Saturday 29 May 2021

Cook Clever, Waste Less...

... with Prue and Rupy

Did you watch this new money saving food show on Channel 4 last week? I must admit I have never heard of Dr Rupy Aujla, and I didn't know that Prue Leith was 'the Queen of Leftovers' either. But it was an interesting programme - and they certainly helped one family to seriously reduce their food budget and make better use of resources.

I managed a fair bit of thriftiness myself recently, here's the frugal lunch I served up on Wednesday.

  • Home made bread
  • Potato salad using leftover boiled potatoes
  • Tomato salad garnished with home grown basil [a yellowe stickered pot which has been flourishing on the windowsill for some weeks now]
  • Home made chutney [made with foraged windfalls, onions and courgettes from friends]
  • Home made coleslaw. [I am especially pleased with the coleslaw - the main ingredients were a carrot, and the stalk from a cauliflower, grated in my Magimix - and then dressed with oil and lemon juice, and sprinkled with nigella seeds.]
  • The cheese, ham and salami were inexpensive buys from Lidl. The tomatoes, and the contents of the fruit bowl at the back [hiding behind the loaf] came from a local outlet, which I visited for the first time on Wednesday.
My SIL Marion told me about CCWells recently - a family business who have run market stalls across East Anglia for 50+ years- and now they sell to the public from their Dereham warehouse. Fruit and veg are collected from Covent Garden 5 nights a week, and sold the next day. They also have lots of local Norfolk produce. I was very impressed with freshness and quality. I spent £12.79 - and checked out against Sainsburys prices when I got home- my basket would have cost £14.38 there. 
I was pleased to see paper not plastic bags for the loose items, and to discover that all waste cardboard packaging goes for recycling. Daily sales means minimal waste. Food which is not saleable goes for animal feed, or composting. Thanks Marion for this tip, I shall definitely be going back here. 
UPDATE following the comment from Anonymous below, I've discovered that the recipes from the programme are on the website of the sponsors, Hellmanns - check HERE





14 comments:

  1. We watched the programme and thought that we do all those things already! The lockdown of last year honed our leftover skills, wanting to make the most of what we had rather than go shopping.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like an interesting program! Your frugal lunch looks delicious, especially that homemade bread! We eat all leftovers, here, too. Very little is allowed to go to waste - there's always a container in the freezer for food scraps to be made into soup, once full.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Replies
    1. Programmes 1,2 & 4 are already available - bizarrely #3 isn't available for a week or two

      Delete
  4. We try not to have food waste. These programs are great for helping people reduce the cost of their food bill, but I feel they don't actually address the real need of those living poverty, who may be trying to feed a family on £50 a week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right - the families featured are usually people who do have the money but spend it unwisely. Like you I am concerned for people in food poverty.

      Delete
  5. It sounds a great place! I'm glad you found out about it.
    My work colleague bought me Dr Rupy's recipe book for an Eid present. I'm looking forward to trying things out!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I will have to have a gander at that programme. You lunch looks delightful. Do you by any chance have a Panasonic bread maker? the size of your loaf made me thing you do. We eat up, it is instilled in us from the war years, you ate what you were given, put up and shut up!! If I have any veg that looks as if its going over I chuck it in the Ninja and make soup which I store in the freezer in lunch size batches.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it's a Panasonic, and I've had it since 1998

      Delete
  7. Just realized that I can comment here with my alias! I've been reading your blog for 2 or 3 years, enjoying Bob's sermons and enjoying news from England. My parents lived in Verwood near Ferndown for over 30 years! So good to see how you are both settling in to your retirement home in Norfolk. Having holidayed in your house must have helped you to know the area. I also like to make good use of food that comes into the house, but my failure is with Kale stems - I couldn't get mine to be palatable and gave them up to the compost!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the comments Bushlady. My good friend Pauline lives in Verwood on the edge of New Forest. Even having links with Norfolk going back years, we're still finding new places to explore. My spring onions have gone slimy overnight, I threw them out this morning.

      Delete
  8. watched this and enjoyed but the recipes featured are not available online anywhere which rather misses the point in my opinion!

    ReplyDelete

Always glad to hear from you - thanks for stopping by!
I am blocking anonymous comments now, due to excessive spam!