Extreme Frugality – Shelf Stable Frugal Meals #moneysavingtips #cuttingcosts #foodpreparation
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In this video I am thinking about how best to organise food I buy for my pantry. It’s helpful for me to think about meals that can be …
Brilliant, Tess, and SO timely…many are struggling these days, unfortunately. Thanks for sharing the tinned beef idea…I hadn't thought of that…tuna and chicken, but not beef!
Is that value food good?
I buy dry onion in bulk and it's much more economical for us due to the fact they don't rot or start to sprout. 3 tbsp of dry is equal to a large fresh onion. I buy from a restaurant grocery supply place. I really like your idea of making food kits with tinned ingredients! I would also add an Irish Kelly kettle my stock pile. Life without tea isn't living at all.
Oh, and I wanted to add that we have decided 2 years ago not to replace our pet, a hard decision as we loved our little dog.
We avoid most carbs, but along similar lines to you I stock my pantry with green beans, mushrooms, canned meats and fish, curry pastes, olives, long life and coconut cream. Our deep freeze has meats, fish, cauliflower, green beans, berries, low carb wraps and bread, shredded cheese. I think we have enough for 2 people for 2 months. We grow rocket, baby spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, celery but growing season ends as humidity rises and our wet season starts here in Nth Qld.
Great ideas Tess.
Were did you get your tinned meat from please Tess?
Hi Tess you might enjoy watching youtube Our Small Footprint, about a young australian family living off grid . Mum Nyssa takes you through her recipes and processes of canning, pickling etc. I love it and have learned so much from her, I wish I had had her knowledge as a young mum! Thank you for all you do too. xg
I put a little emergency "canned food cookbook" together for myself, and found that a great many recipes lend themselves to using only canned ingredients if we look at them with new eyes. This is my short list (feel free to work this to fit how you eat with substitutions of other canned items, spices etc.)
All ingredients are from pantry: dry (reconstituted with water like onions, garic granules), canned, or in a jar
Chicken or Ham White Bean Soup with Sage
Chicken or Ham
White Beans
Cabbage Roll Chicken Enchiladas (make own enchilada sauce)
Cabbage
Chicken
Refried beans
Cheese –jarred Cheddar or M. J fresh if possible
Cilantro – fresh if possible
Pesto Tortellini with Spinach
Chicken
Cheese tortellini (box or can)
Pesto
Sausage Spinach Tortellini Soup serve with garlic bread
Italian sausage – or ham, or corned beef
Onion
Garlic
Dry white or Rose wine (bottled, optional)
Crushed tomatoes
Chicken bouillon
Tortellini – three cheese 9 oz. pkg.
Spinach (fresh, or canned, well drained)
Fresh or dry basil
Tomato Bisque Soup with Chickpeas and Spinach Serve with cornbread and cheese if available
T. Soup
Diced Tomatoes
Evap Milk
Chickpeas
Spinach (fresh, or canned, well drained)
Grain bowl with refried beans and veggies
Refried beans
Canned beans or lentils
Veggies – canned
Salsa
Tostadas, or Refried bean dip w/Veggies, or Tacos
Refried Beans
Diced tomatoes
Onions & fresh greens
Salsa
Cheese (dried parmesan, or other dried/grated cheese)
Creamy Chicken and Pesto Pasta
Soaked Pasta
Green beans
Evap milk
Chicken or salmon
Pesto
Spicy Tuna/Chicken or Salmon
Angel hair pasta, soaked – ½ box
1 can tuna, salmon or chicken – some chili seasoning
Fresh greens (or canned veggies, well drained)
Lemon juice
Pesto in a jar or canned/frozen spinach
Tuna, chicken, or Salmon Pasta with Capers (opt.) lemon juice and cream
Egg Noodles soaked
Peanuts or other nuts
Garlic in a jar
Capers in a jar
Lemon juice (lemons if possible)
Salmon or tuna or chicken
Parmesan – dry
Fresh herbs or greens from yard
Evap milk
Corned beef hash patties –
Corned beef hash
Pototoes
Corned Beef Casserole
Pasta soaked
Cr Chicken soup
Corned beef
Evap Milk
Onion
Cheddar cheese (or dried grated cheese)
Chicken or Ham and Rice or pasta Casserole
Chicken
Ham
Cr Chicken soup
Rice or Pasta
Italian Dressing mix
Green veggie – peas etc.
Slow Cooker Southwest Quinoa or Rice Bowls
Onion
Bell pepper
Garlic
Black beans
Diced tomatoes Chili powder
Corn
Quinoa
Cilantro & avocado if available
Cheese
Spaghetti with diced ham
Angel hair pasta soaked (if unable to cook)
Ham
Parmesan Cheese
Egg Casserole – if able to cook
Eggs – fresh or dried eggs (6)
Onions, garlic, chopped veggies, mushrooms
Chicken or Ham or Salmon
Baked Chicken over Egg noodles
Chicken
Egg Noodles soaked (if unable to cook)
Cr Chicken Soup or Cr Celery Soup
Onions and canned peas (at the end) or any other green veg.
