Veg Garden

I have been totting up the tally charts I kept during the summer of the veggies we grew this is what we picked:

tomatoes - 9.852kg
green beans - 4.023kg
carrots - 1.178kg
cucumbers - 67
courgettes - 18
butternut squash 3

Catching up - Life gets in the way

It seems that every time I get chance to post on here lately I'm apologising for not posting iyswim.

Anyhow we are coming to the end of the halfterm week and we all go back to school or work on Monday.

This week Dave has had the week off as well and we have just spent time relaxing and not doing much.

It has been nice not to get up to an alarm clock.

Cooking has been casual using things up or what we fancy from our stores.

We have spent some time in the garden clearing a few things away and doing some general tidying so there is less to do another day. Also doing a bit of planning ready for next year so hopefully we can grow more veggies ourselves.

Our waste management seems to have evened out and although some weeks is a little more than my target others it is under; I'm not going to be fastidious in trying to achieve the target every week we are averaging 185g per week for the last 42 weeks so not a major amount in real terms for a family of 4.

Dave is hopefully starting a new phase in his work when he goes back on Monday, he will be doing some courses but also will possibly be working different hours and days which should mean an increase in income for us; this is obviously not to be sniffed at in the current economic climate.
So I will be holding the fort more, but also will be looking at what we can still do to maximise our income and growing potential.
I know I want an apple tree and that will be sorted for next year, we have made a note of the types of veggies which grew well and which we all also liked, and will grow more of these utilising the most space available.

Apologies

Where has the time gone.

It doesn't seem five minutes since I was writing about the end of term activities and finishing school for the summer.

Well now next week we are all back at school.

The waste management has still been going well, and as the garden has been very productive there has been alot less packaging as all the salad ingredients are from the garden not the supermarket.

We have still been having an organic box but have reduced it to fortnightly, this has been mainly for potatoes and an odd veg like cauliflower which we haven't grown.

The garden has been prepared for some winter veggies as well, we have leeks, sprouts, swede, and hopefully parsnips and some winter potatoes.

It has been an eyeopener as to how much of any one particular type of veg we need, I thought I had planted loads of carrots, but we are eating them as fast as they are growing and I haven't even managed to put any in the freezer. So next year I will have a much bigger bed for these but will increase the sowings even more than this year.

I had hoped to have a baking day before school restarted just to get a head start on packed lunch items, but I don't think this will now happen as I had to go into school yesterday for a meeting and today have errands to run in readiness for Monday; I will maybe do a few mini sessions and fit them around my work times, just to get some bits in the freezer.

Catch Up

Well things have been very hectic the last few weeks.

We've had end of school items, extra work hours for me, the garden going into overdrive, plus all the usual goings on in a family with 2 teenage boys.

I have still been logging the waste we have put into the landfill bin and can reveal that over the last 4 weeks we have only put out 966g; which considering what has been going on is brilliant.

We have been eating cucumbers and lettuce galore, and now the green beans and carrots have come into there own and I am freezing down the surplus. The first tomatoes have now started to turn orangey red so won't be long before we are getting a surplus of those as well.

I also found the time (don't ask how) to make a batch of Elderflower Champagne and a batch of Pink Rhubarb Champagne; these are more like a fizzy wine but sounds better if you say champers.

Hopefully now that we are into the school hols things can settle down for a few weeks; we are however having a major declutter and doing at least one carboot sale per week, (think loft full of baby items- boys are 15 & 12).

My next plan on the cooking front is to find some brambles to be able to make some blackberry jam.

Menu Plan w/c 21 June

Monday - Meatballs, new potatoes, fresh veggies

Tuesday - Chicken Salad, fried potatoes

Wednesday - Macaroni cheese, salad

Thursday - Chicken curry, rice

Friday - Tuna Salad, New potatoes

Saturday - Tacos, salad

Sunday - BBQ, salad

Weekly Weigh In 24 & 25

I'm afraid this is a two week combined post as life just got in the way of blogging.

I am spending as much time as possible in the garden , weeding and sorting spaces ready for next year.

