Over the last few years I have become more and more aware of the chemicals and rubbish that is in the food that we buy from the supermarket.  I used to think that I was [...]

We needed something sweet but I didn't want to put the oven on and bake.  I decided to make date crunch as we have supermarket own brand rice crispies that need eating up (we only [...]

We made a little Indian buffet yesterday for our meal.  We used some left over curry, chicken tikka, and chapati, and made some onion bhaji to pad it it out.  We actually did not have [...]

We  are trying to tempt my brother to eat.  He fancied chicken tikka but there are lots of foods that he can not eat anymore due to his illness.  We therefore could not make it [...]

People are always asking me what are my priority ingredients when building a prepper pantry. If I could only have 5 ingredients to feed myself, for me, one of them would be a bag of [...]

One of the things that has had the biggest impact on our food budget has been reducing food waste. I will do a separate post on the ways that I use items that I used [...]

People often ask how I feed the two of us on such a low food budget.  I don't have a weekly or a monthly food budget, but have an amount I am able to spend [...]

This time of year is always a time for reflection for me.  We always think that this is the time of year to make changes to improve our lives, but really these can start at [...]

Life has been a bit stressful recently and I have been ill. Over the last couple of months my bedroom has become a tip and a dumping ground.  It is like a teenager's bedroom.  Today [...]

People can be alone at Christmas for all sorts of reasons.  Family may have died or moved away, a partner may be working, people may have fallen out, or be separated from family etc. For [...]

In the UK all the supermarkets compete with each other and a way they tempt people into the shop is to sell cheap Christmas vegetables.  Most things are 15p each.  I take advantage of this [...]

We had our family Christmas last weekend with my side of the family, and have another one on Christmas Day with the family of Mr S.  This week we have therefore been living on the [...]

Tonight is the Winter Solstice which is a pagan celebration called Yule.  This is an ancient celebration of the shortest day, midwinter, and the return of lighter days and the sun. A yule log was [...]

I always try to make sure that there is some fruit and salad on the Christmas buffet table to we have some slightly healthy food.  This year I managed to get some cheap strawberries (25p [...]

We have had our Christmas this weekend as it was the only time that we could all get together.  There are new grandparents in law to consider now, and some members of the family work [...]

I love salmon, or any kind of fish, but the price of it means that I can not eat much of it out of my £750 a year food budget.  However, Mr S and I [...]

The thing that I like about growing my own food, preserving, and foraging, is that a lot of the food that we eat has a story.  Thankfully I am not just using random things that [...]

People who have followed me for a while, know that I have a stock of food that really helps me to keep ahead of inflation, but is also there for the months that we have [...]

It has been cold this last week and I have been ill.  As I started eating again I fancied a sponge pudding.  I am living out of my cupboards and so am protective of ingredients [...]

Sausage rolls have been a staple of Christmas buffets for decades. I am always banging on about how 'normal', every day food can be made special with just a bit of creativity and this Christmas [...]

This recipe makes a sweet and sour sauce that is a lot healthier than jars and has no additives. It is quick and easy to make, and often I can make it with what I [...]

I do not understand why there is a stigma about saving money.  In this cost of living crisis, people are trying to hide that they are struggling. They carry on with habits that are making [...]

One of the hardest things I found about living on a low income was that I couldn't treat my kids to everything they wanted. When I split from my youngest's dad we had gone from [...]

This is an easy, tasty meal that I used to make on a Sunday instead of a roast when times were hard. I often had to make my toad in the hole with only 4 [...]

Mr S made some cookies for a relative whilst I was away.  She loves biscuits but is having trouble biting anything hard at the moment, and so he made her these easy cookies that are [...]

Spending money is often linked to our emotions, and how we are feeling.  These emotional triggers are what make us feel compelled to spend.  In order to stop spending it is important that we recognise [...]

We are having family over for a Halloween meal.  I wanted to make it special as the grand children are getting to the age when they will not be children much longer.  I did not [...]

Some one asked me how to make a soup.  Every soup I make is different as I mix and match ingredients to make my soup, depending what needs using up in the fridge and what [...]

What is a sinking fund? I mention sinking funds in my blogs to my group some times and often get asked what they are.  It is a tool that I use to help me stay [...]

I try to be eco friendly and hate food waste. last year I started to make some orange, eco friendly cleaner. lemons and other citrus fruit work just as well. I hate the use of [...]

I am trying to make food go as far as possible at the moment.  A lot of my supplies in my kitchen cupboards are running low and I don't want to spend any money or [...]

Do we need to worry about being food secure? There is a lot of disruption in the world at the moment, and some natural disasters that are putting a strain on food supply.  Farmers are [...]

It is World Mental Health day today.  Every year I hope that the mental health of those around me will have improved but with the cost of living, fears about war, fear mongering about new [...]

My philosophy is that you do not need to spend a lot of money to make an occasion special.  It just takes effort and creativity.  We are holding a Halloween dinner for family at the [...]

Caramelised onion chutney is the favourite preserve of Mr S and we try to make it every autumn. We made 4 12oz jars of it from this recipe last night.  Our eyes were streaming as [...]

Living abundantly can mean what ever you want.  It is what ever brings you joy.  Sometimes living frugally can be hard and a grind, even now when I am retired.  Saving money and living sustainably [...]