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For those of you who say it's cheaper to cook from scratch what are you making?

60 replies

womaninatightspot · 23/12/2020 11:51

Having another look at the bills and trying to trim something off groceries. I do a lot of cooking from scratch already. I have chickens so the little food waste we have comes back to me in the form of eggs :)

Stuff that I do think is cheaper to make; pizza so long as you use cheapie mozzarella balls and not pre grated stuff. Pasta sauces. Soup.On balance it's cheaper to make your own meatballs/ burgers as you could buy them cheaper but the meat is so poor you lose a third to melting fat.

Anything pudding based it's often cheaper to buy from supermarkets. I made an apple and blueberry strudel yesterday and even although the fruit was free the cost of the ingredients was probably more/ the same as a frozen one from the supermarket. Cakes/ biscuits are very cheap premade.

I make my own jam with free/ cheap fruit but the cost of the sugar is more than the cheapest jam at the supermarket. I can make bread but at double the cost of a loaf of cheap white from the supermarket. It's not really a fair comparison because if you're trying to get your shopping bill down it's probably not awash with artisanal loaves.

I do wonder if I'm missing something though, so would love to hear what it is you make from scratch that's cheaper than premade.

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womaninatightspot · 23/12/2020 17:06

@PattyPan

Re:popcorn, I have a popcorn machine that I bought for about £10 a few years ago I think from Argos. It makes air-popped popcorn, so you don’t even need to add oil, it’s literally just the kernels. You can add oil/toppings afterwards if desired but I usually just have it plain. Super cheap and healthy snack Smile
I'm sure they had one of these at the dc's nursery. I might try and pick one up as I think it'd get loads of use. I love popcorn
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BowlerHatPowerHat · 23/12/2020 17:51

Yoghurt and hummus must be cheaper to make than bought. Also pancakes.

womaninatightspot · 23/12/2020 18:01

We eat a lot of hummus in our house, sadly when I tried making it no one liked it. I tried mixing it with the supermarket one so it'd taste familiar and still they refused. I gave up, for weeks after whenever hummus appeared on the table they'd eye it suspiciously and one of the dc would ask whether I'd made it ...

Never made yoghurt I buy these massive tubs of greek style yoghurt from Lidl and let the dc sweeten it with a bit of honey/ fruit.

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Aroundtheworldin80moves · 23/12/2020 18:20

Currently making a Toad in the Hole. Even using good quality sausages it's costing less than a fiver for four of us.
Nearest supermarket equivalent I could find would be £4.40... and probably not very good sausages.

Yorkshire pudding is designed to fill you up cheaply.

HighInTheHills · 23/12/2020 19:13

Don't bother with a popcorn maker @womaninatightspot it will just clutter up your house! You can do it easily on the stove top.

Large Sturdy pan, knob of butter/splash of oil, heat until nearly spitting, Chuck in couple TBS popcorn kernels and get lid on quick!

Then wait for the crazy explosions to start, shake occasionally, and don't take the lid off til it goes quiet!

You can chuck whatever seasoning you fancy over the top. Easy as pie!

womaninatightspot · 23/12/2020 19:17

I think maybe where I went wrong was putting in the popcorn too soon and letting it heat up in the pan. I'm going to hunt for that half a bag of popcorn hiding at the back of a cupboard and give it a go :)

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PattyPan · 23/12/2020 19:19

I use my popcorn maker all the time! The main benefit over doing it on the hob is not needing oil, so good for people on a diet as it’s super low fat, so depends what you’re looking for. Definitely cheaper to use a pan you already have Smile

LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow · 23/12/2020 19:44

best tip for popcorn is to put the pan on the heat, add the oil and drop in three or four kernels.....clamp on the lid and then once those have popped throw the rest in and they will pop really quickly, I haven't made popcorn for ages, but used to fancy it was less oily done this way rather than having the kernels in the oil the whole time until they pop.

wowsaidtheowl · 23/12/2020 19:46

You can do popcorn in the microwave- kernels in a bowl, plate on top. No oile.

womaninatightspot · 28/12/2020 23:21

@wowsaidtheowl

You can do popcorn in the microwave- kernels in a bowl, plate on top. No oile.
Did this today, so nice! Without the slightly greasy aftertaste you get from preprepared microwave popcorn. Thanks for the tip :)
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