Anyone do the capsule kitchen method?

[Strangeencounter]

So time comes again where prices go up and I have another mad attempt at cost cutting the food bill.

Also recent news to me apparently we are supposed to be having 50 plants a week!

Last year I went on a drive with this and went down the meal planning route; buying what we need, reducing food waste, and part of the strategy was bulking items to use in multiple meals and get a cost saving that way. It was very successful cost wise.

On reflection that is limiting the range of plants; so I want to try another method I have been researching which I am not sure has a name; its kind of a combo of the capsule kitchen method and the meal prep/ ingredient method (but more for freezer long term storage than weekly). So the savings then focus more on meat and staples which allows me to spend more freely and flexibly on fruit and veg.

Previous method also was mainly cooking fresh everyday where my new method would be over cooking certain meat staples to store and get economies of scale for a quick meal.

Another poster set out a cool schedule which I copying for inspiration:

Sunday: Roast with an oversized meat
Monday: Meal using leftover
Tuesday: Stew/ Curry/ Stir fry - if a mega mega joint then using this meat again
Wednesday: Quiche, Salad and Carb Day (Jackets/ Potatoes/ Something?)
Thursday: Pasta, pizza or risotto day
Friday: Prep day - Making something with a bulk buy of a chosen meat. Ie. Portion of mince - Make a bolognese, chilli con carne, Burgers, meatballs. Something to freeze and at a later date.
Saturday: Choice Meal

This sounds very confusing I am sorry for the ramble. I am just wondering if anyone does this or a similar kind of method? Any tips on how to simplify this in my mind.

The furthest I have got is overthinking the above and that I bought 3 for £8 Quiche in M&S today and am planning to get a giant chicken for Sunday. And that I fancy waldorf salad with my quiche. (Grapes, apple, walnuts, lemon, celery - which works with the capsule kitchen idea).

WELCOME TO MY CHAOTIC BRAIN 🧠😂

I think the idea of a diversity jar (or but a ready made product like this https://www.ocado.com/products/m-s-good-gut-35-gut-booster-mega-mix/650702011?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=22848902551&utm_content=non-brand&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22845072428&gbraid=0AAAAADi6iHkkjJ20LJDbft4Oe92ffqCwM&gclid=CjwKCAiA4KfLBhB0EiwAUY7GAT_M-v4dRuT77tw3vifrZDNanU_k3VlPZTwyS9VTMhMenxrJPMvMdxoCTsIQAvD_BwE) would be easier to add in plants to what already sounds like a sensible meal plan you set up last year

I mean, if you really want to cut down on costs, then you need to cook one pot meals which last two to three days. Curry, stew, soup - vary veg in them and spices. For example a base would be meat, vegetables, onion, garlic and tinned tomatoes. Then you can add Indian spices for Indian curry (I buy spices in bulk and make my own mixes) or Thai curry paste and coconut milk for Thai curry. Or some herbs and paprika for a stew. Same base, three to four different combinations. Cuts down on planning and I use a 5l pot which enough to feed four adults for two days and still have little left for someone's lunch.
I am not sure why everyone is so obsessed with a Sunday roast, it's about the most expensive meal of the week and we maybe eat it two times a year.

Ooo that is an idea thankyou!

Yes the meal plan was working cost wise. I do just worry it wasnt reaching to 50.

It was more like 15/20 plants a week which isnt great. I would love to eat 50 but cant afford that without doing something clever!

I do like your idea though thank you 🙏

I agree! We never had roasts last year.

Boxing Day we roasted a big lamb leg and I kept all the fat. I have been using it to roast potatoes since and it is utterly incredible.

Likewise saw the old fashioned cooking thread last week; and that was interesting because I had been musing about similar.

Maybe its just because it’s winter; or maybe I just want to challenge myself to the MN feed the family for 7 weeks on a large chicken 😂

I batch cook freeze and bulk buy to keep costs low.

As well as growing lots of veggies and fruit. We also ferment our of chilli sauces from our own chilli’s and make our own cordials and coulis.

Next door have chickens so we trade for eggs and they also make some awesome pasta sauces from their crops.

Oh yes, I laughed out loud when someone asked on that thread how people have leftovers from the small chicken and someone responded with "Let's not start this again" 🤣

I buy a whole salmon and cook it for use in a ton of stuff. They can be cheap on occasion. I freeze it cooked and cut up and use the portions variously.

I’ve been buying a large gammon joint around £10-12. Cook it in the slow cooker in a can of coke overnight. Makes at least 8 meals with potatoes and veg, savoury rice etc plus sandwiches for lunches. It can be put into a pie with leeks or added to chicken in a pie. Shredded into a salad it’s lovely, with eggs for breakfast. It’s really versatile and seems to last a good while.

@explanationplease & @beholdtheidiot

Thank you so much!

This is exactly what I need to know.

So it’s kind of pick the Sunday protein. Have a second Monday meal. Then think of a clever use later in the week, or a freeze option.

Think I need to work out hypothetical menus per Sunday meat type. DP is happy with the idea because we had previously been having lots of chicken thigh/ chicken legs as cheapest protein.

Where did you get the information about 50 a week? It’s 30 AFAIK and that includes spices, herbs and so on.

I don't. I don't want to eat the same kind of meat 3 days in a row in a variety of versions.

If we have leftovers from a chicken or pork roast we may have it as sandwich filiing the next day or with scrambled eggs. But that's it. I buy according to what I know we eat in one sitting.

I may make extras when cooking pasta sauce, bolognese or tomato sauce, but that's easy to freeze and reheat.

