How much meat do you eat??

[beaufontboy]

Nearly falling off chair - -500g of mince last for 10 meals !!

I am thinking that we are not trying in outr house, we have 250g of mince per meal ! and that is for 2 of us , and we have meat 4/5 times a week so what you are using OWG sounds very good to me ! (note to self - must try harder !)

[broadway]

Good thread,

As I'm not working at the moment I tend to do most of the cooking and batch cook / freeze where possible for me and Mr's B.

As for the 13/16 year old boys we tend to give them whatever they ask for, within reason, but we do try to at least all have a homemade curry Saturday evening.

I have a white board on the fridge and tend to write down the weeks menu after checking what's in cupboards/freezer etc.

Looking forward to more answers on this and will seriously work out how much meat we currently get through.

We don't eat enough fish so this thread will inspire me to add one fish dish a week from next week aiming on at least 2 a week by the end of the month.

Again nice thread, hope I haven't gone off on a tangent too much?

[Rabidbun]

We probably eat quite a lot of meat - we spend around 60 a month on it. We buy in bulk though from the local butchers (not the cheapest, but decent welfare on it) and cut it down to freeze into portions for the freezer. Which we then cook with and freeze leftovers if there are any.

I would use less meat for health reasons, but I am having trouble bulking out meals without the use of mushrooms (wee one cannot eat them, nor can I), beans/pulses (husband can't stand them, I can't digest them) or nuts (wee one had a few allergies so we're leaving that till he's older). I also cannot have too much fish (especially without a Lot of starch in the meal) as it aggravates my system somewhat.

We probably have two or three pasta meals in the week as a standby (one with fish, the others with bacon/chorizo) and a veggie thai curry. The rest tends to be mince and/or soups which tend to be meat based. I do keep meaning to grate carrots for bulking out mince (we already bulk out with tomatoes, onions and garlic), but grating carrots is a giant PITA!

[piskieinboots]

.. is a giant PITA!

wholemeal or white

[chris]

between 2 - 4 times a week (inc weekends) - used to be around 2times as my wife was veggie, until she was preggo !

Recently have been buying meat from supermarket (labelled organic, not sure if it really is).. but before that we used riverfords farm boxes (went to uni in exeter, used them - foudn they delivered to cardiff)... since moving from cardiff, we then used a local organic farm shop, but for ease whilst we have a lovely little non-sleeper it's been supermarket.

[Two_Sheds]

I am having trouble bulking out meals without the use of mushrooms

Soya mince any good? It's v.bland on its own, but absorbs flavours very well. This one is cheaper than Sainsbury

Same with Quorn mince (but that's more expensive unless you find it on BoGoF)

Our meals are based around what veggies I have. Mr TS is currently on a diet, so he's eating lots of tuna salads and my veggie stir fries (he has FR chicken in his). I put beans in everything! I grow loads for drying.

When I make him soups & stews, I bulk them out with plenty of beans from the allotment. Cassoulet is a favourite

I tend to only buy meat when Morrisons have reduced it (about 3pm), and do a batch cook/freeze
If I want something specific, I buy from our local butcher (usually pork from the farms up the road)

[mrdinkle]

My wife is one of them fake vegetarians what eats fishes. So, we don't really have much meat. We tend to use Quorn/Supermarket brand veggie mince for chilli, lasagne, bolognese etc.

I purchase an organic chicken every now and then which will be roast, curry or fricassee, stock and possibly soup. Also might get some proper nice sausages, chorizo, steak or some liver infrequently.

Personally I prefer eating a bit less meat to ensure that what I do eat is decent quality. If I do try to buy from the supermarket I have to examine the label to make sure that aren't any tri/poly phosphates etc in cooked meats - invariably I walk away empty handed.

[taff]

I buy some mince,put it in the freezer, forget about it, then remember, make a big batch of chilli or spag sauce, eat that for a few days.
I buy steak maybe twice a month, bacon ditto.
If there's any other meat to eat,I've really got to be in the mood to cook it, so in Jan and Feb for instance, I made three roast dinners, and what was left went into polpetti and sandwiches.
This month I haven't done any.
I've had chilli a few times this month, and one steak, and two fried brekkies. I've been working a lot in the garden and polytunnel,so a lot of sandwiches have been eaten rather than meals fi that makes sense.

[mrdinkle]

I do keep meaning to grate carrots for bulking out mince (we already bulk out with tomatoes, onions and garlic), but grating carrots is a giant PITA!

I get the little food mixer out and blitz chunks of carrot, celery and the onion - I then use this along with garlic and toms for my bolognese etc. It saves all the chopping/grating.

[Rabidbun]

wholemeal or white

Darn, I knew someone would spot that one (had a nagging feeling it sounded odd when I typed it!).

Soya mince any good? It's v.bland on its own, but absorbs flavours very well... Same with Quorn mince...

Ah, I wish I could have the soya, but it retains the high fibre content unfortunately. Shame, cause I ate a fair bit when I was wee and love the texture. And quorn hates me as much as its mushroom cousin. Thanks for the suggestions though.

Am hoping to grow some beans for drying - the hatred my OH has for beans apparently is a texture thing, so if I can somehow avoid the dry texture inside the bean and use small quantities I might get away with some meals with them in with luck! I never actually thought, but presumably meals with fresh green beans would have a protein content due to the beans inside the pods? I sense plans and lots of freezing coming on this season if that's the case!

I get the little food mixer out and blitz chunks of carrot, celery and the onion - I then use this along with garlic and toms for my bolognese etc. It saves all the chopping/grating.

Thanks, never thought to do a batch chop like that (always thought of just doing carrots, and never had enough to be able to use the machine) - will give it a try next time!

[kirsty b]

The OH would not dream of having a non-meat night - ever. When I do a roast, he does like a decent portion of meat on his plate. When I make things like shepherds pies/curries/spag bol etc there is always at least 2 or 3 portions going into the freezer after.
I can make a roast chicken/joint do at least 2 meals and a soup.
Try to eat fish at least once a week too.

Going to get into batch cooking more soon, cos if I do start uni in Sept, I'll need to be very organised regarding feeding the family so my little slow cooker and the huge one my MIL is giving me soon will be well used!

[bubblewrap]

Have one of these every day.

[Two_Sheds]

Am hoping to grow some beans for drying - the hatred my OH has for beans apparently is a texture thing,

If you blitz them into a sauce with the blender, he won't notice them

presumably meals with fresh green beans would have a protein content

Not much compared to the dried bean

[OverWyreGrower]

The OH would not dream of having a non-meat night - ever. When I do a roast, he does like a decent portion of meat on his plate.

Same with Mr OWG, I've worked really hard to get him eating beans, lentils etc, and to manage 2 or 3 meat free nights a week - one of those is usually jacket potatoes and beans

[kirsty b]

I used to bulk out with lentils etc, but gave up after enduring constant bloody whingeing. It used to make the meat go so much further

Might start some sneaky reintroduction soon.

Like TS suggestion of blitzing beans with blender, I'm not over keen on texture of beans either but that could be a way of sneaking more protein in and I do want to grow some for drying this year.