I have also made my first bact of Elderflower Cordial and will be getting another underway today.

So anyways the landfill bags weighed in at

weeks 24 192g

week 25 161g

As the weather improves I can only hope that there will be less going into the bin as alot of our meals will be based around the salad and veggies from the garden.

Menu Plan w/c 7 June

Monday - Fish Fingers, hm chips, salad

Tuesday - Mince and Mash potatoes, fresh veggies

Wednesday - Egg salad, new potatoes,

Thursday - pork curry, rice, fresh veggies

Friday - Jacket potatoes

Saturday - BBQ (weather permitting)

Sunday - Salmon, new potatoes, salad

All the salad levaes are now from out of our garden.

The cucumbers are coming along very nicely and all the indoor tomatoes have flowers on; so it won't be long before we are having homegrown of those as well.

Weekly Weigh In 23

The landfill bag this week has crept back up but is still just under my target weight so it came to 192g.

The main thing seemed to be the outer bags from a couple of multipacks of crisps.

Add to that some chicken bones, and there we have it.

YELLOW PAGES

Faith has been restored that some companies do listen.

I had signed up to not receive the Yellow Pages, these have been delivered today; I heard the thud on the doormat and thought typical!!

However the delivery lady came back 5 minutes later, knocked and apologised for delivering it, her driver hadn't informed her before she delivered said tomb that I didn't require one.

This does though leave one ? what would hace happened if I had already departed for the day and she couldn't retrieve it?

Veggies & Salad - update

We harvested the first of our home grown leaves yesterday, there was a good mixture of different types of salad leaf from the digin seeds I received this year.

I also added in some of the basil and some parsley, a very lovely salad indeed, we added just a touch of olive oil to dress.


Here is a link to some photos of our veg garden http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=15270&id=1704600319&l=7dd9dde144

Weekly Weigh In 22

The landfill bag weighed in at 175g this week.

David had had a friend to stay on Saturday, which added to the non recyclable plastics as sweets were bought and consumed.

All in all though still a good total, as it is below the 200g threshhold I have set us.

Menu Plan w/c 31 May

Monday - Steak, jacket potatoes, salad

Tuesday - Scampi, chips, salad (inc hg leaves)

Wednesday - Tuna & Egg salad, boiled potatoes

Thursday - Spagetti Bolognese

Friday - Cheese toasties, salad (inc hg leaves)

Saturday - BBQ (weather permitting)

Sunday - Roast Chicken, roast potatoes, fresh veggies

Veggies & Salad

The veggie and salad garden is blooming despite us not having had any rain for over a week.

We have taken babysteps with planting things out and now all is in stiu and growing.

There is:

tomatoes, cucumber, chilli and lettuce in the greenhouse

carrots,beetroot, green beans, courgettes, butternut squash, spring onions, lettuce and herbs either in the garden or in pots outside.

Menu Plan w/c 24 May

Monday - Corned Beef Salad, jacket potatoes

Tuesday - Tuna/pasta with salad

Wednesday - Sausage & mash, fresh veggies

Thursday - Fish fingers & bubble & squeak(using last night leftovers)

Friday - hm pizza

Saturday - burgers

Sunday - roast chicken, salad, new potatoes

Weekly Weigh In 21

The landfill bag was an earth shatteringly low 121g this week.

I really do not know how we have achieved this.

Dilema

I have this burning question which I can't seem to find an answer to.

Am I better buying a product in a can or a glass jar?

Now we know that both can be recycled fairly easily, but which is the better in terms of energy used for initial manufacture and then the energy used to recycle .

I have not been able to answer this and would like to know .

Menu Plan w/c 17 May

Monday - Chilli and saffron rice

Tuesday - Pork chops, mash and fresh veggies

Wednesday - Tuna and Salmon salad, new potatoes

Thursday - Meat Pie, chips, fresh veggies

Friday - Jacket potato, cheese & beans, side salad

Saturday - Pizza

Sunday - Steak, new potatoes, salad

Weekly Weigh In 20

We seem to have hit that plateau as the landfill bag again weighed in at 194g, so although under my target weight, it is not getting any smaller.

