Hot porridge better than cold cereal, cheap and healthy

More on food today, as I have been getting up earlier I have  been trying to make sure I eat breakfast everyday so that I don't get that mid morning feeling when my energy lags.  There are not many quick cold cereals I like as many are way too sugary and what they charge for a box that lasts a couple of days for a family is just ridiculous. I do like porridge though and it is easy, plus you can add whatever you like to make it more interesting.   A while ago my husband came back from the supermarket thinking he had a good offer because the Quaker Oatso Simple were on offer, well even on offer they are a rip off!  I buy these...
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A box of this is £1 from the Aldi and you get 1kg of oats, a box of Oatso Simple is £2 and you only get 324g.  Why is anybody buying that? The Aldi version works out to 3p a serving without the milk. The Oatso Simple version is 18p per serving without milk. That is a massive difference and you can't really argue that the pre-packed ones are easier to use because they are not, unless you are incapable of putting a spoon in a box then emptying that spoon into a bowl!   I use 4 desert spoons (level) into a bowl, pour over a little soya milk and stir then put it in the microwave for 2 minutes, done.  It probably would take you longer to unfasten the pre-packed bags than to spoon it straight from the box.  I like to add just a little golden syrup ( just a tiny squirt) or sometimes some raisins. I usually feel full until lunch now, I think anybody trying to feed the children on less money should try and get them to eat porridge.  It is healthier and you may just have to experiment with different toppings to get them to eat it at first. A little bit of jam, grate just a little chocolate if that is what they are used to ( only a bit though) dried cranberries ( you only need a few).  This could save you loads on the cold cereal.   

I'm trying to be more vigilant about not wasting any food and I know I'm improving at this because we used to go to the supermarket and come back and be throwing stuff out from the previous week like vegetables or things that had gone off.  I know that is a back to front way to do things as we now check first.  Also if I've got a big bag of carrots and I don't think they will last I blanch them and freeze them in portions so they don't get wasted.  I also did this with cauliflower and broccoli last week that I knew I needed later in the week but wasn't sure it would be ok in the fridge for many more days.

My shopping bill is much more stable because of this and as food continues to rise I keep looking for ways that I can do things more cheaply so that the bill does stay more or less the same.  I appreciate hearing any tips anyone has about how you do things, you may have found a super cheap healthy recipe or a value brand that is amazing value.

Re-upholster A Desk Chair for £5 or Less Tutorial

Today I finally got round to making over my sewing table chair that has been annoying me for ages.  I bought the fabric at Ikea last year then folded it up and put it in my fabric box to work on later, well later turned out to be much later! So I thought I would show step by step what I did,  I know there will be people out there who are professionals at this who shake their heads and say that is not how to do it.  Well I did it the way that I thought was quickest and easiest and any body who wants to have a go at giving a chair a new lease of life should be able to follow what I did. I hope.
Here is my uninspiring swivel chair..

Now this is a perfectly good chair and sure lots of people have one like this, maybe in a child's bedroom or by the computer table, but sometimes we want things to co-ordinate and the one you have may not go with your new colour scheme. That is what I thought about mine, and I would always rather do something up if I can.   The first thing I did was to lay the fabric on the chair seat, the direction that I wanted the pattern to go facing the right way.

Then pin all the way around the seat and cut out the fabric allowing a seam allowance just beyond your pins.

Next drape the fabric over the back of the chair so that it hangs down to the seat at the front but down further at the back, again pin around the top of the seat back and cut around leaving a seam allowance, then cut up the sides so it looks even at both sides you can usually tell by eye but if you are not sure even it up when you take it off. 

Next you need to cut a long rectangle that will act as a skirt around the bottom, measure around from where the fabric hangs down at the back all the way around the seat to the other side where the fabric hangs down from the back.  To be safe cut it out a bit longer than you think.  make it as deep as you like, the same goes for the back of the chair.  I've done mine so that it covers the adjustable bit under the chair but some people might want it to the floor.  Pin it around so that you know you are happy with it and you can make any alterations to it, if you have pinned accurately and cut your rectangle evenly it should all be level. 

Put a pin at the centre back of the seat and the centre seat so that when you lift it off to sew you can match them up, you could use tailors chalk. 

