supermarket of what I’m buying to ensure I don’t go too far over budget. This one is obvious but taking a shopping list and really sticking to it will save you lots of money and time too.

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7. This isn’t anything to do with being prepared but eat less meat. I’ve blogged about this before but it really helps. If you can cut your meat intake down to 3 or 4 days a week then you will save a lot. There are so much delicious vegetables available these days take full advantage. Sweet potato in particular is just as good as chicken in a curry and its bright and colourful making your dish look so appealing.

I think that’s about it for now. I’d still like to hear about how January is going for you and how you save money. Perhaps if I get enough tips I’ll use them in a follow up post.

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How to spend less part 5-meal plan Monday

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On my way to work and realised I haven’t posted this weeks meal plan.. Not only that but I hadn’t even written one! Luckily I had my trusty book which has all my cupboard, fridge and freezer food listed so I made up a plan and
here it is:

Monday – coconut chicken curry &rice
Tuesday – tomato & bacon gnocchi bake & salad
Wednesday- sweet potato risotto
Thursday – butterbean crisp with sweet corn and salad
Friday – turkey stroganoff
Saturday – gammon, egg and low fat homemade oven chips
Sunday – Chicken pie, mash, veg and gravy

I will link up some recipes later and look forward to reading all your meal plans 🙂

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