I think that as nice as it would be to be zero waste, our day to day living etc is just getting in the way.

I buy as much as I possibly can either naked or in returnable or recyclable packaging we have a doorstep collection for type 1 & type 2 plastics, paper and cans. Glass I take to the bottle bank as I pass it regularly.

I take a trip every approx 3 months to the local HWRC with items which aren't collected but can be recycled there. The amount I take seems to have reduced over the last year so something is going right. Theses are usually hard plastics (bottle tops), tetrapaks and any odd batteries or lightbulbs. They also take used cooking oil which I drain from the deepfat fryer and store in old plastic bottles.

I have a box for crisp packets and toothpaste tubes, which will be sent off once full. All the type 4 polythene bags etc are taken to the local supermarket and recycled in their bag drop.

Menu Plan w/c 10 May

This week again sees us out for a couple of evenings, so the slowcooker will again come into play to have dinner cooked ready for when everyone gets home.

Monday - Meatballs, salad, new potatoes

Tuesday - Pork Casserole, mash, fresh veggies

Wednesday - Steak Pie & Chips, fresh veggies

Thursday - Sausage casserole, mash, fresh veggies

Friday - Chicken savoury rice

Saturday - Pizza & chips

Sunday - Steak, new potatoes, salad

Weekly Weigh In 18

Well despite being out and about all week again, and the extra packaging that comes from eating things on the go; we have still managed to stay under the 200g target, maybe only just but the landfill bag weighed in at 196g.

My veggie/salad seedlings are coming along nicely so hopefully soon I can get these planted out and then wait to enjoy the fruits of my labours.

Menu Plan w/c 3 May

With all the extra work and activities going the last couple of weeks on things could have taken a nose dive but I made sure that either the slow cooker went on before I went to work or that dinner was something that could be easily prepared once I was home.

Monday - Roast Chicken, roasties, yorkshires, fresh veggies

Tuesday - Fish Fingers and Chips served with fresh veggies

Wednesday - Spagetti Bolognese using fresh veggies

Thursday - Salmon and Tuna salad with new potatoes

Friday - Sausage & Mash, served with fresh veggies

Saturday - Fish & Chips (away football match)

Sunday - Roast Pork, Roasties, Yorkshires, fresh veggies

Weekly Weigh In 16 & 17

Life is been a bit hectic the last couple of weeks.

I had been drafted in to help out as a substitute TA in school as they were short staffed.

The boys have been doing alot after school and at weekends and things generally have taken over the time I get to come on here.

Anyhow, this morning I have some free time so I will catch up.

Week 16 the bag weighed in at 197g, and week 17 it was 173g.

So considering the above that is very good.

Growing update

Whilst not many, we have 3 cucumber plants, 2 french green bean plants and approx 12 basil plants peeking through in their pots.

Hopefully as the days stay warmer more will start to peek through.

I have them all in individual pots sat in trays in the glasshouse; at night they are covered with bubble wrap to help keep the warmth in.

Weekly Weigh In 15

This weeks landfill bag weighed in at 177g.

Considering we had the extra bits and pieces from the BBQ/campout/sleepover for Tom's birthday Friday night this is very good.

I set up 2 plastic boxes, one for glass bottles and one for cans and pop bottles; the lads were very good and used them correctly, we also had a carrier bag for any sweet wrappers etc so they could go straight into the landfill bag this time.

I just had to empty the boxes into the correct areas which was easier than things being put into wrong places.

Menu Plan w/c 19 April

Monday - Sausage, mash, onion gravy, fresh veggies

Tuesday - Chicken & chips, salad

Wednesday - Chilli & rice, with added fresh veggies

Thursday - Chicken & noodles, fresh veggies

Friday - Pork Curry, rice, added freah veggies

Saturday - Pizza & Chips

Sunday - Roast Lamb, roasties, yorkshires, fresh veggies

Menu Plan w/c 12 April

I have abandoned the menu plan again this week as we have various activities going on due to school holidays.

