Tuesday, 14 February 2023

Tuesday, 14-02-23: low spend February

  Morning, everyone!

Today, I'm posting a bit of a plug for Spice Queen.

Spice Queen is a local company that used to sell their kits in Chelmsford Market until Covid came along and closed the market.  I don't think they have their stall now (but could be wrong as I rarely go into town nowadays) but they sell their kits online and through farm shops and farmers' markets, food fairs etc.  I know our local Farm Shop, Lathcoats, has them and they're very popular.

They're a very small, home based company, specialising in curries and other similar Indian spice kits (mostly Indian, anyway) which make authentic and flavoursome meals.

They work in the same way as JD Seasonings and Simply Cook; you get the spice pot and a recipe and you provide the ingredients, with space to substitute and add if you wish..  The cost is the same too - four pots for a tenner with postage extra or free if you order £40 worth or more.

The spice mixes are gluten free and vegetarian - obviously, what you add to them might not be.

If you're interested in looking at their range and/or giving them a go, here's the link to their site.


(Disclaimer:  I've not been asked to advertise them and I have no referral links, I just happen to think they are very, very good and I like to support small, local businesses.)

(Have you noticed the crocuses are now flowering?  So lovely.)

Yesterday's meals:

I changed my mind and had bacon and tomato sandwich for breakfast so no syns for a potato waffle but half a syn for Crucials brown sauce and my healthy extra B for the bread.

Later on, I had a small apple.  Lovely and crisp.


This was lunch.
I spray fried onion, shredded cabbage, frozen mixed peppers, baby corn and carrot, both cut into matchsticks, added some cooked turkey, also in strips, and finished off with one tbsp teriyaki sauce.   As you can see, I sided it with some tomatoes and the rest of the carrot.  It would have been lovely with some noodles but I am trying to have one lower carb meal some days.

Later on, I had an orange and a pear.  Lovely!

The curry was delicious.
I used a Spice Queen kit for all the spices.  It starts off with softening some onion, then add the spice, add passata, add chunks of cooked turkey, add cream and basically, that is it.
I added some mixed peppers, a few leftover carrots and cauliflower from Sunday and some baby corn because I always do!  
Before adding the cream, I took off three quarters of it for Friday when Dave and Anna are round, and bunged that is the freezer.  The 'cream' was a mix of Elmlea and yogurt which worked really well.
It was quite spicy and, with the basmati rice, extremely filling and I left about a third of it.  I plan to load up that third with extra veg - peas, maybe, or corn or  . . . whatever, really, and that's tonight's dinner done!
I cooled down with a yogurt for afters.
Today's plans

B:  boiled eggs and marmite toast
Having said I was cutting down on carbs, today I am spending syns on carbs!  Ooops.  But how can you have boiled eggs without toast, eh?  
SW:  three syns on one slice of wholemeal

L:  cheesy turkey quesadillas, salad; fruit
An old favourite.  I will mix cooked and shredded turkey with grated cheese and some sort of seasonings, spread some sauce or chutney over half a WW wrap, then add the cheesy mix, fold the other half over, spray and cook in a pan until the cheese is a bit melty and the outside had turned crispy.  While it's cooking, I can make the salad although I think I will pickle some cabbage again as it was much nicer than I thought it would be, maybe just in balsamic vinegar this time, or I have some nice cider vinegar.
SW:  up to two healthy extra As, one B and one and a half syns for chutney or sauce

D:  turkey curry leftovers, extra veg; yogurt
I won't make extra rice, it isn't necessary and there will be loads by the time I've added more veg.
SW:  I'm going to estimate one syn for the cream (the whole lot was two and a half syns) and half a syn for yogurt

Ex:  A YouTube Lindsey class.

Summary:
up to two healthy extra As
one healthy extra B
six syns

What do I mean by low spend?

February is a low spend month.

Through January, I spent very little on non essential food and other items.  The idea was to spend nothing on non food things and I didn't quite achieve that but I was happy with how it went, all the same.
I was so pleased to be able to make some charitable donations as a result; it's so nice to see positive outcomes.

'Essential' means  food such as fresh fruit, veg and dairy/eggs and other essentials including things like cleaning products and toiletries although I think I am fine for the latter, plus anything necessary that comes up through the month

As for all other spending, there are a few items I need but not an awful lot so I'm really hoping it will also be low spend.

(Of course, all regular bills, direct debits, etc, will still be paid as usual)


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