Mother-of-two reveals plan to 'ignore use-by dates' during coronavirus
What it’s REALLY like feeding a family when supermarket shelves are bare: Mother-of-two reveals how she’s shopping at ethnic stores, using more veg and ignoring use-by dates (and has slashed her food bill by £50)
- Jenny Tschiesche, from Buckinghamshire, opened up about cooking for family
- Resorted to cooking with whatever was in her cupboards on the first few days
- Later managed larger shop when she vowed to ‘future-proof’ herself and family
- Focused on jars, tinned foods and fresh food able to last outside of the fridge
- Mother-of-two is now cooking more vegetarian food and ignoring sell-by dates
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
A mother-of-two has revealed how she is feeding her family during the coronavirus outbreak as she says they’ll be eating ‘more vegetarian meals’ and ‘ignoring use-by dates.’
Jenny Tschiesche, from Marlow, Buckinghamshire, told FEMAIL she normally spends up to £140 on weekly shops and was initially ‘dumbfounded’ by supermarket panic buying.
But after some ‘savvy’ shopping at ethnic food stores, she spent £95 on jars and tinned food, as well as fresh food which can be stored outside of the fridge, to feed her husband and two children Amalie, 15, and Sam, 12.
The mother-of-two now plans to make more vegetarian meals, as well as ignoring use-by dates in an effort to help food stretch as far as it can during the pandemic.
Mother-of-two Jenny Tschiesche, from Buckinghamshire, told FEMAIL she was planning to make more vegetarian meals and ignore use-by dates in order to help stretch her food as far as it can go in the coronavirus pandemic. (pictured, with her children Amalie, 15, and Sam, 12)
Jenny, who regularly cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner for her children, said the family don’t have a lot of space in their kitchen for ‘bulk cooking.’
She explained: ‘While we have lots of different things in pantry, we live on an end terrace house with not a very big kitchen and not much freezer space.’
The mother-of-two revealed she would normally spend between £120 and £140 on a weekly shop for the family.
But she was horrified when she went to the shops on Friday night to see the extent that the shelves had been stripped.
Jenny now plans to cook with more vegetables in order to help her frozen meat supply stretch further and longer
Stunned, Jenny, who works as a nutritionist, turned to her cupboards, freezer and fridge to try to use up what she had in storage.
She adjusted recipes she knew the family would love to stretch food further, supplementing meat with tinned goods and vegetables.
Jenny’s shopping list
Tinned food
Fish, soup, vegetables, fruit, tinned tomatoes, pulses, baked beans, coconut milk
Jars
Olives, artichokes, pesto, jam, honey, peanut butter, passata
Fresh food that can last outside the fridge
Onions, shallots, garlic, ginger, potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, parsnips, beetroot, apples, pears, avocadoes, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli
24 eggs, several 1kg bags of brown rice, some white rice, pasta, oats, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, desiccated coconut (I can make my own muesli and granola was my thought process here), flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and some vanilla extract.
Foods to be stored in the fridge
Milk, yogurt, vacuum packed cheeses (feta, halloumi, parmesan), butter, chorizo, a whole chicken, some salad vegetables, some soft fruit and hummus.
Cost = £95
She revealed: ‘The first night’s meal was a real dinner winner. I managed a Mexican beef stew using some frozen beef, a tin of pinto beans, a tin of sweetcorn, some fajita seasoning, some passata and some of the vegetables that quite frankly might not have made it to the end of the week anyway.’
But while Jenny found the first day straight-forward, the second day was challenging in ways she didn’t think possible.
She explained: ‘Firstly, the eggs were most certainly not fresh, the spinach a lot darker at the edges and a little soggy in parts, and the mushrooms were bordering on slimy.
‘Still, a few toasted crumpets, and toasted they must be, a bit of grated parmesan rind and some sort of frittata later and we were back on track.
‘What soon became apparent is that some fresh goods might simply have to be relegated for a period of time.’
After spending the weekend hunting through her cupboards, Jenny planned her second shopping trip.
She said: ‘With my recent experiences under my belt I vowed to future-proof myself and the family better, just in case.’
She said her first stage was to study her fridge storage, taking into account foods which needed, and didn’t need, to be chilled.
When crafting her shopping list, Jenny aimed to buy foods in several categories, including tins, jars and fresh food which could last outside the fridge.
And rather than heading to just one shop, Jenny opted to ‘tactically’ drop into several stores in the local area.
Earlier this week, she travelled to a local ethnic food store in order to snatch deals she may not have found in larger supermarkets (pictured, while shopping)
She said: ‘We did the shop in bits. We went to the ethnic shop, to get turmeric and in the end I came out having spent £35. I picked up chickpeas, tinned tomatoes, eggs, yoghurt and got some Asian style vegetables.’
‘Then I went to Aldi and spent £60. We also had some good quality meat in the freezer.’
Since, she has found the key is to be ‘opportunistic’ with her shopping, and drop into shops when she was passing.
Arriving home, she moved things which she would normally keep chilled, like peanut butter, out of the fridge in order to free up space.
She revealed how she stocked up on jars and tinned foods which could have a long-shelf life in her store cupboard
She explained: ‘We need to make room for the things which absolutely have to be in there.’
And she ensured her small freezer was stocked with ‘good quality meat, peas, spinach as well as onion and garlic’.
Meanwhile she also revealed how she had replaced some of her usual buys with foods which she knew would last longer.
She replaced her go-to cheeses like brie with vacuum packed options which had a longer shelf life, like halloumi.
The mother-of-two said her children would have to get used to eating less than perfect food as she vowed to cut back on food waste (pictured with Sam and Amalie)
And rather than focusing on buying carrots, she moved to substitute root vegetables like turnips and swedes.
She explained: ‘I know people who have found it impossible to get carrots. I’m turning to vegetables that have really fallen out of favour and popularity like turnips and swedes instead.’
As well as opting for crafty substitutes, she also revealed how she planned to make the most of her shop and hopes to stretch it as far as she can.
After being lucky enough to find a chicken, Jenny roasted and then stripped the carcass, using the extra pieces of meat to create a quinoa pilaf.
She revealed how she and her family would have to be less picky about use-by dates, or vegetables that may seem past their best, in order to enjoy a balanced diet
Jenny revealed how she stocked up on tinned goods and jars, as well as different spices in order to inject flavour into her meals
Rather than relying on meat for every meal, Jenny explained how the family had taken to eating vegetarian meals.
She said: ‘It’s in part because they were cheaper, which means the meat can stretch further and they also tend to use more pulses which are easier storable.’
To give the meals additional flavour, she said she has been mixing spices with curry powder in order to make essentials like turmeric and cumin last longer.
She said: ‘We’re relying on spices for flavour. Normally I’d use all kinds of different things – cumin, turmeric etc. – but now I’ve stocked up on curry powder, which has a great blend of spices to make life easier and to stretch specific spices further.’
Jenny has been crafting her usual recipes but cleverly adding substitutes such as additional vegetables and extra spices to add flavour and help food stretch further
The mother-of-two told how she would be ignoring use-by dates and instead, trying to use everything up that she could.
She said her children were slowly learning to adjust, adding that her teenage daughter Amalie was ‘obsessed’ with avocado, but would ‘just have to eat it if it has black specks or not.’
She said: ‘I think they’re learning that they’ll eat something if it’s moulding or not. It’s a great thing for food waste.’
She added: ‘If the worst comes to the worst and we are without for some time I know I have the resources and the “skills” to produce a range of curry dishes, pasta dishes, risottos, that will keep the family nourished and well fuelled.’
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