Chickpea Salad Sandwich – requires bread, fresh veg. like celery and onion and Mayo
Buddha Bowl – rice, meat, whatever veggies available w/Salsa
You will see "soaked" pasta – if you let it rest in water for an hour or two, it looks quite a bit like fresh pasta, and cooks quickly if you have limited energy to cook with. Why this seems to work okay: "cooking pasta is actually a two-phase process: Hydration and cooking. Normally, the two go hand in hand—the pasta absorbs water as it cooks. But it doesn't have to be.Turns out that whether you start with hot or cold water, pasta will still absorb just about the same amount. To prove this, I cooked a few batches of pasta side-by-side in various amounts of water, and starting at various temperatures. No matter how I did it, the pasta all ended up soaking about 75 percent its dry weight in water, and the pastas were indistinguishable from each other in a taste test." You will want to cook it, if at all possible, otherwise, it will taste uncooked, i.e. nasty.
Fab video. These ideas would be great for camping too. Definitely a good idea to stock up now if you can afford it. Feels like the end of the world is nigh 😱
Great ideas there Tess. It is amazing how many different foods can be bought in cans. You can still eat nutritious food this way.
Some excellent ideas here – I don’t know why, but I was completely unaware of the existence of tinned mushrooms! I’m going to buy some today and put them in our spag bol this week, see if other half notices the difference. We absolutely love Jack Monroe’s peach and chickpea curry recipe, which is mostly tinned. When you mention dried onions, are they flavoured with anything? We bought a large bag of crispy onions (shelf stable) that seem to be designed for salads, topping dishes, etc, but I’m guessing they could probably be used as an ingredient. I’ll check the salt content first. If so, I found them in a world foods section. Great video, please keep them coming, I’m learning lots!
Thanks
Hi tess found an Orla K green coffee jar in a charity shop a few days ago and thought of you. Thoroughly enjoy your channel. We think v similar and I sell too to contribute to the family 🙂
Interesting however I find dried legumes are much handier/healthier as shelf stable food, eg chickpeas, split peas, lentils
Brilliant video,Tess! I am concerned that there will be power outages this winter. In the 70s I remember sitting on the night storage radiators with my mum eating cold baked beans out of a can! I don't want to go back to that – so I have a little camping stove and an old fashioned stone hot water bottle ( the rubber ones perish and leak). Your idea of stacking things together as meals is really genius! A reorganising day is coming up soon. Thank you.
Those are good meals to have on hand in a pinch. Especially as there might be power cuts coming. Smart thinking outside of the box! Great tips for anyone with a tiny food budget! Thank Tess! P.S. Yes, we could hear those birds in the background!
Here in Midwest USA, with hot summers and even fall, food can be dehydrated/dried FREE ( without use of fossil fuel for dehydrating and freezing ) in hot cars, on cloth coveed trays of bin covers etc.
Had a big day in the garden. So not inspired to stand and cook dinner for myself. Microwaved some pasta. In separate dish dumped a can of tuna, tin of mixed vegetables, jar of romesco sauce, garlic granules. Microwaved for 5 minutes. Stirred through the pasta and sprinkled with parmesan. All ingredients from the pantry and ready to eat in under 15 minutes. Enough for 2 meals. So will make a side salad to accompany tonight.
Hi Tess! Hope you’re ok. I bet one of your cats was about, upsetting that bird! Lol
This video was such a good idea I buy tins, but never think what I’m going to put them with. I shall be doing list of what I have and what I need to make them into meals. Thank you for sharing! Sending love Mo xx
I have been stocking up on canned potatoes, tuna , salmon, chicken, ham, pork and beef for a while some have dates of 2024- 2026. I also have a lot of canned vegetables
Hi Tess, I'm a new subscriber, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed this video all the best from just outside of London 😊
Thank you for some great meal ideas
Southern frugal momma and prime of midlife are channels that talk about this too.. maybe do a collab..please . great ideas as ever Tess
Dried onions are available in Morrisons – by the herbs and spices
Very good ideas, Tess!
Thank you for this video Tess, great ideas.
I have a question, with the pesto meal, would you mix all the ingredients together and serve? Or perhaps serve the tuna on the side. Thank you so much for all that you do. Love from Pam in Texas.xl
Great ideas…I've started to batch cook and freeze meals but the freezer will soon be full and these meal ideas are a great idea and won't do any harm now and then re the salt or in times of need…..or for something quick and tasty. X
Look out for Jack Monroe's Tin Can Cookbook, I think you will love it 😀
I was at a yard sale this morning and they had cans of peas and lentils for 10cents each. Had a Best Buy date of September of 2023. I bought five of each, two bags of quick oats and two packs of whole wheat pasta all for $1.40. I’ll use the lentils to stretch hamburger in tacos etc. I was very excited to get them.
I love your videos. So encouraging. I use my dehydrator all the time. Apples are great for dehydrating and make a lovely crispy snack. Your hair looks beautiful today!
Hi Tess, great meal ideas 👍 As a regular camper and a vegetarian the larger COOP’s sell tasty tinned meals such as Suma beans and vegan sausages, Suma vegan meatballs, free and easy chickpea meals and vegan thai ‘chicken’ curry. Not cheap, but makes a great meat free meal. My Waitrose sells the Great Scot fried onions for 50P.
Dried onion powder is great and shelf stable. Get the powder not onion salt.
Sounds like an American crow yelling out there. Hes arguing with a family member over food. They yell at me when I'm out in the garden.
Just one suggestion for people who are just starting: Remember to only stock up on items you know you will eat and use. . Don't buy items just because you see other people buying them.
Great meals in a pinch.
Great ideas.