My fridge freezer has just broke down. I'm moving in a month to a new place which has a fridge so I don't see much point in getting a new one or paying to have this fixed.
The only problem is I barely eat anything that isn't in a fridge or freezer so I'm not sure how to survive for the next month. All I can think of is tinned beans and soup.
I don't even like beans.
Can anyone suggest stuff I can get that I can actually make a variety of full meals out of?
A side note is I always make my own sandwiches for work, these are usually with cold meat or spreads that I keep in the fridge. I work 13 hour shifts so I generally take a lot. What can I now use as a substitute?
You can buy noodles, pasta, rice; anything carb filled and long life.
Then, buy root vegetables and some peppers. They keep for at least a week. Potatoes go well with almost anything.
Buy cartons of chopped tomatoes, tins of kidney beans/chic peas, etc.
That is you set for meals. Buy a 2 quid tupperware tub if you don't have one already, and take rice/pasta/noodles to work with you for meals.
If you need meat, stalk the reduced aisle for a quick fix and cook it that night and prepare you lunch for the next day. It'll keep fine in a tupperware tub till the next day.
Get some of the soya mince from the recipe thread or some beanfeast. All you need to do is add a bit of water and (for the soya mince) some seasoning and you'll be reet.
I lived in Brazil without a fridge, freezer, or any kind of cooker for six months and lived to tell the tail.
I was also on about a quid a day, although that probably doesn't count for much given the different economies (at least back in 2005).
I basically lived off bananas, yoghurt, and cashew nuts. For the first month I still had a sort of "luncheon voucher" type deal worth about 2 quid a day which I used to trade in for a hot lunch (or rather 70% of a hot lunch) most days.
Anyway, enough of my pitiful past.
The bananas thing is good for you. Two bananas a day is very good for you and they don't need much storage especially in the UK. Beyond that if you want Real Meals I think you're going to have to go the old eggs n rice and beans/lentils route. Try to at least incorporate a 1kg bag of frozen broccoli or spinach into each of your cooking cycles. If that's not feasible try 500g bags. You can probably turn that into lunch and dinner. Trust me when I say that if you eat nothing but chicken and rice your ringpiece will hate you.
I realise that storing a lunch made the night before until you go to work the next day can be hard, but try the "suspend it off the window ledge in a tesco carrier bag" method. That shit never worked in Brazil, obviously, but it worked fine in amsterdam for almost six months while I was too autistic to get my fridge/freezer fixed by the landlord.
Eggs don't go off even at room temperature. Nor does most cheese. If you hit tesco / sainsbury's / whatever at the right time you can get decent meat to cook each night for an ok price without having to buy in bulk and freeze or refrigerate.
I suppose what I'm saying is; don't fall for the "eat pasta, rice, noodles, bread, whatever" diet; there are plenty of things out there that can make your diet feasible that don't need a fridge or freezer.
If you want any more feedback just respond and I'll have a more sober go at tackling any points you want tomorrow. If you like I'll even try to codify my recipe for sweet potato, chickpea, spinach, and red onion curry.
Indian cooking is great for this sort of thing. Pretty much every (vegetarian) Indian meal tends to be based around ingredients that aren't too fussy about being kept in a fridge.
>>12240 >Try to at least incorporate a 1kg bag of frozen broccoli or spinach into each of your cooking cycles.
Why frozen? Fresh broccoli will keep perfectly fine in a cupboard for a few day, it might even last a whole week with luck.
