A girl called jack

[Blossum123]

Has anyone tried these recipes ? They seem
A bit unrealistic with the portion sizes ?!

[deepbluetr]

They wouldn't feed my bunch that's for sure. My active teenage kids tower above me and need a lot of food.

[dashoflime]

Yes,
I love them! I've not found portion size a problem, but you can always make more if need be!
I've found them most useful for teaching me a certain style of "store cupboard basics" cooking. Especially like all the variations on things to do with tinned tomatoes. They've really educated me and improved my household managment skills.
If I'm feeling flush I'll use the Jack version and put in a (e.g) a bit of nice meat as well.
It doesn't seem to work the other way around though. I have a lot of difficulty starting with a normal recipe and adapting it to use cheaper ingrediants. Thats what Jack Monroe is so skilled at- and thats why I luvfs her!

[deepbluetr]

She is in the same patronising camp as Jamie Oliver - telling us that poor people are too thick to know how to budget.

[jaynebxl]

Yes bit agree re portion size. Probably why she's tiny and I'm not!

[Iggly]

Er she was one of those "poor" people so she knows more than Jamie does.

As for portion sizes - well again she wasn't very well off so I guess got used to feeding herself and her little boy on small amounts.

[Rtfairy]

I think she's fantastic definitely not in the same camp as Jamie! The falafels and kidney bean burgers are a hit on this house, both cost barely anything and you can add cous cous/rice etc to make meals more filling.

[duchesse]

I think she's fab too. deepblue no idea why you find her patronising when she learned this stuff because she had to when she had nothing left to sell.

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

But then she might be a tiny and her boy is a toddler. Neither of them probably eat much? I found Jamie Oliver's portion HUGE.

FWIW, I found when DH is away for work, a 250g half pack of mince can last me 4 meals. And I'm not really padding it with anything. Just a simple mince, frozen veg with rice or pasta meal. (If you add beans and lentils obviously it will stretch even more). Some people just don't eat that much.

[Iamnotanugget]

Generally I've found the portions fine. If it says 'feeds 4' then it does me, dh, 2 young dc and we have an adult portion left for the freezer. We do add rice/pasta/bread though.

[dashoflime]

deepbluetr Jack Monroe doesn't teach budgeting though- she teaches cooking
Why would you feel patronised because recipes are available?
I wasn't "thick" because I didn't know how to make bean goulash. It was just a skill I didn't have.
Now its a skill I do have and my life is enriched.

[Blossum123]

I might give them a try then- is there any recipes anyone would esp suggest or avoid?

[Iamnotanugget]

I love her chili (haven't tried updated version). I make it in the slow cooker without chili then about 15 minutes before dinner I take out some for the dc and add chili flakes to ours. Clean plates all round.
I make apricot curry in a similar way, also very successful. Dh loves her sausage casserole.

Avoid the yogurt and potato soup, it's awful.

[Judez99]

Her fish tagine is great. And I recently tried her chicken liver and lentil bolognese - another hit. I discovered both recipes through threads on MN - probably in the Food section.

[TimeForAnotherNameChange]

How much do you lot eat?! I find her portion sizes HUGE!