The main thing will be that anything we do eat has to come from the freezer or cupboards.

There are 2 days when this will not be in place:

Wed - friends are coming for the day and we are going to the All-you-can-eat Chinese

Fri - is Toms birthday and we are going out for lunch.

The menu plan will be back in earnest next week as we are all back in school/work.

Weekly Weigh In 14

The amount of waste sent to landfill this week weighed in at 167g.

Again considering the boys and Dave were all at home most days this is very good.

Creating Our Garden Area

Yesterday has seen and today will continue to see us creating our growing area in our back garden.

We have a glasshouse which yesterday we put up, and today we are going to create some beds to grow some veggies in.

I hope we can grow some tomaotes, cucumbers, carrots, beetroot, scallions, green beans, cut and come again lettuce, some herbs and some sunflowers for the birds. We already grow rhubarb, garlic and wild garlic.

Even though we have an organic veg box weekly, I will tweak it during the growing season to get the things we aren't growing.

I have a few seeds from the BBC DIG IN campaign and some others which I have bought.

Recycling Centre

You will probably remember that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I would be taking a trip to HWRC to dispose of lots of recyclable items which are not collected kerbside.

Well today is the day, it is bright and sunny, (don't like doing this on a wet, windy day); so myself and Tom are heading off to take it all, whilst Dave and David do some jobs in the garden.

This job hasn't been done for approx 6 months, so although it has meant we have been storing it for this long (in the special recycling area), it is also good in that we have drastically reduced the amount we are bringing into the house in the first place. We used to take a trip every 3 months approx.

It will also be interesting to see if there any new items we can now take to HWRC which we haven't been able to in the past.

Weekly Weigh In 13

The landfill bag has weighed in at 156g so something has gone right this last week.

I don't know how to account for this, but maybe there have been a few subtle changes which have made a difference.

Menu Plan w/c 5 April

This weeks menu is a bit more of a hit and miss affair, although we are still eating things from the freezer and cupboards etc.

The boys are both on holiday from school now for 2 weeks and Dave is on holiday from work for the week.

So there is no set menu plan for this week.

Weekly Weigh In 12

This weeks landfill bag weighed in at 198g.

We seem to have stuck in that area , and I am quite happy considering, with that at the moment as it is a big reduction on the couple of kitchen bin liners per week we were throwing out a couple of years ago.

It is difficult with having 2 teenage boys and all the things they want.

If it were just myself and Dave I feel I could reduce this weight quite easily, but as they are here for a few more years yet I will have to suck it up and carry on as best I can.

The next 2 weeks will be interesting as not only are the boys on school holidays for both but Dave is also on holiday from work the first week, and the boys have friends visiting in the second.

Menu Plan w/c 29 March

Monday - Savoury mince, mash & fresh veggies

Tuesday - Southern Fried Chicken in a Bun, salad and hm chips

Wednesday - Bacon and egg sandwiches

Thursday - Sausage & mash, fresh veggies

Friday - Fish & Chips (on the seafront as its Good Friday)

Saturday - Pizza and salad

Sunday - Roast Chicken, roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings, fresh veggies

I will add in here again that lunches for myself and Dave are usually HM bread sandwiches with salad in the fillings or a leftover plate from the freezer. Tom and David usually have school lunch but at weekends and on holidays have hm bread sandwiches.

Weekly Weigh In 11

The landfill bag weighed in this week at 224g; so a little over my target of 200g.

In the grand scheme of things this is not too disasterous, as usage of products does fluctuate. We have all had new toothbrushes this week which have had some non-recylable packaging.

The bin although no where near full will be put out for collection next week as we reach 3 months since it was last emptied.

I will also in couple of weeks time be taking a trip to HWRC to empty my recycling boxes of the items which can only be dealt with there. It is 6 months since these were last emptied so that shows a reduction in that type of packaging as well.

