The First Graze Box Arrives

Doesn't it look inviting? I love the packaging!

 I chose Thursday as my delivery day purely because it was the next available day when I ordered, but it is actually a sensible day. It's the day my money comes into my account (from my other account - a sort of self-restricting budgeting system that works surprisingly well) and it's the day before I go shopping, so I'm likely to be running low on food. So I was quite excited this morning when I got back from lectures and looked to see if the post had arrived.

Freezer Meals

My schedule is becoming an increasingly large problem. Sunday - Thursday I am not home before 6.30 and usually more like 7.30, and I am not keen on starting to cook that late. I've found myself eating dinner at 9pm before now, although only once have I fallen into the trap of just grazing on whatever is in the cupboards instead of having a proper meal.

Graze Boxes

I had heard about Graze a while ago, I think from my brother, and thought that they were a good idea, but as I was living with my parents at the time and not responsible for the food shopping or really for my own diet, it would have been unnecessary to try it.

However, I was reminded by a facebook friend who had a useful referral code which gives the referrer £1 off each box, and the referee two boxes free - the first and the fifth. I decided to look into it.

Food Waste and Planning

Image by Colleen Lane, used under Creative Commons licence

Over lunch today, I've been listening to a BBC Women's Hour podcast from October 11th and there is a very interesting discussion about waste, and in particular food waste. I found two things very interesting. The first was a woman who said that she didn't use a shopping list and just shopped "with her eyes", which is a great way of putting it! Later on, she went on to say that she kept buying melons because they looked nice, and then putting them on the counter and watching them rot. So now she doesn't buy melons.

Microwave Meals: The Healthy Way

This year my schedule is at least as mad as I thought it would be, if not more so. And students are famous for their junk food addiction - and it isn't all due to going mad with a credit card for the first time. It's about convenience.

Balanced, simple and delicious

What is more convenient than that? I made the cheesy lentil dip on a free day last week, and froze two portions. The peas took five minutes in the microwave, the lentils about the same. Fast food at its finest.

An Update on the Freezer

I've been living here for a little over a week now and I'm still so pleased to have a freezer. I've yet to use any of the freezer meals, but that just means that I'll have more meals (and more variety) when it really does come to crunch time.

Thursday might have been a day when I should have eaten a freezer meal. I was busy from 4pm til 8.30pm without any time at all to eat - I just sprinted into my room to change my shoes or drop off my lectures notes and grab a glass of water. It looks like every Thursday will be this way, so I'm going to shift things round and eat a cooked meal at lunchtime and pre-prepare a packed tea for whenever I find a free minute in the evening. It's all about flexibility :-)

Pear Crumble and Ice Cream

Remember a few posts ago I mentioned that I'd got a free sample of Angel Delight ice cream mix? I made it and it's nice! The mix is just vanilla flavour, but I grated some milk chocolate into it and you can put just about anything in.

I got given a large tray of apples and pears from my dad's garden when I arrived back at uni, so for the last two days I've been stewing fruit and freezing it in various quantities and mixtures.

I made all of this! Except the bowl

After my Sunday lunch today (which was very successful - it's the first time I've part-boiled the potatoes before roasting them and it was definitely worth the extra time and effort) I made pear crumble and had some with the ice cream. Delicious.

Back at University

Well, I'm moved in and (mostly) unpacked. I've discovered I've left a few kitchen items at home - my washing up bowl and the whisks for my hand mixer are the biggest problem but I can cope until I get them. And I've cooked my first back-to-uni meal, using some of the spices from my brand new spice rack.

This was a present from my brother - the most delicious present ever!