In tomorrow's Foodie Friday video I'm talking about the cost of foods we eat in the warmer months. A viewer asked if I thought it was more expensive to eat in the Summer as you can't do as much batch cooking and freezing. So I gave it some thought and came up with some ideas using similar ingredients I'd use in Winter but prepping them for a picky plate or salad plate. They last several days in the fridge so you could make a big enough batch to make several meals. Each meal could be different depending on what you fancy!
Vegetables:
I buy carrots, onions, potatoes, cabbage and peppers all year round. In Winter I'd cook them into meals etc but in the Summer I use them differently. You could make various coleslaw dishes and potato salad.
Carrot, apple and onions in apple cider vinegar with mayo
Potato salad made with finely chopped onion, potatoes, mayo and chives
Meat and fish:
I tend to eat less meat in the warmer months sticking to chicken (which can be eaten cold) and the odd sausage. But I do eat more things like canned tuna and seafood sticks. Someone suggested batch cooking sausages and home made burgers on the BBQ (or in the oven) and freezing them so you'd have access to making a quick BBQ style meal.
Eggs:
You can keep boiled eggs in the fridge for a few days so I do batch cook these for egg mayo. You can also make quiches with or without a crust. They keep well for a few days. In the video I'm making a rice crust quiche.
It's featured in several picky bits type meals this week!
Other things to make using standard fridge and storecupboard ingredients could be tuna pasta salad, rice salad, couscous and hummus. All fairly cheap and nutritious.
You could add pickles like beetroot, onions or olives.
You could serve bread and butter, cheese scones or oatcakes to fill tummies. I make all these from scratch inexpensively.
And finally, some fruits work well with savoury things. For example apples, grapes, oranges and pineapple.
So, does Summer food cost more than Winter foods? As long as you're careful with what ingredients you use and how you use them I think it's about the same. What do you think?