6.2.14

Less Tastes Great

First of all, before I start blathering on, thank you so much for your interesting comments on my last post. It's great to hear that there are others out there who are keen to get their grocery shopping under control and also to hear from those of you who are already experts in the field of living well on less. Thank you for your feedback.

All of this has made me think about less in a different way.

Less tastes great because...

The less I have the more creative I can be. This certainly applies to choosing to spend less money on groceries. Using up the food items we have to create new recipes without going out and buying missing ingredients (which I increasingly refuse to do) leads to perfectly successful and indeed often memorable meals.

Less convenience food means tastier food. Home cooking is undeniably yummier than convenience food.

It's better value. I get more value as home cooking provides extra portions for leftovers or meals to freeze.

I'm becoming a better cook. Every time I cook from scratch I'm improving my skills.

Less grocery shopping lightens my load. I am confident now that I can visit a supermarket and leave with only a small amount of groceries that I actually need. I love using a basket instead of a trolley and I feel uncomfortable spending more than £50 in one shop. I know what's in my cupboards and know that they are pretty full most of the time so I try to limit new food coming into the house.

I appreciate food more. I really appreciate a simple meal and the value of each ingredient. Takeaways, meals out, or our friends or family cooking for us are now a real treat as we value the whole process of meal preparation more.

I'm learning that time spent in the kitchen is valuable. These days I value time spent in the kitchen. Our food budget may be lower but our enjoyment of cooking and eating has increased. I believe time spent planning, preparing, cooking and savouring food is a great use of time. The kitchen is the room where we interact most as a family.

There's less guilt. Being in control of our spending feels great. And less waste and negative impact on the environment is also a benefit.

Oh and the photo? Irresistibly easy tarka dhal and potato and spinach curry (tinned potatoes and frozen spinach) made from store cupboard ingredients this week when we found ourselves child free one evening this week. A curry feast on a budget. Yum.


SHARE:

9 comments

  1. Gongratulations you are right, less is better taste and more delicious, bye, anna

    ReplyDelete
  2. I cant agree more on all your points, especially about using up what is at home rather than making another trip to the market. I have begun to love making a jumble of almost old vegetables in the skillet with whatever else i have on hand before it goes bad. I guess its called a stirfry-not a "jumble." It always seems to turn out well and I'm glad i am creating less waste.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree totally. I have found that making simple meals at home, with wholesome ingredients, is less expensive and just very pleasant. I have improved in my cooking so much in the past few years. I think part of it is just necessity: you have to be more creative when you don't have as much around to choose from.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree that having less can lead to more creativity. Dan calls these meals my "back to the wall" meals and they can be some of the best. If I ever wrote the recipes down it would be even better!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You're right, treats are appreciated more when meals are simple, and it's always a pleasure to make a good home-cooked meal without spending too much. I'm so enjoying these inspirational posts.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm always popping in the supermarket, I'm sure it's not the best way to budget! I'll be listening in with interest! Heather x

    ReplyDelete
  7. So true! I've been cooking since I was 12 and figure I'm an excellent cook, but this winter, having a much reduced income and much l ess choice, I think I've REALLY learned how to cook

    ReplyDelete
  8. The best things are also the most simple Xx

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading and leaving your comments. Keep in touch xo

BLOGGER THEME CREATED BY pipdig