Pin your rectangle down the overhang bit at the back of the chair with right sides together, this way you will have one piece of the jigsaw in place.  Now you need to carefully remove your pins from the back of the seat and seat, move them to the wrong side of the fabric if you need a guide, or make small notches while it is all still on the chair so you can match the notches. 

Lift it all off, sew the seat piece to the back seat piece first matching those pins at centre back.  When you have done this sew the two back pieces all the way around and down the sides but remember there will be a bit at the bottom that hangs down about 6-8inch where you will sew the skirt on, if you pinned it at one side like I said  then it will already be on one side to remind you.

Snip all around any curves this will make it lie better once it has been finished.

Sew the skirt all around the bottom of the seat and down those back bits you will need to do a little turn to go down the back.  When you have done this hem all the way around the bottom I did a double fold.

Now give it all a good press.

I think it looks much better than it did before, although on this picture I have just noticed I've got a bit of fabric tucked in at the top in my eagerness to put it on the chair and take a photo, ha!  It did poke out. I have covered chairs like this before as I did some dining chairs once so it not only works on desk chairs.  You could make a mock up first if you don't want to use your best material.  Also you could use quilting padding on the reverse of the fabric to give it a bit more structure or if it is more comfy furniture you are doing, for a living room for example. I used that when I did the dining chairs, but for this chair it was just a quick makeover needed.

If you find it is a bit loose at the back you can add a little pleat with a few hand stitches like this..

You can also do this at the sides if you want but I didn't, so there it is a chair made over for an hour or so and £5, I used one meter of the Ikea fabric and there is a bit left.  here is the barcode if anyone wants to see if they still have it..

Of course you could use old curtains or maybe pick up a sheet at the charity shop so it may cost you nothing at all.  It is a good way to get a new look on the cheap.

                   Before                                                                                                    After

I like the way it looks and I hope it has given somebody an idea of what they can do with little or no money to change the look of a piece of furniture.

Cheap healthy meal- Lentil bake

I said I would share some more inexpensive recipes for people trying to save money so I thought I would show this recipe for lentil bake. It is just something I make and not from any book. We had this yesterday with our lunch ( me and my son are vegetarian) my husband and younger son had chicken. This is a favourite if you want something to put with the Sunday lunch instead of meat.  It is good for you due to the lentils however if you are watching the calories  you will need to  use less cheese.

100g dried red lentils  rinsed  (20p)  from 500g bag from asda £1
40g of cheddar cheese ( 25p ish)  cheese from Aldi £1.99  350g
1 medium red onion  (10p ) Bag from Aldi 7onions for 69p
1 desert spoon dried basil  (6p)  Aldi 55p pot

Serves 3 good portions ( or make double and save some for next day) 61p for this side dish, so 20p per portion is much cheaper than a pack of quorn sausages!

That is all. Put a pan of water to boil then add the lentils for 15 minutes, keep it bubbling. Chop your onion and fry it in some olive oil for a few minutes.

 While these are cooking you can be grating your cheese.  I like to use this amount of cheese as I like the flavour and I do not have a lot of fat in my diet due to my vegetarian meals so some of them may have a lot of cheese or the coconut milk but as I don't have any other animal fat there is not a problem for me or my son.  I also don't drink milk I have Soya but I cannot get along with the dairy free cheese!

When the lentils are cooked drain them in a sieve, and put them in an oven proof dish. Stir in the fried onion, dried basil and grated cheese,  also sprinkle some of the cheese over the top.  I then put it in the oven at the bottom but on 240 fan while the yorkshire puddings cook, about 12-14 minutes. 

If you are like us and some of the family are vegetarian but not all it can make meals expensive if you are buying the meat for the meat eaters and the alternative stuff for the vegetarians.  A lot of the pre packed vegetarian stuff is expensive, poor quality and you don't get much. It is better to make your own.  I do buy the quorn mince as when we have that the whole family has it in bolognaise.  I have moved away from the rest of the sausages and quorn pieces though as I  am finding better alternatives for us.  I don't think this is any trouble to make so you could have it with anything really, I' ve not tried it with pasta and sauce but I might now, just a bit of garlic and tinned tomatoes would probably turn it into a pasta dish.