Menu Plan w/c 22 March

Monday - Spagetti Bolognese with added fresh veggies

Tuesday - Liver & Sausage Casserole, mashed potatoes, fresh veggies

Wednesday - Meat Pie & Chips, fresh veggies

Thursday - Fish Pie, fresh veggies

Friday - Pork Casserole with cobbler topping, fresh veggies

Saturday - Fish & Chips

Sunday - Roast Beef, roasties, yorkshire puddings, fresh veggies

Weekly Weigh In 10

This week we see the landfill bag weighing in at 164g, and that is allowing for a styrofoam box which some chips came in from the takeaway we had on Sunday.

Dave and the boys decided to treat me to a takeaway instead of me cooking Sunday dinner as it was Mothers Day. The rest came in either re-usable plastic containers or paper bags; it was all delivered in a returnable cardboard box (claimed to keep the food hotter) rather than carrier bags.

So we are not doing too badly at all considering.

I have changed my shopping habits recently as well and now shop fortnightly at the supermarket with an organic veg box weekly, and doorstep milk, butter and fruit juice. Meat I am still buying from the local PO from a local butchers.

I have told Dave and the boys that as far as crisps and choc bars go "once its gone its gone" until the next shop, as I felt too many were getting eaten and I was buying loads weekly.

I still bake lots of cakes etc but obviously these are better than shop bought processed ones.

Menu Plan w/c 15 March

Monday - Savoury mince , mashed potatoes, fresh veggies

Tuesday - fish fingers & chips, fresh veggies

Wednesday - roast pork, yorkshire puddings, potatoes and fresh veggies

Thursday - hm meatballs & spagetti, served with a hm tomato sauce

Friday - beef casserole with dumplings

Saturday - burgers

Sunday Roast chicken, pigs in blankets, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, fresh veggies

Weekly Weigh In 9

Things have been looking fairly good this week on the landfill front; the bag this week weighed in at a very skinny 143g.

I feel as though something has not been put in the right place, as we have never been this low.

We have been as usual eating home cooked meals, although this weeks sausages came from a butcher who wraps in a single sheet of plastic film and paper so no annoying packaging there.

There are still some bits of plastic which have to go into the landfill bin, although the majority now either goes to HWRC or to carrier bag recycling at my local Sainsburys, I have noticed that alot more of there own label products now state that the plastic/polythene can be added to this facility, so obviously I am making use of it as we don't want to lose it.

Menu Plan w/c 8 March

Monday - savoury mince served with mashed potato, fresh veggies and hm bread

Tuesday - chicken/steak pie with chips and frozen peas and sweetcorn

Wednesday - hm burgers in hm buns served with salad

Thursday - pasta bake, garlic bread

Friday - sausage & mash, fresh veggies

Saturday - pizza and chips

Sunday - roast pork, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, fresh veggies

Curried Soup

I was making a batch of curry sauce to put into the freezer, as there were a few veggies which needed using including an aubergine and courgette.

I then hit upon the idea of using some of the sauce as a base for a curried type soup, so I took some aside, added in some extra spices blitzed it all with the whizz stick and added a tin of coconut milk.

Even if I say so myself, a very nice warming soup with a bit of a kick.

I wouldn't be able to ever replicate it identically but I know that basically once I have my basic curry sauce good to go then I can tweak it to make some soup.

Weekly Weigh In 8

The landfill bag this week weighs in at 194g, so a little up on last week but still within my target of 200g.

There don't seem to have benn any anomolies this week from our normal landfill rubbish, so i will just keep looking at reducing the amount we have.

Menu Plan w/c 1 March

Monday - Chicken, mash and fresh veggies

Tuesday - Omelette & Chips

Wednesday - Fish Pie and fresh veggies

Thursday - Pasta Bake

Friday - Sausage Casserole, mash & fresh veggies

Saturday - HM Pizza and chips

Sunday - Roast beef, yorkshires, roasties and fresh veggies

Weekly Weigh In 7

This weeks bag weighed in at 184g, we are at least being consistent with this figure.

There were a couple of extra bits of non-recyclable plastic due to the boys being off school.

