Guest guest Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 My response to Piers post about proprietary meals had me commenting that you can (usually) make a quick meal, sauce, filling, soup etc.not only tastier yourself but also more economically. What I'm wondering is whether anyone has any good tips about eating wisely (including economically wise) and well without having to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. Love to hear some ideas! Love and hugs, Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Hi Pat and everyone,  In these tough economic times I'm sure we are all looking for ways to save money. What I am about to say is hardly rocket science but it IS very economical.  Buying pre-cooked beans/chickpeas/lentils etc in cans makes them very expensive per pound/kilo. However they can be very tempting to use as they are so convenient.  They don't have to be pre-soaked and cooked, a task which can involve you having to start preparing them the day before you need them.  To give you an idea of the cost savings involved, here in the Netherlands 14 oz/400 gram tin of cooked chickpeas/garbanzos costs anything up to € 0.90 but I can buy a 3 kilo/approx 6.5 lb bag of dry chickpeas for €4. That gives me around 10 kilos of cooked chickpeas at €0.40 per kilo instead of (approx) €2.50 per kilo for the pre-cooked ones.   Even with the cost of  In order to have the economy of home cooked beans as well as the convenience of an 'instant' ingredient, I cook large quantities at one time. When they are cooked, drained and cool I put them in recipe-sized quantities (about 2 cups) in freezer bags. They keep well in the freezer for at least three months. You don't even need to wait until they are thawed before adding them to the dish you are preparing. The heat of the cooking will thaw them almost straight away. If you are concerned about the beans stcking together in a clump in the freezer you might like to spread them on a tray first and put the tray in the freezer for about 30 minutes. After that initial time in the freezer, place the beans in recipe sized bags and put the bags in the freezer.  I must add that I have never used frozen legumes in cold dishes so I can't comment on how they would go in salads. I imagine they would work fine but I don't know for sure.  Cheers from Marie --- On Sat, 1/11/08, drpatsant <drpatsant wrote: drpatsant <drpatsant Eating Wisely and Well - any tips? Saturday, 1 November, 2008, 3:34 PM My response to Piers post about proprietary meals had me commenting that you can (usually) make a quick meal, sauce, filling, soup etc.not only tastier yourself but also more economically. What I'm wondering is whether anyone has any good tips about eating wisely (including economically wise) and well without having to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. Love to hear some ideas! Love and hugs, Pat Recent Activity  3 New Members  15 New FilesVisit Your Group Need traffic? Drive customers With search ads on Do More For Cats Group Connect and share with cat owners like you Real Food Group Share recipes and favorite meals w/ Real Food lovers. .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 OOPS, sorry, the message posted itself before I was finished. I was saying that, even with the cost of fuel to cook the chickpeas, they still work out at a tiny fraction of the cost of buying them already cooked.  Cheers from Marie --- On Sat, 1/11/08, Marie Rieuwers <marierieuwers wrote: Marie Rieuwers <marierieuwers Re: Eating Wisely and Well - any tips? Saturday, 1 November, 2008, 4:38 PM Hi Pat and everyone,  In these tough economic times I'm sure we are all looking for ways to save money. What I am about to say is hardly rocket science but it IS very economical.  Buying pre-cooked beans/chickpeas/lentils etc in cans makes them very expensive per pound/kilo. However they can be very tempting to use as they are so convenient.  They don't have to be pre-soaked and cooked, a task which can involve you having to start preparing them the day before you need them.  To give you an idea of the cost savings involved, here in the Netherlands 14 oz/400 gram tin of cooked chickpeas/garbanzos costs anything up to € 0.90 but I can buy a 3 kilo/approx 6.5 lb bag of dry chickpeas for €4. That gives me around 10 kilos of cooked chickpeas at €0.40 per kilo instead of (approx) €2.50 per kilo for the pre-cooked ones.   Even with the cost of  In order to have the economy of home cooked beans as well as the convenience of an 'instant' ingredient, I cook large quantities at one time. When they are cooked, drained and cool I put them in recipe-sized quantities (about 2 cups) in freezer bags. They keep well in the freezer for at least three months. You don't even need to wait until they are thawed before adding them to the dish you are preparing. The heat of the cooking will thaw them almost straight away. If you are concerned about the beans stcking together in a clump in the freezer you might like to spread them on a tray first and put the tray in the freezer for about 30 minutes. After that initial time in the freezer, place the beans in recipe sized bags and put the bags in the freezer.  I must add that I have never used frozen legumes in cold dishes so I can't comment on how they would go in salads. I imagine they would work fine but I don't know for sure.  Cheers from Marie --- On Sat, 1/11/08, drpatsant <drpatsant wrote: drpatsant <drpatsant Eating Wisely and Well - any tips? Saturday, 1 November, 2008, 3:34 PM My response to Piers post about proprietary meals had me commenting that you can (usually) make a quick meal, sauce, filling, soup etc.not only tastier yourself but also more economically. What I'm wondering is whether anyone has any good tips about eating wisely (including economically wise) and well without having to spend hours and hours in the kitchen. Love to hear some ideas! Love and hugs, Pat Recent Activity  3 New Members  15 New FilesVisit Your Group Need traffic? Drive customers With search ads on Do More For Cats Group Connect and share with cat owners like you Real Food Group Share recipes and favorite meals w/ Real Food lovers. .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 I liked Marie's idea of freezing large quantities of a product - and not everything needs cooking in advance! When we recently visited the Groningen market (in the far north of the Netherlands) they were selling large quantities of paprika (capiscum, sweet or bell pepper, whatever) and ginger at knock down prices, so we bought in a substantial quantity of both, chopped the paprika and peeled and chopped the ginger, placed both in plastic bags and quick froze them all. Now if we need either of these we take out a bag or a portion of one and add it to the meal. Later we combined spring onions and celery together in plastic bags and froze them, and this is convenient for many recipes. Now we have limited freezer space but our last house had a chest freezer full of a variety of foods all bought when the price was low! Piers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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