Whatcha Eatin'?

[Rowanwood]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

Homemade chicken liver and mushroom pate with carrots and crackers..mmmmmm

[Clive]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

Pan-fried chicken (sans batter or breading), mixed vegetables with black beans and corn, and a red potato with butter.

[Medusa]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

Mexican rice with green olives cooked into it. And a flour tortilla quesadilla with moz cheese. Lunch of the poor! I realize I have a bunch of food in my fridge and pantry. Time to use it up!

[Medusa]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

I had cheese hot dogs and some homemade potato salad. OMG. I'm so full. But now I have salad for tomorrow! Because I only at half a potato and I'm stuffed!

[thalassa]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

berry-kale smoothie and oatmeal...again.

[Rowanwood]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

berry-kale smoothie and oatmeal...again.

I like a berry-kale smoothie. I always add protein powder and PB2.

[thalassa]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

I like a berry-kale smoothie. I always add protein powder and PB2.

I add some uber anti-oxidant probiotic vegan protien crap...its pretty yummy, lol.

I think its the mulberries I picked over the summer...I mixed them up in the berry mix.

[Willow]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

Coffee and bacon, breakfast of... um... me!

[Clive]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

Leftover pizza with salami and jalapenos and bread stuffed with cheese. My belly, it hurts, but it hurts oh so good.

[MaskedOne]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

Right then, do not play for the center in Go. It ends in pain and anguish.

[Clive]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

I've just made a big pot of chili soup - basically the same as chili con carne, only in a water base. Sounds more bland than the usual, but I've been making it that way for years and it's oh so good. I tend to do something different with it every time I make it - this time I used black beans instead of kidney.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

I'm about to cook and eat some stir-fry veggies and egg noodles.

With sauce out of a packet.

Ick.

We're interstate for two week's because of hubby's surgery... staying in an apartment in a hotel...

I've never put so much pre-packaged food in my trolley in my life. Jars and packets of simmer sauces and stir-fry sauces... although they call them 'flavour-bases' nowdays. Which makes it so much better.

And still we spent $250 on two and a half week's worth of groceries (and toiletries). I almost died. We don't spend that much at home.

How is it that people think that pre-packaged food is CHEAPER than making food from scratch? The mind boggles.

So now I'm off to make Honey, Garlic and Soy stir-fry... with no honey or soy sauce or kechap manis in sight.

At least the packet has the Heart Foundation tick of approval. Right?

[thalassa]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

right now, I'm drinking a smoothie--kale, mango, peach, carrot, banana, apple, and pineapple.

How is it that people think that pre-packaged food is CHEAPER than making food from scratch? The mind boggles.

Not sure how it is in Australia, but...it depends on the pre-packaged food. For example...for $2, I can get a box of velveeta mac'n'cheese (or Kraft mac'n'cheese for $1, or the store knock off brand for $0.50)...but, I could also *maybe* pick up that same box of velveeta mac'n'cheese for $1.50 at the "dollar store" (depends on if they have it in stock or not), or their knock-off brand for $1. But, buying a brick of velveeta is $3 (which admittely will make you several pots of mac'n'cheese), the noodles are about $1-2.50 a box (depending on the brand)...if you use real cheese, a brick of store brand is about $7, then you need butter ($2-3 for a box of 4 sticks), milk ($3-4). Most of those things--cheese, milk, butter, you can (and likely will) use for other meals...but the box of mac'n'cheese is still cheaper than buying the mac and the cheese separately.

But the premade stir-frys and such...those are like $3-8 dollars, depending on the brand here...just the meat would cost you about $2-3 for a cheap cut...then the veggies...a bag of mixed frozen veggies can be anywhere from $2-5 (buying similar fresh veggies to prepare would proly cost you about $10), depending on the brand, and then $3 for Panda Express's sauce, or $2 for a bottle of teriyaki or soy sauce...not to mention ginger, garlic, etc. Making it yourself is only really cost effective if you routinely have that other stuff.

It used to be, that our gov't subsidised food that people ate...now we subsidise feed corn and soybeans, which people turn into ingredients to be put into food-like substances. So...unless you are buying in bulk and have the time and storage space, a bag of chips is cheaper than a potato and kool-aid is cheaper than juice.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

Yeah I saw how it was in America when we went grocery shopping. It's not quite so bad over here, but there's still a perception the pre-packaged is a lot cheaper than from-scratch. But we usually spend about $150 on groceries a fortnight... which a lot less than we just spent the other day. But it was still cheaper than eating out everyday, which is the other misperception.

When you factor in a weekly bill vs individual ingredients... that block of cheese and block of butter and pack of pasta is actually like four meals, not one. So it spreads out over the week. I just couldn't believe how much more we spent on pre-packaged stuff than we usually do.

[Rowanwood]

Re: Whatcha Eatin'?

I find cooking myself FAR cheaper, in the long run, too. If you won't eat leftovers or plan what you are going to make it doesn't work. I think the whole "packaged is cheaper" is actually due to a lack in the skills to make food, not the food itself.

A bag of beans, a bag of rice, some veggies and a small piece of meat could feed a family for a week if you were careful. It would suck, mind you, but it could be done.