Issue 10 January / February 2009
Orgasmic Organics ... or how to make your money go further...
by Jessica Ruston
Spend less money, waste less food, support local businesses, eat greener – all in one fell swoop . Impossible? Not these days, it’s not. With the growing availability of organic vegetable boxes and other locally produced food, and a bit of canny planning, you can feed your family a healthier, more balanced diet, and keep on top of your household budget at the same time. And another bonus? You’ll spend less time in the kitchen and at the supermarket. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Here’s how.
Find a local supplier of vegetable boxes. Riverford (www.riverford.co.uk) and Abel and Cole have(www.abelandcole.co.uk) outposts nationwide, and deliver to much of the country. Or look on the Big Barn website (www.bigbarn.co.uk) to find a farm in your area.
Choose what sort of box you want. Companies like Riverford have a variety to choose from, with different combinations of fruit and veg, and different sizes. You can also order meat boxes and extras like cheese and store-cupboard ingredients. As an example, Riverford’s fruit and veg box costs £14.75, and in the last week of November included leeks, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, calabrese broccoli, red cabbage, green Ramiro peppers, a winter salad pack, bananas, kiwis and conference pears (5 of which were from the UK – the veg boxes proportions of home grown ingredients tend to be higher).
Next – planning. Find a quiet half hour and sit down with a cup of tea and pen and paper. Everyone has their own way of doing things, and you’ll find yours, but here’s one method that should get you started.
First of all, make a note of any household events that you need to take into consideration – people coming for dinner, who’s in, who’s out, nights where you need something that can be made and eaten quickly, for example.
Next, write a list of all your regular recipes - from roasts to stir-fries to fish-finger sandwiches – everything you make on a regular basis. Then add a few old favourites, things you haven’t made for a long time, or recipes you’ve always wanted to try, but have never quite got around to. Get the whole family involved so you build up a really good list.
Then make another column, or take another piece of paper, and write a list of store-cupboard staples – rice, pasta, cous cous, that kind of thing.
I find it easiest to begin by deciding on one big meal, like a roast. So, if I had the veg box I described earlier, I might roast a chicken and serve it with roast leeks and broccoli from the veg box, and baked potatoes, which I can get delivered with the rest of my veg. So, onto the list goes a chicken and baking potatoes. The next night, I’d have some leftover meat and I’d make a stock, and use the mushrooms from the veg box to make a chicken and mushroom risotto. That’s two nights sorted.
Then I might think of something I can make when I’ve got a quiet day, and freeze some of, for later in the week when things are more harried. Braised cabbage freezes well, so I’ll make a batch of that at the weekend and serve it with ham and mashed potatoes on a night when I don’t want to spend ages in the kitchen. One more meal down. I’ve still got cherry tomatoes and peppers in the box – maybe I’ll roast those and make them into a pasta sauce for a quick and easy weekday supper.
Now I look at the list of store-cupboard ingredients I made earlier, and realise we’ve got lots of canned kidney beans and tomatoes that I bought in bulk because they were on special offer (another meal-planners trick!). So – how about chilli? Mince and fresh chillies go on the shopping list, and I add some onions to my veg box. I can make a big enough batch to put a couple of portions in the freezer, and serve it with a crunchy salad.
The ingredients and requirements change all the time – you might have weeks when you don’t plan at all, - but the principle remains the same. By thinking through what you’re going to eat, and using a regular deliver and some simple lists, you really can reduce the time and money you spend feeding your family – without sacrificing taste or nutrition. Don’t resort to ready-meals – make your own!
Local suppliers:
Barmston Organics - 01262 468128
Arthur’s Organics - 01482 576374, www.arthursorganics.com
Slater Organics - 01964 527519, slaterorganics@yahoo.co.uk
Green Growers 01377 255 362