Cost of preparing food from scratch

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Cost of preparing food from scratch
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earthyvirgo

Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 7972
Location: creating prints in the loft, Gerlan

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 12:15 pm Post subject: Cost of preparing food from scratch

Following on from Rob R's question about how much people spend on meat, I was just loosely working out how much last night's meal cost and I reckon it was probably a similar cost to the blandest, *value* 99p box meal.

It was a veggie meal (generally cheaper unless using copious amount of nuts?) and I was using things up because it's time to do a shop but my reckoning is a Gujurati Potato curry for 2 costs approx £1, maybe £1.50 as I didn't cook it on the top of the woodburner which I often do with a curry.

It contained:
Various spices (seed and powdered)
Dash of olive oil
less than a teaspoon of veggie bouillon
4 medium size potatoes
1 tomato
A large squirt of tomato puree
2 cloves of garlic
tin of chick peas
Dollop of plain yoghurt
A few spinach leaves from the garden.

It's got to be one of the cheapest meals in existence, that actually tastes good and satisfies the hunger pangs - unless you know better ...

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 12:38 pm Post subject:
We must have had an 'expensive' meal for bolognese, as it seems to have come out at £5.59 at Waitrose/Rosewood prices, although herbs/oil probably bumps it up to £6 or £3 per person (assuming Nick won't allow me to count what Anne feeds to the dogs as one person).

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34284
Location: Hereford

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 12:41 pm Post subject:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15752918 You count what you like. I'm just not having Anne counted the same as Dominic, yet.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 1:11 pm Post subject:

@the other Ann. I bulk buy chickpeas and tinned tomatoes. I did have a whole drawer of tomatoes in the freezer but I also suffer from children that descend and eat phenomenal quantities of food in a very short time. I might have enough space to be able to make ice cream soon.

It's about encouraging people to see that making food from scratch is easy to do and makes sense in most ways. Although I am not against the occasional emergency fish finger supper. (And now I fancy that more than the egg and bacon pie I was planning.

)

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 3:51 pm Post subject:
My Guru makes Lasagne at 60p per portion: recipe Note: my Guru only buys "free range" meat. Although I am a bit extravagant with meat, much of my vegetable stuff is from my allotment.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 7:21 pm Post subject:

oldish chris wrote:

My Guru makes Lasagne at 60p per portion: recipe

Note: my Guru only buys "free range" meat.

Although I am a bit extravagant with meat, much of my vegetable stuff is from my allotment.

To be fair, her portions are mouse-sized, I'd need at least 3 to keep me going through the day without snacking.

Nicky Colour it green

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 8842
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 8:34 pm Post subject:

its hard to work out isn't it

we had spag bol tonight - I used turkey mince. the turkey was a large free range bird we bought for Christmas - pricey but it was Christmas - we only roast the crown, then we mince the rest, and make stew and soup with the bones. - I've just crunched the numbers and averaged the cost over the 67 meals we had/have out of it.

I used bought passata, mushrooms and peppers, frozen homegrown courgettes
I added wine that was leftover, so not counting that.
I made our own spaghetti - and so added in the price of 300g of flour and 3 eggs at 20p each - since that is what I sell them for. allowing 50p to cover the olive oil, herbs, onion and garlic

I cooked it on the esse using our own logs and pallet wood.

it made 4 main meals - the three of us including the garnet that is my son (spare meal in the freezer)
and works out to £1.70 per person meal. Not bad for a meat meal.

all a bit approx though

was very tasty

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 38530
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 8:46 pm Post subject:
simple 500 gm sourdough loaf about a £ 1including heat

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34284
Location: Hereford

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 9:01 pm Post subject:

Nicky Colour it green wrote:

Wine that was leftover.

Can anyone translate this, please?

oldish chris

Joined: 14 Jun 2006
Posts: 4148
Location: Comfortably Wet Southport

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 9:02 pm Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

oldish chris wrote:

My Guru makes Lasagne at 60p per portion: recipe

Note: my Guru only buys "free range" meat.

Although I am a bit extravagant with meat, much of my vegetable stuff is from my allotment.

To be fair, her portions are mouse-sized, I'd need at least 3 to keep me going through the day without snacking.

I hate you, I really hate you. In order to prove you wrong, I've just spent half an hour calculating the calorie content of a portion of Jack Monroe's home-made Lasagne. Its in the order of 450. Way more than a mouse would eat. (About a third of what a working man would eat.)

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25697
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 9:05 pm Post subject:

Nick wrote:

Wine that was leftover.

Can anyone translate this, please?

Sauce needs a splash of wine - open wine bottle, add a splash to saucepan and drink the 'leftovers'.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 38530
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 9:07 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Nick wrote:

Wine that was leftover.

Can anyone translate this, please?

Sauce needs a splash of wine - open wine bottle, add a splash to saucepan and drink the 'leftovers'.

well specified

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34284
Location: Hereford

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 9:08 pm Post subject:
Ah, thank you. All is clear.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 38530
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 9:10 pm Post subject:
for some folk who are time poor for domestic things it would be reasonable to charge for time which sways the scales somewhat.

Nicky Colour it green

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 8842
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 14 9:20 pm Post subject:

dpack wrote:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Nick wrote:

Wine that was leftover.

Can anyone translate this, please?

Sauce needs a splash of wine - open wine bottle, add a splash to saucepan and drink the 'leftovers'.

well specified

it was the last bit of a cheapo bottle (well plastic) of wine I'd bought for mulling at christmas. I guess you could add a quid to the total cost to make it more accurate. Odd to some the concept of leftover wine - but I'm the only drinker in the house so it does get left, to the point of going bad unless I cook with it.

however, leftover chocolate is impossible

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