I prefer stir-fries, grilled meat, pasta so I cook most days fresh. And I just add the veggies on offer/in season and ignore the idea of what quantities I should and shouldn't eat

One way to keep costs down is to have some vegetarian meals - then lentils or other pulses also count.
You could do a big bean chilli with a mix of types of bean/lentil and other veg in it.
Dahl is also cheap and you can add spinach/grated carrot/onion/garlic/coconut milk plus all the spices, fair few types of veg in that!

Agreed i thought it was 30 a wee including nuts, pulses, herbs and spices. Fibre rich whole grains are important too. You can bulk out left over meat dishes with various beans and chopped root veg. Keep a variety of frozen herbs in to add to meals. Frozen berries added to breakfasts help too.

This is exactly what we did. New meal every night with new meat, but to do that it restricted veg types or dairy types or we would throw things out.

But now I am thinking I would rather eat the same meat for a week and actually have more variety of everything else. Plus I am low energy atm so do want some reheated batch options too. So it’s kind of a complete switch on its head for my plans and that’s confusing me!

Maybe I am vitamins deficient in something. I am craving random fruit and cheese, nuts, seed and veg salads/ sides.

Like grapes for example. I love them. But I just walk past them most the time because that’s 3.50 instantly down the drain/ gob. But if I have them as part of a meal I can justify that. So craving Waldorf salad now.

I have been thinking about next week. Think I might try
S- giant chicken roast
M- Chicken tagine, Apricots, herbs, couscous and pomegranate
T - Boil the carcass for bone broth and have a ramen type thing with shredded last chicken bits and Chinese style greens and dumplings.
W - Quiche and Waldorf salad - use some of the left over potatoes somehow
T - Duck with orange salad / pomegranates; baby leaves
F - meal prep tomato sauce base and have with pasta, left over herbs and tomato ciabatta, if in budget maybe some meatballs
S- choice meal yet to be decided

I have just ordered some vitamin stuff.

The 50 ; they said it on radio 4 sometime last week.

😂

But it’s made me think! Wait! Why am I not boiling this carcass and reducing into gelatine stock 😅

Is 50 a week meaning a full portion? G8ven that it includes herbs and spices, I guess not?

When I did the Zoe programme ( gut health ) jt was 30 plants a week… people interpret that as fruit and veg but it’s broader than that. I’d make a salad and throw in any veggies or fruits that you want ( rainbow colours - eg add lightly cooked broccoli or grated carrot etc ) then sprinkle on mixed seeds as a topper.( they count ) You could do a winter slaw made with red cabbage , white cabbage, carrot and pear. In the afternoon have a handful of mixed nuts with a piece of fruit or the inevitable square of dark chocolate ( always a single square ). Breakfast could be porridge with stewed apple or banana or something like a shakshuka with tomatoes beans and spinach. If you have a Nutribullet or similar you could make a green smoothie and add frozen spinach to you other fruit ingredients. Once you get going and start adding fresh herbs and chillis, different salad leaves and vegetables, tinned beans and tomatoes , seeds, nuts and the many fresh and frozen fruit options it’s not that difficult to hit 30

I have a stock of batch cooked meals in the freezer atm:
Veg chilli
Lentil dahl
Mac n cheese
Chicken chasseur
Chicken curry
Bolognese
Lamb keema
Fish pie
If you alternate these with fresh meals like the Sunday roast & using up leftovers/veg/fruit then you can still benefit from the cost savings.

For heart health ypu need beans and pulses. I live in the NW, I feel that when we ate seasonally, it worked. So any casseroles/stews/curries/pasta dishes add appropriate beans/pulses. Apart from the health benefits, they cost effectively bulk out a meal. People don't eat rabbit anymore, but barley and rabbit stew was wonderful. I have weetabix for breakfast, but put chia seeds, ground nuts and another seed mix that I buy from Lidl in. Move away from fruit. Don't be scared of potatoes and rice.

I just cannot eat chicken on day 3, it will be dry, reheated and it’s flavourless and just inedible to me. Same with salmon as suggested 🤢 I also don’t enjoy eating 3 days of meal with the same meat.

I meal prep ALOT. But all my meals take a max of 30 min to me.
what I do is portion out and freeze all my
meats. You can marinate that too and freeze. Super, easy to just cook on the day fresh.

I also cook and freeze staples like pasta, orzo, and make the meal fresh on the day. I made my dhal and freeze and on the day add the tadka (temper).

The advice about 5 a day, or 50 a week is nonsense.
Most vegetables contain, though in varying amounts, pretty much the same stuff - carbs, vitamins, fibre. Fruits ditto, higher in sugar and water.
Above a farily basic amount, there is no magical amount of fruit and veg which makes your diet massively healthier. And if you're feeding small children, bear in mind that they need a fair amount of protein and fat, rather than sugary fruit, or hard to digest fibre.

The 50 includes fruits, nuts, seeds and herbs and spices so it is fairly achievable. Don't forget you can get quite a few in breakfast and lunches, for example...

A serving of mixed berries and different seeds and a few nuts for breakfast and you can tick off 10 or so of your 50.
5 different veg in a soup and 5 different herbs/ spices and that's another 10.
Bag of mixed salad leaves with another 5 or 6 salad ingredients and that's another 10.

The best way to cut costs and increase your plant intake is by replacing some of your meat with gut-friendly vegetarian options - pulses, lentils etc.

I tried to do forty but got bored of counting - I usually hit it by day two.

It's easy if you do things like add a sweet potato to mash, mixed two different types of rice together (so brown basmati and add in some red rice or wild rice).
Swap pasta out for cauliflower or courgette.

Use slices of squash instead of lasagne sheets. Etc.
Though pasta itself does count as one because it has wheat, but you can only count it once.

If you use plenty of herbs and spices, each counts as one, so I often found I had ten things in just one dish.