Menu Plan w/c 22 February

Monday - Spaghetti Bolognese

Tuesday - Egg & Chips

Wednesday - Pork & Liver Casserole, fresh veggies from box

Thursday - Fish & Chips (hm)

Friday - Jacket Potato

Saturday - HM pizza

Sunday - going out for lunch ( birthday/mothers day)

Carrot & Pumpkin Soup

I had a couple of small pumkins/squashes left in my veg rack which were the size of cricket balls.

so I made up a batch of this soup.

500g tub of hm chicken stock
2 leeks finely diced
small onion finely diced, (used a serving spoon of the precooked)
3 carrots small dice
the said pumpkin small dice
3 tennis ball size potatoes small dice.

sweat off the leeks in a glug of oil, add in the onions, carrots and pumpkin then add the stock plus the same again of water times 2.

let this all come to the boil then add 2 handsful of orange lentils and the potatoes, bring back to the boil, then turn down to a simmer until the carrots are soft,

Blitz with a whizz stick or similar and serve with pinch fresh ground black pepper and hm chunky bread.

This amount has made 6 x 2 ladel portions. It is a thick soup so can always be watered down further to stretch.

Weekly Weigh In 6

The landfill bag weighs in at 184g.

Again just under my 200g target so I am pleased.

Even though the crisp packets are now going into a box in readiness for sending to PCF there doesn't seem to be a reduction in total weight.

I do know that again we have a polystyrene tray as I had asked Dave to pick up some bacon and he got the one on the tray rather than just the plastic wrap.

So I will have to take a better look again at what exactly is coming into the house foodwise.

Menu Plan w/c 15 February

Monday - Haggis, tatties and neeps

Tuesday - Pancakes

Wednesday - Egg and hm chips

Thursday - Fish Pie, fresh veggies from box

Friday - Spagetti Bolognese inc fresh veggies from box

Saturday - HM Pizza

Sunday - Roast Pork, roast potatoes, yorkshires, fresh veggies from box

Weekly Weigh In 5

This weeks landfill bag contains 192g of non-recyclable rubbish, including 2 polystyrene trays.

These were the packaging for the chicken bought from the PO for lunch yesterday, which there wasn't an alternative to.

I order my meat each week for a Friday delivery to the PO from a butchers in the town, but obviously it has to come prepackaged, usually it is just polythene but this time had a tray as well.

Menu Plan w/c 8 February

Monday - meatballs & spagetti with a hm tomato sauce

Tuesday - curry & rice including fresh veggies from box

Wednesday - fish & chips (cooked at home) fresh veggies from box

Thursday - pork casserole with herby dumplings, fresh veggies from box

Friday - jacket potatoes

Saturday - omelettes

Sunday - roast beef, yorkshires, roasties, fresh veggies from box

Weekly Weigh In 4

This weeks landfill bag weighed in at 178g, so again this is under my 200g target.

I am really pleased about this as we are now keeping below this level regularly.

We have also been using any of the cinders from the coal fire for making a path which is going to run along the side of the greenhouse once it is put up.

Menu Plan w/c 1 February

Monday - Mince and tatties, fresh veggies from box

Tuesday - Fish fingers and chips, fresh veggies from box

Wednesday - Sausage and Mash, fresh veggies from box

Thursday - Curry & rice, using fresh veggies from box and meat leftover from Sunday

Friday - Jacket potato, cheese & beans

Saturday - HM Pizza

Sunday - Roast Chicken, yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, fresh veggies from box

Recycling Crisp Packets

Please take a look at my zero waste . Today there is an article spotlighting a charity which uses crisp packet and other non recyclable rubbish to help famillies in the Philippines.

Also take a look at Philippine Community Fund as this is the actual charity website and has an online catalogue so goods made from the recycled rubbish can be purchased.

Weekly Weigh In 3

The landfill bag this week weighs in at 186g.

I'm pleased with this as it is still below my target of 200g and David has been ill so there have been blister packs for paracetamol etc.

