Payday

It was actually payday on Monday but as I’m always late, the timing of this fits well  🙂

I hate waste and I very rarely waste any food. But I’ve gradually realised how bad I am for food shopping, in that I buy lots of different food, wanting to make new recipes, try new things… use whatever it is for a bit and then forget about it and stick it back in the cupboard and move on to something else. And it’s not just supermarkets; I’m a sucker for a health food shop, especially if there’s a sale on…

So this month, I’m really going to try not to buy anything I don’t need and instead use up what’s in the cupboard.

First up  was this:

I got it in my bargain Goodness Direct order a while ago and because of the discount, they actually they cost me negative money! And they’ve got impressive nutritional statistics AND the child in me just likes the hoops…

(The discount code, for £10 off orders of £35+ on which you also get free delivery, applies till the end of March! Just click that link, above.)

But I was definitely underwhelmed. I didn’t dislike them but I love breakfast – and these didn’t make the mark. So they’ve sat in the cupboard, looking repraochful, ever since.

So I got inspired and used them for Katie’s banana bread in a bowl. I added cinnamon (and some xanthan gum to thicken) and used almond butter instead of walnuts…

This is so delicious… Katie, you’ve done it again! Creamy, filling, perfect. Even a less-than-average breakfast cereal is transformed.

Another thing sitting in my cupboard (since the same GD order) was the nutritional yeast, which is used in Mama Pea’s aubergine burgers. I lacked most of the other ingredients so I used 2tbsp pesto and 1tbsp vegetable stock to “marinade”, chucked in a load of sage and mixed herbs and subbed the tahini with peanut butter…

Waited impatiently for them to cook…

I’m not in a position to judge whether or not these are like the original Farm Cafe ones, but I can judge her last claim and it’s bang on – dang, they’re good 🙂

With roasted kabocha (didn’t know Asda did them and it was a bargain!) and the usual suspects:

I LOVE the nutritional yeast/pb combination, and am now thinking up other ways to have it. These burgers are A.Mazing. 

So the using things up approach is going well. And so’s my food shopping; I’ve only bought fruit, veg, cheese, yoghurt etc this week AND I managed to resist the temptation of a buy one get one for a penny sale in Holland and Barrett *takes a bow*.

It’s all good – now I just need to stick to it!

How do you deal with food shopping budgets… any tips?!