Dear god!

[rustylady]

Tinned potatoes are pretty disgusting - really soft. I don't buy tinned peas, apart from mushy peas on very rare occasions (I like them with mint sauce when in need of comfort food).

[Polly Fouracre]

And to think this all started with a bag of rice! I decried the use of ready prepared veg and have just bought a bag of dried onions, thinking, they'll come in useful.

[rustylady]

Never mind Polly. We all do it from time to time.

[maytreefrannie]

Just to get back to the original topic of the thread - boil in the bag rice is much more effort - IMO - than ordinary packaged/boxed rice. I've yet to find a bag that opened easily and they're always red hot when just cooked. On the other hand, my daughter love b in the bag and whenever she picks up some shopping for me, that's what she buys. ----- Anyone agree with me?

As to pre-prepared veg, I think onions chopped and kept in plastic just wouldn't taste the same - I've tried chopped carrots occasionally (from the bargain basket) and they didn't taste the same to me as carrots cleaned, scraped and cooked in the kitchen.

I can see they could be convenient for people, but normally the price alone would put me off.

[Crundy]

Just to get back to the original topic of the thread - boil in the bag rice is much more effort - IMO - than ordinary packaged/boxed rice. I've yet to find a bag that opened easily and they're always red hot when just cooked. On the other hand, my daughter love b in the bag and whenever she picks up some shopping for me, that's what she buys. ----- Anyone agree with me?

I seem to remember eating boil in the bag curries / casseroles when I was a lot younger. Kinda puts you off the meal when you have to cut open what looks like a colostomy bag onto your plate

[binley100]

......... tinned baby potatoes. What would you use them for? Boiling?

Heat oil in a tray in t'oven then roast them for about 20 mins till brown and crispy .........

[janeyo]

I am still reeling from hearing Lynda went to Uni

[FionaH]

I am still reeling from hearing Lynda went to Uni

She is in fact a very smart bunny, just a tad accident prone these days

[Currysniffa]

I cook for the family just about every day, I love to cook but I can't cook rice for some reason, Uncle Ben's rice Rocks

[Nicos]

. Kinda puts you off the meal when you have to cut open what looks like a colostomy bag onto your plate

Ha ha ha!!!..now THAT'S cheered me up!!!!!.....thankyou!!

[taff]

Sainsburys are really annoying me at the mojment. To save on cardboard, apparently they have have loads of complaints about over-packaging, they've decided to use platic for sme cereals, whoopy doo, but cardboard can be recycled and plastic food bags can't.
Is it me or are they completely stupid thinkikng we can't see that?
I throw a a carrier bag of rubbish every couple of weeks, and most of the carrier bag is plastic. I am trying to use as little of the stuff or buy as little of the stuff as I can, but it's like fighting a losing battle ::inset grump smiley::

[lindyloo]

i don't have a lot of rubbish, which i think is down to the very basic stuff i buy? for instance, i don't buy lot's of varieties of cereals- i just buy porridge oats- shops own brand, so it is just a bag. meat, i would buy a joint, or a chicken and then divide it into several different meals once i get it home, thereby reducing on the packaging, in stead of having 4 or even 5 packagings, i just have one. bread ditto- i divide and freeze, so i dont waste it, as we don't eat a lot, maybe one loaf, can last us 3 weeks. i don't use packet stuff, or tinned soups. i do use frozen veg, because it is more convenient and economical for me. rice as already mentioned, and i just snip the top off with scissors, so it's a jolly lot easier than scrubbing a pan! tinned veg i would buy the occasional tin of tomatoes, or kidney beans, and every so often, maybe once a year, i have a craving for marrowfat peas! milk- one large carton per week. no crisps, snacks, or cakes, so thats another contributing factor to less packaging. i could easily go a whole month without a rubbish collection. i, too, dont know why a lot of food cant be packaged in paper, ie veg. ---and i know most english people like to point an eco- finger at the u.s.a., but why dont we have recycled paper bags at the checkout, as they do? biodegradable, and really strong- we always used them for sending parcels, as book jacket covers etc

[Hilary B]

Paper bags seem to be a thing of the past, with a few exceptions. Waitrose now provide paper bags for mushrooms, and paper-with-a cellophane-panel ones for the bread, but outside of that I haven't seen a paper bag in an ordinary shop since the local greengrocer closed down. There are a few high-end-of-market health-food shops about which use paper bags (and paper carriers) so obviously they are still made, but the only shops that use them seem to be the high-price ones, and as far as I am concerned, those shops will always be 'strictly for an occasional treat'.