Random Recipes #35 - Dare to Bare

I was really excited to find out what Dom had in store for December's Random Recipe Challenge, as it's giving me a chance to write a post that I've been starting and stalling on for several months now. Dom has challenged us to share a window into our homes and kitchens by blogging a picture of the inside of our larder or cupboards, and here is mine - no pre-tidy otherwise I might have hidden some of those jars of instant sauces!! 

My lovely, not-so-tidy-but-still-mine, kitchen cupboard!

I posted this pic up on Instagram and Twitter, and one of the first comments I got came from Karen over at Lavender and Lovage, who exclaimed 'wow! you have loads!'. There is very much a reason for this, and as I said, a post that has been a long time coming, so here's a little insight into how and why my cupboard looks like this!

For the past couple of years, it's fair to say that like most households across the land we have 'felt the pinch'. With debts to pay, unexpected redundancies, job changes and all the usual stresses that come alongside them, we found ourselves feeling new, ever-tightening financial constraints. 

To start with, it's fair to say that we struggled to budget. I was organised to the point that rent and bills are planned for and are paid from a set account, but buying food on a weekly basis was a minefield, at the beginning of the month we'd buy far to much, and end up wasting fresh veg and meat that had gone bad, whilst at the end of the month we were sat counting 5ps on the coffee table to afford baked beans, bread and milk. Then I read a book that totally changed my perspective. That book was called Freeze, by Justine Pattison, and it promised to 'revolutionise' the way I used my freezer. In reality, it revolutionised the way I do everything. The way I shop, the way I store my food, and the way I plan my meals, and the result is we spend much less of food and eat much much better all month round.

My monthly food shopping and planning now looks something like this (with a few tips and star products);

• We do one 'big shop' once a month for around £250, rather than £100 once a week - big savings. (includes cleaning products and toiletries)
• The only 'extra' each month is fresh bread and milk. 
• We buy meat fresh, often taking advantage of 3 for £10 deals. All fresh meat is taken out of packages, wrapped in foil, labelled in a freezer bag, and frozen. Wrapping in foil has two major benefits - firstly, it takes up a lot less space in the freezer, and secondly, when defrosted the meat has no freezer burn! Seriously, it's just like fresh! 
• Fresh veggies are chopped, blanched and frozen the day I buy them, ready to be used as an when I need them (the ones that won't last a month in the fridge).
• We plan dinner in the morning, and take out any meat that needs defrosting, so it's ready for that evening. 
• My go-to product is Tesco Value Passata - it's 39p for 500g, and is my base for Bolognase, Chilli, Curries, Casseroles, Pizza sauces, Goulash, everything! And it tastes better than any branded passata I've tried! 
• The large bags of dried rice and pasta are incredible value, and as they have such a long shelf life there is no reason to ever buy small packs that cost the same amount! The large pasta bags (3kg) last me and Gary at least 3 months and cost around 20p more than a 1kg bag. 
• As you can see, there are a few jars of ready-made sauces peeking out for when we both have a late night at work... naughty :-)
• Two of these shelves are dedicated to flour and all things baking - well, I do make a LOT of cakes! 

It's a simple enough system, and one I should probably have figured out a long time ago, so forgive me teaching everyone to suck eggs but I really wanted to share! Thanks to Dom for spurring me on to write the post - finally!