Menu Plan w/c 25 Jan

Monday - Haggis, tatties and neeps (Burns Night)

Tuesday - Fish Fingers & chips, fresh veggies from box

Wednesday - Pie/Sausage, mash, fresh veggies from box

Thursday - Curry using fresh veggies from box

Friday - Jacket potato

Saturday - hm pizza

Sunday - Roast Beef, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, fresh veggies from box

General tweaking and housekeeping

I have had a play around a little with blogger and have imported the posts from my previous Green blogs to have them all under one heading.

The main reason for doing this was because it means everything is now in one place rather than over 3 or 4 blogs.

I hope this may make it easier for visitors as well.

Weekly Weigh In 2

Well the landfill bag today weighed in at 168g, and is only the size of a full pencil case thanks to the tips from over on My Zero Waste .

I had always tried to compact things as small as possible but the bags just seemed to puff back up with air, however by using a tiny bit of sellotape to secure said package it has remained tight and compact.

Menu Plan w/c 18 Jan

Monday - savoury mince, mashed potatoes, fresh veggies from box

Tuesday - sausage and chips

Wednesday - roast pork, roast potatoes, fresh veggies from box

Thursday - turkey curry, rice

Friday - jacket potatoes, cheese and beans

Saturday - pizza

Sunday - pork casserole, mashed potatoes, fresh veggies from box

Using things up

This last week has seen us using a few things up which have been bought but not used and have languished in the back of the cupboard for a while.

There were a couple of tins of different beans and some green lentils, so the lentils went into a curry, and the beans were added to the chilli instead of kidney beans.

I have made a concious decision to not buy things now on a "we might use it later" or a "I fancy trying that", whim.
Grocery purchases are going to be made for a specified use in the menu plan, obviously if something we use regularly is on a special offer then it will be purchased as it is silly not to, especially if it is a non perishable.

To this end I am going to restart menu planning each week and make my grocery list around this, the menu plan will incorporate meats etc that I have in the freezer and these will be either replaced or an alternative which is better value will be bought instead.

We have an organic veg box delivered weekly so obviously will be using those; also the nights I opt to make a curry or other spicy dish David will have a plated dinner from the freezer as he doesn't like spicy food; I plate up extra portions for this purpose and also for Dave to have for his lunches some days.

Weekly Weigh In 1

The landfill rubbish this first week has weighed in at 159g; and that is allowing for the fact that David is now eating crisps etc again, and that the boys were at home for 3 school days due to the bad weather.

Wintery Weather

The last few days have seen some real old fashioned wintery weather.

The boys haven't been to school apart from Tuesday as the buses were cancelled, and my work was closed today.

I had a reduced gammon steak in the freezer so it was pulled out and used to make a pot of gammon and lentil broth. This was served with chunks of hm bread for a lovely warming lunch.

I also made some fat balls to hang in the trees in the garden for the birds.

As we live in a rural setting with a country lane to the houses, the lane is to say the least very slippery( compacted frozen snow with fresh falling on top); it is times like this when you appreciate your store cupboard and freezer, and not have to worry about getting to a shop.

Starting Afresh

The landfill bin was emptied this morning so we are starting the new year with a clean slate.

We will see how few times we absolutely have to put the bin out for collection.

I do have to take some items to HWRC soon but that hasn't been done since September so we have obviously reduced the amount of packaging albeit recyclable that we have been purchasing.

Weekly Weigh In 52

The final weigh in from 2009 amounted to 178g.

Welcome

So far this new year we have:

a) looked at our budget for the coming year and put in place some savings pots

b) not spent any money as have plenty in the fridge and freezer which will last until after the weekend

c) sorted a few bits to go to the charity shop on our next visit to town

the weather has been very cold and wintry similar to how "it used to be" when myself and Dave were kids

Dave goes back to work on Monday, the boys go back to school on Tuesday, and I go back to work on Tuesday as well.

Once everyone is back into the normal routine I will be meal planning with avengence, so that the odd things in the freezer will be used up and then I can replenish the freezer and cupboards probably in February.

I will be keeping a running total again of how much landfill waste we create over the year.