Items to make quickly and cheaply (food/cleaning/body)

[Sleepeazie]

recently I made some shake ‘n’ vac and have also previously made a face scrub and a foot scrub.

I always try and make convenience food items myself, such as; stuffing, Yorkies, soup, sandwich fillings, wraps (not successful), flat breads and bread.

i know I want to try making chutney.

are there any items that you make without a second thought, but know/suspect others won’t?

im hoping to get some ideas for things I haven’t thought about making before.

this is a coat saving / lowering UHP exercise for me.

thanks x

Fan, thanks for this. I have a thermometer with a dipstick. That’s good to know about just needing a basic muslin cloth- i might pop in dunelm this week for one 😊

I’ve seen it mentioned for ‘bleaching’ jobs e.g laundry. A non-chlorine bleach might work but they're not cheap. I rely on sunlight. I avoid white clothes where possible.

@Sleepeazie , I also use muslin (not the same one) as the damp cloth when pressing clothes.
You need one with a close weave.

I don’t have a bread maker - I usually make mine by hand /with dough hooks. I do have an instant pot though - that has yoghurt /!: sous vide and de- hydrate settings that I’ve never used. I must look into them.

I make granola every week. Its cheaper than shop bought, I like choosing which nuts etc to add, it's lower fat and I control how sweet I want it.
I also make coleslaw rather than but the nasty vinegary over sweetened supermarket stuff

Coleslaw is a great shout x

Those who recommended Nancy Birtwhistle, have you tried her fabric conditioner dupe (with the vegetable glycerin)?

Nancy is brill, she puts loads of her best recipes on instagram. I use kitchen & bathroom cleaner, Toilet Magic (with citric acid), sodium percarbonate (green bleach for pre-soaking bathroom cloths, acid free stone cleaner, non-bio laundry soap, dishwasher powder, cream cleaner for stain removal.
Make sure you clearly label the bottles though as it’s easy to get carried away and forget what’s what! Oh, hydrogen peroxide to spray on the toilet brush and holder for sterilisation. Leave to airdry under the seat for a bit.

Thanks for this. How have i never heard of this woman? And then in 1 day l, 3 people wholeheartedly recommend her. I’m definitely going to try her fabric conditioner, fly repellant and air freshener 👌

Has anybody had any success at making dreamies dupes? (Cat treats, for the uninitiated) 😂

I just add a slosh of white vinegar to the rinse drawer, removes any powder residue. I might try the fabric conditioner though.

I started making my own dishwasher tablets really easily!

I also really want to try making the laundry detergent from conkers but annoyingly have to wait until autumn now! 🤣

This is the type of initiative I’m thinking of .. I don’t have a dishwasher though 🧼 😂

We (well DH) do a lot of chutneys and preserving from our allotment , I do more fermenting like kimchi and radishes and like to make kombucha. Like others have mentioned churn butter in food mixer when we spot cream reduced - currently have some on the go from freezer which is studded with maldon salt and cost about 50p for a block.

I make butter (when I can be arsed), bread, preserves, vegetable stock paste, pickles, yogurt and cheese (when I can be arsed). I’ll bake cakes/cookies (again, when I can be arsed). Most things, I’ll cook from scratch. I’m rediscovering the joy (and simplicity!) of using white vinegar in cleaning and laundry. I work FT, so don’t do as much as I’d like to.

I’ve not heard of Nancy either, so will def have a look!

PS don’t churn butter by hand (anyone who wants to make it). My Mum used to make me do this and it used to take ages! Good arm workout though!

Ive been looking at dehydrated chicken recipies for my cat overlord. I make hummus. The trick is use dried chickpeas not canned.better texture and flavour.

How do you make your vegetable stock paste? I bought a bay’s kitchen one off Amazon once (to make hello fresh recipes after cancelling subs) and it was almost £6! X

If you google ‘home made bouillion powder’ loads of options come up. I haven’t tried any yet as I only heard about it on the Dr Tim Spector show about upf the other day.

Butter is very easy indeed if you have a stand mixer or electric whisk. It’s harder work if you only have a hand whisk. It’s brilliant to do if you ever come across any yellow stickered double cream. The buttermilk that is left is good for scones.

I make most foods myself - bread, coleslaw, mayo, granola etc. although not sure it’s any cheaper due to the cost of quality ingredients these days 🙈 the nuts and seeds to go into granola are very expensive now

yes I do have a stand mixers definitely going to try. Due to the nature of my job, I get to lots of different shops, in different areas - and therefore acccess to a lot of yellow sticker meat and dairy. I’d ordinarily bypass cream, but won’t in future x

Yes! Part of my musings, is to look into alternative bulk buying options, to see if I can reduce costs x

It’s the Cookidoo app (app for Thermomix) recipe for vegetable stock paste. Makes 800g and that lasts me a good few months.

I will try and get the recipe/method on to here :)

Thanks @TicTac80

Some great ideas on this thread. I make the cleaning spray mentioned by another poster half water half white vinegar and a squirt of washing up liquid. Seems to work well, but I've read you should avoid using it on certain surfaces, such as wood and marble.

I also use coconut or almond oil for cleansing my face and as a body moisturiser, I realize that's not making anything but it does save money and it works well for my mature sensitive skin!

Those of you who make your own bread is there any recipes that you could recommend to make a soft loaf or rolls. Every time I've tried it's ended up a bit too crusty!