no brown bags

2 – Pasta with tomato sauce

lydia — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:10:13 +0000

pasta with tomato sauce

I ended up working from home today, but this is what I would have taken into the office with me, had I been there. Fusilli Pasta with 1/3 jar of Sacla Sun-dried Tomato & Garlic Sauce Not the most imaginative meal, granted. And even lazier than normal, given that I usually knock up a pasta sauce from what’s in a cupboard, but sometimes you just have to go with the jar of sauce.

I threw in some baby plum tomatoes and a good twist of black pepper too, just to make me feel like I’d contributed something to the equation.

Cost: £1.05

Saving so far: £8.12

Slimming World: 5.5 syns on Green (and that’s ALL because of what goes into the sauce – 15.5 syns in the whole jar, you have been warned)

1 – veggie chilli and rice

lydia — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:09:52 +0000

This was all eaten and thoroughly enjoyed before I started the blog, so there’s no photo I’m afraid, but here’s a quick recipe for you.

Peel and chop a carrot into small pieces and boil until just crunchy, remove from heat and drain.
Peel and chop a large onion and a clove of garlic and fry in frylight.
Add the carrot, a 400g tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce, a 400g tin of 3 bean salad and a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes.
Add Tabasco sauce to taste.
Cook until carrot is tender and season to taste.
Serve with rice

Cost: 83p per portion - About £2.50 for the lot, and it made 3 servings (one for me, one for my dad and one for my tea)

Savings so far: £4.17

Slimming World: free on green

£1,200 a year!!!

lydia — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:56:55 +0000

Hello, me again, I write occasional blogs at nine hundred months, and the pudding blog, as well as a business blog at That’s What She Said, and this year, I have a plan – a little brick built, terraced, 2 or 3 bedroomed plan. Unfortunately this is 2011, which is probably the worst year in history to have that sort of plan, which means it’s time to look after the pennies as well as the pounds.

One area that I know I can do better with is the little daily expenses. If I’m being good and eating in the cafe in work and not nipping out to the dangerous selection of restaurants within a 5 minute walk of my desk (aaaah Hope Street, how do I love thee?), I spend about £5 a day. Assuming 5 working days a week and 48 working weeks in a year that’s £1,200 between now and 2012. That’s a lot of money – it’s not quite a deposit, and I can’t just stop eating, but I’m quite capable of making my own lunch, and I reckon I can save at least £10 or even £15 a week, without sacrificing taste or variety.

So, that’s the challenge. Eat lunch well and with plenty of variety, for less than £2.50 a day.

Easy Peasy