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Posted at 11:42AM, 28 April 2008 by Elaine Stocks - Deputy editor, Good Food magazine

Penny-pinching is not a very attractive trait but over the weekend I found myself doing just that. Although I prefer to call it being frugal. And in the face of rising shopping, fuel and utility bills, plus a desire to be more green, I suspect I'm not the only one.

Friday night, home from work, tired and hungry, I was on the verge of phoning from a takeaway when I decided to check the fridge. Initially, not too promising. But 20 minutes later I had rustled up a delicious frittata using two eggs (near their use-by date), a slightly shrivelled onion, the remains of a block of feta, some frozen peas and fresh mint and chives (two half-used packets hidden in the salad cooler). Quick, satisfying and a fraction of the price of the takeaway.

I decided to give my freezer and storecupboard a really thorough check. Would they be like my wardrobe - stacked with stuff, but 80 per cent rarely used?

As I began to write a shopping list on Saturday morning, I decided to give my freezer and storecupboard a really thorough check. Would they be like my wardrobe - stacked with stuff, but 80 per cent rarely used? I'm afraid the answer was yes. Lots of tins and jars, plenty of half-used packets of pasta, rice, couscous, plus an assortment of nuts and spices. The freezer yielded peas, broad beans, soya beans, frozen pastry and several tubs of stock.

Feeling inspired, I did some quick research on the web. I typed in my ingredients to bbcgoodfood.com and also had a look at bbcgreen.com and lovefoodhatewaste.com. Then I began planning meals... and crossing items off my shopping list.

And instead of driving to the big edge-of-town supermarket, I walked to the shops. As well as being good exercise, knowing that I had to walk back loaded with bags made me really think about what I bought. Arriving home, I felt rather smug until my partner dubbed the whole exercise the 'green, lean, mean workout'.

However, he had to admit that he was impressed with the reduced shopping bill and when we sat down to eat a fantastic bread and butter pudding (leftover loaf, dried fruit from Christmas and a half-empty tub of custard)and plan an early summer break, it was him who suggested that we stay at home and tackle the garden, maybe plant some veg. Not sure if he's calling my bluff...

Comments

Steve Curry

28 April 2008, 12:21PM
Steve Curry

How many people don't realise what is in their fridge or store cupboard. I own a wine bar in Walton-on-Thames and my cook recently went to lorida to get married on the beach. Whilke she was away my wife Carol did the cooking and was amazed by the duplication od foods, herbs etc in the fridges and on the shelves. In the evening we give away small snacks or tapas and were able to cut our spending by a considerable amount. It is so easy to forget you have a half-filled jar of spices or herbs and buy another one.

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James

28 April 2008, 12:56PM
James

You know -maybe we could learn a little from the supermarkets here. Do away with the kitchen cupboard doors and have open shelves - as we eat/ cook/ shop with our eyes (in connection with the taste buds). Hide those jars and packets in cupboards and that's quite often where they stay. I've had a week of eating out of the freezer/ kitchen shelves. They are free standing racks so you can run your eyes and hands over various store cupboard essentials to tempt new and old favourite flavour combinations. I left my brother to the dinner one night and we ended up with rice noodles (off the shelf) cooked with nori (left over from sushi making) with king prawns (freezer) in chilli sauce (off the shelf), pickled ginger (also from sushi), tomato (half left from breakfast), and coriander (left from Saturday dinner and would have stayed at the back of the fridge too).

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Caroline

28 April 2008, 4:14PM
Caroline

I get a fruit and veg box every week that supplies me with most of the fresh produce I need and my cupboards are absolutely rammed with things I can use to make a meal - often with great results. I like James' open cupboard suggestion...although there are a few guilty food pleasures in mine that I'd rather weren't on full view!

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Mildred

29 April 2008, 1:03PM
Mildred

Hear hear! I quite agree. Today instead of spending money on an expensive canteen lunch I decided to follow your example and made myself a nutritious and tasty snack by wrapping two pieces of old bread around some furry cheese that I found at the back of the fridge. Yum!

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michelleb

29 April 2008, 1:38PM
michelleb

I am in total agreement with your comments. Many of these frugal ways were second nature to older generations, they simply had no alternative. Hopefully people will realise the amount of money that can be saved by living a 'greener' lifestyle. Of course you have to know how to cook in the first place and have access to fresh food shops in walking distance, not the case for many people.

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adrian

30 April 2008, 4:33PM
adrian

What a good idea. I dread to think how much food we throw away as a nation. I should think there is a week's worth of meals in most people's freezers and cupboards. We should all buy fresh meat, though.

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SUE

4 May 2008, 5:32PM
SUE

Quite often,when I make something from leftovers, my husband will ask "is this a recipe or a 'concoction'" meaning did I just throw it together.

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